Tom Visser

I thought the Garry Shandling Show had the best intro song lyrics ever... This is the theme to Garry's Show, The theme to Garry's show. Garry called me up and asked if I would right his theme song. I'm almost halfway finished, How do you like it so far, How do you like the theme to Garry's Show. This is the theme to Garry's Show, The opening theme to Garry's show. This is the music that you hear as you watch the credits. We're almost to the part of where I start to whistle. Then we'll watch "It's Garry Shandling's Show". (whistles)This was the theme to Garry Shandling's show.

I was amongst the very first 8050 and 8060 adopters. Both of mine are original. At one point in time I thought my 8050 was giving me issues, but has been reliable for the past couple of years at least. The 8060 has exhibited the grounding problem, but just haven't bothered to send it into service as it rarely causes an issue and when it does arrive, a slight tap or shake of the boom seems to clear it - certainly not "acceptable" behavior for a professional product, but given the shipping and time away from my mic, I haven't been motivated enough to send it in, and I own 2 other Sanken shotguns that would serve well enough in its absence - if that gives you some idea of how dire or not dire my faulty Sennheiser is to me.

link New line of absorbers, lots of options, from 3M, lining bags, wrapping mics, even adhering direct to circuit boards, seems like a lot of possibilities...

AJA ADA4 https://www.aja.com/en/products/mini-converters/ada4

I'm a fan of the Lemo-3 on the SSM, one of the deciding factors for me buying a pair.

I was editing a video that I shot myself and though I'm not regularly an editor or post sound professional, I dabble occasionally - even with a few mics, I found that it was cumbersome to deal with even more than a single track, I had recorded ISOs and Mx tracks in the field, meaning I had 4 tracks for 2 mics - basically a safe and a split broadcast target level simultaneously. At the end of the day, it would have been simpler to deliver to the picture editor (me - a guy who would rather have a god sounding single mono sound file) that sounded good. In this respect, I think delivering more tracks is not the ideal answer, but more advanced mix tools (the machine) and smart decisions by the mixer (person) in the field to streamline the process for the picture cutters. What I do personally is utilize my Zaxcom wireless and take advantage of the built in limited / dynamics to give me -9dBfs of fast limiting (peaks above will occasionally pass) and feed via AES to my recorder, and with +6dB of "gain in hand" to push the levels on the mix buss. If I'm working TV (split mono) or fast web delivery type of projects (mono), the mix will be aggressive and the to hit the -12 to -8dBfs range so that the deliverable sits right in the broadcast comfort zone. I'd say that this setup sounds good to me and even allows me to be relatively "careless" with my gain staging. If it's hotter than ideal, the dynamics of the signal chain still sort of keeps things sorted out but will still sound "good" for 90% of the picture / sound editors out there. When doing doc or narrative, something that I'm more assured will have a more competent post workflow, I'll ease up on the levels a bit and keep the ISO closer to the -20 to -18dBfs area and have a mix that is a bit looser and a few dB below the target broadcast levels. Even with bag drops, haven't had an issue with this setup. When I first got my Zaxcom wireless I only used a few dB of limiting and obviously it would be detrimental to over limit a signal - but after awhile, once I realized the context in which the wireless was being used - I would never ideally be recording full scale audio, that is - stopped thinking of the Zaxcom as a recorder and more as a piece of the system, then I started making use of the limiter more and enjoying the convenience that it provided. With respect to audio bracketing, I could see something like this being implemented, but in such a way that doesn't impact the way that data is handed over - meaning more confusing audio tracks. What might be smarter is to have a 32 bit internal mix and record buss, but then the deliverable media can have some sort of smart finishing dynamics process - whether it is simple 100% transparent lookahead limiting or some sort of finalizing style of compression / leveling / limiting like you would see with a typical post tool that for all intents and purposes, looks like the same 24 bit 48KHz files we have been delivering all along. I think some of this tech is already being implemented in one way or another by some of our manufacturers in the community. With 24 bit or higher recording, digital connections, and high performance analog circuits, the need to really push levels is somewhat of an antiquated idea from a technical perspective, but still important as a convenience factor and making it "look like we are doing our job" (and don't underestimate this need). I even have one editor friend who actually rates mixers' competence by how hot the levels are on his NLE. This makes me smile, but ultimately I completely understand that I can't really argue with his logic, because at the end it is his preference and idiosyncrasies get to make the final call.

