Great Grip Finds

New camera support products, from batteries to bags, that keep you shooting on schedule and on budget.

This year, I hit the floor of the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas with a clear agenda: Find cool new grip gadgets and shooting accessories that often get overlooked amid scene stealers like the RED camera or Apple’s latest version of Final Cut Studio. The products I’m talking about are those supporting players you can’t live without- batteries, tripods, booms, bags, rigs and other must-haves that round out your kit.

I found my favorite new product in the form of a battery at the Sachtler booth, a regular stop during my annual NAB rounds. The "FSB Cell" (Functional System Block) is a high-capacity, 7.2-volt, lithium-ion battery system for smaller camcorders that sandwiches between your camera and your tripod head. It has its own quick release adapter so the camera can detach just like it were on the tripod directly. Or you can quick release the battery from the tripod head and keep it with the camera. The unit only adds about two inches to the bottom of any camera and the minimal extra bulk is worth it. Instead of the hour or two of shooting time you typically get with most HDV camcorders, you can now go a full day (about eight hours). The added 1.4 pounds battery weight also improves camera stability, since the mass is added to the center of gravity, where it should be. Though the battery is compatible with small-format HD and HDV cameras from Sony, Canon and Panasonic (Sachtler makes the adapter cables you need to connect it), it was created with Sachtler’s new FSB 2 and FSB 6 fluid tripod heads clearly in mind and works best when used with one of them. It is scheduled to begin shipping at the end of July.

I found a nearly identical product at the Anton Bauer booth. The ElipZ battery system, which was shown for the first time at NAB 2006, features similar design and shooting benefits. But the tripod connectivity is a little more versatile, due to the industry standard 1/4-20 universal thread mount on the bottom of the battery. Anton Bauer also has a variety of accessories for the ElipZ, such as the HubZ and SpokeZ, which let you add and position other camera accessories freely with the battery. Anton/Bauer extends this range with EgripZ, a pair of handles that mount to the bottom of the battery for shoulder shooting ease, and a cool camera light called the ElightZ.

It’s not surprising that these very similar products are available from these two different companies. Both Sachtler and Anton Bauer are now part of The Vitec Group, which has been acquiring most of the top names in camera support during the past few years. Under the Broadcast Systems Division, Vitec is now home to industry names such as Vinten, O’Connor, Petrol, Sachtler and Anton Bauer. The Imaging and Staging Division includes Bogen Imaging, Manfrotto, Gitzo, Kata, and most recently, Tomcat Lighting and Support. Bexel and ASG rental houses round out the group’s Services Division.

Vitec’s Imaging and Staging is still primarily committed to serving the still photography market, but both the Italian-based Manfrotto and Gitzo have new products that target smaller video cameras and the needs of independent shooters. Manfrotto says video business accounts for about 30 percent of its total market, and as the size of professional video cameras continues to shrink, the compact tripod market can only grow. Manfrotto was showing new fluid heads as part of its video tripod kits, the 501HDV and 503HDV (see "Gear Up," June issue), but it also introduced a more rugged version, the 561B, of what it has called the first fluid video monopod, the 560B. Imagine a shot that calls for fluid tilts and smooth pans, but which backs you into a tight, cramped corner, and you can start to imagine how useful the monopod could be. The 561B can support nearly 9 pounds, and could easily be an HVX200 or a V1U with batteries attached. And even more rugged version, the 562B, supports cameras and gear up to 17 lbs. As added insurance, each model comes with retractable stainless steel feet. For more panning range, you could even attach the monopod to Manfrotto’s popular FigRig stabilizer, created with and first used by Mike Figgis on location in Venice for his film Hotel (2001).

Manfrotto’s sister brand, Gitzo, bills itself as the Mercedes in the fleet. In the factory it shares with the Manfrotto brands, in Feltre, at the base of the Italian Dolomites, all the rods are finished and quality-checked by hand. (This artisanal approach nets about 300 tripods a day, compared to Manfrotto’s 1,200 tripods daily, which are created and finished both by hand and machine.) Gitzo created the first carbon fiber tripods and continues to engineer sturdy but lightweight rods with a variety of new compounds and natural sources, such as volcanic basalt. Gitzo also makes extremely lightweight but very sturdy booms and fluid video heads. The G2180 fluid video head holds cameras up to 8.8 pounds and comes in a matte black finish. The Carbon 6X G-Lock booms are made from a process of cross-layered carbon fibers, like the Gitzo tripod rods, which make them rigid but lighter than most. The locking system also means you or your sound guy can set up and adjust your mic on a dime.

By the way, Gitzo makes one of the most compact carbon fiber tripods on the market, the Gitzo Traveler. This is the one to throw in the backpack or briefcase with your still camera when scouting for locations or doing previz for your next project. It extends to regular tripod height, but is 25 percent shorter than any other tripod on the market when folded. I’ve even read on the boards how some video folks like to combine Gitzo sticks with Vinten heads, though this model is strictly for still cameras.

Another great traveling companion, the K-Tek Avalon Traveler Boom, fits in standard equipment cases. A new version, made of graphite, extends from a mere 22 inches, when compact, up to 7.8 feet.

