PIX 240 and FS100

[Bill Kerrigan]

Is anyone using a Pix 240 video recorder with a FS100?
If so... how and where have you mounted the recorder?

[Chuck Green]

I've been using the FS100 with a PIX 240 for 2 weeks. My former career is as a finish carpenter, and I've built 2 moderately simple mounts for the recorder.. After using both, which mount to the camera's 2 upper 1/4-20 holes, I've decided to work with a new design attaching to the bottom holes. This will be fabricated for me by a man who works with wrought iron, but is so simple he will have it completed in 5 minutes. I'll provide a link to photos if anyone wants to see the 2 that I've used.

The trick of having the PIX 240 above the camera is that it must be high enough to be able to open the LCD screen, and ideally to be able to close it too with the recorder still mounted. The 240 has I/O connectors on the right side which extend downwards, so the box needs to have its mounting point fairly high above the camera body, about 7 inches, or an inch less if the 240 is offset to the right far enough to get those connectors over beyond the camera's screen. With the upcoming bottom mount solution, it will extend up only 5", and be set well to the left side of the camera..

The 240 itself is limited with only the 1 mounting point. Any mounting system for it needs either to be fairly narrow, to avoid blocking its cooling fan, or have a way to keep any accessory support arm set back from the unit. I use a hollow 1/2" thick nylon spacer (from any large hardware store) between the 240 and the support arms, with a 1/4-20 screw running through the spacer.

[Matt Martin]

Hi,
when using the PIX 240, how much of a quality improvement do you see compared to footage recorded to an SDHC card? I'm sure the quality difference will depend on what type of footage you are shooting (lots of camera movement versus locked down, low-light versus well lit, etc., things you need to do a lot of work in post with for green screen, color correction versus stuff you want to just get the look right out of the cam), but I'd love to get your take on your experience. Thank you very much,
Matt

[Bill Kerrigan]

In December I saw a PIX 240 at a trade show in Montreal... with a 2nd mounting point on the front bottom.
Sound Devices should release it soon.

Originally Posted by Chuck Green

I've been using the FS100 with a PIX 240 for 2 weeks. My former career is as a finish carpenter, and I've built 2 moderately simple mounts for the recorder.. After using both, which mount to the camera's 2 upper 1/4-20 holes, I've decided to work with a new design attaching to the bottom holes. This will be fabricated for me by a man who works with wrought iron, but is so simple he will have it completed in 5 minutes. I'll provide a link to photos if anyone wants to see the 2 that I've used.

The trick of having the PIX 240 above the camera is that it must be high enough to be able to open the LCD screen, and ideally to be able to close it too with the recorder still mounted. The 240 has I/O connectors on the right side which extend downwards, so the box needs to have its mounting point fairly high above the camera body, about 7 inches, or an inch less if the 240 is offset to the right far enough to get those connectors over beyond the camera's screen. With the upcoming bottom mount solution, it will extend up only 5", and be set well to the left side of the camera..

The 240 itself is limited with only the 1 mounting point. Any mounting system for it needs either to be fairly narrow, to avoid blocking its cooling fan, or have a way to keep any accessory support arm set back from the unit. I use a hollow 1/2" thick nylon spacer (from any large hardware store) between the 240 and the support arms, with a 1/4-20 screw running through the spacer.

[Bill Kerrigan]

Originally Posted by Matt Martin

Hi,
when using the PIX 240, how much of a quality improvement do you see compared to footage recorded to an SDHC card? I'm sure the quality difference will depend on what type of footage you are shooting (lots of camera movement versus locked down, low-light versus well lit, etc., things you need to do a lot of work in post with for green screen, color correction versus stuff you want to just get the look right out of the cam), but I'd love to get your take on your experience. Thank you very much,
Matt

Prior to this I've been using a nanoFash and Ninja recorder.

My reasons for buying the PIX 240 were:
- Many producers don't want to use AVCHD
- Many broadcasters demand 50mbs or more.
- Green Screen
- The recorders will work on 4 of my cameras
- I can record all day on one drive
- It records Quicktime files for quick edits
- The recorder doubles as an excellent 5 inch field monitor


My first PIX 240 shoot will be Jan. 10 2012.

[Matt Martin]

Thanks Bill!

Let me know what you think after your shoot in January - I'm very interested in buying a FS100 once a good Canon mount comes out for it, and interested in the advantages of using an external recorder like the PIX 240. Thanks a lot,

Matt