This is a service department thing - there are literally thousands of part numbers for the various bits and pieces that could be purchased through the service department for the VI, so it would be ridiculous for them to list every single one. The video maker is being a bit pedantic. It is also of course Nagra's right to represent itself as a corporate entity that warns users about opening up boxes that say to not open, or be overly cautious in their stance about user replacement of bits and pieces, but at the end of the day, if you ask them to send you the battery "cell" or "pack" or whatever you want to call it, not the whole kit-and-caboodle, they will send it to you. Their service department is second to none. Once I had my unit in for hardware upgrades - adding a USB port, and the service tech noticed my front panel's paint job was a bit worn (because I'm hard on my gear and it just came back from a rugged trip to Ecuador) and they replaced it free of charge. That wasn't even a cheap part - but their pride in their equipment just couldn't stand to see a blemished unit out in the wild. Last year I wondered if I could get a replacement bulb and bulb holder for a modulometer that had been manufactured in the 70's - a quick reply and I got a part number and shipping quote - for a part that was in production over 40 years ago. Show me another manufacturer that keeps an inventory of parts for that length of time. Yes Nagra is expensive - but it's for a very small group of people who feel it necessary to buy from them. Yes Nagra's attention has turned away from production sound a bit, quite frankly the audio division is a minor part of Nagra today, one of the reasons it was split off as a separate entity - but an important one and due to their heritage, wasn't simply evaporated after corporate review. The video maker is trying to equate the entire value of the battery in the value of the HI-LINE cells / pack, which he admitted he could not find on their website - perhaps being a custom to-order job, makes sense for Nagra to outsource such cells from a specialist, rather than do that in-house. Regardless, because the raw materials of the pack is several dollars, does not mean that the package in total is worth that. What was the point of making a big deal of the foam? Was it better the leave an air cavity that would allow the pack to be jarred as operators take hard impacts, disembark from moving vehicles, or any other typical production condition, not some test bench? Force buyers to use a high-capacity model? Many purchasers were classical music recordists, who primarily work off of AC power. Why not thank Nagra instead for allowing the option - or for engineering the unit to accommodate those who wish to upgrade from a small capacity to a large capacity battery later in the future... and with just the flick of a switch, it is done, no desoldering or re-engineering required? Regardless, the video maker's efforts would have been more constructive by just telling his friend that he could have called Nagra to find out if they sold the lithium cells (they do) or just fix it and move on, but I don't get the point of the video which is being a bit sensational and simply not unbiased. Nagra is not Apple or Microsoft or Honda/Toyota/Mercedes/Volvo who's products are part of our everyday lives - it is an audio recorder owned by less than .1% of .1% of all the audio recordists out there - so those of us who buy one know what we are getting ourselves into and this video really doesn't enlighten me to anything that I already didn't know - for being of curious mind I opened my batteries up within a week of ownership. I'm also somewhat of a tinkerer and thought to myself - "self, I bet I could build a battery better suited for my own needs than the Nagra option, so I wonder what that would entail?" An email and response later, the parts necessary are available from Nagra as #40 20662 041 for the female multi-pin and #40 20662 071 for the matching male connector... and available for $11.50 each... or just save yourself the trouble and use any generic 12V system with the industry standard XLR4 connector. It's certainly not my place to tell the video maker what to do or to attempt to explain his motivations - it's the internet and a free world, but I'm certainly entitled to my own opinion and even now, find Nagra's reputation and corporate ethics impeccable.

Nagra sells the battery pack as a replacement option (and you can order the high capacity cells if you want). I don't remember the price off the top of my head, but buying a replacement unit was not necessary. some other expenses... full charge management board, not just a protection PCM, can run off of AC as well as load balance from battery, rugged enclosure for field / production use, Lemo connector, not fully justifying the price, but it's Nagra, they do operate at low unit sales and high cost, just the reality of where they sit in the market, and the unit is perfectly compatible with external power supplies / 3rd party batteries.

