Brandon Katcher

Im actually flying to lukla, then hiking from there. The hike itself isn't too hard, 5 miles a day. The altitude will be a problem maybe. I've been up to 14,500 without a problem, but I also wasn't carrying 45lbs of equipment. I am gonna have 60 tapes for the entire month, and I will probably send them back DHL as I shoot them, so no risk of getting them confiscated. Probably wouldn't hurt to carry a lot of cash, to pay people off perhaps. Brandon

Next week I will be leaving the U.S. to shoot a documentary in India and Nepal for a month. I am looking for any suggestions or advice I can get, because I am still a very new filmmaker (Haven't done feature length before). Sorry in advance for the long post. So I am going to be following a Catholic Zen Monk through India and Nepal. We will be backpacking 14 days up to Everest Base Camp and back. Right now I am thinking that I am going to try to connect the idea of Zen Spirituality with Everest and "A Gentle Walk through the park" as the monk calls it, as well as my experience making the film and finding my own spirituality. Equipment: ?Canon XL2 with the 20x Lens ?Tripod ?Kata Backpack for the Camera ?6 BP945 (Cheap Ebay Knockoffs) and a Dual Battery CH-910 ?Oktava MC012 Mic and Boom Setup - 30ft. XLR cable ?Sennheiser G2 Wireless System with Countryman B6 ?3 Filters: UV, Circular Polarizer, and Graduated ND ?Kata Rain Cover ?60 Tapes - Panasonic PQ ?Backup Camera - Sony Consumer TRV50 with 2 Batteries and a Light ?Various Cleaning - Lens Pen, Fluid, etc. I will be shooting in 24pa 16x9 I am going to have a sound assistant, who also has a high quality handheld audio recorder, called a Zoom. Records onto SD Cards. Since I will be putting all this gear on my back, I am trying to keep the weight down. For about 6 days there will be no electricity, which is why I have 6 batteries. 2 with the dual battery seem to last for a good 10 hours. Has anybody filmed in this area and has any suggestions? One issue Im a little nervous about is customs. I am supposed to get film permits, but I can't afford it, so I am going to claim everything is personal. (Thought about calling myself a bird watcher, gonna brush up on my bird knowledge). All the equipment is in one bag, except for the tripod and boom pole. I have also been giving tapes to different people to bring in. So any advice or ideas concerning the doc idea, equipment, or anything else would be extremely helpful. Thank you, Brandon Katcher

I am in the looking to get a new camera, and I am in the XL2 vs. DVX100b boat at the moment. I am leaning towards the XL2, mostly because of the 16x9 chips. I am primarily buying the camera for a documentary I am filming in Nepal and India in a few months. I am going to want to shoot in 24p. I have a couple questions for owners. Unfortunately, I am having trouble finding one to play around with. 1) I have heard that the servo-controlled 20x lens is hard to focus, especially without any form of peaking or numerical distance meter. This is by far my biggest concern. What are your thoughts on it, is it something that just needs time to get used to. I don't want to get back after a shoot to find that half my work is out of focus. How is the viewfinder quality? (I know there is the 16x manual lens, but even just getting body only and that lens adds another $1000 to the price of the camera that is already $500 above the dvx100, plus it loses stabilization) 2) Is there macro on the camera with the 20x? I know there is no switch or anything on the lens. Some sources are saying 20mm, others are saying there is no macro. 3) Is the automatic rack focus usable at all, or is it pretty jerky? 4) How long does the included battery usually last? 5) Is the camera pretty sturdy. I will be backpacking around Nepal with It (with a specialized camera backpack). And dust problems? 6) And for those that have used the DVX100, does the 16x9 on that camera compare to the XL2? Thanks, Brandon