Combat Camera: Video in the Military (page 2)

Most of those cameras are still Sony Betacams because that's the preferred format in the civilian broadcast world, but for the last two years, the military has been making the transition to consumer formats.

Navy and Air Force shooters are still using Sony Professional cameras, switching between dockable Hi8 and DVCAM backs, depending on the assignment. And Elliot says Panasonic decks are used everyday for play back.

"Everything that we use at the Department of Defense is off the shelf," Elliott says. "We no longer have manufacturers build special cameras for combat camera units."

Elliott says consumer gear works well for military use because it's designed with industrial needs in mind. But the best equipment is only as good as the shooter.

Military videographers are the best of the best. Only senior Navy photographers take on video duties. Shooters in Protz' group spend a year at Syracuse University learning to write, edit and narrate the video they shoot. They're more than one-man bands, they're one-man orchestras.

Air Force videographers are trained to become video specialists. Funk says shooters go through a basic training course at the Visual Information Center, learning all aspects of audio and video and how they relate. Videographers must be experienced beyond the apprentice level before being assigned to any type of combat unit.

Whether it's a skirmish with a hostile power or a training exercise, military videographers cover it all. Within the four branches of the service about 2,000 photographers keep daily tabs on the activities of the more than two million American service personnel. And now, with the help of video, Americans can see what's happening on the front lines faster than ever.

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