Often times (but not all the times) the producer is not really THE producer in the office that sets rates. He may be getting that guidance from up above. So basically when there is impasse created due to rates and equipment expectations, he may not be "getting" the whole budget issue as he may not have even laid eyes on your deal memo (again, I could be wrong and maybe he is handling you directly - my experiences have more often than not have been dealing with lower ranking field producers being driven by an office executive producer of some sort, setting rate guidelines. Everyone pretends that this is the standard and that no one deviates from it, until you play hard ball and forcibly negotiate specifics like number or wireless mics included in the basic package). I don't think bringing into play economies of doing business is really productive here - his business model is entirely different than yours, and ultimately there's no real interest or benefit in him understanding yours. Basically you'd love to work with him more, but you'll need another $100 in box rental to make it happen. This will either require renegotiating the deal memo or enabling a mechanism for you to bump the gear rate on a per day basis when extra mics are required to play. 18 months and 40-50 days is NOT the type of numbers one would see where special favors or days on weeks type of deals are handed out, so your good to go standing your ground like you are.

It's a generic brand from eBay, but is soft rubber and well made, unlike a cheaper one had bought and disposed of in the past http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/191752127737 it made a world of difference for me. I have a Hoodman unit on back order for like 6 months now, got tired of waiting and purchased this one in the interim. I hate grading, I'm not a professional, nor do I have an eye for it. I sort of like to get the look I want while I'm shooting, so don't use any of the log profiles, just not my cup of tea. I did purchase the standalone Film Convert software - like it so far, but not really certain it is necessary for my workflow (or lack there of). If I ever need something competently graded, that's when I'd hire a pro I guess. I never really understood the complex log / de-log approach, especially on the A7's relatively crappy 8 bit 4:2:0 codec - it would be akin to recording MP3 ISO's at really low levels and trying to get a good post mix, rather than just going for it and committing to a good sound / look during acquisition. If your the tweaky post type of guy that wants to heavily grade stuff, maybe that's a point for the black magic and GH4 route, which support more robust codecs.

I think bottom line - there's lots of good options out there and at the end of the day, the person behind the camera is the limiting factor. Not to say that just any 'ole camera will do, as obviously some are much better suited than others, but pretty much every camera out there has a target audience and performs superbly (except the Canon XC10). A few one-hits on cameras I own, have owned, or am curious about (and in the OP's price target)... 1/2.3" 4K GoPro Hero w/ Back-Bone Ribcage mod - experimenting with D (8mm) and C (16mm) mount lenses. clean HDMI 1/1.7" 1080p Pentax Q-S1 - experimenting with D and C mount lenses S16 / 1" 1080p Black Magic Micro Cinema Camera - no LCD/EVF, weird form factor, not released and unknown if it ever will be before being superseded, typical Black Magic support / vaporware, but first affordable global shutter option (not talking old CCD options here), need speed booster or S16 glass. clean HDMI S16 / 1" 1080p Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera - for those with a hard on for RAW or ProRes in-camera codec, but seems like there are a lot better options out there for most people. Need speed booster or S16 glass. clean HDMI 4/3" 4K Panasonic GX8 - interesting option above GH4 for photography, due to IBIS, and cool tilt EVF (like GX7 before) 4/3" 4K Panasonic GH4 - heavy duty video wonder cam with fully articulating LCD. clean HDMI 4/3" 1080p Olympus PEN-F - getting a lot of flack as a "hipster" cam and price, but has IBIS and fully articulating LCD, might be a good b-roll cam and specialty shooter - could see it useful for backtracking, tracking, or following shots. 77mb/s codec ain't too shabby. clean HDMI APS-C 4K Sony A6300 - newly announced 4K wonder cam from Sony with high bitrate, only lacking IBIS to make it perfect. Might ship in March. clean HDMI APS-C 1080p Fuji X-Pro2 - NOT known as a video camera, but movie capabilities purported to be much better than PRO1 and for me personally, this represents the perfect mechanical / user layout of controls. Has film simulations and it's Fuji... so they should be pretty spot on. 35mm FF - not really in your price range unless used - could do a 2nd hand 5DmkII if you already have a lot of Canon glass, but otherwise mirrorless seems the way to go. A7S - king of low light, best when shot APS-C crop. A7Sii - way more expensive, adds IBIS, tweaks color, same sensor, best when shot FF. A7, A7II, A7R - mostly designed for video, photography only with occasional home video'ish use. A7Rii - just as much of a beast at video as A7S/A7Sii, slightly lower low-light performance (but still great), best when shot APS-C. awesome shots man

