DOCUMENTARY KIT GEAR.
Byte-sized Life has become unimaginably easier for crews operating far from big-city support, thanks to improvements in offload and storage. Data now weighs next to nothing and duplication for the sake of reliability is trivial. LaCie has an answer for more or less every occasion – from big desktop docks with ports for card readers, to practically pocket-sized, rugged devices for dumping a card’s worth of material while crouching under an umbrella in a rainforest. For a hair under £2500, the 1big Dock SSD Pro offers 4TB (or 2TB for cheaper) of very fast NVMe storage with Thunderbolt connectivity and a variety of USB options. SD, CFast 2 and CFexpress card readers are built-in, with a USB 3.0 hub for third-party readers. If all we need is storage, LaCie has a collection of large-capacity SSDs, along with a variety that are cunningly designed to be packed and shipped. The Rugged Raid Shuttle accommodates up to 8TB of data, and the Rugged Boss (Backup On Set Solution) SSD makes it possible to perform transfers directly from card to storage – with no laptop necessary in the middle.
ON HAND While not quite large format, the Tokina 25-75mm T2.9 has great coverage in a small package
the same number of watts can be extracted from a battery for less current at a higher voltage, B-Mount ought to be the most efficient. Core SWX has models for either format in its line-up, with the B-Mount Helix Max series soon to add a 150Wh version (it’s available to pre-order). A more friendly choice might be a small, light package, and Core SWX has interesting power proposals for video-capable stills cameras. Charging from anything other than its in-built battery, which is often sized to accommodate stills rather than shooting B-roll all day, is tricky. Put a rod system on the camera, and a rear-mounted battery often obscures critical controls. Core’s Powerbase Edge series is designed to mount, as the name suggests, on the camera’s tripod screw mount, which is more or less the only mechanical interface every stills camera is guaranteed to have. Available in capacities up to 70Wh (which isn’t huge, but enough to run a typical stills camera for hours), there are various Powerbase models and packages, with cables and accessories for a number of common cameras. Keen documentarians in 2022 have a lot of options, from grabbing a fixed-lens ENG camera – probably the lightest and easiest approach – all the way up to repurposing something built to shoot blockbusters, often with the manufacturer’s own help. There’s a certain undeniable romance to shepherding a dwindling case of 16mm stock through a multi-week production experience. But having all those choices and still achieving better pictures than ever is, in the end, a rare part of the early 21st century that everyone can agree is a great thing.
with both macro focusing and large format sensor coverage. These are very much cinema lenses, with 320° focus rotation, although nobody’s ever going to try taping out sharps on a 100mm lens at 1:1 magnification and T2.9. A wall-sized 4K monitor and good eyes are the order of the day, and if that’s still not enough, there’s a 2x extender for double the focal length. Anyone who does need to shoot that gnat in 4K, large format close-up need look no further – but be nice to your focus puller. PORTABLE POWER Another change is that electronic documentary cameras don’t have a functioning viewfinder when switched off, whereas 16mm documentary cameras do. Keeping one running while we’re waiting for a rocket launch relies on batteries, and some of the best machines are also the hardest on their power supplies. If anyone did decide to package up any of several large format cinema cameras for documentary work, the choice might be between conventional 14.4v V-Mount or 26v B-Mount battery systems. Given
POWER TO YOU LaCie’s 1big Dock SSD Pro hits storage heights of 4TB
IN CHARGE Core SWX caters for all, whether you need the Powerbase Edge’s handy mounting capabilities or a potent Helix Max (left)
Contacts Arri arri.com Core SWX coreswx.com IB/E Optics ibe-optics.com LaCie lacie.com Motion Impossible motion-impossible.com Tokina tokinacinema.com Xeen xeenglobal.com Zeiss zeiss.com
65. AUGUST 2022
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