Sony HXC-FB80 Full HD Studio Camera
Craig Harper, national manager of faith at Sony Electronics, knows his customers well … because he is one of them. He volunteers as a technical director at his church and has a professional background in Christian media and broadcasting. This personal connection to the faith community gives him a deep understanding of ministries’ unique needs.
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Craig Harper, National Manager of Faith, Sony Electronics
As the leader of Sony’s faith efforts, he helps legacy and new Sony church customers upgrade their technology and he is committed to finding the right broadcast and production options for churches of any size.
Q: What new product is making a big impact in churches in the second half of 2018?
Harper: Churches can rely on Sony for their entire workflow--from cameras, monitors, switchers, servers, audio and intelligent media services used during services to projectors, remote cameras and displays for classrooms. As churches expand their message through live streaming, multi-camera set-ups and IMAG, trends like shallow depth of field and HDR offer new creative possibilities, and churches need accessible and high quality tools that support these trends.
One example is our HXC-FB80, a flexible full HD studio camera system with 4K upscaling and HD HDR capability. It is designed to grow with a church through ongoing firmware updates to serve them well into the future.
Q: Service is critical to a church technical staff if something goes wrong with gear. How does Sony service the unique, time-critical needs of churches?
Harper: Before I was a Sony employee, I was a Sony customer so I can attest to their timely and involved service. Their account managers, product managers and support engineers are tapped into the larger broadcast and online production communities, which often drive trends in verticals like “faith.” Our staff truly enjoys working with users to build custom solutions. Seeing how people interact with our products, and how products interact with our customers, is essential to creating new solutions.
Q: Training is so important for church techs and volunteers. How does Sony deliver it?
Harper: Technology in churches is often used by volunteers, so equipment needs to be intuitive, training and support need to be easily accessible and readily available, and an emphasis on after-sale service and support is critical. We offer training through online videos and in-person sessions.
Learn more at sony.com/faith.
