WYES CHOOSES THE RICH COLOR PALETTE AND HD BRILLIANCE OF IKEGAMI HDK-79EC CAMERAS FOR CHEF JOHN BESH’S NEW ORLEANS
Ikegami’s CMOS-Equipped Multi-Format Full-Digital HDTV Cameras Capture
Every Delectable Detail for a New 26-Part Series Starring an Award-Winning Chef
MAYWOOD, NEW JERSEY, August 3, 2010 – One of television production’s most time-tested challenges are cooking shows, which require precision videography to capture the detail, color, and beauty of culinary creations so popular with audiences. For WYES Studios, achieving the very best on-air look for its much-anticipated new series Chef John Besh’s New Orleans means shooting all of its 26 episodes in HDTV with Ikegami HDK-79EC native multi-format CMOS cameras. WYES Studios recently purchased three HDK-79EC’s, bringing its total number of Ikegami HD cameras to 20.
“We’ve had a lot of experience with Ikegami, and are very familiar with both the quality of their cameras and their customer service,” says Jim Moriarty, VP and General Manager of YES Productions. “Ikegami’s cameras already proved battle-ready for the road on our mobile units. For the controlled environment of the studio, we knew the Ikegami HDK-79EC was the highest-quality HD camera we could get.”
WYES is shooting Chef John Besh’s New Orleans (starring the award-winning restaurateur) in its 2,400 sq. ft. studio. Three of the studio’s Ikegami HDK-79EC HD native multi-format portable CMOS cameras are configured for studio operation with nine-inch Ikegami LCD color viewfinders and full servo zoom lenses. “I brought a fourth one in from one of the mobile units,” Moriarty adds. “We put it on a Jimmy Jib for overhead shots.”
“The excellent colorimetry of the Ikegami cameras is essential here,” Moriarty says. “On a cooking show such as this there are rich, vibrant colors everywhere, from the vegetables to the meats. The video output of the Ikegami is brilliant – it puts the flavors right in your face.”
Ikegami’s HDK-79EC cameras employ three 2/3-inch 2.5 Mega-pixel CMOS imaging sensors to achieve supreme picture quality and multi-format HD performance. These 1920H x 1080V active-pixel CMOS sensors were the first of their kind in the broadcast television industry and are switchable between interlace and progressive readout modes. Providing a full 16:9 aspect ratio, the HDK-79EC’s CMOS sensors can deliver a choice of these formats: 1080/60i, 1080/24p, and 720/60p. Also available are optional 50Hz formats, 1080/50i and 720/50p, and high-speed dual-link 1080/60p, and for Super Slow Motion, 720/120p, and 1080/120i. The HDK-79EC cameras also incorporate Ikegami’s sophisticated Chip C4 ASIC video-processing technology for sophisticated digital processing – including flare, gamma, color, and DTL correction – of the video output of the three CMOS sensors. A new multi-point Smooth Knee circuit with Knee Detail and Super Color Knee improves reproduction of highlights.
“The main thing that I noticed about the Ikegami CMOS sensors is that they bring out very subtle shading in the sets,” adds Oak Lea, a freelance video engineer who works frequently with WYES. “The rear walls of Chef John Besh were lit with patterned lights. The shading was so gradual and the detail in the blacks were so crisp that the Ikegami HDK-79EC cameras gave the set a much more 3D appearance than I'm used to seeing. It worked well to give a much better depth to the backgrounds, and give us a lot of separation from the foreground without needing a huge amount of back light. The result obviously gave it a much more natural look.”
Ikegami’s HDK-79EC HD native multi-format CMOS cameras can be configured for use with either triax or SMPTE fiber camera cable. Additional system components include the CCU-790A full-digital camera control unit with built-in broadcast down-converter and the CB-79HD/TA-79HD Triax Adaptor System.
A cornerstone of the WYES look for years, Ikegami has long demonstrated that its service and support is as excellent as its imagery. “They’re very customer-oriented,” notes Moriarty. “If we need a replacement part or a loaner, they’re quick to jump on it as soon as we make the call.”
When the last steak is off the grill on Chef John Besh’s New Orleans, WYES’ Ikegami HDK-79EC HD native multi-format CMOS cameras will also figure into the studio’s future business plans, as movie production continues to ramp-up in the New Orleans area. “Equipped with these cameras, we expect to work with the digital feature films that are shooting here,” Jim Moriarty concludes. “With their portability, HD multi-format CMOS capabilities, and the increased quality they can produce, our Ikegami HDK-79EC cameras definitely increase our stock in that market.”
Ikegami Electronics (U.S.A.), Inc. is a leading supplier of professional broadcasting products in the Western Hemisphere. With U.S. offices in New Jersey, California, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and Ohio, the Ikegami name is recognized worldwide for its state-of-the-art television cameras and closed-circuit TV equipment. Ikegami’s universal High Definition TV cameras have been widely accepted by the broadcast industry as it continues the transition to the High Definition Television Format.
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