Vortex Media’s Field Guides make the perfect companions to our instructional DVDs and ensure that the critical information you need will always be at your fingertips.

These Field Guides are written from an operator's perspective to help you master your camera and maximize its performance.  With over a hundred pages of essential information, you won’t find a single important topic left out. Each book is packed with detailed explanations, tutorials, photographs, checklists, menu trees, parts diagrams, suggested settings, tips, tricks, and page after page of practical advice.

In the no-nonsense style for which Doug Jensen is known, he cuts through the clutter of confusing, misunderstood, and often overlooked features.  He explains each camera function and provides real-world examples and step-by-step instructions for how to use them. 


Vortex Media’s Field Guides and Instructional DVDs are the best accessories you can buy for your camera.

The WarmCards White Balance Reference System is a sophisticated set of white balance cards that make it easy to get a warmer (or cooler) white balance, and then to keep the modified white balance consistent throughout the shoot -- with precision.

WarmCards are the fastest, easiest, and most consistent way of manipulating your camera's white balance.

WarmCards work with all professional TV/video cameras, most digital cameras, all lenses, and are as easy to use as an ordinary white card. With several different grades of warming to select from, plus two shades of CoolCards, WarmCards gives you precise control over the color balance of your camera.

Storm Jacket Camera Covers are the fastest and easiest way to protect professional SLR cameras and lenses from inclement weather conditions such as snow, sleet, wind, rain, dust, and harmful UV Rays. They can be put on or taken off in about 5 seconds -- and then stored in its own pocket-sized zippered case. The cover and case together only weigh about 2 ounces,.

Because Storm Jacket Camera Covers are the most compact and portable camera protection you can carry with you everywhere you go . . . so you won't hesitate to use it anytime the camera is going to get wet or dirty. Storm Jackets are available in several models and colors to accommodate and protect most SLRs, cameras.

Adaptimax lens adapter rings allow you to mount ordinary Nikon SLR lenses on many popular camcorders. Including: The PMW-EX3, HVR-Z7U, HVR-S270, JVC GY-HD 100 and 200, Panasonic HPX300, and JVC GY-HM700.

The Adaptimax provides a "magnification factor" of 5.4x or 7x, which makes these adapters perfect for shooting wildlife, sports, news, or macro.

For example,when mounted on the EX3, a 300mm Nikon lens is the equivalent of 1600mm lens.

Now you can get shots that were previously impossible with the limited telephoto range of your camcorder's stock lens.

New models for most 1/3" bayonet camcorders.

MediaFiler is a professional database program designed for the video production industry. It's the easiest way to catalog, track, label, and organize your whole library of tapes and disks.

MediaFiler is the easiest way to get your tape library organized and will bring order to the chaos and clutter of your videotapes, computer disks, hard drives, and more. Through MediaFiler's powerful, yet simple to use interface, keeping track of your media assets couldn't be easier.

And with detailed information about your tapes/disks always at your finger tips, you'll save countless hours of wasted time searching for footage or files.

There's nothing else like MediaFiler, so don't confuse it with off-the-shelf database programs or simple labeling software used for mass-duplications. MediaFiler has been specially designed for cataloging, locating, labeling, and tracking "one-of-a-kind" tapes -- like masters and raw footage.

If you're used to shooting with a traditional shoulder-mounted ENG camera-- and you can't get used to the ergonomics of trying to shoot with a handheld camcorder such as the Sony EX1, EX3,Z1U, Z7, V1U, FX1, FX7, PD170, VX2100, A1U, Canon GL-2, XH-A1 or Panasonic HVX200 -- then the VSB1 is exactly what you need.

Any experienced cameraman knows it's harder to hold a five pound camera out in front of your face -- than it is to carry a 25 pound Betacam balanced on your shoulder. Our shoulder braces were designed by professional cameramen for professional cameramen who want to give their small handheld camcorder a traditional shoulder mount.

Successful professionals know that slating is an essential production element for scene identification, production notes, or matching shots to a script in post-production. Making it a habit to slate and log your shots while shooting will save you hours in the edit suite.

The EasySLATE system is the fastest, easiest, and most convenient way to incorporate slating into your production workflow. EasySLATE comes complete with three slates designed to meet all of your shooting needs and includes a handy back focus chart.

