George MacCallum, a self-shooting “one-man band”, set himself the challenge for the popular ‘What Caught My Eye’ session to re-equip his complete video production kit with the latest equipment for less than €20,000 – and succeeded, he said, with kit that was better, lighter, more robust and versatile.
He praised Sony’s A9 camera [Hall 13.A10] saying it could be an “excellent upgrade with a good battery, two SD slots, and just €5,400 for the body.”
MacCallum also picked the Canon E0S C200 camera [Hall 12.D60] capable of RAW 4K, with a touchscreen, face-following auto-focus “and very easy menu for
self-shooters”. Cost: €6,899.
Panasonic’s EVA-1 [Hall 11.C45] was also impressive and from the Varicam design team, extremely lightweight (at just 1.2kg for the body) and potentially very useful for drone use. Cost: €7,250.
As far as accessories were concerned, he loved the Shoulderpod [Hall 9.LP12] made by a Barcelona-based business with a strong design ethic. It is able to turn a smartphone into a production rig. “This could appeal to broadcasters and news journalists all over the world.” The kit was priced at between €40 and €120, and he bought one!
MacCallum also enthused over Force Servo’s Pointer Gimbal [Hall 8, B28] which was “really cool” with space to add other accessories. “It isn’t cheap but has so many applications, even for flying on kites, as well as vehicles.” Cost: €5,000.
Waterbird Systems’ Multi-Slider [Hall 11.B12] also caught his interest because of its adaptability, and allowed configuration into any number of shapes. It is app-driven, allowing for time-lapses and variable speed transitions. Cost: €5,000.
Aladdin’s Bi-Flex lighting panel [Hall 12.G80] was also “neat” in terms of size, weight and extreme adaptability.
Cost: About €700.
MacCallum also included the Røde Video Mic Pro [Hall 8.D56] praising its construction, small size, battery life and price. Cost: About €300.
‘What Caught My Eye’ sessions are held in Room E102 from 08:30-09:15.
