Ralph Keyser

Alex, Great explanation! You might double check the numbers in your chart for some of your larger instruments. I would have expected a 5K up around 850 fc (at 10'), and a 10K around 1200. Probably just a typo or a cut and paste error. Lighting manufacturer's publish this information (usually labeled as photometrics or performance). Mole Richardson is particularly good about making that data available. The numbers should be considered a guideline, as individual instruments vary in their real-world output (for a lot of reasons), but they'll get you in the ballpark.

Since lighting/grip rental prices vary so much, how about a price for your current setup as a reference?

Fletcher Camera out of Chicago would probably be closest (www.fletch.com), and most of the big rental places would ship to anywhere. Zeiss lenses are very popular, so you shouldn't have trouble finding them for rent. You may have trouble finding them at a price you like :) You might also check with your state's film commission to see if they have a list of vendors in your area.

You always want to strike an HMI with the dimmer at Max. The folks here have done a good job of laying out why. It doesn't seem like there should be any discussion, but I'd be interested in hearing the argument for doing it the other way. Let us know Santiago.

It's pretty hard. The ad agencies don't really provide credit to anyone but themselves, but there is some terrific work done at the high-end commercial level. I think Visa is currently with TBWA/Chiat/Day, but I'm not sure who might have done the cinematography. I liked that shot of the reflection in the eye as well, although these days it could well have been done in post. The other interesting thing is about that spot is that it features the captain of the US Pizza Team. Did you know that tossing pizza dough was a sport? Yeah, me either.

I suspect that you could read them, although it's possible that it might be very costly to do so. If the masters use a well known compression and you can read the data off the media, then you would likely be okay. Software systems do seem to incorporate some amount of "legacy" compatibility. But we've already seen examples of still photographic compression schemes that you can't read today with off-the-shelf software that runs on current operating systems. Which is not to say that you can't get to them at all, it just means that you are going to have to take extraordinary steps to do so. I could imagine a similar situation with digital masters especially given the current proliferation of compression schemes.

Another good source for SLAB is any company that sells security systems. Those batteries are used as the back-up batteries in commercial and household security systems (much like the UPS systems). You might also checkout Magic Gadgets flashlight insert (http://www.magicgadgets.com/mg_ol_06.htm#superbright). It drops into a (largish) standard flashlight and gets the power from a flock of AA cells in the flashlight.

Could you be a bit more specific? Live TV can run from something like local news (banks of KinoFlos) to variety shows (I'd like to see the lighting setup for Dancing with the Stars). What are you looking for?

Well, personally, I like the 17" Panasonics (BTH-1760 I think) for lighting and setup. While I still don't think they are quite as good as the big CRTs, they are much lighter and easier to deal with in the field. I like the larger screen for seeing details in the shot and the associated lighting. I'll use the 8" ones for operating, although I like operating with an optical viewfinder better. On top of all this, the 17" monitors are actually cheaper than the 8", which I don't really understand, but the world is full of such things. Anyway, both of the 8" monitors you mentioned are great, and I don't think you will go wrong with either of them.

I'm not an admin, nor do I play one on TV, but there are forums for all of these cameras under the "Cameras and Formats" section.

And there's that work on wireless power transmission. Imagine if you had lights that you could just place without having to deal with cables? So, although the high ISO ratings offer some additional flexibility, it doesn't impact the basic role of the DP. After all, film went from ratings of 25 (and less) to 500. The tools change, but the role is the same.

Nicely done Rick. Some great points that are often forgotten.

The DVX-100 is more than good enough to make a proper film, and there are likely to be good deals on used ones these days. The little Sony would work for you as well, although the comparison is a little bit apples and oranges - i.e. not quite a direct comparison since one is a DV format and the other is HDV. For just starting out, I'd vote for the DVX-100 as well. Take the money you save over the Sony and invest it in decent audio equipment. Your documentaries will be better off for the investment.

I use a Nikon D70 and, like Bob, prefer the "crop" sensor size because it more closely matches 35mm motion picture film in size. They're also pretty close to the RED sensor size if that matters to you.

They do tend to refer to those devices (Pro35, Letus, Redrock, etc) as "35mm lens adapters". If he was using Nikon lenses on an EX1, it was almost certainly one of these devices. Most of the time, for fixed lens cameras, they thread to the front of the lens or have some other method of generating a light tight seal with the fixed lens. I would be very surprised if the adapter designed for the EX1 would fit the lens on the S270. I know that the P+S technik Pro35 has a 2/3" B4 version and a 1/2" bayonet. I'm not sure about a 1/3" bayonet. Maybe the place you are renting the S270 from might be of help.