Article on TV show being shot on XL H1
 

Here is an article on "Lovespring" being shot for Lifetime on HDV on the XL H1.

http://www.studiodaily.com/main/tech...dies/6788.html

I'm surprised that there has been no response to this article since I first read it over a week ago...

Many have wondered if the H1 could/would be an accepted HDV camera in the world of broadcasting, and here's a "produced" show that has made the choice to originate in HDV with multiple H1s when, I assume, they could have budgeted for almost any camera... Good for DP Laura Merians and good for LifeTime...

Interesting, isn't it, that here's a woman DP pushing the video envelope, not unlike the ground broken by Nancy Schreiber with the DVX on NOVEMBER, and yet there are so few women commenting in this forum...

Maybe they have adopted my favorite motto "let's stop talking about it and do it".

Being a H1 owner I may be a bit biased, but when most of the HD delivery methods use 9mbps 7mbps or less and already compress to mpeg2 or mpeg4, I really dont see that having a $60k camera could really look much better at the end of the pipe.

Granted, I'm not figuring in lenses & CCD size, but I think the HDV standard has some footing until the broadcast levels are raised above 25mbps.

Which item are they using as a shoulder mount (attached to the bottom)?

The PBS Series Healthy Body Healthy Mind is shot with the XL-H1. Go to healthybodyhealthymind.com to see clips.

"Site under construction"

The site works fine, you can play and see clips there, click on "life after heart attack"

and
So this means that they are not using the SDI, uncomressed video output while shoot? They are just shooting on to the HDV and then outputing ths signal through SDI to a HDCam deck just for archiving? Is HDCam that much more stable for archiving? Or do they just not know yet.

I figured that for broadcast they would be recording directly from the SDI outs. Hmmmm.

Does anyone know which shoulder mount device they are using for the show?

Yeah, Image 2000, Birns & Sawyer, $400 US... I've got one, but don't find it that useful.. I've completely redesigned the shoulder area of my camera instead - much better - I'd post a pic, but I don't have, or want, a site...

You can attach a picture here. Just scroll down to the Attach Files section of the reply editor.

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Okay, I'll take a pic of my camera and post it.. I've had several long-time XL users gawk over my camera, saying that it's how Canon should have built it in the first place.. It is heavy, though (Anton Bauer batteries are heavy in themselves) but I'm used to an Aaton 16mm camera that's 5 lbs heavier, so it's still light to me...

Here's the way I've set up my camera for documentary filmmaking. I should note that I have always modified my cameras to suit my shooting style.. back in the early 70's I modified a 16mm Bolex to take 400' magazines mounted on the back, which involved reconfiguring the optics of the viewfinder..

This camera (the H1) is much easier to customize because it started out close (but no cigar)... The way it is set up here, the camera can be mounted and removed from a tripod without removing or adding pieces.. The grip setup is one I've had for 10 years that I use on my Aaton super16 camera. The nose mike is an AT, the wireless receiver is Lectronic, battery is Anton Bauer Hytron50.. the empty place on the back, above the battery, will hold a Firestore FS-C when it's perfected for HDV. Oh, and the pink band around the grip is a rubberband that they use to tie broccoli in the field - I was shooting fieldworkers for a United Way doc last month and stuck it on for good luck...

As I said, it is heavy, but the weight is well balanced... I often use the 3x3 Chrosziel instead of the 4x4 compendium matte box in the picture to save some weight though...

Looks pretty cool Steve. Is the Chroziel FF standard or did you modify it. I'm assuming if you're using it you must like it.

FF is standard "DV" unit - I got it to use with the 16x, but it works so well with the 20x that I tend to use it (the lens) more than I used to... I like this model because the focus scale is on the side of the focus sleeve, so you can see it from the viewfinder.. with the 16x I have another sleeve painted with the distance markings, so I can estimate focus from the viewfinder.. The matte box base is slightly modified, strengthened, and the front shoulder support is attached to it.

By-the-way, all of the modifications were done with the proverbial "simple hand tools" and the materials are: aluminum pieces that I bought at a hardware store, dense foam left over from cutting a case insert, and black leather cut from a purse I got for a buck at Good Will...