http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut Helmut Kobler's library of tutorials, articles, reviews and more for media professionals world wide. en-us Fri, 25 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT PHP Script webmaster@creativecow.net webmaster@creativecow.net http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Panasonic-HPX250-review.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Panasonic-HPX250-review.php With a sharp imager, monster lens and killer codec, Panasonic's HPX250 ($5995, with additional discounts and rebates in effect) makes a great workhorse camera for any kind of shooting that doesn’t need a shallow depth-of-field. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:04:41 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Panasonic-AJ-HPX3100-Camera-Review.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Panasonic-AJ-HPX3100-Camera-Review.php Panasonic's HPX3100 camera breaks some interesting ground for those shooting news, documentaries and reality programming. It's a sharp 1080-native camera that shoots Panasonic's high-quality AVC-Intra codec. But more importantly, it's expandable, letting you add optional gear that can make post-prod Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:55:33 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Panasonic-BT-LH910-review.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Panasonic-BT-LH910-review.php The world is full of broadcast monitors these days, but Panasonic’s new BT-LH910 9" monitor is a standout. It's got a stunning picture, an extreme viewing angle, and a form factor that’s small enough to still work in the field, but big enough to still work in a studio. It’s also got some Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:37:16 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/FCP-vs-Premiere-Pro.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/FCP-vs-Premiere-Pro.php If you're a Final Cut editor contemplating making a change in the wake of Apple's FCPX roll-out, you're not alone. Here's one long-time Final Cut user who tried out Adobe Premiere CS5.5 on a paying gig. He found a lot to like, and not much to miss. Mon, 04 Jul 2011 01:32:05 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/io-safe-review.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/io-safe-review.php Everybody needs a couple of portable hard drives these days, but the ioSafe Rugged Portable drive is a standout in that it’s nearly indestructible, comes with a free data recovery service, and is also quite fast. If I were travelling and working in the field a lot, I’d easily choose the ioSafe o Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:39:47 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Ki-Pro-Mini-Review.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Ki-Pro-Mini-Review.php AJA started shipping its first ProRes-based video recorder, the Ki Pro, in the fall of 2009. Recording via HD-SDI in ProRes was impressive, but the Ki Pro was too big and heavy to be useful for much in-the-field work. Now AJA has shrunk the Ki Pro down to a fraction of the original’s size, added s Fri, 13 May 2011 04:01:08 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/AF100-review.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/AF100-review.php Love the shallow depth of field you get from DSLRs, but miss all the video-oriented features those still cameras lack? Panasonic’s AF-100 merges a big DSLR-style sensor with all the video camera features you’ve taken for granted over the years. See how this cocktail turns out... Wed, 30 Mar 2011 04:21:54 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Anton-Bauer-Tandem-150-review.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Anton-Bauer-Tandem-150-review.php Want to charge an Anton/Bauer battery in just about any situation, whether wall power is available or not? Anton/Bauer's small, lightweight Tandem 150 is what you need. Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:56:48 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/SolaENG-review.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/SolaENG-review.php There are plenty of power-sipping LED lights that you can mount atop cameras, but very few have enough punch to fill up large spaces, or cut through daylight. Litepanels finally has such a light in the Sola ENG. It's powerful, controllable, and in some cases, a little loud. Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:41:47 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Band-Pro.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/Band-Pro.php These days, many video-oriented trade shows are struggling with declining attendance, reduced scopes and the nagging fear of irrelevance when customers can get so much information online. So how has the Band Pro One World managed to attract big-name vendors and over 500 attendees? Helmut Kobler atte Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:06:18 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/solid-state.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/solid-state.php If you shoot video to solid-state cards, two products from Nexto and Panasonic make it easy to back those cards up in the field. At over $2,000, these gadgets aren't exactly cheap, but they can save a lot of time and effort. The Panasonic in particular can make a solid-state workflow feasible for ju Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:08:03 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/CalDigit-AV-Drive.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/CalDigit-AV-Drive.php Hard drives rarely feel fast enough, but CalDigit's new AV Drive ($258) is one of the first to use the new USB 3 interface, which is much faster than the USB 2, FireWire 800 and eSATA interfaces of yesteryear. You'll pay a little more for the AV Drive, but its speed easily makes up for the premium. Fri, 15 Oct 2010 02:20:52 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/panasonic_pcd2.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/panasonic_pcd2.php If you ever wanted a simple, affordable P2 card reader....well, Panasonic never made one, and neither did anyone else. But the new AJ-PCD2 changes that, letting anyone add P2 compatibility to their workflow with little hassle. Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:43:56 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/g-drive.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/g-drive.php Portable hard drives are great option for carrying gobs of media wherever you go. In this review, Creative COW leader Helmut Kobler takes a look at a unique portable drive -- the G-Drive Mobile -- from a company that's been building media-focused drives for years. Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:20:40 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/panasonic-p2mobile.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/panasonic-p2mobile.php Panasonic's P2 Mobile is many things, including a cutting-edge video recorder, a non-linear editor, a network storage device, and more. Curious to come to terms with its long list feature set, Creative COW leader Helmut Kobler took one home for two weeks and gave it a spin. Here are his impressions. Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:15:16 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/shotput-pro.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/shotput-pro.php ShotPut Pro streamlines an important part of tapeless, solid-state workflows: offloading the media cards to a hard drive or other volume. Creative COW leader Helmut Kobler has been using Shotput for a couple of years now, and reviews its latest update on the Mac (a Windows version works the same way Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:47:54 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/panasonic_rapidwriter.php http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kobler_helmut/panasonic_rapidwriter.php In this article, CreativeCOW leader Helmut Kobler reviews Panasonic's AJ-HRW10 P2 Rapid Writer, which is designed to simplify the process of offloading P2 cards to multiple hard drives, especially as you work in the field. Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:38:53 GMT