Cumberland Plateau Waterfalls Expedition
 

Just back from three days on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau (an offshoot of the Appalachians) shooting for "Waterfalls of the Southern Highlands." As ever, our V1U was the real star... see some pics of it in action at:

http://urtvforums.org/index.php/topic,416.0.html

We're also using an HC1 and it actually mixes pretty nicely with the V1U for broadcast.

Glorious Memorial Day Weekend!

Very nice! Hey which Manfrotto head is that, and have you been happy with it for the V1?

Ralph,
Very nice work. I use an HC1 now, and was thinking about upgrading to the V1U. after watching your footage from your earlier post, I'm not so sure. I dont have the best eye for it, but I couldn't tell the difference between the two. What's your thoughts on the HC1, and how would you compare it to the V1U ?
Also, Do you have any tips you could pass along on getting the best image quality from my HC1? The footage i've shot with my HC1 doesn't compare to yours. are there any special settings that you use to get such high quality images?
Thanks
Mike

It's a 503HDV, Graham ... I have two of them and am very happy using the V1U on them. Also have a 516 on my studio tripod (used to have an XL2 and needed heavy duty). It kinda dwarfs the V1 but they work well together. ;-)

--Ralph

Mike, I love the HC1 and have carried it into some awesome places from the canyons of Zion National Park to the Valley of Fire to hidden coves and high mountain tops all over my home territory here in the Appalachians. It shoots right well. ... However, the reason I use a V1 and an HC1 is that I cannot afford a) two V1s and b) and EX1 or EX3. ;-) ... the HC1 is, as stated, a good shooter but -- being a single CMOS -- limited compared to the 3-chip V1... still, it makes a nice B-roll and 2nd cam.

Which brings us to quality. Thanks for the complements... My wife does most of the shooting with the HC1 now. She uses manual settings and gets good stuff. Perhaps part of the look you like (and which I do) is accomplished in post. On the HC1, I tend to push the color saturation a bit, which gives a fuller, richer look.

Quite a few examples at my site, http://1vid.com , and a lot of them shot totally with the HC1 before I got the V1 last year. Take a look at Mill Shoals, Bird Rock, and Hooker Falls, all show totally with the HC1 for example.

some video of the above expedition:

http://1vid.com/component/content/ar...the-river.html

http://1vid.com/component/content/ar...tate-park.html

--Ralph

Wow. I know we are not supposed to get political here. But, this video is a great example of ATV activities that are both unsafe and degrade the environment. This is a great the link for public land managers to help educate thier users.

yes, let's DON'T get political ... this was not Federal land and these guys did no harm and had a wonderful time. It was Tennessee, you ALLOWED to do stuff like that in Tennessee. They still have some freedom.

now, back to video.

Excellent videos Ralph. what tripods are you using ?

thanks, Michael... we have two Bogen 3011s with 501HDV heads ... nice, rugged, inexpensive, easy to pack in to waterfalls, do the job. ;-)

--Ralph

and another 5-minute segment from this trip:

http://1vid.com/component/content/ar...one-falls.html

--Ralph

Nice job Ralph, and way to go... having the wife pack the load.

Jamie

heh, heh ... well, actually, she packs the HC1 and I carry my V1 and tripod. ... but on these falls, she hiked down and shot from the bottom of the falls and I sauntered the hundred level yards and shot the top. Her idea, not mine as I had a broken toe. Not that I let such minor details slow down the filming much, eh?

--Ralph

Thanks for the share on your own site. A lot of bad feed back on V1 products, but as I own my on used almost coming a year. Is good for me. You are a happy man with your V1U :)