KitPlus | Articles

An Argument for the Z Cam

Z Cam first dipped their toes into the cinema camera market back at NAB 2018 with the release of the E2 and since then they have proven themselves as one of the go-to camera manufacturers for affordable and unique camera solutions. Their family of cinema cameras has since evolved into a set of 6. Their entry-level E2C is a Micro Four Thirds camera...

Submitted by Jake Ratcliffe

Published 26 March 2020

The Networking Revolution

We all seek greater flexibility in everything we do. Whether it is another app for your phone, checking for a faster route on your sat-nav, or a changeable hotel booking, the more options we have, the better! Flexibility is fantastic. It offers us choices that we may never want or need, but at least we know that they are there on the off-chance tha...

Submitted by Neil Vann

Published 27 January 2020

State Of The Nation: Securing The Future

This magazine is a notable champion for education in our industry, and deserves much praise for its efforts. To my mind, there is all too little concern for our future. I have previously taken up your time in these pages on the subject of creating the next generation of talent, but I am largely unrepentant that I am going to do it again. Pretty muc...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs - new

Published 03 November 2019

IBC 2019 A Whistle Stop Rundown

I’ve been to IBC once before, taking to the floor with Simon, Matt, Jon and the rest of the KitPlus team to assist with the filming of interviews. This was a lot of fun, but it was hard to find the time to look at the kit I wanted to see. This year with the demise of BVE and unable to make it to the Media Production Show I decided to fork out for a...

Submitted by Ben Sherriff

Published 03 November 2019

Never Stop Learning....Or Spending

I’m over 75, and have been a member of the Bristol Film and Video Society (www.bristolvideo.org.uk) for several decades. Like the great majority of members, I am not and never have been a video professional but have video interests beyond the club and its productions. For some time I have been recording lectures (for other clubs) using a Panasonic...

Submitted by Peter Heaven

Published 03 November 2019

The LED Lighting Revolution

Back in April 2019, the National Association of Broadcasters hosted the annual NAB show in Las Vegas where over 90,000 people from more than 160 countries came to see the latest broadcast technology from around the world. Honouring the highlights of the show were NAB’s 2019 Product of the Year awards, where the newly launched Chroma-Q Space Force o...

Submitted by Neil Vann

Published 10 September 2019

Undercover Remote Production

It’s only taken 20 years and it seems that Remote Production is finally coming of age, but it now requires far more cameras than anyone envisaged back in the last century!The move to remote production is one of the unstoppable trends of 2019 and moving into 2020. Our CamBall cameras pioneered remote working as early as 2003 with sport and wildlife...

Submitted by David Bradley

Published 10 September 2019

NAB 2019 Highlights

The NAB Show in Las Vegas never loses its capacity to surprise. With NHK already transmitting in 8K and the Tokyo Olympics just a year away, this might have been the year that 8K equipment prices descended from the stratosphere to just plain expensive. The main trends at NAB 2019 were an increasing focus on HD-HDR, Media-over-IP and 4K. 8K was pret...

Submitted by Paul MacKenzie

Published 04 June 2019

Canon EOS C300 MkII Camera Review

Canon described the EOS C300 Mark II at its launch as 'a game-changer for creative film-making'. What interested me was whether the camera's impressive feature set, compact size and very aggressive price point matched the needs of the video production market. Key features At the front end of the camera is a Super 35mm CMOS sensor capturing Full HD...

Submitted by Andy McKenzie

Published 04 June 2019

Lighting with Gurdip Mahal

Gurdip Mahal’s credits for lighting design are impressive. Including major Awards shows such as BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Children in Need, as well as The Voice, Top Gear and Crystal Maze, his CV would almost certainly include at least one show with which any one of us is familiar. In addition, he has applied his own particular style to p...

Submitted by Ian Muir

Published 04 June 2019

NAB Intelligence

It\'s that time of year again. 06:30 on road bikes on the Las Vegas Strip with a merry bunch of folks who believe they look good in lycra. As we pedal West up the hill towards Red Rock there will be stories of the year just gone and questions about what to look for at the show. I, for one, will be attending the Devoncroft event to check up on who i...

Submitted by Bruce Devlin - new

Published 21 March 2019

Rotolight Anova Pro 2 User Review

The Anova PRO 2 is the fourth generation of Rotolight’s studio/location light, offering 70% more power output than its predecessor. It is claimed be one of the brightest LED lights ever launched in its class, delivering 10,700 lux at 3 feet yet consuming only 72 watts. Figure 1 shows the front with accessory mounting spigots (1), optional barn door...

Submitted by Andy McKenzie

Published 21 March 2019

The way forward in a changing world

The broadcast and media industries are evolving in all areas to adapt to the challenges of competition from OTT, changing user viewing habits, technological advances in image resolution, dynamic range and colour rendition as well as embracing new video over IP infrastructures. Test and measurement equipment manufacturers also have to evolve to supp...

Submitted by Alan Wheable

Published 21 March 2019

Streaming - Shut up and Sit Down

Twilight Imperium is a board game all about strategy and backstabbing. Known for its length of gameplay, the team behind Shut Up and Sit Down decided to deliver a mammoth 10-hour live broadcast, streamed to Twitch. Matt Lees is here to tell us how it went down. Having recently begun streaming live to Twitch, our audience naturally asked us to play...

Submitted by Matt Lees

Published 21 March 2019

Trade shows and their role in the wired world

Historically trade shows afforded an opportunity to collect the latest brochures relevant to the visitor's chosen industry or career path. Today there seems little reason to store data of any kind, let alone paper brochures, when information is so easily accessible online. Brochure back-packing at exhibitions has become a rare sight, rarer still si...

Submitted by Richard Baker

Published 08 September 2018