I started the gear section on this blog in 2008, and I haven’t done that much updating to it since.

Needless to say:  the gear that has become available since the 5D MKII was launched has virtually exploded and created and entirely new market.   I’ve used most of it - and today I’m publishing a list of what I have come to rely on for all of my HDDSLR productions:  This is a list of gear that I USE on a regular basis - along with some more “specialized” items that I use once or twice a year but always yield incredibly unique results.

You can go to see this new section on the My Gear Section on the top left menu of this blog.

It’s a pretty extensive list and will continue to grow with time.  Right now we’re already put up over 100 items so far - it’s taken 3 of us more than a month to put this together for you.  My goal is to make this one of the the most comprehensive gear lists on any personal blog out there.  I also want to make sure that I do more than just publish a list gear.   I’m going to do my best to explain how and why I use each piece of gear, and to give visual examples whenever possible.

So here’s what I’ve done:

1. I’ve listed each piece of kit along with a photograph of it, and I’ve organized the gear within nine categories.

2.  I’ve listed the manufacturer’s specs from their sites - and linked directly to those sites so that you can find more out from them.

3. I’ve added a list of comments as to WHY I have come to choose each product - and I’ve done my best to speak to each piece of gear’s strengths and weaknesses (every piece of gear has BOTH!)

4. I’ve added links for you to purchase this gear from two popular retailers (Adorama and B&H.)

5. As I find more time - I will include more photographs and/or videos that demonstrate how each of these pieces of gear is used.  Expect the list to continue to grow as new products are released and I get a chance to work with them on future productions.

Here is a video that I put together recently that shows how I’ve come to include many of these pieces of gear in an actual production - this is something that I will be looking to as often as I can.  I think it’s the best way for me to discuss the uses of each piece of kit:

2010 Gear Video for Italy Trip / TV Pilot from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

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Katrina 5 Years Later - Images by Vincent Laforet

Today marks the 5-year-anniversary of Katrina hitting the Gulf Coast and the New Orleans levee breaking and flooding one of the most beautiful communities of this country.

This was easily the single most difficult assignment of my career as a photojournalist.  I saw many fellow colleagues - and most surprisingly hardened war photographers - break down as they covered this story.

When you’re overseas, it’s easy to distance yourself and say: “This would never happen back home.”

But when it hits this hard - this close to home - no professional journalist/photojournalist/human being can build up a strong enough emotional wall or “professional distance.”

It took me well over a year to get over the experiences and things I witnessed during my 10 days there.  I was one of the first photographers to get images out from Katrina as most were not able to get images (let alone Television feeds) out during the first few days without significant difficulty as almost everything was knocked out in a huge geographical area.

No one was prepared for what happened - what we saw - what we heard - what we witnessed.

I saw the very worst of humanity - and the very best - all in the span of minutes, several times a day.

In fact when I was asked to go back one year later,  I pleaded to be sent to Iraq instead.  That’s how close to home this assignment hit and how terrified I was of returning.

It was one thing to witness the disaster - but somehow even harder to go back and witness how little progress had been made one full year later.

I did eventually go back on the anniversary date to work on an essay that documented the frighteningly small amount of progress that had been made.  I have to admit that I fell into a pretty deep depression as a result and had to leave after just 6 days.

But what we as journalists felts is absolutely irrelevant.  I just mention it because at that point I had been a journalist for close to 15 years and documented a lot of tragic events around the world as a staff photographer for The New York Times- and this event knocked me out cold.

Can you imagine how hard this was for “regular” people who were not just witnesses - but right in the middle of all of this?

I honestly can’t.

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As I and many others guessed when this controversy popped up a few months ago - the whole H.264 End User Agreement “controversy” was indeed muchado about nothing.   Good to see MPEG LA do the right thing and clear the air.

For those who missed this little controversy from back in May please read this post. The issue was with the end user license agreement for H.264 which states that the format cannot be used for “professional” distribution.