Here's my A7S with movie button accessory. I obviously like the Promediagear grips, they make the best L brackets IMHO. I recommend Arca brackets for all photography and light videography/doc shooting, quicker, lighter, and smaller than professional video plates. GH4 is a great camera too. It has a much smaller sensor, which in my opinion is not a disadvantage for videography. It can also do some neat things like support timecode with the SDI attachment. You can shoot in 4K 4:3 mode which is pretty cool. A7S needs an external recorder to shoot 4K. The fully articulating screen on the GH4 is also pretty trick, although I find I'm doing most of my shooting through the EVF, which is a much higher quality image. The A7S kills pretty much everything out there for low light though. Note on size / weight... the smaller / lighter the camera, the easier it is to move around low-profile, but the harder it is to keep the camera stable for handheld. Big heavy cameras are inherently more stable because they respond less to your natural jitter. The A7S and GH4 type of cameras are nice and small, but it's nice to be able to build them up a bit bigger with battery grips and add mass without having to resort to a full on video rig - which definitely turns your camera into an attraction and not a subtle little unobtrusive point and shoot affair. It's also nice to have a place to firmly hold your camera, especially with larger lenses.

Hey Michael, if you find this distracting to your thread, let me know and I'll move it to PM (camera sales wouldn't have been assumed to be topical for this place). Next to my Angie 17.5-70/f2.2 There's the slightest evidence of brassing from use on the hood. The glass looks perfect. The focus ring has small ribs, so there's very minor evidence of marks from use on there, used (barely) but certainly not abused.

I've actually fallen in love with anamorphic shooting and have been playing around a lot with 16mm C mount lenses, so think most all videography will be done with those (obviously I do this for fun, not professionally). For photography it's mostly taking pictures of my kids, and even though I've become pretty good at tracking moving targets with manual focus (quite fun and accurate overall with the Loxias smooth focus ring) I've come to accept that I'll probably need to switch over to autofocus lenses - blech. I like the rendering of the 35 wide open, even better than the arguably sharper 55 Sonnar and any other zeiss 50 or 55mm planar / Sonnar designs. I'm not too keyed into used market prices. 1300 new, 975 used?

I may be selling my A7S, toying with the idea of upgrading to mk II models. I have the Sony battery grip, Pro Media Gear L-brackets (for both camera and camera+grip) as well as rubber eyecup (remarkably, this little $20 accessory has made the camera so much more usable - 3rd point of stability and effective light blocker). It is international version which you can switch between PAL and NTSC modes with latest firmware loaded. If you are interested in other accessories, I have Metabones C mount adapter, Zeiss 35/2.0 Loxia, Sony 55/1.8 Sonnar, Sony G 70-200/4.0, and Sony XLR-K2M mic/XLR attachment - not necessarily needing to bundle these, but a fair offer would be considered. There's no such thing as a sensor good in no light. Even the mighty A7S needs some amount of light to operate in - medium to bright moonlight is enough to bump up ISO to get near - daytime results without too much noise, but cloudy nights or dim moonlight may not be enough to shoot with artificially high exposure. I generally keep my ISO below 6400, which is very clean. Once in awhile I might creep up to 12800, and the results can still be acceptable. Good fast primes are a must if you want to shoot night time. Another thing I've found, is that the Sony smart zoom feature is great for video - because you can non-destructively punch in digitally without loosing resolution or detail. Obviously for photography, there's no point in cropping in-camera, but for video which is using a relatively low 1920x1080 image, the smart zoom allows you to intelligently use the 12MP worth of sensor. I've even found that by using a LANC controller, you get a pseudo power-zoom effect out of your primes... granted it's not variable speed or anything, but can turn your 35mm into a 70mm (or 105mm if shooting crop sensor), somewhat ameliorating the limitation of shooting at night with a fast prime - something to consider for doc usage. To clarify, it's not going to make your 35 look like a portrait 85, it's just going to look like a 35 that was cropped in without any digital smearing, but for videography the ability to be flexible with focal length on the fly is huge.

