What to Buy?

I am majoring in film at Goddard College and Videomaker has been a great tool for me. This particle article on CMOS vs CCD was great. I used it for some of my critical research and writing. I have been in search mode for a camera - which camera would be good for, as an example, documentaries. If someone was focused on narratives, there are cameras that lend to that. As for me, I need a light-weight grab and go camera since I am doing mostly documentaries in the field.
-Suzin

We get the question "What camcorder should I get?" more than anything else. Due to staff time constraints and individual needs, we can't answer questions directly; however, this is also why we compile buyer's guides. The single best source for information on products is our online buyer's guides. We strive to keep them up-to-date with the most current information on several product categories, and are filterable so you can find the products and information you need quickly. Check out the December All Camcorder's Buyer's Guide for the most up-to-date listing we have online: www.videomaker.com/article/14143/
-The Editors

Just Like ESPN - But not

We are a sports video recording company. We use the slogan "We are the ESPN of amateur sports" We were wondering how far we can legally use this phrase? We saw your article on titles and found this to be very interesting, but we weren't able to get enough information to answer this particular question.
-Roberto Albarracin

We sent Mr. Albarracin's question to our contributing columnists and legal source, Mark Levy.
His reply:
The main questions that come up with this sort of thing are:
a) will the trademark owner be damaged by your use; and
b) will the public be deceived as to the ownership of your enterprise.

As for the first question, I do not believe that ESPN will be harmed by your use of its mark; in fact, I would argue that ESPN's mark would be enhanced by your use of the mark. This, of course, assumes that your recording company has high standards of quality and content and that it does not subject the ESPN mark to disparaging comments or besmirch the ESPN reputation.

As for the second question, again I see no problem, since you are expressly stating that you are NOT ESPN, but merely the ESPN of amateur sports. This is equivalent to the statement we often hear, "it is the Cadillac of the industry." That flattering remark does not imply that General Motors owns or endorses the product (e.g., vacuum cleaners) being compared to Cadillac autos.
- Mark Levy

Read more of Mr. Levy's advice in his "What's Legal" column www.videomaker.com/article/14537/ his focus is on wild sound captured when you're recording other events.
- The Editors

What's Up with RED's Scarlet?

Please, someone do an article on the Red Scarlet Camera! Any information would be greatly appreciated. Every piece of information that's been released about the Scarlet just keeps changing. Is it ever going to be released, and if so what will the final product be? Thousands of people everywhere want to know more without getting their info from blogs and forums.
- Shane Leddy

We're with you, Shane. We're as interested as you are in learning more about the Red Scarlet camera. It promises to bring film-quality acquisition to the masses for an extremely reasonable price. However, since the actual camcorder isn't finalized yet (as of the time of this writing), we have no idea as to how the final camcorder will actually spec out. As soon as we find out, we'll post the details in our online buyer's guide, and we'll also post a blog entry about it, too. Additionally, we will try our darndest to get a real actual working copy in to play with, test, pass around, ogle, drool over, review and tell you all about, as soon as it becomes more substance than vapor. Stay tuned!
- The Editors