Smorgasboarder_16_March-2013

EQUIPMENT
The reality of surf media seems to be you make do with
what you have. That’s not a complaint, but simply a matter
of fact. You have to appreciate the industry for what it is and
the fact you have the pleasure of dealing with real people
day to day. It’s more about passion than commercial gain.
Talking with Tim is confi rmation of this belief.
“The ultimate camera you can have is a Phantom Flex. It’s a
$500,000 camera. I don’t own one. The company that makes
Phantom is called Vision Research. These cameras deliver
unprecedented high-speed image capture and go beyond HD
to support 4-megapixel imaging.
“The other cameras considered the bees knees are the Red
Cameras started by Jim Jannard, the original founder of
Oakley. He sold the sunglass company and decided to work
on launching digital fi lm cameras. They are now industry
standard. The Red One 4k camera shoots 120 frames per
second. It all ads up to a pretty expensive kit once you add
a viewfi nder, grip, batteries and a lense, which can cost as
much as $100k. A good Sachtler (tripod) alone can be up
to $18,000. Their latest is the Red Epic and it shoots up to
240 frames per second. Some of the most respected surf
fi lmmakers have got one.
“My camera is probably the best HD camera out there and
is good for shooting surfi ng movies but they don’t shoot high
speed. It only shoots 50 frames per second. It’s part of the
Panasonic P2 range known for their good quality fi les and
the fact they don’t suffer from too many glitches. I bought
my cameras post the Sydney Olympics for about 2/3 their
original price.”
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SMORGASBOARDER | MAR/APR 2013