
--
Anton/Bauers Dionic XT batteries and a Sachtler flowtech100 carbon-fibre tripod played starring roles in the production of Series 1 of The Americas With Simon Reeve, currently airing on BBC Two. As director of photography for the program, renowned cameraman Jonathan Young relied on the Dionic XTs and flowtech100 to capture stunning imagery in rugged, remote, and challenging locations, from the icy wilderness of Alaskas Denali National Park to the steaming jungles of Costa Rica.
The Americas is the latest in Youngs long-term collaboration with Reeve, a well-known British author, adventurer, and TV presenter. The two-series program traces Reeves journey from the top to the toe of the Americas, with Series 1 covering North and Central America. Currently in production, Series 2 will continue the story down through South America and will air in 2020.
This program is Simons most ambitious journey yet, and he explores parts of the Americas few outsiders or even locals get to see. On this shoot, we had every extreme of temperature and location that its possible to encounter in a single filming assignment, said Young. We pushed our equipment to the limit, and naturally, we expected something to break or fall apart. But the Dionic XT batteries and flowtech100 tripod performed flawlessly throughout, whether we were shooting in -20 degrees Celsius in Alaska or 35 degrees and high humidity in Costa Rica. Once again, the Anton/Bauer and Sachtler gear surpassed my expectations.
Young shot most of The Americas With Simon Reeve Series 1 using several different Sony cameras such as the PXW X500 and the FS5, all utilising Canon lenses. With its lightweight yet sturdy carbon-fibre construction, the flowtech100 tripod combined with a Sachtler Video 18 S2 fluid head to provide stable support and smooth operation for the camera payload, which often exceeded 15 kg.
For the Alaska portion of the shoot, the crew travelled to the head of the Ruth Glacier in Denali National Park in a small plane. The planes weight restrictions and limited space meant Young could only carry one tripod on the trip, but the flowtech100 covered all of his needs - accommodating cameras ranging from a small Sony A7S DLSR (used for shooting the aurora borealis) on up to the larger and heavier cine cameras.
This was my first shoot with the flowtech tripod, and it absolutely blew me away, Young commented. Initially, I had doubts about its performance at low temperatures because Ive seen other carbon-fibre equipment become brittle or crack in extreme cold. That did not happen with flowtech - it held up beautifully with no stiffening or brittleness.
Young was also impressed with flowtech100s fast and easy setup, ruggedness, and lightweight, all of which were critical not only on the glacier but also on shoots in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Costa Rica. One location, the ancient Maya site of Yaxchil n in Mexicos Chiapas state, required the crew to travel up the Usumacinta River, hike through the ruin complex, and then climb 400 feet up rough stone steps to the top of the largest temple.
Not only is the flowtech light enough to be carried easily over long distances, but its extremely fast and easy to set up on uneven ground. With just three speed brakes to lock, I could even deploy it with one hand, and each leg could adjust automatically to a different height, such as multiple steps on the temple, Young says. Time really is of the essence in many cases, such as wildlife shots. In the Costa Rican and Belizean jungles, for instance, when we were using a long lens to shoot macaws or toucans, we had to be ready to set up the instant we saw the birds circling. The flowtech100 made it possible.
Young used the same Dionic XT batteries for The Americas that he had employed for his previous Reeve project, The Mediterranean With Simon Reeve, which aired on BBC Two in 2018. The batteries reliably powered not only the cameras but also a SmallHD 702 monitor and, in some instances, a Teradek wireless transmitter as well.
I am incredibly impressed with the Dionic XTs. After over a year of hard use and regular charging, youd expect batteries to start showing their age. But I have not noticed a drop-off of performance with the Dionics, Young said. These batteries are seriously rugged - theyve flown around the world and theyve been hand-carried in a Peli case, snapped on and off cameras countless times, carried in coat pockets - and theres barely a mark on them.
