Since a bunch of cool new gear for shooting HD video has come on the market over the past year, I thought I’d publish a short list of my favorite new tools.

For over 20 years we shot everything on film, for good reason.  There was a big discrepancy between the image quality of film and video, not to mention practical issues like light sensitivity.  So even though shooting film was much more expensive (and added time for developing and printing and telecine), that’s what everyone did.  And that included features, commercials, and the better TV series.

Then high-def video came out, and Directors like Lucas and Fincher started using it for features.  So the image quality issue had gone away, but the equipment was still very expensive and came with a lot of technical and lighting issues.  So the bulk of the film world stuck with shooting on film.  When the first RED Camera came out a few years ago, things started to change, and now there are few legitimate reasons to shoot film anymore (although some Directors are still resisting the switch to HD due to long-established habits and preferences).

The Arriflex Alexa:

It took them a few years, but the folks at Arriflex finally put out their answer to the RED camera in 2010, and it’s a great new tool.  (link to specs)

There are actually 4 versions of the camera system, each optimized for a different task, but the most attractive aspect of the gear is that it is user-friendly for DPs who are used to the old film cameras.  It’s controls and ergonomics are layed out in a way that is very similar to the old Arri film equipment, and it uses all of the same rigging equipment, lenses, etc.  So there’s not a lot of retraining involved in using them.

The specs are great (good light sensitivity, handling highlights well, multiple output formats, etc.).  I won’t go into the technical details here, but suffice it to say that a prominent colorist who has seen footage from both this camera and the RED, (shot on the same day and set), told me that the Arri camera had a better look and needed less finessing in the transfer.

The RED Epic:

And speaking of the RED camera.  The RED One camera has made a huge dent in the 35MM film production market for high-end image capture (features, commercials, videos), but it’s not the easiest equipment to learn or use.  That company introduced a smaller version of it’s camera system at last year’s CES, which is aimed at the expanding documentary / reality / 3D production market.  It’s called the Epic (link to specs).

Since they have created a totally modular system, the camera has too many potential uses to list, depending on how it is configured.  It can shoot nearly anything one might want to shoot, as long as the equipment is configured for that use.  You can shoot anything from HD up to 5K, export into any common post-production file format, use all sorts of lenses (again depending on the lens mount), and even use it as a hand-held autofocus camera for “run and gun” shoots.  Epic is a flexible and powerful system that promises greater ease of use than their bigger camera.  I think it’s going to be a popular new tool for smaller-budget productions.

The Go Pro Hero HD:

And finally, this small HD camera, which is going to provide great footage for action shots and go places where a traditional camera can’t go.  Want to mount a camera on something that’s moving (helmet, bike, ski, car, kayak, etc)?  That’s where this little baby will be a great new option.  (link to specs)

It’s inexpensive (around $300), comes in a variety of configurations, depending on the intended use, and has great technical specs.   It’s small, lightweight, shockproof, waterproof, and will record up to 4 hours of HD video without reloading.  Pretty cool.  I can see this camera coming in handy for lots of sports and action footage.  Or just a good, inexpensive way to grab a time-lapse sequence from an unusual vantage point.

You gotta love the way new technology keeps make image acquisition easier.