My clients are demanding gear and I am tired of renting a camera for a specific job. I own the PMW-EX1 and that gets used quite a bit, but it is not a true broadcast camera. High end clients want high end cameras, even though I can fool many people by shooting with inexpensive gear.

Television is my life and I finally have enough contacts and work to justify this investment. I just need to figure out what type of camera system I want to purchase. The problem is, I work in broadcast television, use broadcast cameras but I don’t necessarily want a $60,000 broadcast camera.

I must decide, art or commerce? Experimental or a sure bet? A new direction or the same one?

Buying a Sony PDW-F800 would be a great camera for what I do. But, I do not necessarily want to keep shooting sports or sports features. I have the Letus Ultimate and b4 relay, so I could mount any prime lens to the XDCAM for the shallow depth of field. I would buy a Canon 21x lens and a Canon 4.5 wide angle lens. I would use Anton Bauer batteries and the super sweet Sony HDVF-20a high resolution viewfinder. I would try to push my gear and my talents to work on documentary or high end feature work with the Sony F800. This makes most sense to me. Plus, as far as I am concerned, the F800 is a real shoulder mounted camera.

Buying a RED ONE would be exciting. I have shot on RED and it is a futuristic, specialized creative tool that has a workflow that actually works for me. I like the free RED software for dealing with the r3d files. I shot a few things at 120 FPS and that alone was the reason I wanted to buy the camera. I could get into a different side of commercial television. The RED camera is only $17,500. However, to get it all fitted for my preferences, like shoulder mounted with bomb viewfinder and a full compliment of high end glass, would put me up to my budget cap. Plus, this camera purchase would be a stepping stone to the EPIC.

Finally, I could try something totally drastic and buy into a Phantom. This would require a business loan and all of my budget to get this to happen. There are very few people shooting at high frame rates with a Phantom camera in the Boston area and I could bite into the market.

I wanted to know what the people on Twitter who follow my tweet stream thought about my potential camera purchase. I posted this on twitter a few hours ago: “Tweet your opinions now on: RED ONE, SONY F800, PHANTOM & be part of future blog debate on my site.” I had many people respond and I will post the tweets below.

Many people on twitter are pushing for the RED. Adam makes a good point about how the camera system can cost more than you think when you start buying high end glass and accessories. Also, a friend of mine owns the RED and he has been going though firmware updates since the day he bought the camera. Good or bad? I do not know, but if I buy a Sony F800, it will just work right out of the box and has been proven to be a workhouse in the field.

I have shot on HDCAM for many years. The format that the TV station I work for uses is 1080i. The HDW-730s shoots great looking HDCAM at 135mbps, but you need a deck to play it back and this is a weak point with all the moving parts. They are now moving over to master everything on 1080p and they are using all XDCAM optical disk. I was recently very surprised to find a HDW-730s HDCAM on eBay without a lens selling for under $16k! This tape-based camera a few years ago cost $70k!

Christian, XDCAM 422 is here to stay, in my opinion. It is not a tape format, nor is it solid state. XDCAM optical disks are cheap and a great way to have the “videotape” in hand to store on a shelf. The format is very robust and has been accepted as a primary acquisition HD format by many television stations and networks. The workflow for XDCAM 50mbps 422 is wonderful and does not tax an edit system or storage because of the increased compression. But, even with this compression, the stuff looks great. In fact, a guy that works at the same television station I mentioned above thinks that XDCAM 50mpbs 422 looks better than HDCAM! I agree with him after shooting with the PDW-700 a few weeks ago and looking at the source footy.

Rob, the RED footy looks much better than the 5dmk2 because of the color space and the aliasing issues found in current DLSR cmos chips. Plus, you can shoot at over 4k on a RED ONE and have much more creative control in post to manipulate the images.

I hear, “it depends on your use” a lot when I post the question, “what camera should I buy?” I agree with this. But for me, that is a very difficult question because I am not certain what I want to do with the camera! I want to do it all, but cannot have it all.

