Setting up a multi-camera shoot took me almost 5 hours longer than I planned

I was doing a live event for a small band in Brooklyn last Saturday. I figured syncing 3 cameras would take maybe 30 minutes, but the wireless timecode kept dropping on one of the Sony cameras. Tried swapping batteries, changing channels, even moved the receiver to a different shoe mount. Finally gave up and used a clapperboard for manual sync in post, which added another 2 hours to my editing. Anyone else ever have wireless gear just refuse to cooperate mid-gig?

3 comments

3 Comments

webb.hannah16d ago

Actually, those Sony cameras have a known issue with certain third party wireless receivers that draw too much power from the hotshoe. I had the same problem with my a7III and a Tentacle Sync E. The fix for me was using a small external battery pack for the receiver, or if you have a newer Sony with USB power delivery, you can plug the receiver into a USB power bank. Just a heads up, the manual sync with a clapperboard is a solid backup, but you might save time next gig by renting a dedicated timecode box like a Deity TC-1 that has its own internal battery. It costs a bit more but totally worth avoiding that headache. Hope that helps for your next live show!

karenc2016d ago

Hannah's got a solid point about the power draw issue, but something nobody’s mentioned is the reliability of using a clapperboard as a backup in a live show setup. Most live gigs have a mix of cameras and audio recorders that aren’t always in sync, and a clapperboard only works if you can see it and the audio pops at the same time. In a fast paced live environment where lights are changing and people are moving, that visual sync can get missed or lost entirely. Spend the extra money on a proper timecode box with its own power source, like @webb.hannah said with the Deity TC-1, and you skip all that guesswork. It’s one less thing to worry about when you’re already juggling a dozen other problems.

the_mary16d agoMost Upvoted

Kind of overthinking a backup tool that's worked for decades.