Just as with the plane flight in Alaska, weight was a serious factor on the Yaxchil n shoot. The Dionic XTs long run time meant the crew was able to carry fewer batteries on the rugged approach to the site. The batteries ability to operate effectively in extreme heat, not only in Mexico but also in Costa Rica, was another critical factor.
With the Dionics, we were able to calculate our battery requirements down to the minute to ensure we could climb to the top of the temple, filming as we went, with a safety margin to get back down again. And all we needed was one Dionic XT mounted on the camera, plus a spare, to get us through at least four hours of hard, nonstop shooting. It made a big difference on a hot day with a big, strenuous hike, Young said.
He added, Anton/Bauer has put so much thought and effort into the use of the Dionic XTs in extreme environments. Ive now used them on both ends of the temperature spectrum, and theyve never overheated or let me down in any way. Heat can be a batterys worst enemy, but in the Costa Rican jungle, where we were dealing with both heat and humidity, there was no fluctuation at all in the Dionic XTs performance.
The combination of the Dionic XT batteries and flowtech100 tripod enabled Young to capture stunning and unforgettable moments for The Americas With Simon Reeve - fleeting images that change rapidly and then disappear. In one example, Youn
Most recent headlines
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
15/12/2025
L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...
15/12/2025
CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the loss of federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and operational changes, the statewide pub...
15/12/2025
BOULDER, Colo. Public Media Venture Group (PMVG), Venture Technologies Group (VTG), and WQED have completed a multipart agreement that they say will significant...
15/12/2025
Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...
15/12/2025
Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...
15/12/2025
How Rivian s Design Puts Drivers First-And Why That Matters Published on Dec 15, 2025 Categories: Business Solutions
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Sha...
15/12/2025
Space42 and Cobham Satcom completed the full range of advanced terminals for the...
15/12/2025
15 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...
15/12/2025
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes
Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...
15/12/2025
Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...
15/12/2025
NVIDIA today announced it has acquired SchedMD - the leading developer of Slurm, an open-source workload management system for high-performance computing (HPC) ...
15/12/2025
RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...
15/12/2025
Modern workflows showcase the endless possibilities of generative and agentic AI on PCs.
Of many, some examples include tuning a chatbot to handle product-supp...
13/12/2025
Powering Client Growth: Horizon Deepens Nielsen Partnership, Enabling More Effic...
13/12/2025
In a move that will help it offer more flexible and less costly programming options, YouTube TV has announced that it will be launching YouTube TV Plans with mo...
13/12/2025
SINGAPORE Magna Systems has designed, built and completed what is believed to be the first full UHD and IP-based OB truck in Southeast Asia for a Singapore medi...
12/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Everything You Need to Know for Next Week's Big Sho...
12/12/2025
Hailey Gates at the Atropia premiere (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
12/12/2025
Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...
12/12/2025
CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the elimination of Federal federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and changes in the way they...
12/12/2025
Wisycom and DPA Microphones announce the appointment of Ren Moerch as Group Product Director, Wireless, a strategic leadership role that will guide the combine...
12/12/2025
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, in conjuncture with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Entertainment Technolog...
12/12/2025
Keepit, the vendor-independent, cloud-native data protection provider, today announced a strategic go-to-market relationship in Poland with Ingram Micro, a lead...
12/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking Open Gate 48P RAW recording w...
12/12/2025
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) once again played a critical role in delivering flawless wireless coordination and support at the 2025 Latin Grammy Awards a...
12/12/2025
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), together with the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the European Broadc...
12/12/2025
DHD audio will demonstrate the latest additions to its range of digital audio production solutions on Booth 321 in Hall B6 at Hamburg Open 2026. The show will b...
12/12/2025
Chaos today announces the release of V-Ray for Blender, update 2, bringing its award-winning rendering technology to even more Blender users by adding support f...
12/12/2025
Lighting specialist UltraLEDs has launched Precision LED Tape, a high-CRI lighting solution designed specifically for professional film, TV, and studio use.
P...