American Cinematographer - February 2005 - 86

Baltimore-Washington Based
*

SuperTechno 30™

*

Gyron F/S™ gyro-stabilized
helicopter system

exposure, the video image was
extremely bright and clear, while the
color response and gradation was pleas¬
ant and true. When the camera

XL2's

*

Stab-C™

*

Tracking systems for film & broadcast

*

gyro-stabilized head

the

www.aceeast.com

Remote Heads & Robotics

Baltimore MD /

PI

rolls, the

software also holds the

image exposure much more evenly as

for film & broadcast

B/W 410.243.4181

newer

*

Washington DC * New York

NY 212.944.0003

■

camera

ramps up to

speed (and also

stops). The real surprise,
however, was the videotap's perfor¬
mance with extreme underexposure.
Maintaining our light level on the chart,
we observed the tap's range as we grad¬
ually stopped down to a T16 - five full
stops underexposed. Though the noise
and video grain did become apparent at
T16, up until then the image was surpris¬
ingly close to a properly exposed video¬
tap image. The threshold of what I'd call
an "acceptable" video image occurred
beyond five stops underexposed. A T22
on the lens
six stops under the 2.8illuminated chart
looked pretty murky
and grainy, but it's a rare day when
you're exposing an entire scene at six
stops under!
Another extremely handy addi¬
tion to the video-tap optics path is a flipcover control panel located atop the
eyepiece block. Inside this tiny compart¬
ment are adjustments for the focus, posi¬
tioning and tilt. This is a great idea that
when

it

-

-

has been executed with consummate
Remote 11,5 m
Platform 8

m

precision. With more and more filmmak¬
supervising their work on a video
monitor, the ability to completely control
and correct the videotap has become

/ 37 ft

/ 26 ft

ers

critical.
The final modification to the

Grip Factory Munich
Grip Factory Munich GmbH
Furholzener StraBe 1
Remote 10

m

/ 33 ft 5 in

Eching-Munehen, Germany
Tel.:+49(0)89/31 9012 90
Fax: +49(0)89/319012 99
E-mail: info@g-f-m.net
www.g-f-m.net

85386

videotap's block are dual RS-232 ports
located on the top of the camera. These
ports are going to become increasingly
useful as new products offer electronic
data interfacing that can be displayed
within the video image. A primary use of
this port, for example, would be to feed
Panatape information to the assistant's
onboard LCD monitor. Additionally,
newer lenses equipped with data output
-

the modified Primo zooms, for exam¬

ple
ISAIA and Co.
4650 Lankershim Blvd.
North
Remote 8

/ 26 ft 4 in
/ 18 ft 10 in

m

Platform 5,7 m

Phone: +818-752-3104
Fax:

!

E-mail:
All GFM

82

cranes are

CE and TUV certified

Hollywood

CA 91602 USA
0111-/57-31 05

movies@isaia.com

www.isaia.com

two

will also plug into one of these
ports, allowing the data to be

-

on whatever
makers choose.

displayed

monitor the film¬

Aside from these technical and

physical improvements, Panavision is
American Cinematographer - February 2005

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