FULL KITS FOR ALL BUDGETS
5 AUDIO ACCESSORY: SENNHEISER EVOLUTION G4 WIRELESS KIT £ TBA/$799 www.sennheiser.com
A shotgun mic is a vital bit of kit for every filmmaker, but not all shotgun mics are created equal. For the ultimate in cutting out extraneous noise, the Sennheiser MKH-70RF mic is just about the very best that you can buy. Its £1267/$1581 asking price may look steep compared to many of its rivals, but the technology and materials it uses makes it worth the price for any serious filmmaker. Although it’s 4 AUDIO: SENNHEISER MKH-70RF MICROPHONE £1267/$1581 www.sennheiser.com weatherproof and built to last, it only weighs 180g/6.3oz and has switchable pre- attenuation, roll-off filter and treble emphasis settings. The long interference tube makes it highly directional.
The brand new Sennheiser G4 wireless kit is an upgrade to the ever-popular EW kit and gives incredible flexibility when it comes to filming talking heads. The new 100P version of the kit is for independent filmmakers and has a camera-mounted receiver and bodypack transmitter unit, and there’s the ME2-11 lav mic which is a top-quality microphone. You will really hear the difference a good- quality mic canmake. If you want to do reporter-style interviews, the kit comes with a plug-in transmitter that fits into an
XLR-style fitting on a handheldmic, so you can do your interviews without having cables on the ground.
Lots of LED panels put out a great quality of light and are adjustable in colour temperature, usually between the warmth of tungsten and the cool light of daylight at midday. But only one – the SoftPanels 1x2ft Autocolor LED – has a built-in colour meter, which not only gives an accurate measurement of the light that it is putting out, but can alsomeasure ambient light and automatically set itself tomatch. Using this auto setting is a revelation, as you just push the auto button and the light does the rest. Or you can dial in precise colour temperature, confident the output will be spot on. This American company’s light panel runs off mains or batteries, comes with a honeycomb grid and gel holder, and its output is very soft and even. 6 LIGHTING: SOFTPANELS 1X2 FOOT AUTOCOLOR LED £1795/$1795 www.softpanels.video
7 BAG: THINK TANK AIRPORT SECURITY V3 ROLLING BAG £395/$429 www.thinktankphoto.com
As the name suggests, the Think Tank Airport Security V3 is designed to meet most international airline carry- on requirements and has a unique serial number for lost and found registration. As well as swallowing up loads of camera kit, it can also take a 17in laptop and a ten-inch tablet. It’s a sturdy, water-repellent roller bag with lots of pockets for accessories and a tripod mount pocket on one side, although this may be a bit small for full-size video tripods.
There’s a user-replaceable retractable handle, wheels, wheel housings, feet and kick plate, while handles on three sides make it easier to get it out of overhead bins or from luggage carousels.
121
SPRING 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER
Powered by FlippingBook