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What's the next big thing in Steadicam industry?


Tomas Riuka

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Hello,

 

i wonder if anyone has any idea what's the next big thing in steadicam industry? Years ago it was new arm design, now we have AR, Tango. Of course all the elements developing all the time, but what's the next big thing? something radically new? or it's already at the stage of where there will be no revolution, just evolution?

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My personal guess is that it will be smaller rigs that are as capable and expandable as the full-size rigs to accommodate the new generation of smaller high end full-chip cameras like the F3, Epic etc. Currently the smaller the rig, the less connectors and expandability as it was assumed that they were being used with self-contained cameras that didn't require outboard gear like lens controls, transmitters etc. That seems poised for change.

 

We are getting very close to the point where post-stabilization is becoming viable, fast, effective and cost-effective enough that mediocre operating can be transformed into near-perfection with the click of a mouse, for all users. The logical extension is that eventually this could be built into cameras as real-time (or slightly buffered for recording) processing that can transform handheld into truly stabilized imagery.

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The software point is really interesting...with resolution increasing, 4k, 5k, that could be done easily with quality software, but does that mean that quality requirements will lower for steadicam operators? probably not... Imho the bad thing that came with small rigs is attidude, where people think everyone can take the tool and do the job without any knowledge or experience. Same happened with digital photography.. 'why pay someone if you can get the dslr and do it yourself', it's like the human work, experience and knowledge is no longer needed and the only thing lacking for everyone is equipment...

 

Back to advances in tech area...

 

What about long lasting batteries?

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Imho the bad thing that came with small rigs is attidude, where people think everyone can take the tool and do the job without any knowledge or experience. Same happened with digital photography.. 'why pay someone if you can get the dslr and do it yourself', it's like the human work, experience and knowledge is no longer needed and the only thing lacking for everyone is equipment...

Ahhhh... What you speak of Thomas, is the so called "Great Divide" as my photo instructor said many moons ago when our school actually had a functioning darkroom and we shot mostly on chrome and photoshop sat on only one of the dozens of computers in the computer lab.

 

Its the quintessential gap between artisans and trained technicians. The artisan knows the shot before it is even set up and only needs one shot at it. The trained technician will discover the shot after trial and error. I recall a story of a table top shoot where the photographer took one frame and and the client went bouncers and demanded he shoot more... inevitably driving cost up and shrinking profits. Guess which shot was the final image... you guessed it!

 

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I've been playing with a pre-release Canon XF105 for about a week now. On its strongest setting, I can move it nearly 1" vertically and see very little if any visible movement in the image. This thing is probably only going to cost like $3-4,000 or so. Just like most of these smaller camcorders these days, it's got waveform built in, (Some also have vectorscopes) 4:2:2 video codec recording to dual CF cards, HDSDI/Genlock, some sort of 3D assist thing I won't bother with... At this point, I'm probably too afraid to buy an expensive camcorder ever again.

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Said it before, and I still believe it: the consumer wireless high def transmitters that use HDMI will bring down the costs of wireless high def transmitters in our industry. $10k+ for a Titan HD or Boxx Meridian, meanwhile Asus WiCast or Brite-view consumer kits sell NOW for $200 and give <1ms wireless HD transmission up to 30 feet through walls. Next generation by Amimon and Sibeam will do at least 100 feet through walls and more with clear line of sight.

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My personal guess is that it will be smaller rigs that are as capable and expandable as the full-size rigs to accommodate the new generation of smaller high end full-chip cameras like the F3, Epic etc. Currently the smaller the rig, the less connectors and expandability as it was assumed that they were being used with self-contained cameras that didn't require outboard gear like lens controls, transmitters etc. That seems poised for change.

 

We are getting very close to the point where post-stabilization is becoming viable, fast, effective and cost-effective enough that mediocre operating can be transformed into near-perfection with the click of a mouse, for all users. The logical extension is that eventually this could be built into cameras as real-time (or slightly buffered for recording) processing that can transform handheld into truly stabilized imagery.

 

....Yes...

Our work could disappear in a short term...Like dinosaucers. :( :(

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