PANAVISION SSR-1

[Lawrence Karman]

Thanks Erwin, good read.

 

I'm currently working with the first set of SSR-1's to roll out of Woodland Hills (we now have 5 of them on our show) and will post a detailed report once I gather some more pictures and have the time to do so. Overall a good experience.

 

 

Do you have 5 of them because someone must download the info on a SSR in real time to a tapedeck? And who does that? The down-loader? Not that I'm against making things lighter, but it seems like having to have that many will add much to the camera budget.

[Charles Papert]

Down-loader, very funny Doc.

 

We requested 2 more than the standard complement of SSR's because the studio is nervous about the new technology and don't want us flushing mags on set (after downloading to tape in the truck). Thus we make our copies then send those plus the drives to the lab at night, who make clones and check them and whatever else before sending them back to us for re-use. It's not the way this whole thing will ultimately end up, but as the virgin voyage, this is how we have to do it.

 

I promise a full report soon. The rig is somehow weighing far more than it should and I need to get a good scale in there to figure out where the extra is coming from which I want to clear up before speaking at length about the system.

[Charles Papert]

OK, I still haven't gotten around to taking pictures but I'll add them here next week.

 

So we've been using the SSR-1's for about a month now. Overall, they are good to have. Since I am still required to output an HD signal to the DIT tent for monitoring I still have a cable coming off the rig, so it's not quite the film camera experience. I would say that if one is used to using the Genesis in one-piece mode, this is a major, major improvement. The flash mag is half the weight, size and requires half the power of the SRW deck. If you are used to operating two-piece (as I am), it's a far better physical setup for the department than having the backpack, but not necessarily that big a deal for the operator--I now have one cable off the rig instead of two, but the rig has increased in weight by 5 lbs or so (the difference between the rear breakout box and the SSR-1). True, it is closer to a traditional film mass than the two-piece setup which requires offsetting the camera way back with the CG somewhere around the lens plane, but being such a wide camera, it still flew pretty well that way.

 

After reading Ron's report about the weight being equivalent to an XL, I was a bit baffled as I had to extend my center post 5" whereas the same setup with XL would be maybe an inch. I won't go into the details of my particular rig as it is a mix and match of enough manufacturers to not be comparable to anyone else's, but I'm used to where cameras sit on it and the required post length seemed odd. It "felt" heavy, too. However, Erwin showed up on set with an industrial scale and we weighed things out and ended up with numbers that added up properly, but we still don't know why I'm having to make the sled so long. Perhaps it is the vertical proportioning of weight within the Genesis, perhaps the stack of things between the gimbal and the camera but neither of us could figure it out.

 

Anyway, here are the numbers:

 

Genesis with SSR-1, 35 Primo, clip-on mattebox, Hill bracket, DM1 (focus), DM2 (iris), clockit and Comtek, Panatape (metal readout): 35.6 lbs.

 

My sled: 19.6 lbs without batteries. This was a surprise, I thought my sled weighed less. Oh well. Made it even more surprising that I'm showing so much post.

 

3 Dionics: 4 lbs

 

And while we are at it: PRO arm: 12.6 lbs Klassen harness: 12.6 lbs

 

Grand total: 84 lbs (another surprise, I thought a typical 35mm style setup was like 75 lbs).

 

OK, outside of weight and mass, what else to tell you guys. We are experiencing some intermittent issues with the Preston run control where it starts and stops unexpectedly (creating new clips each time), something we are looking into--in the meantime, we start the camera the old fashioned annoying way. The deck draws a reasonable amount of power; when not recording, it's negligible. 3 Dionics run it for a good long time.

 

One great feature is that you can easily play back any or all takes with random access, the readout is on the left side with soft keys underneath and easy to operate. It's like the world's fanciest onboard recorder. A current drawback is that you can only play, stop and navigate between clips--cue and review features are not available simultaneously with the E-to-E mode (that allows you to see the live image to the monitor). That will hopefully be revised soon. Going from playback to record is as simple as hitting stop to restore the live image, in fact I think you can simple start the record pulse and it will immediately pop into record. So you can watch playback until the very last second without having to go through a whole finagle of fingerwork.