This is something we could all have worried about as the Canon HDDSLRs all shoot their footage in the H.264 format.   But now:  we don’t.  So go back out and shoot - and always remember:  as awful as some of the language in contracts often sounds at first - most of the time you can go back and discuss it with the other party.   One of my favorite sayings is that “all contracts are meant to be negotiated.”

IMPORTANT NOTE (This applies to only footage that is put online for free - NOT FOR SALE.  See comments below for clarification and rates.)

I said that I have some very exciting announcements coming in the next 2-4 weeks  - that’s true!

BUT - they will have absolutely, unequivocally, NOTHING to do with Canon or a Canon product.

I just had to clarify this because several rumor sites have picked up on a quote I made (highlighted below) in a post I wrote last week and taken it out of context - even though I made it clear that these rumors were photography related not video related and would involve the iPad and iPhone.

Here’s the quote: “Then there’s a BIG announcement coming soon… something to do with Photography and iPads and iPhones… can’t wait to share that one - that too has been a 6 month project in the making… more to come soon!  The goal is for all of this to happen within the next 2-4 weeks!”

Now for a lighter side of things - for your viewing pleasure in case you missed it - a series of hilarious video - w/ a reference to “Nocturne” I believe… I happen to agree with the little guy for the most part - but for the record: we did have an armed security guard, and we shot with 1D MKIVs - not 7Ds

IMPORTANT: NSFW - a lot of explicit language and evident frustration within:

More and much funnier ones below… this one is a little bit “angry” if you will…

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Steadicam +GoPro HD from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

I know it’s been a little quiet on this blog lately - my apologies.   The truth is we have more info and announcements coming in the next 2-4 weeks than I’ve probably ever had since Reverie or Nocturne… I’m pretty excited actually.

We just also wrapped a 2 week shoot in Tuscany and Naples - Italy.   I thought I’d throw this cool little ditty on Vimeo for you guys to share in - we mounted a GoPro HD camera w/ velcro onto our steadicam rig w/ the 1D MKIV and Zeiss CP.2s attached to it / w Preston and Boxx wireless transmiter and well a lot of stuff - all gear we’ll be discussing and listing on this site in the coming WEEK.

BTW -  I have an entirely new section going up that will list - EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF GEAR I USE on productions.   And as you can guess - it’s a long list.   That’s part of the reason we’ve been a little quiet.   Between the productions I’m working on (I’m in Vancouver right now shooting 3 commercials back to back until the 22nd during their 6-week “summer/gorgeous season”) and given the amount of gear I am planning on listing - we’ve been very very busy.

This is a video of one of my favorite allies in many of my productions - Director/DP and Steadicam operator Charles Papert (SOC) - we mounted a GoPro HD on his steadicam and let it rip.   You should be able to appreciate how smooth the motion is on the camera (he’s a 20+ year veteran- been operating the steadi since he was in his teens…) and also the fine control he has on the rig with his fingers… a lot more stuff like this to come… it was well over 100º F in Napoli when we shot this - not easy for most - but a walk in the park for Charles.  At one point we put the GoPro on conveyor belt - it was covered with chocolate and went through a dryer - all the time following chocolate candies … you’ll see a clip of Mike cleaning the lens after that successful experiment.  I’m in love with the chances you can take w/ these cameras!

Then there’s a BIG announcement coming soon… something to do with Photography and iPads and iPhones… can’t wait to share that one - that too has been a 6 month project in the making… more to come soon!  The goal is for all of this to happen within the next 2-4 weeks!

I was just playing around with Vimeo’s widgets and albums today - and I wanted to share them with you all in case you weren’t aware that they existed. This is a pretty neat ways to share your video work on your blog or your site pretty quickly and elegantly. There’s also a cool OS X Dashboard app.  Check the features out here.

or another style you can use for your videos  or in the case below some of the channels I subscribe to on Vimeo:

Timelapse - Coast of Italy from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

I just returned from a wonderful 2 week production in Italy.   The trip confirmed that I still want to retire in Tuscany and that I am still madly in love with the Mediterranean.  Seriously - this is the place for me.

