DV Info Net - V1U used on Discovery Channel's Out of the Wild

The April 2009 edition of DV Magazine features an article on the production of Out of the Wild. According to the article the V1U is was used quite extensively:

During days in camp, the camera crews shot with Panasonic AJ-HDX900s and Sony HVR-V1Us, and usually had about five cameras going. But once the hiking resumed, the lighter, compact V1Us became the main workhorses.

Trek Through the Wilderness: The Alaska Experiment

I generally don't care for these kind of shows where they put novices in difficult situations, but I wanted to see how it looked so I checked it out. From a production standpoint it is quite good and I got sucked in (I watched all five episodes available On Demand in HD). I have to say that the hikers are never really in critical danger as crew and rescue are only minutes away. In the VO they are careful to refer to the participants as "volunteers" reminding the viewer that there is no compensation for appearances. Of course they have one individual who is not only the oldest (50) but totally unprepared physically. He's out on the third day. I also thought it was unfair to make the hikers use so called "Yukon Packs" instead of quality packs. Yukon packs consist of wrapping your gear into a tightly bundled tarp and strapping to your back. The straps use a lot of duct tape and there is no waist strap. I can understand this as a challenge for experienced hikers, but not for novices.

You can tell the V1U shots from the HDX900 shots. All the interviews are obviously done with the 900 as are scenic and helicopter aerials. Still the V1U works quite well and does not detract from the story. In the early morning and late evening scenes they boost gain so much that it looks like noisy daylight on a cloudy day. I think it would have been better to underexpose a bit, especially as they find themselves still hiking or setting up camp at dusk. Infrared is used for the nighttime shots.