The Ikegami GFCam HDS-V10 camcorderTULSA, OKLA.
KGEB Television is located on the Oral Roberts University campus here and broadcasts a diverse schedule of quality Christian programming. KGEB is the flagship station of the Golden Eagle Broadcasting Network, and also operates a full-service HD video facility with two busy studios. An efficient high-definition production workflow is vital to KGEB, and that's why we chose Ikegami's GFCam HDS-V10 Flash Memory tapeless HD camcorder.
Ikegami's GFCam is a three 2/3-inch CCD broadcast-grade ENG camcorder, available in native 1080i or native 720p versions. It records 4:2:2 digital video in the MPEG-2 MXF file format on removable GFPak Flash RAM cartridges made by Toshiba. A 64 GB GFPak can hold two hours of full-resolution 50 Mbps 1920x1080/ 4:2.2 HD video. The GFPaks feature a remaining-capacity indicator, a high-speed SATA interface, and a built-in USB 2.0 port for instant connection to leading nonlinear editing systems.
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The stumbling blocks of long ingest times associated with tape-based formats have been removed with the Ikegami GFCam HDS-V10 camcorder. Being able to do a quick file transfer of footage from our 1080i GFCam into an NLE makes a lot of sense. From an editing standpoint, you can just take the GFPak out of the GFCam, connect it to the computer with a simple USB cable, and then drag-and-drop the files into Final Cut and move straight to editing instead of dealing with the typical log-and-transfer process other cameras require.
Ikegami's GFCam also has nonlinear intelligent recording features that are very useful. If you don't want to miss an event that's once in a lifetime, you can just set the camera for Retro Loop recording, and even if you press the record button after the fact you're still good to go. So if you're taping a building demolition or waiting for a world record to be broken, you've got it covered with the GFCam.
Ikegami announced at this year's NAB Show that GFCam will soon have the ability to instantly export thumbnail clips via Bluetooth directly to a laptop application for fast logging, metadata insertion, and other workflow advantages. We are excited about the prospective capabilities of this feature, as it will completely change the logging of metadata files. It will be a wonderful thing to sit there with your laptop and input shot information as you're rolling. Having the metadata all ready from the field when you come back will add a level of convenience.
Bill and Charmaine LeeBEAUTIFUL COLOR IMAGES
In addition to its tapeless workflow efficiencies, the 1080i imagery of our GFCam is beautiful and matches well with our Ikegami HDK-79s, which produce really gorgeous images. The Ikegami colorimetry is quite accurate. It's clean, crisp, and not over-enhanced. The colors are vibrant without being oversaturated. We also like the form factor of the GFCam—it's a very nicely balanced package that makes it easier to use, especially for pans and tilts. That's a big factor in production.
Workflow and bang for the buck are what drive a lot of our product choices. Having a very flexible camera at a very effective cost point is a big plus for our station. We can go straight from shooting to editing to air with the Ikegami GFCam.
Bill Lee is the director of engineering for KGEB television and Charmaine Lee is the station's director of creative services. Both have been in the broadcasting industry for more than 25 years, and are also husband and wife. They may be contacted atblee@oru.edu and clee@oru.edu, respectively.
For additional information, contact Ikegami at 201-368-9171 or visitwww.ikegami.com.
