DV To-Go
For the record, the main limitations of these less expensive cameras, when compared to the more expensive DVCPro and DVCam cameras, is the absence of XLR balanced audio inputs and more sensative zoom controls. Whereas some of the more expensive DV models promote features like tape loads that exceed the one-hour "consumer" DV tapes and significantly longer battery life, these are features that actually extend the camera "requirements" beyond the standards that I've come to expect from BetacamSP packages.

On this trip to India & Bangladesh, I used the Sharp (an evaluation loan courtesy of Sharp) and Sony (a rental from Adolf Gasser's of San Francisco) camcorders mentioned above in combination with a rented audio package that included a Sennheiser K-3 shot gun microphone and a Tram lavalier, along with a line matching transformer and XLR to stereo mini converter. It should also be noted that for wild, ambient B-roll sound the in-camera mikes on both cameras worked quite well.

When I had time to set it up, I used the lightweight Gitzo G12-38 Mountaineer tripod with a Bogen 3160XL mini-fluid head and Bogen G555, 55" microphone pole which could be packaged neatly into a compact canvas Gitzo carrying case. Because of the amount of schlepping we were doing, we avoided carrying lights and used mostly available light. On two occasions, we rented lights locally, once is Dhaka, Bangladesh for an interview that had to be shot at night, and in New Delhi, India where we documented an evening meeting on the All-India Hunger Project Council.

What made this all possible without a larger crew was the fact that my client, John Coonrod, director of communications at The Hunger Project, assisted me as co-producer and sound assistant. However, the bottom line was that this DV equipment gave me the ability to use a "skeleton" crew to capture high quality footage that I would not have otherwise been able to acquire. And the equipment not only dependably delivered high quality results, but I continue to be impressed with the quality of the tools.

Quality Tools
As I described in the September article, the Sharp VL-D5000U is one of the easiest to use camcorders I can imagine, using it's generous display as an on-screen interface as well as a viewfinder. In fact, the viewfinder is so nice and big that it also serves the function of a small field monitor. And, it's so flexible in the way that it's mounted that it can be rotated 90 or even 180 degrees from the lens angle. This enables convenient access to shooting angles from hands extended fully overhead to shoe-top views that would be virtually impossible for me to capture with any other camera. The downside is that the monitor limits battery life which would certainly have been a problem on this trip if I did not have a second camera.

This trip was my first outing with the Sony DCR-VX-1000, which has become one of the most popular DV cameras among professionals. In fact, San Francisco's video rental house, Adolf Gasser's is now renting three of these solid performers. They also rent one of the newer "professional" DVCam units, the Sony DSR-200. Dan Germano, manager of video and motion picture at Gasser's told me that professionals spend the extra money to rent the DSR-200 when they "have to have" XLR-balanced audio inputs, but that renting the VX-1000 to professionals has proven itself to be a viable business. He told me, "The VX-1000 is a very good camera for us. Professionals generally like the image quality, the small size and you can't beat the price."

Personally, I was quite impressed. In addition to well-designed features and tasteful touches (for example, I liked that image stabilization, something that I generally leave on all the time, is controlled by its own switch inside the back of the camera where it is unlikely to be accidentally turned off), the VX- 1000 has a really comfortable feel. I'm not sure if its the way it's balanced or just the ergonomics of its controls, but regardless of the reason, it felt really solid in my hands which contributed to more successful hand-held shooting. I also found the zoom control to be more sensitive than on any of the other DV cameras that I've worked with.

Additionally, I got a solid hour out of most batteries (Gasser's included a generous four with the rental unit) which made changing tapes and batteries at the same time convenient. The addition of the FireWire output and an ample selection of accessories (including, for example, a wide angle adaptor that came in quite handy when shooting meetings) makes this DV camera a real winner.

DV Post in Development
DV post-production has become another kind of configuration challenge. Without trying to do a full overview of all the new decks and editing systems that are including FireWire and serial digital interfaces (see the NAB wrap-up for details on new equipment), there are several serious issues to consider. These include FireWire and its role in the evolution of your system or production design and timecode.

The good news is that both Sony with its DVCam line and Panasonic with its DVCPro line are now offering video decks that support DV playback at prices start under $5,000. Many support both analog (composite and S-Video) as well as FireWire (IEEE 1394) output. Some also offer add-on cards or include various "flavors" of serial digital output including Panasonic's CSDI and Sony's QSDI and SDDI. All except the entry-level Sony DSR-30 read SMPTE timecode in order to provide professional edit system compatible machine control. I was pleased to learn that the timecode that's standard on all DV format cameras including the so-called "consumer" units I used is SMPTE code that's readable by any DVCPro or DVCam decks with a SMPTE reader.

The first lesson that I learned from the post-production of my African footage is that it's better not to use the camera as a deck. Although this seems like a no-brainer, I know lots of producers who are trying to push these cameras too far and I actually made this mistake myself and had a tape get damaged in the process! Decks use the extra design and construction space to include more substantial tape transport mechanisms and this is highly recommended for the jogging and shuttling that's required for editing, especially with the mini-cassettes.

Secondly, as many of you have undoubtedly experienced, in the non-linear post-production environment, digitizing is a time-consuming task. Of course, it varies enormously depending on your shooting ratio and the amount of footage in general that is being considered (not to mention the amount of available storage). If you have the disk space to digitize everything you shoot, and can then make your decisions off your hard-disk, you're lucky. However, for most real world productions, including my Hunger Project projects, where selects need to be made and where digitizing at low-resolution in order to make editing decisions is a real advantage, then you need a deck that reads SMPTE time code. I'm planning to rent of one of the higher-end DVCam or DVCPro studio decks that will read the native DV timecode as SMPTE.

Bravo DV
Still, despite the need to weather a transition to a breed of equipment, there's no question in my mind that DV is one of the best things to happen to videographers since non-linear editing. I've never heard such universal praise (and, yes, even adulation) for a new format, and personally, I'm very pleased to be experiencing the opposite of the all-too-frequent scenario: "solutions in search of a problems."

DV delivers high-quality imagery at a significantly lower cost, and with the added flexibility of its small size. In short, it serves a real need.

Yes, there really is innovation that makes things easier. In this case, the transition will be worth the effort. Enjoy.

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