Smaller and smaller…..

cameras

come back in two years for the next photo

In 1988 I went to Korea to cover the Olympics for CBS News.

My brother-in-law Ted Savaglio was in charge of the CBS contingent, and as such, he the first mobile phone I had ever seen.

It was the size of a brick, with a great rubber antennae and had to be attached to a power pack that you could run half a city on.

But it was wireless. 

Today, 20 years later that piece of telephone technology is a museum piece.  This we can understand. What is harder to grasp is that in 20 years, maybe less, we will look at our blackberries and be shocked at how big and clunky they are.

I say maybe less because the curve of change continues to accelerate at a rapid pace.  Thank you Gordon Moore.

This month we are kicking off our third hyperlocal TV station, all run by VJs.

To get it started Zack Wilson, Antony Minelli and I went over to B&H Photo to buy all the gear for the project.  

When we did the first station in DC, we equipped everyone with what was the then state- of-the -art Panasonic P2 cameras.  

Yesterday we bought a bunch of JVC HM100s. 

Now, we are only two years later, but the cameras are half the size.  And half the weight.  They are totally card driven.  No tape at all. (The first P2s had tape as a back-up to the cards).   They are really light and easy to handle.

Remarkable.

And in two years.

And the prices keep dropping as well (and the quality keeps going up).  

I just put in my order for the Leica M9.  30 mpls!  

One can only wonder what kind of cameras we will be buying two years from now.

Michael Rosenblum

For more than 35 years, Michael Rosenblum has been on the cutting edge of the digital video journalism revolution. During this time, he has lead a drive for video literacy, and the complete rethinking of how television is made and controlled. His work has included: The complete transitioning of The BBC's national network (UK) to a VJ-driven model, starting in 2002. The complete conversion of The Voice of America, the United State's Government's broadcasting agency, (and the largest broadcaster in the world), from short wave radio to television broadcasting and webcasting using the VJ paradigm (1998-present). The construction of NYT Television, a New York Times Company, and the largest producer of non-fiction television in the US. Rosenblum was both the founder and President of NYT TV, (all based on this paradigm (1996-1998). The President and Founder of Video News International, a global VJ-driven newsgathering company, with more than 100 journalists around the world. (1993-1996). Other clients include Spectrum News, Verizon and CBS News.

8 Comments
  • Scott September 20, 2009

    Greetings from the hot and humid swamps of LA! You’re a smart guy to get M9…Congrats!! ( Didn’t I read somewhere that you took your M8.2 swimming & murdered it?!)

    If the UK press is any indicator of what this camera is going to do…we’re all going to be getting one soon! ;^)

    Scott

    PS: I miss class.

  • Scott September 20, 2009

    Greetings from the hot and humid swamps of LA! You’re a smart guy to get M9…Congrats!! ( Didn’t I read somewhere that you took your M8.2 swimming?!)

    If the UK press is any indicator of what this camera is going to do…we’re all going to be getting one! ;^)

    Scott

    PS: I miss class.

  • Vanessa September 18, 2009

    Hello Michael, last year after TCA125 your interview on CSPAN was broadcasted. When asked which camera was your favorite (and I do believe you were being asked about the beginner professional/student), you stated “they change from day to day. Right now the Sony A1U is a lovely camera, costs about $1200…has terrific audio input…” etc. Now that it has been almost a year and you are shopping yet again for the right camera….I would like to know, do you still feel the same way about the Sony A1U or would you recommend another? Is so, why?

    In your opinion what small and compact, yet professional quality camera would you recommend and or are your classes/instructors recommending for students graduating from your class?

    Last but not least, what is your favorite lens for a digital camera like a Canon Rebel or Nikon D series? (If you do not like those, what do you prefer?).

    Thanks. Say hello to your beautiful bride!

    • Zack Wilson September 19, 2009

      Hi Vanessa,

      Tapeless cameras are the way of the future now. It depends on budgets, what type of content you’re creating, and the demands of your final product (TV, theater, web, etc).

      The JVC GY-HM100 that we bought for the new video journalists in New Jersey is the best VJ camera out there. It is compact, discrete, packed with professional features, delivers an amazing picture that is 1920x1080p HD (unlike HDV), and has the ease of a tapeless workflow. The VJs just pop the tiny SDHC cards out of the camera, and right into their MacBook Pros, transfer the footage (the footage is prepared for Final Cut in the camera), and they’re ready to edit.

      The new Canon 7D also has a lot of potential for video journalists, although the sound quality is sadly not up to par yet. For a video journalist lens kit with a camera like this, I’d recommend a wide-range zoom (18-250mm if you can find it) and a 50mm f/1.2 or 1.4 lens for low light situations or where you want to have an especially thin depth of field and blur the background.

      – Zack

  • Michael Rosenblum September 18, 2009

    much better!

  • Kevin Curl September 18, 2009

    Michael,

    How does this JVC compare to the V1 or Z1?

    Kevin

    • Kevin Curl September 18, 2009

      I mean other than being Flash Memory. Is picture quality as good? I’ve read the reviews, but they are very conflicting.

      • ZW September 19, 2009

        Hi Kevin,

        After using both many times, I will say that the JVC’s picture quality is much better than the V1 or Z1. The HM100 has 35 Mbps VBR codec, which has about twice as much color information than the HDV-based cameras. Much richer colors, much more flexibility with the tapeless workflow (you can shoot in many formats, including true 24p and slow motion in 60p), and it’s about half of the size.

        – Z