Pioneer CDJ-2000

Pioneer CDJ-2000

I remember a time when no DJ worth his salt took CD players seriously (I say his, because they were all blokes back then). The objections were longer than a 12” (remember those?). “CDs are all very well, but what are you going to do when one starts jumping in the middle of a set?”…“It’s not like you can scratch with them is it?” “CDs? What next, female DJs?” Enter Pioneer (DJ booth left), with their now legendary CDJ-1000s, which, combined rock solid performance, optimal ergonomics, industrial build quality and the ability to emulate the entire cannon of vinyl tricks…and then some. The CDJs revolutionised the industry to such an extent that it’s almost impossible to find a club that doesn’t have a pair. But with a whole new generation getting their tunes direct from the net (some even, legally…) and the ever growing popularity of laptop DJing with Live, Traktor and Serrato, it seems that the graffiti’s on the wall for CDs. So what next? Continue reading “Pioneer CDJ-2000”

© 2009 – 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Nikon D700 – Preview

Nikon D700 previewed in the Technofile

When it comes to still photography, digital has all but won the argument. It’s more convenient, almost instantaneous and, if you exclude the cost of needing to update your equipment every two and a half minutes, far cheaper than silver. In fact, it really only has one problem, it simply doesn’t look like film. Or at least it didn’t until a year or so ago, when Nikon released their much lauded D3, which, to my eyes (with or without the sunglasses) was the first small format digital camera to produce results that genuinely looked as if they could have been shot on film. Continue reading “Nikon D700 – Preview”

© 2008 – 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Sony PMW-EX3 – Preview

Sony EX3

Just over a year ago, Sony announced the camera formerly known as the XDCAM EX (which is now known as the EX1). Sony’s first solid state HD camera, with a ‘proper’ lens, at an affordable price, it was nothing short of revolutionary and I predicted that it would do for filmmaking, what DV did for TV. Naturally I was right. However, great though the PMW-EX1 was, it did have some limitations. But now the good news is that most of these limitations have been addressed by the PMW-EX3, which is not a replacement, but a higher spec, higher priced model, that will be sold alongside the existing PMW-EX1. Continue reading “Sony PMW-EX3 – Preview”

© 2008 – 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Pioneer SVM-1000

Pinoeer SVM-1000 DJ and VJ mixer previewed on The Technofile by MC Rebbe the Rapping Rabbi

Back in 2004, Pioneer released the groundbreaking ‘DVJ-X’, which allowed DJs and VJs to scratch, loop and mash up DVDs in almost exactly the same way they had previously done with CDs, using the company’s ‘CDJ’ decks.

Quickly taking pride of place in clubs the world over and on numerous technical riders, the DVJ-X1 and its younger bro, the ‘DVJ-1000’, have not only found favour with both DJs wanting an easy route into visuals and VJs wanting something a bit more tactile and reactive than a laptop, but have also spawned a whole ‘DVJ’ sub culture. However, lack of an integrated AV mixer has meant that VJs and DVJs have been left to their own devices…literally…having to mix and mash all sorts of video and audio hardware in order to create a variety of novel, Heath Robinson meets Frankenstein’s monster type solutions for mixing video with audio. But now, the answer that everyone has been crying out for is finally at hand, in the shape of Pioneer’s brand new Pioneer SVM-1000. Continue reading “Pioneer SVM-1000”

© 2007 – 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Sony PDW-EX1

Sony XDCAM EX, Sony PDW-EX1 previewed in the Technofile by MC Rebbe the Rapping Rabbi

Yesterday, at a press conference at IBC in Amsterdam, Sony formally announced the specifications and pricing of its new PDW-EX1 camcorder.

First previewed six months ago at NAB in Las Vegas, as the XDCAM EX, it has since become one of the most hotly anticipated and talked about video cameras of all time…and here’s why…in a nutshell, it’s a true HD (1920 x 1080) 3 chip camera, that records native 24p (23.98) direct to memory cards, has a real lens with full manual control and is badged Cine Alta (as used on Sony’s ultra high end digital cinema products), yet it is roughly the size and form factor of a Sony Z1…and is affordable! Continue reading “Sony PDW-EX1”

© 2007 – 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.