Before I left for NAB, I got an e-mail from a Danish company called Ugrip, which was making its U.S. debut at the show. When I finally arrived at their booth on the second day of the exhibition, I found an awesome range of high-end camera handles and accessory mounting plates and frames for anyone who does a lot of hand-held shooting. For Run-and-Gun shooting style, in fact, I haven’t seen anyone making a more versatile system. The company introduced three basic products: a base plate, the grips themselves and an adjustable little frame for mounting more gear to your rig, either to the handle or underneath. I loved the fact that these frames can be stacked to add more gear! The machining and metal work appear to be top quality. The engineers and designers, based in Copenhagen, have thought of every conceivable use for the company hardware, all with minimal tools. For example, you can stack up multiple units by using a single screwdriver to do it. Extra frames give you room for a DTE, hard drive recorder and a wireless mic receiver, for example.

The grips themselves are marvelous. You can angle the handles in various ways, both upright or under the camera plate. You can also replace the specialized skins over the handles if you need to. There are ¼-inch screw mounts on the handles in case you want to add a zoom rocker switch, a light or an LCD monitor. The Ugrip setups would make action shooting a breeze. The system could also do double duty on still shoots. I’m thinking about ordering a base plate and handles to mount a flash unit and add a durable carry handle to my Canon EOS 5D.

It seems the LED has replaced the fluorescent tube, halogen, incandescent and every other conventional bulb as the light source of choice. LED arrays and panels were everywhere this year. While many LED-based products were introduced in 2006, the low-cost, low-heat, lightweight and low-power consumption benefits of the technology have made it spread. I visited the Litepanels booth to see how LED panels make a difference in action. The panels are definitely cooler when you stand in front of them, though they are still light panels and are warm to the touch. LED panels tend to be fairly large, due to the sheer number of diodes required to produce a large, even lighting field. A single diode is likely to last until you retire, but it does not have much to offer in light output. Most panel manufacturers, Litepanels included, mount hundreds of LEDs into a tray and add a reflector; the tray comes with the appropriate c-stand mounts or other grip attachment points. If you need something smaller, Litepanels offers square panels that can be used singly or mounted into a "yoke" (frame) to make custom sizes, such as a 2 x 2 or 4 x 4 arrangement. My favorite panel is the Ringlite, which mounts to the end of a camera lens, giving you even light directly at your subject. It also keeps the top of the camera clear, unlike shoe mount lights. The panels can be customized with a variety of gels and filters when you need to create specific color temperatures as needed and lithium-ion batteries can be used for shots where AC is not available.

Last, but most important, the right bag means all of the above gets where you’re going safely and with a minimum of extra weight and bulk. Kata, based in Israel, makes great, tough bags that you can easily customize depending on your own assortment of gear odds and ends. The company’s newest bags include the OC-86, OC-88 and OC-97, which can all be configured for lights, video cameras or stands. Bellina Israel, Kata’s product manager, usually spends a good portion of her time at the booth during NAB jumping mercilessly on her products to show customers just how tough the bags really are. They really can take a beating, despite being light enough to throw over your shoulder. They also benefit from Kata’s Thermo-Shield Technology (TST), which is baked into the outer foam so you don’t have to worry about your gear baking when left out in the sun. As more HD cameras are heading into extreme locations, Kata has responded with a new line of camera guards tailored to the Panasonic HVX200, Sony Z1U, JVC GY-HD100 and 200, and Canon Xl H1. The new camera guards, made of semi-rigid foam, neatly protect every inch of your investment from the elements, as well as from scratches and nicks that might result from some very rough run-and-gun shooting.

Right after NAB, Petrol introduced a great bag for sound gear, called the Sound Knapsack. With three main compartments fitted with see-through but tough vinyl, and eight pouches for your headphones, batteries, connectors, mics, etc., the bag is large enough to also stow your laptop, as long as it’s no bigger than a 17-inch screen model. The front section has pockets for your keys, wallet, pens and notebooks, and there’s a central net pocket for your boom.

There are a million other great gadgets, rigs and add-ons out there to fit into your kit and I’m sure you have found a few great accessories in your travels. Let us know which ones you can’t live without.

Still can’t cut the cord with your Betacam? Don’t worry, you have company. According to research done by Shining Technology, makers of the CitiDISK family of HDV batteries, there are still approximately 350,000 to 400,000 Betacam users still shooting today. Transitional products like Shining Technology’s Beetle DV 1850 FireWire mean you can now play better with clients and colleagues who have made the switch to all-digital formats.

Essentially, the Beetle DV 1850 FireWire shrinks the analog-to-digital conversion process and puts it on the back of your camera. There’s an 8-pin DIP switch to output your final signal in DV, DVCPRO 50, MPEG-2, 24p or NTSC/PAL. It’s powered by a regular, replaceable 9-volt battery (up to three hours use per charge), but can be plugged into a D-Tap power cord or wall socket for extended, albeit tethered, use. With the FireWire component and through RS232/422, you can control analog VTRs from your camera.

The bad news? The Beetle DV 1850 isn’t shipping yet and was only in pre-beta during NAB. But when it is released, it will be just the start of the Beetle line, which will include analog converters compatible with HD and, the company says, a future product (coming next year) that will put a battery and miniature converter into one affordable box. www.shining.com