Drunk booming isn't something you just want to dive into. If you got acclimated to it first, you know, taking a pull of liquor on your regular job here and there, gets your tolerance up and then pretty soon you will find being a functional alcoholic is not that hard to do. That way, when you get to the big parities, you can go hog wild, feel good, and still keep good control over your boom mic.

I don't know, not sure how a big red thing sticking out of my bag is going to look, and only two knobs? There looks to be some sort of touchscreen interface... but at least the antennas look like they have a lot of adjustment possibilities and I do believe I spy a playback speaker!!!!

How about an 8000 series native Tx (Zaxcom, Sony digital, or Lectro digital), powered off of a single AA strictly for narrative work - boom op can keep on top of battery swaps for "ultimate lightweight narrative only Tx on the end of a boompole" type of works. Seems to me on-board recording, or high Tx power would be unnecessary as I've always observed outstanding wireless reception from a Tx up in the air.

It also doesn't have an IFB Tx, so for those of us that don't use a Nomad, makes it difficult to integrate Zaxnet into the equation - even the standard serial / USB connection would have sufficed. In a dream world I'd love to see an RX6... at that channel count, could even care less if it is modular or not. Maybe they could even call it QRX600 or something. If it doesn't have integrated Zaxnet TX, at least be able to interface with an IFB200 somehow without loosing the ability to utilize all the audio connections. I'm not too concerned about the weight or size, but improvement there would be a bonus. Ideally there would be at a minimum 6 channels of AES output and 2 channels of AES input (for the IFB TX) - all on a DB-25 would be fine by me. (would imagine it would have to have analog connections to in order to be commercially viable)

These are all great ideas / suggestions, but also if all the manufacturers decided to take a year off and just continue the great post-sales support - that would be good too, give a year to save / recover.

that should all work fine - pretty clear here - but problems to arise and when they do, are more localized and possibly weather / gov / d.o.d. related. voodoo locations for me have been oahu west side and kauai east side. I'm mostly going to 21 and 25 myself.

No, thank YOU for participating. This communication and interest from the manufacturer makes me feel it is the first time I can take Zoom seriously as a company for "our" professional needs and the F8 still seems quite interesting for me because of a few of the positive design features.

Nagra VI too.

I'm pretty happy with where I'm at gear wise right now. 8030 would be sweet though. Smaller Zaxcom RX12 with integrated zaxnet would also be compelling. Dual channel Lectro TX and 400 mode IFB would also be welcome.

Just my own insight to this, rolling, plane flies overhead, would be nice to enter a note on the currently running clip. "Cut" is called, PL to boom op (through external mixer since there's no communications feature on board the F8) "no good for sound, plane" and immediately the director tells the AD to go again and we're already speeding up for the next take - no time to go into menus and revisit past clips. This is one of the reasons I still use paper reports, there's no menus, firmware, or reliability issues with pen v2.0 (upgraded to roller ball from fountain nib) and paper v3.0 (papyrus to immulsified pulp to carbons) or when there is, don't bother contacting the manufacturer or sending in for service, just replace with new one. Being able to immediately enter notes would be one hurdle to overcome for me to adopt electronic reports. The other would being able to print directly from the unit. I don't bring a computer on set and need to hand over reports immediately to production (as we pull equipment through mud and jungle vying for dwindling space on the stake bed trucks in order to get back to base camp). My question though, could for example, pot #1 be assigned to input gain for the boom mic on channel 1, and then pot #2 be assigned to channel 1 fader?