On Saturday, July 16, the crew from Preston Cinema Systems pulled into Keslow Camera’s Culver City headquarters on Blackwelder Street for a day of Light Ranger 2 demos and a Keslow Camera Open House. Howard Preston, Alanna Berkson and Matt Davis provided hands-on demos with a large variety of camera and lens combinations equipped with the LR2.
The Light Ranger 2 is described by Howard Preston as “a critical focus tool for the digital world.” It shows zones of focus on any monitor and intuitively guides your focus pulling in the correct direction.
The system consists of two units. The sensor unit sits atop the camera. A quick setting calibrates the offset.
The Video Interface box attaches easily to the back of almost any monitor. It receives focus information from both the Light Ranger 2 and the Preston FIZ HU3 Hand Unit.
A beam of infrared light emitted by the Light Ranger 2 is captured by the detector array behind the unit’s lens. It’s safe infrared. There are no lasers, no ultrasonic signals, no transponders attached to actors.
Light Ranger 2 works in harmony with Preston Wireless FIZ system HU3 hand unit and MDR3 motor driver. You still control focus the way you always did. The same skills developed by years of muscular-neurological memory are applied. You still control speed, point of interest and splits.
There’s also a very accurate autofocus mode — shown as a red rectangle on the monitor in some of the pictures below.
And another FDTimes article here.
More than 50 camera assistants, operators and DPs attended. Keslow staff were on hand as well — Robert Keslow, Juli Kanner, Jordan Keslow, and many more.
The BORDER GRILL Food Truck pulled up in the early afternoon with gourmet tacos, sides and beverages.
Photos by George Leon.
Hover for captions, click on any image to begin slideshow:
- Robert Keslow, Mateo Bourdieu, Howard Preston, Arthur To
- Alanna Berkson, Leo Kotero
- Matt Davis, Howard Preston, Alanna Berkson, Bob Smathers
- Ron Condon, Art Brown
- Bob Smathers
- Michelle Pizanis, Alanna Berkson, Michael Klimchak
- Juli Kanner, Johnny Diaz, Jordan Treml and Keslow staff
- Howard Preston, Robert Keslow
- Howard Preston, Robert Keslow
- Dennis Scully, Matt Davis
- Robin
- Mateo Bourdieu, Arthur To
- Mateo Bourdieu, Arthur To
- Mateo Bourdieu, Arthur To
- Rick Osborn, Mateo Bourdieu, Howard Preston
- Rick Osborn, Mateo Bourdieu, HP
- Rick Osborn, Arthur To
- Jordan Keslow, Michael Paletta, Matt Davis, Dan Warner
- Scott Hoffman talking to Howard Preston
- Mary Brown pointing to LR2 video overlay screen
- Matt Davis, Dan Warner
- David B., Jordan Keslow, Dan Warner, Tim Schumaker
- Rick Osborn, Ignacio Musich, Howard Preston
- Arthur To, Ignacio Musich
- Keslow Camera Staff
- Border Grill Truck Chef
- Border Grill Truck Menu
- Ignacio Musich, Howard Preston
- Mateo Bourdieu, Robert Keslow, Arthur To
- Mateo Bourdieu, Robert Keslow, Arthur To
- Arthur To taking notes and hamming it up with one of the first Cooke 180mm Anamorphic lenses in the galaxy
- Mateo Bourdieu, Michael Klimchak, Arthur To, Ignacio Musich, Robert Keslow — and Cooke 180 mm Ana
- Mateo Bourdieu, Michael Klimchak, Arthur To, Ignacio Musich, Robert Keslow
- Ignacio Musich, Arthur To, Mateo Bourdieu, Michael Klimchak, Howard Preston, Robert Keslow
- Arthur To, Mateo Bourdieu, Michael Klimchak, Howard Preston, Alanna Berkson