So I managed to get down to Pinewood Studios for the annual BSC expo which showcases the newest and latest cutting edge film making equipment ranging from cameras, lighting and new grip kit along with many seminars by some of the great cinematographers working today.
It was great to bump into so many familiar faces, form new professional relationships and also to kickstart some old collaborations.
There certainly is something for everyone at the BSC Expo and for me some of the LED lighting solutions on offer now are truely unique albeit still a little pricey. Lite Panel have some new products namely their new 1x1 panel which boasts more power with better asthetics, although I'm not sure that is relevant in a functional device. On par with that was a similar product by TheLight called Velvet which had all the spec of the new Lite Panel model but was fully waterproof and if I was to purchase a lighting kit then this is the one I'd choose.
One of the cameras that caught my attention was Panasonic's new Varicam. With its modular design, snap of controls and dual ISO amongst its strengths, this camera is something special and was causing a stir. It also has great colour management that had some DIT's I know boasting, high speed up to 120fps at 4k without extra licensing, dual record to SD and or P2 cards in 4k and 2k including proxy's, all this and much more for a price a little over 15k. I'm raring to get my hands on this for the right project in the near future.
On the Steadicam front, Tiffen where showing off their new modular rig called the M1, which if you were thinking of not going for a Pro sled then this would be your second option and at an affordable price.
As I'm not shopping for a new steadicam rig just yet, the thing that floated my boat was a product made by Inovativ and these guys make awesome magliners or carts we now like to call them. They have a range of options but the one I was after was the Scout 37 and this little beauty packs down quickly and neatly into a small thin manageable piece of luggage and would fit into the back of any small car easily, no more lugging around a really heavy and awkward Magliner.
These products were my favourites over the two days and for me what I was interested in, but I know everybody has there own thoughts.
Before I sign off on this one I though I'd leave you with these pictures of something I found really cool. As I'm a massive Star Wars fan it was a real delight to bump into the Panavision stand where they had the Millenuim Falcon.......no not that one but the name of the film camera used to shoot the new addition to the saga, The Force Awakens. Check it out below....
