YES Productions, a division of WYES-TV in New Orleans, recently expanded its inventory of high-definition equipment with the purchase of nine Ikegami HDK-79EC portable cameras, along with SE-79D system expander kits for its new Expando HD truck.
The portable cameras are designed to be quickly outfitted with a nine-inch viewfinder and either a full studio lens configuration, or field "box" lens. This feature means the camera can be used either on-stage at entertainment events or for sports coverage.
"The bulk of our business is in sports, and so in most cases our clients want six, maybe seven of the large-style cameras with a large lens," said Jim Moriarty, vice president and general manager of YES Productions. "We have the long glass and the Ikegami conversion (SE-79D System Expander) kits that allow us to put the large glass on those cameras. Then again, when we do an entertainment production, it can flip around the other way."
The HDK-79EC is also a multiformat camera, acquiring high-definition video in 720p, 1080i or 1080/24p.
"Ikegami enables us to convert--in just a matter of minutes--to and from whatever HDTV format the client may want," Moriarty said. "We do a lot of 1080i, but we can go in and convert the cameras and our truck in a matter of a few minutes to 720p and away we go. True HD is really spectacular. The picture quality is phenomenal. The HDK-79EC has great color representation and the picture quality clearly shows even tiny details."
Moriarty said that YES Productions has probably owned 60 or 70 Ikegami cameras since it began operations in 1982.
