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Welcome to this issue of the Hi-Tech Trader. This week's article: " On-Camera Lighting " Videomaker Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D (2007) Specials: Sony BVP-E30WS, GVG PVS 1108 Profile Bargain BinGraham-Patten D/ESAM 230 Digital Audio Mixer, & Eartec Digicom Four Person Wireless Intercom System Customer SpotLight LAGtv Networks Inc If you have an interesting story, case study, tip or trick. Send it to us at: Editor. If we publish it in The Hi-Tech Trader, we will give full recognition to you and/or your company.  SEE how easy it is for you to be up and running on your new Tricaster, Tricaster PRO, Studio or the NEW Tricaster Broadcast contact us toll free 888-354-2508  Make sure you check out our every day low prices on used video gear. Go to: Hot List Inventory  Contact Us: Hi-Tech Enterprises, Inc. 4400 118th Avenue North Suite 203 Clearwater, FL 33762 Phone (727)-573-9600 Toll Free (888)-354-2508 Fax (727)-573-9606 Technical Support (727)-573-9600 ext. 227 Video Equipment Sales (727)-573-9600 ext. 224 Video Editing Computer Sales (727)-573-9600 ext. 222 Training (727)-573-9600 ext. 222 Live Remote Support and Traning Try Our New Online Live Tech Support It's like having one of our techs sitting beside you and working on your editing computer. For a lot less than if we travel in person. Get your answers quick and easy. All you need is an Internet connection and a telephone. Call today to get started. For more information or to set up an appointment call 1-888-354-2508 during normal business hours (10:AM to 5:PM Mon-Fri) or leave a message and we'll get back to you the next business day. Suggestion Box In an on going effort to produce a quality newsletter, always feel free to send your comments and suggestions to mike@videoequipment.com 
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On-Camera Lighting By Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D, (2007), videomaker.com Whether you're trying to improve an otherwise impossibly dark shot or add a little pop to an adequately lit scene, an on-camera light is a critical tool. Why Use Them? On-camera lights give us the ability to shoot breaking stories in the middle of the night, follow the bride as she prepares for her wedding or record the grandparents as they launch into a story of days gone by. You can also use them as eye-lights to add sparkle to your subject's eyes when shooting outdoors with the sun as your backlight. In short, on-camera lights are always there when you need them to illuminate the scene. Wherever your camera goes, so does the light. A Typical System To understand how we can make on-camera lights more subject-friendly, we need to know a little more about them. On-camera light systems can range in price from no cost because they are built into your camera to well over the $1,500 professional models. The on-camera light system consists of three basic elements: the light, its mounting system and its power source. The Light On-camera lights are usually very small hard lights that throw an intense harsh light towards the subject you are shooting. The light itself can range from the type that is actually built into your camera housing, to an inexpensive spotlight mounted in the accessory shoe on top of your camera, to a fairly expensive system that includes multiple lighting heads with different powers of light, a dimming system, spot to flood adjustment, diffusion panels and color correction. In the end, the more you use your on-camera light, the more you should probably budget for this handy tool. When looking at what kind of on-camera light you should buy, you need to think about what you use it for. Small, intense lights can come in handy when you need to supplement the light on your talent's face when shooting those interviews on the bright ski slopes. The bright hard light reduces the shadows on their face and adds a sparkle to their eyes. The majority of reasonably priced, on-camera lights have a color temperature of 3200K, equivalent to indoor light. When you are shooting outdoors, you'll want to consider a blue gel or related accessory to get a more balanced lighting environment. Unless, of course, you're shooting at night (in complete absence of light), then your on-camera light won't need to mix with any other lights. If you shoot interviews or work with reporters, you will need a light that is intense enough to be a key light, yet one you can diffuse to soften shadows on the reporter's face. Reporters need a light that will fill their faces without blinding them while they look into the camera and tell the story of the hour.
