Mojo at IBC 2018: smartphone kit among the big tech
MOJO AT IBC
IBC in Amsterdam is mostly about big, shiny, expensive stands selling big, shiny, expensive kit. But this year, scattered amongst all that traditional tech, were a few more mojo outposts.
Here are a few headlines, not in any particular order:
SIRUI: I’d only heard about Sirui lenses a few days before IBC. Mostly Sirui were there to sell conventional camera accessories, but they had a good selection of smartphone lenses. The clip-on telephoto/portrait lens (€80) looked pretty effective, after a bit of tweaking to get it in position. Sirui quoted €320 for a kit of 4 lenses (macro/fisheye/wide-angle and telephoto), though it’s cheaper on Amazon. The lenses screw into a case similar to Moment lenses. Link here
Sirui also do a stabiliser stick with a built-in light, but it only works in 1 axis and at $59, it’s best to save up for a 3-axis gimbal IMHO.
BOYA: like Sirui, another Chinese company aiming to take over the world. Best known for their cheap and cheerful lav mics - I have a few for mojo teaching – they claim to have sold 1 MILLION of their Boya M1 mics last year. What I didn’t know was that they do a full range of other mics. Their BM3031 super-cardioid shotgun (€80) did a good job of screening out the hubbub of IBC. I was less convinced by their smaller, cheaper shotguns. They do a range of budget wireless mics which I didn’t get a chance to test, but the prices looked good. Link here
OTHER MICS: Rode kit was sadly locked up a glass case, so I didn’t spend much time there. Ditto Sennheiser, who displayed their Bluetooth Memory mic, which allows you to record audio remotely from your smartphone and then sync it up afterwards. Pricey though: £180ish. One day the Chinese will eat their lunch.
CTPRO: people who went to Galway Mojofest will have seen them there as City Reporter. One re-brand later, they’re now called CTPro with a sophisticated offering featuring a shoot/edit/share/stream capability all in one app. Aimed at news organisations embracing smartphone working, the app has plenty of features you’ll find on advanced stand-alone apps like Filmic Pro and Luma Fusion. No need to ingest from one app to another. Subscription payment and licensing model. Link here
CTPro also had a very cool prototype smartphone rig – 3D printed - featuring an iPhone wireless charging pad, powered by batteries housed in the grips. The grips are hinged to allow you to hold the rig with two hands and still tap the iPhone screen with your thumbs. Two cold shoe attachments. If this ever gets into production, I’m first in the queue!
TIFFEN/LOWEL GOLITE: from the guys who make big Steadicam rigs. Ideal size for mojo, 10 dimmable stages of brightness. One filter doubles as the AA battery cover, a separate diffuser clips on magnetically. Hot shoe capability for flash. They quoted me £40 but it’s nearer £50 on Amazon. Link here
ZHIYUN: their Smooth 4 gimbal has just been integrated with Filmic Pro, which makes it a real competitor to DJI’s Osmo 2. Tutorial king Eliot Fitzroy put this gimbal through its paces on the Zhiyun stand and it looked pretty good, though it felt slightly chunkier than the Osmo. Made me feel pretty happy that I’d ordered a Smooth 4 the day before IBC. Link here
LUMA TOUCH: Luma Fusion is probably the best tablet/smartphone editing app right now. Found them tucked away on a little stand, well away from the fancy-dan displays of big tech. Version 1.7 is due out in 2-3 weeks, featuring integration of Storyblocks (royalty free content music/images) and improved crop function (soft edges, curved corners).
Version 1.8 promised by end of the year will include a 4th video track (I’m struggling with three), and the ability to copy and move multiple clips…or even paste them into another project. Also ability to export the entire project into FCP/Premier to complete the edit on laptop. Link here
MANFROTTO/JOBY: were at IBC demonstrating their big-camera kit, but also had their mojo gear on show. I liked the smooth pan and tilt head from the super-flexible Joby GorillaPod range; handy to have on a desktop tripod.
I also liked the Telepod Pro – essentially a selfie stick with tripod feet (£80), which looked good for 360 cameras where being out of shot yourself is a good thing. A Bluetooth impulse trigger (£15) seems worth the money; apparently it will control Filmic Pro video functions. Didn’t get a chance to try it myself. Link here
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