Snapshots From IBC2017

Going to IBC as a representative of our niche part of the various video industries means you hope for two things: you hope to see nothing new and you hope to see everything new, and as oxymoronic as that sounds, this year's visit to IBC proved to be exactly that, admits Danny Dawson, Managing Director at Alias Hire.

Right now Sony FS7s/FS7s MKII and the Canon C300 MKII are the absolute 'go-to-must-have' cameras. You don't need me to tell you why (come on, you know why... high frame speeds, kick-ass sensors, multitude of lens options, etc.)

From my selfish perspective I like to see no new camera products until I have made a profitable return on the cameras I already have. So to see that Canon nor Sony have launched any camera products to sit in that particular market is a sigh of relief from me. So far so good for not seeing anything new then.

So what about the new? Well, Sony did let everyone play with their new Venice camera. It's a beauty alright and they are clearly going head-to-head with RED, ARRI ALEXA Mini, etc. and to be fair, it's a wonderful camera. I doubt Alias Hire is close to getting one anytime soon as – let's face it – the ALEXA Mini is king for the hire side of the industry and RED will always be loved by their owner/operators. Wait and see on that one…

I also had another good look at the Panasonic EVA-1. This really is a great camera. The more I see it, the more I love it. Multi-functional, high-speed recording and a higher pixel count sensor compared to the Canon C300mkii and the Sony FS7/FS7MKII should make it a strong competitor to the 'go-to-must-have-cameras'. When the shooting season comes around next spring this could very well be in high demand.

What really caught my attention is that Canon and Sony are in the concept stage of developing cameras akin to GoPro, clearly with the intent of heading into the VR world. That's already a competitive market and with GoPro's own version, plus the 360° RIZE and a whole manner of options ranging from the high-street options costing entry-level prices to the Nokia OZO costing a lot more. But the fact that the non-specialist manufacturers are getting involved in 360° VR suggests that VR and 360° content in particular is coming in a big way.

From the future of video to the most current comes in the form of F&V's new ring light. For years I have wondered why LED light manufacturers have never produced a battery-powered lens ring light that could be threaded directly onto the camera lenses. And now they have in the form of the 'R300 SE'. A must-have for any individual or indeed a hire company. In short we'll be getting some!

Heading further down the scale but no less wonderful, I found a gadget that is literally very handy. Go check out the MOZA Air – a really neat hand-held gimbal that can handle a payload up to 2.5kg. That's enough to handle most DSLRs with a stills prime lens giving full stabilisation with an optional thumb controller for pan and tilts. We've had great success with the DJI Osomo but the MOZA Air offers the chance to use your own camera within the spec restrictions so I can see this being a really successful product.

Image: Sony minicam concept at IBC2017.

This article also features in the October edition of Broadcast Film & Video.

(JP)