Inspection
When the package arrived, as is typical in this hobby, clouds covered the sky day and night — nothing but clouds! Despite this, we eager beavers just had to see the new toy. Upon opening the box, we pulled out the camera, a 25-foot (7.6 meters) video/power cable, a 120-volt AC to 12-volt DC regulated power supply, a 1¼” adapter, an RCA-to-BNC adapter, and a Pixel Wireless Exposure Controller complete with batteries; all come standard with purchase.
Also included in our package were several optional components: a MallinCam 0.5x focal reducer (which we did not use), a 25-foot Pro Grade S-video cable, and an Astro HD Frame Grabber video capture device complete with capture software. This last accessory is handy for those who don’t have a monitor to view video or for those who want to capture still images.
The video capture device also will record audio via your computer’s microphone — a nice way to document a video or explain what you’re broadcasting while streaming to the Web. We installed the video capture software on our laptop and spent time learning how to hook things up and how to use the software, all of which was simple and straightforward.