The Mounting System The mounting system is perhaps the most important part of an on-camera light system. Some models mount directly to the top of the camera using its accessory shoe. You can mount others using a bracket that attaches to the tripod head. Still others have their own bracket system that attaches to a light-stand post or an on-camera post adapter. As with the light itself, the kind of mounting system you need depends on how you plan to use the light. If you use the light primarily as a fill/eye light, you can get away with the light mounted directly to the camera's accessory shoe, sitting right on top of the camera. However, if you use the light as your key light, you must use a mounting system that raises the light above the camera and hopefully moves it to the side of the camera, more in the position of the traditional key light. Not only will lifting the light above the camera take the light directly out of your subject's eyes, it will create a more pleasing shadow on your subject's face. If you can mount the light so that it is also off to the side, you will get an even more pleasing shadow that is more in line with the traditional key light you see with standard lights. Another consideration when looking at on-camera light systems and their mounting capabilities is their ability to use accessories. If you shoot a lot of interviews using the on-camera light as your key light, you will need a mounting mechanism that enables you to use barndoors, add diffusion gels or scrims, use softboxes or light diffusion panels or add color correction filters or gels. Lighting reporters requires controllable lights, so you are not also lighting up distracting backgrounds or over-lighting the reporter and losing all of the background, so they appear to be standing in a blank wilderness. When shooting weddings, you need to control the light on the bride's face without causing the wedding gown to glow. By using a graduated scrim, barndoors or a graduated neutral density filter, you can reduce the amount of light falling on the dress while lighting her face with a soft diffused light. These accessories are essential for controlling the light and giving you a light that is soft, controlled and more like a traditional key light. The combination of a soft diffused on-camera light mounted on an arm that lifts the light above and to the side of the camera will eliminate the "deer-in-the-headlights" look you often get when using a standard on-camera light. The Power Source The power source for the on-camera light is very important. Lights that use the power from the camera's battery suck that battery dry very quickly. If you use an on-camera light system all of the time, it only makes sense to find a system that uses an external battery pack. Lights that plug into a battery belt or small clip-on battery pack last longer, and don't drain your camera. However, battery belts can be extremely heavy. Now That You Have It, How Do You Use It? Shooting with an on-camera light is not as easy as it sounds. Yes, it is ready to go everywhere you and your camera go, but it is fickle. If you get too close to your subject, you can cause the face to glow and the eyes to squint. Step back and recompose your shot. You might only need to bounce the light off the ceiling. On-camera lights can also be a bit unwieldy. If you are shooting handheld, make sure that you tighten the hand strap extra tight. You might also consider using a monopod if you need the maneuverability. If you are using a tripod, you may notice that the balance of your camera is thrown off by the on-camera light. Re-balance your base plate on the tripod to compensate.(ref: videomaker.com) About the Author: Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D. is an independent video/film producer/director and also teaches college video production courses. end  Bargain Bin
Customer Spotlight Your success is our success! The purpose of the Customer Spotlight portion of this newsletter is to provide a small promotional over view of you, your company, or services. We invite you to submit with our new Customer Spotlight Form. We will randomly select one submission per issue. See Yourself Here! It's quick easy and beneficial to you and it is FREE.  LAGtv Networks IncShane Latham CEO / Executive Producer http://www.lagtv.com/ Doing Business as- We are a LIVE Internet broadcasting company with a focus on Video Games and Gadgets. Type of video Productions- LIVE and LIVE remote Recent Projects- We are preparing to go to the Penny Arcade Expo LIVE in Seattle WA. We will be broadcasting for over 200,000 people on the web and over 40,000 live at the event. Why did they choose the equipment- For the ability to Stream live, and the quality of the video feed. Equipment they are using- Tricaster Studio, 2 Sony Robotic BRC-300, remote controller. Using the products they purchase from Hi-Tech- For Live productions How Long doing business and been aware of HiTech- Yes I have known of them for a while but this is our first time using them. They choose HiTech because- Customer Service and they beat the competitors price. Their experience with HiTech- Great Would recommend- Yes for sure! Past Newsletter Issues More to come in our Next issue. We wish to take this opportunity to thank everybody for subscribing to The Hi-Tech Trader Newsletter. Our newsletter has over 12,000 subscribers and is growing daily. Advertising with the Hi-Tech Trader or link swap? Click here We will never give, sell or loan your information to anyone for any purpose WHATSOEVER! Believe me - we HATE spam! Feel confident that you can be removed from our Newsletter list anytime easily if you so desire. |
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