We shared some unbelievable food, wine, and sites in the Chianti region of Tuscany.   The second half of our trip was spent in Naples.   Napoli is an amazing city on so many levels and a place that I will definitely return to -  I can’t wait to go diving along the Amalfi Coast as well.

We took a boat ride along the coast and it brought back so many wonderful childhood memories of mine.  I spent many summers along the mediterranean with my father, ranging from Perpignan in the south of France all the way down to Corsica.

I have a LOT to share with you on this blog regarding the gear we used on this 2 week production (for a TV pilot.)  That will keep me busy for sure in the upcoming weeks on this blog as we brought quite a few prototype pieces with us - definitely stay tuned.

For now, here is a quick time lapse video of a beautiful scene from Napoli.    I love time lapses as much as anyone out there - but I think that they take on an entirely new dimension once you are able to actually move the camera itself.

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One of the biggest challenges for on set production with HDDSLR’s (or really any camera for that matter) is recording sound.  Unfortunately, no camera has an onboard microphone capable of recording sound that’s up to professional standards - to achieve such results you have to use an external audio device (I use a Sound Devices 744t) with a boom mic, lavalier mic, or both.

This of course means that once you get into the editing bay you have to sync all of your dailies to your recorded audio.  Because HDDSLR’s do not record time code this can be tricky.  I usually use my digital slate (by DENECKE) to apply a synced time code to the audio recorder.  The digital slate displays a running time code that the camera can see.  When I get to the editing bay, I pick a frame from the beginning of a clip where the slate is showing.  Using the time code that is displayed on the slate, I assign the clip a matching time code at that frame.  I can then merge this clip to the corresponding audio clip based on the time code and theoretically my audio will be synced.  Sound tedious? IT IS.

However there is an elegant solution for this by Singular Software called PluralEyes.  The program allows you to drop everything (video and audio) into one timeline and then simply command PluralEyes to sync everything in that timeline.  The program analyzes the waveform of the audio attached to your video, as well as that of the audio you recorded separately, and syncs them together on your timeline.  This is incredibly convenient, a huge time saver, and very cool.

PluralEyes is especially helpful when shooting multi-camera events (such as a concert or interview) because it lines everything up so that all you have to do in the edit is cut between your different camera setups.  No more syncing your video files, or even having to set up a multi track video project, because PluralEyes does it all for you - just by pressing a button.  It’s also helpful when you’re shooting in a guerilla or documentary style and there’s no time to jam time code - much less slate a shot.  And of course its useful to anyone shooting on an HDDSLR given the absence of timecode…

You can learn more by visiting Singular Software’s website.

HDSLR Bootcamp, Shane Hurlbut, ASC from Shane Hurlbut, ASC on Vimeo.

I know that many of you who read this blog regularly are interested in learning opportunities and workshops, so I thought I would pass this along…

My friend and fellow Explorer of Light, Shane Hurlbut, ASC, is putting on an HDDSLR Bootcamp on August 28th and 29th in Los Angeles.  The two day course is pricey at $3250.00 - but you’ll get what you pay for. Shane has spent the last year and a half running around with these cameras and perfecting his technique and workflow.  During that time he even shot a feature film - “Act of Valor” - entirely on HDDSLRs.

The bootcamp is designed as a crash course in all things that Shane and his team have learned over the past year and a half of HDDSLR production.  It aims to educate others how to turn these prosumer cameras into something capable of shooting motion pictures.  Shane is a true believer in this technology (what he has coined as “digital film”), and its a rare opportunity to be able to learn from someone of his experience.

**UPDATE - Shane is graciously offering a discount of 40% on the bootcamp to all of my readers - bringing the price down to $1950.00!  If you are interested - email Lydia@hurlbutvisuals.com with the subject: BOOTCAMP - LAFORET DISCOUNT**

Check out more details on the bootcamp by CLICKING HERE.