Updated August 19th, 2001 Sponsors Index  |  bottom of page

DV Info Net's Highly Trusted, Widely
Recognized and Deeply Valued Sponsors

The decision to accept advertising was a difficult one. To make a long story short, the reason you see banner ads on this website is two-fold. First, they answer a very common but very important question: where to buy. I've contracted with only the best dealers in the video equipment business... their reputations speak for themselves. All of these vendors are honest, up-front and reliable (and believe me, I've turned down a lot of advertising opportunities from many companies which just don't fit this mold). My own self-imposed rule is that I'll never run a banner ad for a vendor that I don't implicitly trust myself. There are a lot of bad apples and rip-off artists out there, and I know who they are. I also know who the shining knights are, and you'll find them right here.

  Professional Tape & Communication Supply

Ever since I was an undergrad at the University of Texas at Austin, I've always bought blank videotape and other media from Pro Tape. I've known these guys for years and years, and I was very happy to see them embrace the internet with online ordering. I'm proud to put Pro Tape on my website, and if you need blank media of any kind, you'll find their prices competitive and their service excellent. What's more, they're now authorized Canon and JVC camcorder dealers as well. Need tape? Pro Tape.

  SkyCrane -- The Mini-DV Camera Boom

Available directly from Bob Jones in Costa Mesa, California. Bob has been tracking Watchdog development from the very beginning, and one day he gave me a call to tell me about a camera crane he built for the XL1. The rest is history... Bob's SkyCrane series of superbly designed, well built and affordable camera cranes for DV camcorders are among the best on the market. If you need altitude for your shots or that special fluid movement, a SkyCrane fills the bill.

  VariZoom Lens Controls

I used to complain a lot about the poor zoom and focus controls on all prosumer camcorders. Then I found out about Tom McKay and VariZoom Lens Controls, just up the road from me in Austin, Texas. No doubt about it, a VariZoom is the number one accessory for any camcorder, without question the most useful tool you could ever buy to improve your videography. I'm a huge advocate of VariZoom and their outstanding product line, and I'm very happy to promote them here on my website.

  ZGC Motion Picture Film & Video Sales and Service

Les Zellan and Barb Lowry's ZGC in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, is the stateside distributor for Cooke lenses and Optex products from the UK, and is an authorized dealer for Canon, Sennheiser, Tiffen and a number of other DV and film equipment manufacturers. ZGC began primarily as a caterer to the high-end motion picture film industry, but with the explosion of DV among independant filmmakers, ZGC now specializes in this area as well.

  Zotz Digital

From Grant's Pass, Oregon, Zotz Digital is an authorized Apple, Canon and JVC dealer specializing in custom audio and video recording packages and nonlinear DV editing systems. Zotz sells both NTSC and PAL system camcorders, and is an authorized dealer for Bogen, CasesPlus, Videonics and a variety of other manufacturers. Zotz Digital owner Brian Longley is himself a talented musician with experience in network television ("The Waltons" and other films), whose bands have opened for Steppenwolf, Robin Trower, and Poco to name a few. The Zotz staff includes Emmy-award winning videographers who know the business and their goal is to ship the same day as an order is received.

The second reason I do the banner ads: they help to provide this service, and their support guarantees that this website will always be a free service to you... no registration required (except, of course, for the community message boards). I really enjoy working on this site, but it takes time and time is money. Nobody has offered to buy the site yet, so I'm really on my own to put it together. The input from these sponsors allows me to do that, and still put food on the table and pay my bills. So, I hope you'll give them your business, not only because they help make DVInfo.Net possible, but because they're the best DV equipment vendors you can find. Seriously.

By the way, I know all of these vendors personally, and I see them whenever I can, at trade shows and other events. For anybody who asks, can I trust them? my answer is an enthusiastic YES! If you have any other questions about these dealers, please don't hesitate to ask me.