The Invaluable Guide to the AG-HVX200

I recently came across “The Invaluable Guide to the AG-HVX200,” a delightful document from Panasonic that provides a detailed description of the features and capabilities of the AG-HVX200 prosumer HD camcorder in a format that’s easy to read like a brochure, but with plenty of substance and details you’d expect from a well-written technical overview, it’s got lots of great illustrations. If you’re thinking about purchasing or renting this camera, you’ll want to download a copy from http://panasonic.biz/sav/p2/ (it’s a PDF document that comes in two versions, one for the AG-HVX200E European/PAL and the other for the AG-HVX200P US/NTSC versions of the camera (they are different in terms of the formats/frame rates they record).

Fair Use Follies: Cloudy and Fair

In the May 19, 2006 episode of On The Media (an excellent show from WNYC and one of my favorite podcasts) Brooke Gladstone talks with Amy Sewell, the producer and writer of the documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom” and her experiences clearing rights to copyrighted material. Gladstone then talks with Hugh Hansen, a law professor at Fordham University and advocate of strong copyright laws, along with James Boyle, a professor of law at Duke University and co-author of “Bound by Law,” a comic book about fair use that’s available for free on the Duke University Law School website. Boyle argues that copyright holders have been promoting “a permissions culture,” leading filmmakers to ignore their first use rights. An interesting segment that’s very relevant to filmmakers, especially indie documentary filmmakers on a tight budget who can’t afford to clear the rights to everything the way big-budget productions are in the habit of doing. Check it out.

Real world P2 card transfer times

Here’s are some P2 card transfer times I’ve observed based on my own real world testing. Tests 4 and 5 were done in the field while working on a documentary shoot last week, your actual times may vary.

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NAB2006: My picks from the show

Here are the products that stood out for me (not in any particular order) at NAB2006.

1. The Zylight Z50 is a tiny LED lighting instument that can instantly changes from 5600K to 3200K light with the push of a button and can be programmed to to produce any color you want and you can save you favorites with presets. The devices can be put together and controlled wirelessly. This is a very clever idea whose time has come. Based on technology licensed from Color Kinetics and built around a HD-led (High-Density light-emitting diode) module that packs over 230 high-power elements into a single square inch, making the Z50 the brightest portable LED light available.

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