Choosing the right camera for WebCasting via TriCaster

There are a number of good options for camera choices for the new HD TriCaster models like the TCXD450 and TCXD850, if one is (as I am) considering great sports coverage at a very affordable price..  I have a personal stake in this as

 

need to WebCast my nephew’s baseball games all summer and will want to buy eight cameras for our TriCaster 8000 extreme.  (Actually, I would want the eight cameras anyway to save on the crazy rental costs.)  Right now I’m using Sony EX3’s.

I’d love your feedback.  [email protected]

Here are my choices:

1. Panasonic AF100’s
2. Panasonic The AG-AC160
3. Blackmagic Cinema cameras
4. Buy the reliable Sony EX3’s

Right now I’m leaning towards the Cinema Cameras but I’m very open to advice or alternate suggestions.  Note:  The TriCaster can take a wide variety of video inputs but best is HDSDI so I have chosen three cameras all of which have HDSDI ports (I eliminated the Sony FS100 which I really love for this reason).

Please give me your advice.  I know the Blackmagic delivery date is July and so you probably haven’t had your hands on one yet.

In case you want some info to jog your memory here’s some info on the three cameras:

 

Buy eight Panasonic AF100’s which incorporate a 4/3-inch, 16:9 MOS imager. The AF100 can record in 1080/60i, 50i, 30p, 25p and 24p and 720/60p, 50p, 30p, 25p and 24p in AVCHD high-quality at a maximum 24Mbps.  For use in Europe which is very hand for us as we often shoot there the AF100 is  easily switchable 60Hz and 50Hz.  However our four TriCasters  SD, 300, 450 and 850 are all NTSC.

1. The AF100 has a high-resolution imager with built-in ND filtering and dramatically reduced video aliasing.   Video out ports include HD-SDI out  (great for the Tricaster), HDMI, time code recording, built-in stereo microphone and USB 2.0. The camera has the usual two XLR inputs with +48V Phantom Power capability, 48-kHz/16-bit two-channel digital audio recording with LPCM/Dolby-AC3.
2. Or I could buy eight of the Panasonic The AG-AC160 AVCCAM HD handheld camcorders  with variable frame rate recording in 1080p, PCM audio, and HD-SDI output, and like the AF100 ,switchability between 59.94Hz/50Hz for Europian use. The Panasonic AC160 is efeatures h high-sensitivity 1/3″, full-HD 2.2 megapixel U.L.T.  with Ultra Luminance Technology.  It has a 3-MOS imaging system and a  22X HD zoom lens (the longest in its class.  This is the one feature I really love about this camera.  While it’s anout a grand more expensive than the Black magic Cine Cam I would nned to spend much  mote than that to get a really good zoom)  The AC-160  offers a wide field of view and what is really cool an operability much like an interchangeable lens.
   The high-quality HD recording utilizies MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 high-profile encoding.  It can capture HD video in  4 professional AVCCAM HD recording modes at 60Hz, including the high-quality PH mode (average 21 Mbps/Max 24Mbps), the HA mode (approx.17 Mbps), the extended recording HE mode (approx. 6 Mbps), and a PM mode (approx. 8 Mbps, 720p only). The AC160 has an additional feature that allows switching between 59.94 Hz or 50 Hz to support video production systems used around the world. At 50Hz, the AC160 also records in 1080/50i and 1080/25p, in 720/50p and 720/25p, and in 576/50i and 576/25p.
   The AC160’s Variable Frame Rate (VFR) function was inherited from the Panasonic VariCam HD Cinema Cameras. VFR provides overcranking for slow-motion and undercranking for fast-motion.  The BlackMagic design can’t do slow mo.  (But I do have the NewTek “Time Warp for capturing slo-mo on our TriCorders.)

3.  Blackmagic design announced their new Ursa mini Camera at the recent NAB 1215  Sony, Canon and Red announced theirs a year earlier.

Note the AC 160 comes with a built in zoom great for capturing sports like baseball., But the real dewa with the Cinema Camera is the fact that it can capture film like quality on the 2.5 K sensor and output it to CinemaDNG RAW, Apple ProRes and DNxHD formats. The camera can take Canon or Zeiss lenses.  It features a built-in SSD.  Metadata entry and control are accomplished via a capacitive touchscreen display. The included copy of DaVinci Resolve (included) can make sophisticate color correction It has several high speed video ports including BNC SDI and Thunderbolt.

