This year was my second time at NAB, covering new gear for Filmmaker Magazine. I can’t say there was anything that completely blew me away, but there was some new gear and tools that definitely piqued my interest and looked quite useful for the future.
Solo Smart Drone
One thing there was no shortage of at NAB was drones. But 3DR caused a big splash with their new Solo drone. Unlike DJI, 3DR is sticking with GoPros as the camera instead of making their own, and the Solo offers full control over all GoPro settings while flying. But what really stands out with Solo is the amount of automation their apps have when flying. You can easily program moves as a single operator that would normally require two people with two controllers. Really excited to get my hands on this.
Aputure DEC Adapter
This really handy device for single camera operators adds focus control for Canon lenses via a grip handle. You can get smooth focus control when run and gun shooting while keeping your hand firmly on your rig.
PolarPro GoPro Rigs
All the GoPro rigs I saw from PolarPro seemed to address a problem or wish for GoPro mounting that I’ve personally encountered. The Strap Mount and ProGrip are my favorite, as pictured above. It features a quick release system to attach to your backpack strap or BCD when diving for easy access to your camera.
Sennheiser AVX System
I’m a stickler for clean, high quality sound but I’m no sound professional and sometimes wireless systems get so finicky I just want to smash them into a wall. Plus they become a giant tangle mess of cables that eventually get frayed. Sennheiser is trying to streamline the process with their new AVX system. The receiver is small and designed to clip right into the XLR port. The transmitter doesn’t have any dangling antennas and both will automatically find and connect to free frequencies.
Wipster
Not gear but I’ve already been putting Wipster to use. I’m sure most of you have gone through some sort of system of password protected Vimeo sharing or Dropbox links when sending cuts of a film in various stages. Wipster is a streamlined process to not only easily share cuts and manage versions, but also for easy frame accurate commenting by simply clicking on the video. Freemium model – definitely worth a look.
There was also a slew of software updates across the board with NLEs and color correction. Here are my thoughts on the merging of the two realms of post.
