A little bit of personal history before we get started here: several years ago, back in 1998 when the XL1 was brand new and DV in general was still in relative infancy, we didn't have lens controllers for these cameras. Well, there was a hard-to-find, single-speed zoom controller from Canon, and Sony had a cheap tripod with a controller handle. But that was it, and I used to complain a lot on usenet and DV mailing lists about how badly we needed full-featured, accurate controllers for these new DV camcorders. I mean, I complained a lot. You could've called me the poster boy for lens controllers, that's how much I used to whine.

If you've ever used a prosumer-level DV camcorder before, you'd understand my grief. To put it bluntly, the zoom rockers on these cameras are the pits. They don't work well. Part of the reason is that they're made cheap (by definition, they have to be) and part of the reason is the technology behind these vari-focus servo-controlled lenses. All DV camcorders are like this. You have to get into a professional camera like the JVC GY-DV500, which has a professional broadcast video lens, to escape this problem (even then, you'll still need lens controllers for that camera to get the most bang for your buck).

When the Canon XL1 came out, it had (still has) a decent zoom rocker, but with eight -- yes, eight speeds within a fairly limited range of rocker travel. Try to hold a certain zoom speed with that rocker over a length of time, especially when the camera is on your shoulder, and it becomes... well, difficult, to put it nicely.

Then along came VariZoom Lens Controls, based in Austin, Texas. While its product line catered primarily to the professional market, VariZoom recognized the impact of DV and developed a series of zoom and focus controllers which work perfectly with all Sony and Canon DV (and Sony Digital8) camcorders. These devices have significantly improved the DV production world by accomplishing two very important things... first, by providing smooth, accurate, consistent control of zoom, focus and other functions, and second, by getting your hands off of the camera while shooting. Thus, I've become a huge fan of VariZoom's product line and I'm pleased to tell you about their newest controller, the VZ Stealth.

The VZ Stealth is much smaller than other VariZoom controllers, which is the whole point of the product. It's only 50mm wide and 45mm long, and 25mm tall from the tripod mounting groove trough to the tip of the zoom lever. The two mounting bolts are 25mm long and are spaced 40mm apart. The cable appears to be close to six feet long. While most other VariZoom controllers come with a handle, the Stealth is so small, it fits in the palm of your hand... and your tripod pan handle becomes the handle for the Stealth.

Stealth clamps to your tripod pan handle, shoulder support, camera stabilizer or just about anything else via two finely threaded mounting studs with knurled brass nuts. Stealth's bottom base is V-notched, creating a groove to accomodate the round tubes of common tripod pan handles. The cable extends from the nose of the controller, and plugs into the Control-L jack found on all Sony and all Canon DV, Digital8 and Hi8 camcorders.

Once Stealth is connected, you now have remote control of zoom, focus, wake-up from standby and record start/pause. A red indicator light confirms that you're recording, and flashes when camera battery power is failing or when you're nearing the end of a tape. Some other VariZoom controllers are a little more fully featured, such as the VZ Pro-L, but Stealth's primary feature is its small size. If this is of utmost concern to you, then Stealth fills the bill. VariZoom has several different controllers for DV camcorders; choosing one just depends on your specific shooting requirements and ergonomic preferences.

For testing purposes, I had only a Canon Optura Pi. At the time of this writing, my XL1 was still in the Canon repair facility near Los Angeles for its yearly check-up. Once I get it back, I'll try out the XL1 with Stealth although I'm fairly sure the results will be the same.

Beyond the compact wedge shape of the body, the first thing you notice about Stealth is the brass throttle-style zoom toggle lever on top of the controller. Push it forward to zoom in, backward to zoom out. A spring returns the toggle to the center full-stop position. There are five zoom speeds in each direction. Barely pushing it forward (and I find it easier to do this with the tip my thumb just behind the lever) moves the zoom at the slowest speed, which is indeed a very nice, slow crawl. A little more pressure finds the middle speeds, and pushing the lever all the way forward (or backward) achieves the fastest zoom speed. Other VariZoom controllers offer a speed dial for "set and forget" zooming at particular, discreet speeds. Stealth's small form factor doesn't allow for that; if you need this particular feature then VariZoom has a few different controller models to suit your purposes.

I really like the position of the record start/pause button -- it's out of the way to the upper right of the controller face, where it's not going to be hit accidentally when zooming. It's still conveniently placed, but you're less likely to touch it when you don't mean to. There's also an "on" button to wake up the camera from its standby mode.

The focus control rocker is located to the right of the zoom lever. Just make sure your camcorder is switched to manual focus mode, and the focus rocker will allow you to shift the focal plane of the image, either pulling it closer to the camera or pushing it further away. The shift in focus is slow enough that you can see how it's changing and stop it when you need to.

This little controller is as tough as it is stylish. Although Stealth is perfect for tripod use, it can also clamp to a shoulder brace grip, a camera crane handle, or just about anything else. For small camcorders like the Sony TRV-900 and PD-100A, the Canon Optura and similar models, Stealth won't dwarf the camera like the larger VariZoom units will. However it works perfectly with larger camcorders such as the Canon XL1 and Sony DSR-250, and if you need a small controller to use these cameras with a shoulder support or stabilizer, Stealth is perfect for that application.

For a limited time, Stealth is available from VariZoom Lens Controls for $199. After that, the price goes back to $299. For more info, here's the VariZoom Stealth product page: www.varizoom.com/controllers/stealth.htm.

See also VariZoom Remote Lens Controllers
See also VariZoom Pro-LX Remote Lens Controller
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Thrown together by Chris Hurd
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