What’s in Kevin’s Gearbag?*

Kevin Sites uses the latest digital newsgathering technology -- all of which fits in one backpack -- to gather and transmit his stories. Additionally, should anything happen to his gear -- damage, theft, loss -- the Hot Zone team has an identical backup kit ready to be shipped to Kevin anywhere in the world.

GETTING THE STORY
Sony HDR-HC1

High-Definition Digital Camcorder (With X 0.7 Wide Angle Converter Lens)

This small, easy-to-carry unit is Kevin’s main camera, producing video as good as the best available TV images. With 3 megapixels top delivery 1080i image resolution in a 16:9 ratio, this is the smallest and lightest true HD camcorder anywhere right now. Kevin likes this consumer model rather than its more professional cousin, the HDR-FX1, because the HC1 is less obtrusive in the field. It’s easy to shoot from hip level while maintaining eye contact with an interview subject, and it doesn’t belie its presence with an obvious microphone or large, rectangular lens shade. But equipped with a 1/3-inch CMOS sensor and 10X Optical/120X Digital Zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T Lens, the HC-1 produces broadcast-quality images on standard mini DV tapes. For work in an armed conflict area, the HC-1 has a Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization System with motion sensors that adjust for the shaking caused by moving hands or rattle of artillery. It even has an infrared setting to shoot HD video in low- to no-light conditions. The HC-1 does its MPEG-encoding on the fly and has some pretty sophisticated on-board editing functions. But Kevin is more likely to hook it up to the Apple PowerBook through a FireWire/IEEE 1394 interface and edit in FinalCut Pro. The whole thing weighs about .7 Kg (1.5 lbs).

Samsung SC-X105L

Digital Camcorder With “Headcam.”
A second camera for situations where Kevin needs two free hands, or as a backup.

It weighs just 150 g (0.33 lbs), but the Samsung SC-X105L can be stuffed with enough memory to store anywhere from 22 minutes to more than two hours of video, depending on the resolution. It’s also extremely small and easily held with a pistol-grip style handle. With a 10X optical zoom, it has the ability to record video at 720-by-480 (best resolution) in MPEG4 format. What makes this camcorder so useful to Kevin is its remote lens accessory — its cable end plugs into the SC-X105L body and the lens can then be head mounted using an elastic headband. It may look very geeky at first, but the feature lets Kevin shoot “point of view” video, even when he’s running or needs to have both hands free.

ASSEMBLING THE REPORT
Apple 12-inch PowerBook

Laptop Computer.
A light, powerful unit that’s the choice of journalists and photographers all over the world.

Kevin’s workbench, typewriter and editing studio is Apple computer’s smallest PowerBook model, weighing in at a bit less than 2.1 Kg (4.6 lbs). Because he’s handling video, he’s equipped his unit with the maximum 100GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM. He uses FinalCut Pro and iMovie HD for video editing, Microsoft Office for writing, Adobe Photoshop for his still images, and Yahoo! (of course) for email. The 12-inch screen is a weight and portability tradeoff for working in an armed conflict area. To facilitate live reports and interactive chat sessions, Kevin is also carrying an Apple iSight Web camera, which mounts to the top of the PowerBook screen and connects to the laptop’s FireWire port.

CALLING HOME
Hughes R-BGAN
Satellite Modem

How Kevin sends images and computer data back to Yahoo! News.

Kevin’s main data link to the outside world, R-BGAN looks and weighs like a laptop computer but offers a plug-and-play IP (Internet Protocol) or GPRS (mobile phone packet data) link via satellite. It offers Internet connections at speeds of up to 144 kbps over a shared send/receive channel, somewhere between the fastest dial-up and the lowest DSL broadband speeds. It hooks up to Kevin’s Apple PowerBook laptop through a built-in Ethernet port (USB and Bluetooth wireless are available options). It supports anything from simple email to full, secure VPN access to Yahoo! servers. Weighing about 1.6 Kg (3.5 lbs), it uses an internal lithium ion battery to give one hour of fullpower use or 36 hours on standby. Kevin can also plug this sleek, powder blue box into 110V or 220V AC power for a recharge if he happens to be by an outlet (although in the field, he’ll use photovoltaic solar panels to generate his own electricity). About 500,000 R-BGAN units are in use in about 30 countries. The system operates, under most conditions, in a large swath of the earth north of the equator from far western Africa to mainland Europe, the Middle East, and central Asia (as far east as India).

Thuraya/Hughes 7101

Portable Satellite Phone.
A sturdy backup phone that works where cell phones can’t.

Operating on the same satellite network as the R-BGAN modem, the 7101 phone gives Kevin another option for voice communication (including when he finds himself in range of a GSM provider, which saves battery life because less transmitting power is required). At 200 g (0.5 lb), it’s the size of a typical handset, with a lithium ion batteries that gives up to 2.4 hours of talk time (satellite) and 34 hours of standby time. The phone can also determine its position using the GPS network and transmit those coordinates, making it easier for Kevin and his U.S. team to keep precise track of him. Again, this is a full-featured phone with a built-in SMS function that can send messages in English as well as Arabic, French, German, Italian, Russian, Turkish, and Farsi.

Palm Treo 650 GSM Mobile “Smart” Phone

A standard mobile phone/organizer combo for calling under normal circumstances.

Many reviewers consider the Treo 650 to be the best “smart” phone on the market. The latest in the Treo line, Kevin carries the GSM model because that’s the standard in most of the world outside the U.S. It’s got a sharp color touch-screen display with 320-by-320 pixel resolution and 65,000 colors that can be seen even in sunlight — which is in abundance in most of the places from which Kevin reports. Although it’s not the best choice for professional work, the Treo 650 does have a built-in camera with 2X zoom, can play MP3 files and comes with a full suite of organizer applications. A small backlit QWERTY keyboard makes it possible to send email with the phone, search with the built-in browser — or, with an extra bit of software, chat with buddies over Yahoo! Messenger. Bluetooth and infrared connections are built in, and it can synchronize contacts and schedules with Kevin’s laptop (even via Bluetooth). It adds 178 g (0.4 lbs) to his backpack, not counting the add-in SD memory card for storing files, photos, or MP3 songs.