Whilst down at SD Falconry, I had 1+1/2 hours to kill, waiting for a BT engineer to arrive.
So, I decided to take the opportunity and go for a walk around the lake at their Warwickshire premises.
I had my camera in my pocket, and was glad I did.
A Lunchtime Walk from Paul Hadley on Vimeo.
It also gave me the opportunity to try out the extremities of the digital zoom- not bad, but not great.
Something to bear in mind for the future…
I’ve still got my old camcorders, but finance has allowed me to upgrade to full HD video recording now. I’ve recently purchased a Panasonic HDC-TM700 camcorder (from Simply Electronics – the cheapest place I found for this product on the www if you’re looking for something similar) and have been out and about having a play.
Expermenting with the Panasonic HDC TM700 from Paul Hadley on Vimeo.
Reading the 3 Panasonic manuals supplied via their website is a bit of a daunting task, and I’ve found myself looking at particular relevant information I need, rather than reading the 3 documents in their entirety (show me a bloke that doesn’t do this).
The pre-purchase research I completed showed that compatibility with my Macbook Pro, iMovie and Final Cut Pro would be an issue (I don’t like to use a PC for such things), and I reassured myself that importing the MTS files required for successful editing of HD files would indeed be possible when I need to make full use of the camcorder’s capabilities. The useful info I found is available at the Apple User’s Forum and it was the prior experiences of other users delivering a positive outcome (albeit with a work-around) that swung me towards the TM700 purchase, and my budget available of course.
Test capture- Panasonic HDC TM 700 from Paul Hadley on Vimeo.
So, off I went (after the horrid winter) into the daylight, filming a couple of short pieces with my good friends from S&D Falconry…
Recording at full HD was important for me, so I could see first hand what the camcorder was capable of delivering. Then, realising that compression would be an issue, I simply imported the files into iMovie for a quick couple of edits, just so I could see what is possible when working against tight deadlines with the need to produce and publish for the web quickly. Needless to say, I am quite impressed with the outcomes, and hopefully you are too.
Panasonic HDC-TM700 Test from Paul Hadley on Vimeo.
Next, I’ll do some more recording in HD, and this time, will use the work-around and import the files into Final Cut Pro for a more considerate edit, using some filters and maybe some advanced effects.
Opening up the iris- Panasonic HDC-TM700 from Paul Hadley on Vimeo.
Have a look at the final short pieces, and please, tell me your thoughts.
I know, I know… where’s the new layout then?
Ok, I’ve been busy, so that has taken a back seat, but soon, I promise.
A few months ago, I bumped into Steve and Debbie from SD Pest Control in my local shopping centre. Pest control isn’t normally my kind of interest, but they do things differently- with birds of prey and falcons.
A display of beautiful animals in a shopping centre is a big draw for the crowds, especially those with kids, and it was the assembled crowd that pulled me in.
After a good chat, I offered to work with them. Usually, I don’t offer my services for free, but they do some good work with St Mary’s Hospice on a voluntary basis, and that organisation are something I’m keen to support.
Steve was telling me that they were looking to get their web profile raised by using social media platforms, and that’s something I can help them with.
So, yesterday, S&D had a static display for local community groups over in Smith’s Wood, near the NEC, so I headed over with my son and camera to see what was going on.
Here’s the result:
The camera was my cheap (£35) Samsung Mini DV. Towards the end of the month I’ll be buying a Panasonic HDC TM 700, which will let me record much better pictures in full HD. That will help bring out the beautiful colours of the birds in much more detail. Also, I’ll be going flying with Steve, and we are working on a way of fitting my new Muvi Atom microcam to some of the birds’ harnesses, so we can capture some footage whilst the birds are in flight.
More soon.