Tom, I know you shoot with the RED ONE on a regular basis. How have you dealt with the firmware updates? Have they put you out of work while the camera had to be serviced? Have you found any bugs in the system that caused you problems when in the field? How happy are you with the accessories and making the camera fit for your needs?

As far as being obsolete in a year, I just look at the cameras we use at work today to cover professional sports in Boston. They were manufactured in 2002 and they are high definition. They are all Sony cameras and they have held their own over the years and worked though the abuse of field use.

And yes, I have played with all three of these camera systems. I really love the F800 because it is what I know best. I can control it the best and feel the most comfortable with it. But it can’t shoot 4k or at high frame rates!

Chris is right, it is a matter of art vs. commerce. I really want to take the plunge and spend all my money to start shooting at high frames rates. But for all that cash, using a camera that is so new and constantly improved (low light, more fps, less noise) I need to be sure that I can trade up if I buy in.

Lots of people say go RED, but will this camera open up new doors for me or will I struggle to get clients who will let me experiment and shoot outside the box. I do really want to experiment.

The thought of using a NANOflash is a interesting one. I could buy an inexpensive camera and capture high bit rates with the nanoflash for clients who want more picture info for stuff like green screen.

Yes, the most important thing is what will bring in the most income. But a close second would be “what camera will stoke the fire in me to get out and shoot for fun?” I love shooting on my days off and experimenting with ideas.

Buying a RED ONE now, will help me get into very interesting digital cinema technology down the road.

If I buy the Sony F800, I am all set to accept the workflow and edit the footy. Final Cut Pro works with XDCAM files nativity and easily. I have the Sony PDW-U1 USB deck and it is a great tool for the money. You can even write-back to an XDCAM disk and use for data archiving.

The F800 is a beautiful camera for broadcast television. I shot with the 700 a few weeks ago with the Boston Celtics and was blown away by the sharpness, color and image.

I mostly do run-and-gun, but high end commercial work could be in my future as well. Plus, television stations I work for latched onto the 35mm lens adapter “film-look.” I have made a lot of money with the Sony PMW-EX1 and the Letus Ultimate. I still make money with the camera system. These same clients would be willing to hire me to shoot specialized footy for promos and features at high frame rate and in insane resolution. The creative services departments would have a field day!

I can always rent whatever I don’t buy for those specific jobs. But my biggest fear will be buying into a camera that will not pay off and will turn into a dead format. I am staying away from videotape, so I should be ok!

I will be spending sixty plus thousand dollars in the next few months on a camera system. I will probably wait until NAB this spring to chat with Sony and look for some sort of a show deal.

Thank you for all your help. The information in your comments are tweets are helping me to decide what to buy. These are three totally different cameras. I must find the balance between art and income. Please post more comments below to further the debate.

As of right now, I want a full sized PDW-F800 XDCAM. But then I see footy shot at night with the new updated Mysterium X sensor and my swing back over to RED! What would you buy?

The 2010 NHL Winter Classic is finally over. Time to thaw out. Strike was just under three hours, not that bad.

The Bruins beat the Flyers in overtime at Fenway Park today 2-1. Not the best hockey, but a storybook ending for the Bruins and all the hockey fans that packed the ballpark.

I had a great day shooting for the CBC (Canada). The weather was perfect, just below freezing. My camera was a Sony HDC-1500 with a great viewfinder and nice 21x lens. I had a nice little spot on the right side at ice level with a clean piece of glass and a chair to sit on. My utilities worked hard and helped to manage my cable when I was asked to move around to get different shots. I followed the Bruins off and on the ice and shot interviews ice side. The video guys and truck engineers were very helpful and worked hard to make my job easier!