 

For handheld, it is possible to find the sweet spot where the camera actually balances on your shoulder, but you have to rack the viewfinder way forward and use your own shoulder pad as the dovetail will end up somewhere around your shoulder. I end up with the focus motor basically jammed up my nose but I'm willing to put up with it for a balanced setup. Once the next generation of viewfinder emerges that isn't as long, this will all become more comfy. I've been talking with the powers-that-be about a rear battery and accessory mount that articulates off and hopefully down the back to help out--being able to put the Preston MDR, clockit etc back there (with long motor cables) will put that weight to good use. I think it has the potentially of being a really good handheld camera once this all gets sorted out.

 

That's it for now...more if I think of it.

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

Great info there Charles. It sounds like we are going to get a few of the SSR-1's (Panavision willing) to use with the F23's when we go back to "Dexter" in June and I'm looking forward to the F23-SSR-1 combo.

[Charles Papert]

That will be a tasty combination, Eric.

 

Just saw the F35 at NAB session today--what a surprise, it looks pretty much like the F23. Wonder when Sony will introduce their own flash drives.

[Lukas Franz]

Just saw the F35 at NAB session today--what a surprise, it looks pretty much like the F23. Wonder when Sony will introduce their own flash drives.

 

I'd be glad to get some updates about the F35 from you guys visiting NAB. It's a very interesting cam with a huge price (250'000$).

 

Pictures, information, facts, whatever...

 

Cheers,

 

Lukas - not being able to get to NAB this year, but happy to visit Cine Gear in June ;-)

[Charles Papert]

SSR-1 update: the current version now supports cue and review. It's a tad awkward, you push the function button and the transport controls change on the display to include a forward and rewind icon; you have to hold down the function button while pushing the desired direction. It is a super-fast cue and review mode, so generally you will immediately release the function key and stab at "play" to avoid drilling too far the wrong direction. Takes a bit of getting used to but it works. The best part is that you can watch your playback literally until they call for camera roll, then just hit "record" and you are up and running immediately, which extends your viewing time quite a bit versus most PVP devices (little hard drive recorders) that usually require a few steps to be taken between record and playback.

[Lawrence Karman]

SSR-1 update: the current version now supports cue and review. It's a tad awkward, you push the function button and the transport controls change on the display to include a forward and rewind icon; you have to hold down the function button while pushing the desired direction. It is a super-fast cue and review mode, so generally you will immediately release the function key and stab at "play" to avoid drilling too far the wrong direction. Takes a bit of getting used to but it works. The best part is that you can watch your playback literally until they call for camera roll, then just hit "record" and you are up and running immediately, which extends your viewing time quite a bit versus most PVP devices (little hard drive recorders) that usually require a few steps to be taken between record and playback.

 

 

Does the playback feed directly to your monitor? And what monitor are you using?

[Charles Papert]

Yes, playback is active on both the HD-SDI outputs and the SD output (did I mention that the SSR-1 incorporates a downconverter?) I"m using the TB6 so obviously I watch the downconverted signal. Playback will be sent out to video village so they will see what you are watching, but I suppose you can always disconnect your jumper to avoid this (and then have to deal with the cries of "no video" right before the roll).

 

This reminds me that the downconverted video is upstream of the frameline generator, so you have to set your framelines via framing chart or lining up on horizontal/vertical lines on set.

[Lawrence Karman]

Yes, playback is active on both the HD-SDI outputs and the SD output (did I mention that the SSR-1 incorporates a downconverter?) I"m using the TB6 so obviously I watch the downconverted signal. Playback will be sent out to video village so they will see what you are watching, but I suppose you can always disconnect your jumper to avoid this (and then have to deal with the cries of "no video" right before the roll).

 

This reminds me that the downconverted video is upstream of the frameline generator, so you have to set your framelines via framing chart or lining up on horizontal/vertical lines on set.

 

Had a day call once where the DIT had a framing chart on tape (Sony 950 camera). He popped it in and I set my TB-6 framelines with it. Might be useful to carry on on a Compact Flash card or a similar tape in our kits. Maybe on the on-board recorder? Would that work?

[Charles Papert]

Just spoke to Dominic; they are working on a separate frameline circuit for the downconverter, he thought it will be done within a few months so this issue will be academic shortly.