EasySLATE consists of two 6” X 9” dry erase slate style templates that can be easily written on with dry erase markers. The surface of EasySLATE is made with state of the art polymers that can be wiped clean with the eraser end of the dry erase markers included, or with a soft cloth. Regular maintenance cleaning is quick and easy with alcohol swabs also included in the starter kit.

The EasySlate system comes packaged in a custom
10.5” X 7.5” compact, black, nylon bag with loop handle complete with individual slate dividers and pockets for markers, swabs, and cleaning cloth.

Are you thinking of buying a Sony EX1 or EX3 camcorder? Are you wondering how the XDCAM EX clips will affect your workflow? Would you like to test drive the actual workflow on your own computer and evaluate four dozen full-resolution native EX clips before you buy a camera? Then Vortex Media's SxS Simulation Disc is just what you need.

This DVD-ROM will perform almost exactly like an XDCAM SxS memory card. You simply put the disc in your PC or Mac and it behaves just as if you had inserted an SxS card - thus allowing you to test the EX workflow with 48 original, untouched, unedited, pristine, native EX clips representing every possible recording mode the camera offers -- including both NTSC and PAL formats.

Each clip averages 18 seconds giving you a total of 15 minutes of footage to try out. Most clips include plenty of motion like waterfalls, ocean waves, people, traffic, pans, and tilts. Nothing has been done to these clips - not even trimming. They are exactly what the camera shot.

What do you need to test drive the clips? Just a free software program called Clip Browser from Sony. Vortex Media's SxS Simulation Disc comes complete with detailed step-by-step instructions and tutorials for testing the footage on your computer.

Power your new PMW-EX1 or PMW-EX3 camera with your existing 12v DC power supplies and battery packs.

A great feature of Sony’s XDCAM EX cameras is that they can be powered by other external 12v DC power sources. And if you're like many EX owners, you probably already have other 12v batteries and professional 12v AC adapters that you'd like to use with your camera. The problem is, until now, it has been difficult to actually connect other professional power sources to the camera because of Sony's non-standard DC input jack.

But now that problem is solved. The EXDC1 from Vortex Media allows you to easily and safely power your Sony EX1 and EX3 cameras (and even accessory drives) from just about any 12v power source*. The 1.8 meter (6 ft) EX1DC cable has a standard 4-pin XLR connector power connector at one end and Sony's non-standard DC plug at the other end. Now you can use AC adapters and battery systems from Anton Bauer, IDX, Sony, Frezzi, and others. If you've already got a professional 12v battery and/or AC adapter -- chances are they can now be used with your EX camera.

Many of today’s small professional cameras (such as the EX1, EX3, and Z7U) have a prosumer-style "post & screw" tripod mounting system on the bottom of the camera.

Unfortunately, most professional tripod heads don't have a post on their quick-release plates. They have two screws, instead.

Without a second point of contact (either a screw or post), there is nothing to stop the camera body from rotating on the tripod wedge plate - which makes it nearly impossible to keep the camera properly aligned on the head.

The Tiger Claw is an adapter that adds the missing post to your existing Sachtler or OConnor wedge plate. It locks the camera body to the tripod securely and properly - thus eliminating the annoying slipping and sliding that occurs with having just a single screw.

VortexHD Stock Footage makes it easy for you to build an entire sequence -- not just drop a random shot into your timeline. Our Collections are generally shot at the same time, with the same camera, and with the same style.

Our Collections include a variety of angles, establishing shots, cut-always, and appropriate camera moves such as pans, tilts, rack-focus, and slow zooms. Editors can choose from dozens of clips in each Collection to build the kind of sequence you'd get if you had shot the footage yourself.

Each of our Collections are delivered as Quicktime® clips on DVD-ROM. So there's no waiting for tapes to cue or footage to be captured. Just copy the clips from the DVD to your hard drive and you're ready to edit.

Royalty-free licensing means that you don't have to pay any additional fees on a use-by-use basis.

Once you purchase our footage, you may use it multiple times for multiple projects without paying additional fees. Our non-destructive work flow delivers great looking imagery that is the digital equivalent of a camera negative.