One problem I had was a frozen cap on a SMPTE fiber cable. I unplugged my camera and ran to grab a shot of the Dropkick Murphy’s on stage, but my stage cable was useless. I had a separate cable run for the performance because the set was far away from the rink. I could not get the protective metal cap off the thing to save my life. Quick thinking and with the help of two utilities, I was able to get my ice cable (game position) run out and just managed to reach the stage as the band turned toward me. This adaptation only delayed me about two minutes…live television can be stressful when an issue like this pops up.

I then shot the Canadian and US national anthem as James Taylor delivered a great rendition. If you watched the game in Canada, you saw my neck breaking tilting twist as I tracked the bomber jet as it ripped through the Boston sky as James left the stage.

During the game, I got a few replays and the director liked to cut in the low camera, so I was very busy.

I was distracted all night by the thoughts that other camera guys where capturing the action in 3D and at very high frames rates. I was only shooting 1080i HDTV!

The 3ality Digital folks where shooting for NHL Network with a single over/under (pictured above) rig from four different locations. They positioned a O’Connor film tripod at the right back corner at ice level, at the blue line right side, at the bench for player shots, and right near the crowd. They also had a second 3D camera at the high first baseball position. Not sure if they had a third 3D setup somewhere else, I was too busy with my own stuff.

As I shot the action at 30 frames per second, just a few feet away from me the NHL Network was also capturing the game at very high frames rates. They were using this super sick Phantom HD GOLD camera with a Angenieux Optimo 21x 24mm-290mm f2.8 film zoom lens. The operator had a follow focus and a servo zoom demand mounted to a rear pan handle. The viewfinder was a Sony color hi res. They were using a drive mounted on the top of the camera body to capture the data. The entire thing was powered by Anton Bauer lunch box brick batteries.

NHL Network also had a RED ONE on the other side of the rink. The footage from these cameras will be used in high-end projects like commercials and promos for the NHL. But this is also just an experiment and I look forward to working with the NHL as they begin to implement this exciting digital technology into the sport of hockey. Real nice people over at the NHL Network.

Patrick and I wandered out onto the ice at the end of the game. I pulled out my Panasonic Lumix camera and shot a quick video while standing on the Fenway Park ice with my broadcast camera on my shoulder. Wish I had brought my skates!

Sorry this blog was rushed, I can’t stop to take pictures when other people are working for me! This was a wild sports broadcast.

You can read more about the set day for this production and a video blog I shot early in the process by clicking here.

I have been very busy with my television work lately and when I’m not shooting for broadcast, I am up in the mountains shooting astro-timelapses. I just wanted to post something new to my site because it has been a little while since my last post! I shot the picture above yesterday afternoon on the Swift River in New Hampshire with the Canon 5Dmk2. Awesome light at 4:30pm in the afternoon!

I fired off a few more shots with the Canon 5dmk2. A few of these are still images from a astro-timelapse I shot two nights ago. This really is an amazing camera.

I am working all the home Bruins hockey games this winter and also sneaking off to shoot a documentary in Florida the first week of December. I will be working on another documentary that will take me all over the country during the next two months and I will blog as I work in different cities. Perhaps, if I have time, I can meet up with a few of you who follow my blog.

If you live in the New England area, tune into the New England Sports Network and check out the promos I shot for the hockey show, “The Instigators”. I used the Sony PMW-EX1 and Letus Ultimate to shoot a bunch of childhood pranks the TV show hosts played on each other. I hope to get some of this on my website soon. The promos are running around the clock during commercial breaks.

In other news, my parents moved to Arizona a few months back and they really want me to visit them! My Dad, in the picture above, is enjoying his “Arizona Freedom” with his Harley and some sort of assault rifle. He use to be a cop, but I think he is taking his retirement way too far! My parents also have my dog, Zac, and I miss him a ton. I am going to try to get out there mid December and I will be bringing my Canon 5dmk2 camera to shoot a few astro-timelapses. I will post these directly to my website since they will not be part of the night time lapse project I am working on. That big project won’t be ready until next year.