 

Choosing the right camera for Webcasting via TriCaster

 

There are a number of good options for camera choices for the new HD TriCaster models like the TCXD450 and TCXD850, if one is (as I am) considering great sports coverage at a very affordable price..  I have a personal stake in this as need to WebCast my nephew’s baseball games all summer and will want to buy eight cameras for our TriCaster 850 extreme.  (Actually, I would want the eight cameras anyway to save on the crazy rental costs.)  Right now I’m renting Sony EX3’s.  Great cameras, but I think we can do better, with these new offerings form Panasonic and BlackMagic.

 

Here are my choices:

1. Panasonic AF100’s
2. Panasonic The AG-AC160
3. Blackmagic Cinema cameras
4. Buy the reliable Sony EX3’s

 

Right now I’m leaning towards the Cinema Cameras but I’m very open to advice an/or alternate suggestions.  Note:  The TriCaster can take a wide variety of video inputs but best is HDSDI so I have chosen three cameras all of which have HDSDI ports (I eliminated the Sony FS100 which I really love for this reason).

 

Please give me your advice.  I know the Blackmagic delivery date is July and so you probably haven’t had your hands on one yet.

 

In case you want some info to jog your memory here’s some info on the three cameras:

 

1. Buy eight Panasonic AF100’s which incorporate a 4/3-inch, 16:9 MOS imager. The AF100 can record in 1080/60i, 50i, 30p, 25p and 24p and 720/60p, 50p, 30p, 25p and 24p in AVCHD high-quality at a maximum 24Mbps.  For use in Europe which is very hand for us as we often shoot there the AF100 is  easily switchable 60Hz and 50Hz.  However our four TriCasters  SD, 300, 450 and 850 are all NTSC.
   The AF100 has a high-resolution imager with built-in ND filtering and dramatically reduced video aliasing.   Video out ports include HD-SDI out  (great for the Tricaster), HDMI, time code recording, built-in stereo microphone and USB 2.0. The camera has the usual two XLR inputs with +48V Phantom Power capability, 48-kHz/16-bit two-channel digital audio recording with LPCM/Dolby-AC3.
2. Or I could buy eight of the Panasonic The AG-AC160 AVCCAM HD handheld camcorders  with variable frame rate recording in 1080p, PCM audio, and HD-SDI output, and like the AF100 ,switchability between 59.94Hz/50Hz for Europian use. The Panasonic AC160 is efeatures h high-sensitivity 1/3″, full-HD 2.2 megapixel U.L.T.  with Ultra Luminance Technology.  It has a 3-MOS imaging system and a  22X HD zoom lens (the longest in its class.  This is the one feature I really love about this camera.  While it’s anout a grand more expensive than the Black magic Cine Cam I would nned to spend much  mote than that to get a really good zoom)  The AC-160  offers a wide field of view and what is really cool an operability much like an interchangeable lens.
   The high-quality HD recording utilizies MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 high-profile encoding.  It can capture HD video in  4 professional AVCCAM HD recording modes at 60Hz, including the high-quality PH mode (average 21 Mbps/Max 24Mbps), the HA mode (approx.17 Mbps), the extended recording HE mode (approx. 6 Mbps), and a PM mode (approx. 8 Mbps, 720p only). The AC160 has an additional feature that allows switching between 59.94 Hz or 50 Hz to support video production systems used around the world. At 50Hz, the AC160 also records in 1080/50i and 1080/25p, in 720/50p and 720/25p, and in 576/50i and 576/25p.
   The AC160’s Variable Frame Rate (VFR) function was inherited from the Panasonic VariCam HD Cinema Cameras. VFR provides overcranking for slow-motion and undercranking for fast-motion.  The BlackMagic design can’t do slow mo.  (But I do have the NewTek “Time Warp for capturing slo-mo on our TriCorders.)

3.  Blackmagic design announced their new Cinema Camera at the recent NAB this year. Sony, Canon and Red announced theirs a year earlier.  Black magic is trying to establish a solid space for this new  Cinema Camera.   It’s priced at less than $3000 without lens.  Note the AC 160 comes with a built in zoom great for capturing sports like baseball., But the real dewa with the Cinema Camera is the fact that it can capture filmlike quality on the 2.5 K sensor and output it to CinemaDNG RAW, Apple ProRes and DNxHD formats. The camera can take Canon or Zeiss lenses.  It features a built-in SSD.  Metadata entry and control are accomplished via a capacitive touchscreen display. The included copy of DaVinci Resolve (included) can make sophisticate color correction It has several high speed video ports including BNC SDI and Thunderbolt.