Jackson Wong

PENTAX K-30 is a camera that can allow you shooting independence. This DSLR joins a special class of cameras that are capable of both recording quality stills and video and withstanding water and dust. The weather sealing and rubber grip will let you operate the K-30 in the fog of a mountain and down in a dusty [...]

Let us first take the SLT-A37, this Translucent Mirror Technology camera is another first-step available for those that are curious about DSLRs. Shooting will be a joy with the 1,440,000 dot resolution in the electronic viewfinder, and how would we maintain creativity without a tilting 2.7-inch LCD? As for the core of the SLT-A37, we’re looking at [...]

The FinePix XP170 is an up-to-date version of the FinePix  XP20 that is really becoming an evolving process and this time it comes quick since the FinePix XP100 and FinePix XP150 showed up just last January. The newest addition is a welcome one, more so by your friends and family since sharing photos with Android and iPhone users is [...]

In honor of CTIA 2012, we want videographers to be more aware of wireless terms, some you may know, but the less you need to glance at glossaries, the better. These come from a few  CTIA pages on consumer information , 1. Federal Communications Commission (FCC):  An independent U.S. government agency responsible with regulating interstate and international communications by [...]

The OM-D E-M5 from Olympus is a fresh look at mirrorless camera technology with a solid little body that is ready as ever to bring you joy while shooting video. If we start at the top of this device, we begin with a huge highlight. The electronic viewfinder (EVF) senses when it is put to your [...]

Have you decided to start editing video, but don’t know where to begin? The  Videomaker Basic Editing Webinar is aimed at answering your hardware and software questions, as well as providing information on how to use pacing, transitions, motivated edits, and more in order to start editing great videos. By learning the techniques and information taught [...]

Spotlight: HP Z1 – Workstation We’ve been watching this one for a while, and a good thing  since it’s going to change the layout of lots of video editor’s desktops. The Z1 brings the upgradeability of a workstation to the desktop, and an all in one desktop at that. Building from a good base is a life [...]

Spotlight: AJA’s T-TAP For a little device, the T-TAP will be a very important adapter. It will not only support 10-bit uncompressed video files up to 2K and 3D, but it can transfer those plus 8-channel audio through the HDMI or SDI outputs. The incredibly simple, single input is Thunderbolt, which  will draw power from your Mac. [...]

Spotlight – Autodesk Smoke 2013 Post-production Software Visual effects and Autodesk seem to go together extremely well, generally, Autodesk Smoke has been used by only top level professionals, but now Smoke 2013 is shaking that notion. The redesign from node to layer-based editing is one part of this overhaul, and the brightest part of the deal, what was [...]

Spotlight: Blackmagic Cinema Camera For all the cinema camera’s we’ve looked up, none look like the Blackmagic Cinema Camera , this one almost has an Apple-feel in its unique silver casing, black rubber grips and hard drive-esque form. With resolution at 2592×2192, images captured by this camera have the potential for the cinema and the format may be either 2.5 [...]

Best accessory – Roland R26 Portable 6 Track Audio Recorder We know first hand how useful handheld field recorders are, and the R-26 is sure to be a valuable tool for any videographer. Being able to record six tracks may seem like overkill for video, but it’s actually three stereo and will make it great for interviews and [...]

Spotlight – Canon 5D Mark III DSLR Camera Canon seems to do so many things right when it comes to video on their DSLRs and the 5D Mark III is the next “right” camera. Start with 22MP, a 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor, EF mount lenses, 1920×1080 video at 30p, 25p or 24p and toss in 61-point AF [...]

Best Support – Zacuto Recoil Stabilizer The support is only as good as the operator, and in this case it is you, the idea with the Recoil is that the camera will rest on your shoulder. It combines the Gorilla Baseplate which uses both 3/8 and 1/4-inch screws. What’s special about the Recoil is mounting the camera directly [...]

Spotlight: VizTools’ HandiZoom – Zoom Controller The HandiZoom provides camera and zoom controls to your fingertips, and helps stabilize your shooting. The motorized drive for manipulating the zoom helps ensure a smooth motion. It can also be set at a maximum speed. The HandGrip balances well in one hand, freeing you to dedicate your second hand to [...]

Best Editing Software: Adobe Production Premium Creative Suite 6 – Editing Suite Adobe you know, what you’re waiting on is CS6 and rightly so, it will be a very strong presence in the video editing world for good reason, such as a clean and easy to use interface and good utilization of 64-bit processing. The suite combines big [...]

Best Camcorder: Sony NEX-FS700U – 4K High Speed Camcorder Now the NEX-FS700U is worth talking about, as a 4K camera with a Super CMOS 35mm sensor and optimization for high-speed shooting, we don’t know where to start. We couldn’t give this one the best camera at NAB without mentioning the E-mount that will accept a host of [...]

Best Light: Videssence ExceLED Kit These studio lights pack in versatility. Any of the series, E025, E050, E100 and E225 will be good for fill light while the 25 and 50 will also excel as key or back lights, and both the E100 and E225 will be good as general lights for an entire set. The E025 is [...]

Spotlight: SmallHD’s DP7 – Pro Field Monitor We like many other video professionals have come to appreciate the products from SmallHD, and the  DP7 is another such monitor. There are two versions at the same price, one with high brightness and the other using an OLED. With brightness as great as 1000nit it’ll be easy to monitor outdoors beneath [...]

Using webcams or recording from the desk are rarely our preferred locations for shoots, but a big part of that is not having great lighting at our disposal. Videssence must have come up to this instance as well and so they developed the ViewMe S and ViewMe B/B2 lighting kits to help clear things up. The big idea [...]

Sennheiser SKP 300 G3 plug-on transmitter is a very handy accessory to just about any audio kit. The transmitter allows those top-notch microphones to become wireless, saving space by eliminating cables which also provides freedom. No wireless signal is complete without a receiver, and the EK 100 G3 is welcome match here. The applications are numerous, for [...]