I will also be pulling the trigger on a $60,000 camera package. I am still not certain if I will go RED ONE or Sony PDW-f800. I am leaning towards the Sony f800 and will post a blog on the strengths and weakness of both. I really could use your help on what I should buy. Your opinion could help sway my decision.

I will be shooting more with the RED ONE in the up coming months. I am going to be shooting snowboarding in New Hampshire at 120 FPS and hope to shoot some winter storm stock footage at 4k.

I am already planning a trip (vacation) this summer to the Vancouver area to downhill mountain bike Whistler B.C. I have always wanted to get out that way and I am putting time away to do it.

Finally, I have a few blogs that I keep promising all of you. I have all the pieces and I just need to sit down and put them all together. I have a blog half done talking about the new Cox Communications “HD Sprinter” remote television truck. This truck is using Sony PMW-EX3 cameras and Nipros fiber optic adapters to cover sports with multiple cameras in HD. Yes, that is a $50,000 Fujinon 42x 2/3 inch TV lens being mounted to an EX3 in the above picture!

I also need to post a blog about the current state of live sports television and the new MSG TV New York NHL hockey truck. I have a big blog I need to do about the RED ONE camera and the 4k workflow with Adobe Premiere. Plus a ton of you are asking for details on the dolly that I use. I must take pictures of that to help you all build your very own!

My house at the top of the mountain. I am writing this blog from inside! The genny is almost out of gas and the batteries are dead since the solar panels don’t work anymore. I will have to replace them at some point. The satellite internet connection is spotty because the wind is howling outside. I wish this place had a bathroom.

I have been enjoying my days off! Taking pictures of my hand reflecting in a small pool of water trapped in a rotten hole of a tree in the middle of nowhere. Now where did I put my mountain bike?

It is also looking good that I will be at NAB 2010 this April. I am really looking forward to this, I had so much fun last year and made a lot of new friends in the television business.

That is about it. Sorry that I have not kept this page updated. It is a lot of work. I just got around to answering 58 emails I have received through my website during the month of October. I hope some of the stuff I know can help you make better television and films. That is really why I spend my free time working on this website.

-Tom

But, I really like the way this footage was shot. Kinda like my style, no zooming, prime lenses, dolly, high frame rates, subtle panning, locked off shots with good composition! By posting the video here I will always have access to it when I’m stressed out and need to ride my bike!

I assume this was shot on the RED ONE at mostly 120 frames per second. I will find out. I love this footage and I like the song too!

A little background: This is the extended cut of a one minute advertisement by The Leith Agency. I am not certain they are the production company behind the camerawork, but I will find out.

When watching this video, keep in mind how simple the shots are. No cranes or jibs. There are a few tracking shots out of a car/truck that are very smooth and I would like to know exactly how they were done. Also, watch for focus pull and pushes, there are a few of them that were done perfectly.

Remember that this is just a bunch of raw footage cut together. There are a few bad edits I noticed, but overall I like most of it. There does not seem to be any color grading, which is a shame.

In the ad, street trials rider Danny MacAskill performs a serious of spectacular stunts for Scotland’s recruitment site, s1jobs.com.

Music is ‘Barriers’ by Aereogramme from their album ‘My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go’ on Glasgow’s Chemikal Underground Records.

Take a look. The 4 minute 21 second video is first and the tightened one minute advert is second. I like the way the kid takes his bike out his front door, looks up at the cloudy, rainy sky, shrugs his shoulder and hits the road! I ride my bike in any weather, but I do not ride to work, I ride to get away from work. And I still love my job. Hmmm.

By shooting in the rain, the cinematographer had wet shiny streets! I love that. The only drawback to shooting in these dark and gray conditions is that everything is flat! But, with the shallow DOF and the prime lenses, you can still have fun with it. Plus, it does get sunny as the video moves along.

And the one minute advertisement:

Great riding and better cinematography. Danny website: http://www.dannymacaskill.co.uk/