My kit

With the addition of a video camera, I now have my full (though minimalist) multimedia journalism kit in hand. The list, which doesn’t include the basic tools — notebooks, pens and pencils —, nor the bagful of cables and power bricks that goes with all this stuff:

• Video: Canon ZR500; Point-and-shoot. The point-and-shoot gives me a backup, and a way to do a two-camera setup. iSight camera for IM/Skype interviews.
• Stills: Canon SD200. 2.1 megapixels, which is more than enough for the ‘net, and suffices for print. Limited by a 3x zoom, but I should be working close anyway. Also shoots video if needed (eight minutes of 640X480 at 30fps on a 1GB card).
• Audio: 30GB iPod with iTalk Pro. Two condensor mikes (one lapel style; one conference style) and one dynamic handheld mic. None of them cost more than $75; audio quality is adequate. iRiver iFP-795 MP3 recorder as back-up.
• Laptop: 12″ iBook G4 with 1.2GHz processor, 768 MB memory and 120 GB harddrive.
• Video software: QuickTime Pro. iMovie. Avid Free DV, which I’m still learning and which I think I may end up preferring. Sorensen Squeeze.
• Audio software: Audacity. Fission for quick edits. Audio Hijack Pro for on-laptop recording. Amadeus Pro (much more stable than Audacity). GarageBand.
• Photo software: Photoshop. SnapzPro for screenshots. Also records video of computer screen.
• Multimedia software: Soundslides. Flash.

A note on software: I have a bunch more small apps, all free, floating around on my computer that do simple tasks: rotating video, extracting and converting audio, etc. Why? Because they were free.

With the exception of the laptop, everything fits in a bag that is smaller than the one I used to carry around with two SLR camera bodies, six lenses, flash, etc. Even with all those cables, chargers, extra batteries, etc.

TAGS: JOURNALISM, GEAR, MULTIMEDIA