Best camera for teaching

Thanks C2V .. that's exactly the kind of advice I was hoping for. My only worry is that the University might want to go tapeless just for appearance (I'm sure you know how these things work sometimes) as I've already had a sniff that this might be the case ... how would any of you configure a tapeless solution?

Well, the first thing I'd do is argue the point against tapeless as much as possible. Are they more concerned with appearances, or are they really interested in the students coming away with a full(er) set of real-world skills? The compromise might be to make just one of the package tapeless... or even just add a tapeless cam without the auxiliary gear, then get a few DVX kits.

But, if you absolutely must, you could replace the DVX with an HMC40 and XLR adapter, which will come out at just about the same price (maybe slightly less). At least then you can limit their dailies by issuing smaller SD cards that fill up faster.

The HMC150 is $1000 more, which you still have room for if you ditch the lighting. But there's the other argument: bang for the buck. I wouldn't drop either sound or lighting for a complete package, and a pricier tapeless camera is going to require one or the other (or both) to suffer.
 
Last edited:
I think the tapeless is the way to go,. Very few of the mfgs are releasing tape based cameras and many of the facilities and tv stations i speak to are working heavily in file bases work flows ... being comfortable and proficient tapeless is an advantage for student moving into the workforce. Being able to manage data and not physical items is a difficult skill to master. learing to lable files and folders is now more important than learning to label a tape.

"There is still so much to be said for learning to maintain proper reels via labeling and time code management (and to budget footage) before they are set free into the tapeless world."

ask the guys who run red cameras how useful a sharpie and white tape is in their work flow. and askt them how useful tape based Time code management transfers ?

the future is tape less the manufactures don't want to mfg tape drives mechanisms any more and are not doing so. why teach archaic skills ..... when the skills learned the other way are skills the industry as a who is having to deal with in the real world

replace the dvx 100b with a hmc 150 or similar
 
"There is still so much to be said for learning to maintain proper reels via labeling and time code management (and to budget footage) before they are set free into the tapeless world."

ask the guys who run red cameras how useful a sharpie and white tape is in their work flow. and askt them how useful tape based Time code management transfers ?

I would ask them, but then I have worked with RED. And even on RED shoots, we've had plenty of Sharpie pens and white tape around, but I digress...

Learning to organize reels, maintain consistent TC, and properly lable/log tapes in the field will make one much more proficient to stay organized in a tapeless environment. It also helps one think much more clearly and efficiently in post when organizing footage during the log/capture or log/transfer phase.

the future is tape less the manufactures don't want to mfg tape drives mechanisms any more and are not doing so. why teach archaic skills ..... when the skills learned the other way are skills the industry as a who is having to deal with in the real world

The industry "as a who" (I assume you mean "as a whole") is not having to deal with tapeless workflow. Yes, lot of folks are moving to tapeless workflows. Film is still prevalent in major motion pictures, so reels are important. Local stations may be moving to tapeless, and some larger TV markets as well, but that's far from done. And the skills are not archaic, and never really will be. They're applicable to just about any situation.

And I freelance in audio post for a very widely-known cable network company who is also trying to move to tapeless. But when the show is mixed, I still lay back to DBeta.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top