Meet: Helmut Kobler

Helmut Kobler www.losangelescameraman.com Los Angeles, CA USA

Articles by Helmut Kobler

	Cut the Cord with Wireless HD Recent wireless HD systems have gotten way better and much cheaper. DP/cameraman Helmut Kobler takes a look at two systems from Teradek and Paralinx that show just how impressive these units have become. Review, Editorial, Feature

	Archiving and Back-Up Archiving Video With HP's New LTO-6 Ultrium 6250 Tape Drive For years, Helmut Kobler has used LTO tape to archive footage and projects that he couldn't afford to ever lose. When HP recently released the industry's first desktop LTO-6 tape drive, the Ultrium 6250 ($4199 list), Kobler couldn't resist its upgraded tape capacity and speed. Here's his hands-on report of using the 6250 on a Mac. Review

	Field Production A Tale of Two Field Monitors:Panasonic & Flanders Scientific The world is full of production monitors these days, but two new models stand out thanks to their big screens that can run for hours on battery power. That alone means cameramen and producers can finally take a big monitor into the field, without giving up much mobility. Review

	Panasonic HVX - HPX (P2) Panasonic AG-HPX250 Camera 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. Review

	Panasonic HVX - HPX (P2) Panasonic AJ-HPX3100 Camera 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-production workflows far more efficient. Review

	Field Production Panasonic BT-LH910 9 inch Broadcast Monitor 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 very unique features that 3D shooters will find helpful. Review

	Apple FCPX - Final Cut Pro X A Final Cutter Tries Out Premiere Pro 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. Editorial

	Archiving and Back-Up ioSafe Rugged Portable Hard Drive with USB 3 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 over other options. Review

	AJA Ki Pro AJA Ki Pro Mini 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 some features, taken a few away, and dropped the price in half. Viola, you have the new Ki Pro Mini. Review

	Panasonic AF100, DVX100, HMC150 Panasonic AG-AF100 Micro Four Thirds Video Camera 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... Review

	Field Production Anton/Bauer Tandem 150 Modular Power System 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. Review

	Lighting Design Pros Litepanels Sola ENG On-Camera LED Light 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. Review

	HD High-End Band Pro One World 2010 Trade Show 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 attends and shares with COW members his experience at what felt like more of a "friendly mixer" where you can easily talk to vendors and friends, and see great products close up. Review, Editorial, Project

	Field Production Backing Up Solid-State Cards In The Field 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 just about any project. Review

	CalDigit CalDigit AV Drive with USB 3 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. Review

	Panasonic HVX - HPX (P2) Panasonic AJ-PCD2 P2 Card Reader 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. Review

	Panasonic HVX - HPX (P2) G-Technology G-Drive Mobile Portable Hard Drive 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. Review

	Panasonic HVX - HPX (P2) Panasonic AJ-HPM200 P2 Mobile 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. Review

	Panasonic HVX - HPX (P2) ShotPut Pro V3 by Imagine Products, Inc. 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). Review

	Panasonic HVX - HPX (P2) Reviewing Panasonic's AJ-HRW10 P2 Rapid Writer 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. Review