My impressions of the Sony XDCAM PMW-500 and how to kit out your camera: I purchased my Sony XDCAM PMW-500 2/3” HD CCD broadcast camera mid December from Abel Cine Tech in NYC.  When buying expensive gear, I recommend having a sales person from a local shop on the other end of the line, not just a web site.  Abel has been my choice the last few years when it comes to big camera purchases.  Support your local dealer and don’t just buy from the box store you will be happier in the long run. In September I was invited…

One of my passions in life is shooting how I see the world through my cameras.   I wake up every day excited to explore the unknown, and ready to push my limits. When I started shooting 16mm film in 1970 with my dad, and stills with my brother and sister, we captured the family adventures.  We even had our own darkroom, how times have changed.  Some Friday nights in the winter and especially around the holidays we had family movie night; we laughed, joked, and treasured the memories together.  After watching the home movies the whole family became inspired and…

After viewing Tom Lowe’s site http://timescapes.org and his amazing work http://vimeo.com/timescapes.  I was inspired to do more then the normal time-lapse on a tripod.  So I went onto the TimeScapes forums an asked a few questions.  Within a week I had a plan for my large motorized dolly system.   This system is designed for cameras from 15-50 lbs.  And it is not just for motorized moves this dolly is great for well, dolly moves.  My next build will be my small travel system for my 5D.  I have a few ideas and will have to do this quickly, since I…

This short is my first try making a fun video with just the GoPro HD camera.  I took the camera on my head; front of boom, and backwards on my head windsurfing one day.  The camera is challenged in backlit situations but the rest of the time is does a nice job.  There are two slow motion clips and the rest are normal speed. The clips were shot in 720p 60p.  This give a wider field of view which I prefer and the option to change to 1/2 speed slow motion. Not the fastest I have been but still a…

While shooting the start of the Bermuda Race I noticed the Presto 30 sailing with ease around the spectator fleet, so I took a few clips. The Presto 30 is designed by Rodger Martin Yacht Design with input from Phil Garland of Hall Spars, and built by Ryder Boats. Nice to see free thinking produce a fun, easy to sail, fast, beach able boat. Enjoy, the clips they were taken with a long (4000mm) lens on a humid day so excuse the heat motion. VIDEO LINK

You might have noticed the new link on the home page of our two sites WhiteCap Video & PC Sailing.  This gives a convenient way to visit both sites.  With so many clients using services from both businesses we decided to start linking the sites.  Our blog will now have post from both businesses.  This should be entertaining for the sailing crowd, to read about the technical aspects of our production business, as well as the video production gang learning more about my real life long passion. So lets start off with a basic video I did last year for…

Summer, what a great time of year in New England offers lots of time to play in one of the best playgrounds, Narragansett Bay.  Having been in the sailing industry all my life Narragansett Bay is home.   It is perfect for water sports, which are my passion, along with mountain biking and of course filming all of it for clients who demand the best. Recently a client hired me to shoot the Bermuda Race start 18 June.  They did not want to pay for helicopter footage so I rented a very long lens for my Sony F800 from Rule/Boston Camera…

First a quick note on my experience with the XDCAM PDW-F800 after a month of using the camera. I am so impressed with this camera.  The image quality is much better then the PMW-350 and the optical disk is a huge time saver.  I have one client who I shoot for monthly and we shoot 5 hrs in the helicopter.  With the EX1 and 350 I used the Nano Flash which is a great recorder but very cumbersome when it comes to delivery and archive.  Still the best choice if you only have 4.2.0. color spacing and lower bit rates. …