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Today Panasonic announced the new Panasonic VariCam LT. It’s the small brother of the highend 4K cinema camera VariCam 35 and shares the same sensor in a smaller body. I was lucky enough to be here in Barcelona at the European launch event and had the possibility to get my hands on the camera for a few minutes. The camera itself is half the weight of the VariCam 35 (2,7 kg) and should fit in any gimbal or drone so far. It comes with an EF-Mount with iris control and you can also change the mount and add a PL-Mount on the camera. The camera also has the same viewfinder like the VariCam 35, but with one small, but big difference for you: It comes w/ an SDI-Out, which means you can use all the “cheaper” third party viewfinder like the Zacuto one…
This looks promising and it seems Blackmagic listened to the users, as the form factor of the Blackmagic Cinema and Production Camera isn’t perfect. Now they announced the new Blackmagic URSA Digital Cinema Camera, which really looks promising. It has a Super 35mm Ultra HD sensor (3840×2160) and can shoot up to 30 frames per second at this resolution. 60p is only possible at 1080p. However the body has the high speed processing and high capacity cooling to run beyond 100 fps, so when faster sensors are available you could upgrade and then get higher frame rates. Compared to the new Red Dragon the Dynamic Range of 12 stops isn’t an highlight, but the price tag of this camera is really explaining why it can’t have the same DR like the Dragon. You can get the EF model for $5,995, a PL-Version is available for $6,495 and there will be also a version with a B4 mount. It shoots ProRes HQ 422 and 12-bit CinemaDNG Raw on CFast 2.0 cards. You can also buy the camera without a sensor. Then you have the possibility to use the body as an HDMI recorder and put your DSLR in front of the body….
Sony F5 to F55 hardware upgrade Sony F5 users have the choice of upgrading their F5 to an F55. Same Imager, Color Filter array and 4K on board recording. Great move from Sony. This was an unique service from RED in the past. Sony listened. Sony A7s announced They also announced the new Sony A7s. This is one of the best news of the day. The S stands for sensitivity. The full frame sensor has a ultra-high sensitivity up to ISO 409600. It’s also the world first full frame camera without line skipping or pixel binning, which means it has improved aliasing and rolling shutter. The camera can shoot up to 120fps at 720p, S-Log 2, XAVC S 50Mbps and optional XLR audio input. Sadly no 4K internal recording function. You need a third party external recorder! I’ll update this blog post the next few days. As soon as I have more info about the A7s, you can read it here.
Great news from Panasonic. They have just announced a new 4K Varicam with a Super 35mm sensor, which can shoot 4K internally with up to 120 frames per second. This camera really looks interesting. It seems to be a mix of an ARRI Alexa, Sony F5/55 and has a modular design like the Red Epic. The camera also features a 3G HD SDI, to support an uncompressed output (RAW) and also a single HD SDI for monitoring. There is no pricing yet, but I think it will be in a price range of a Sony F5. 4096 x 2160 Super 35mm CMOS sensor 14+ Stops of Dynamic Range PL Mount Internal 4K up to 120fps Records 4K & UHD in AVC-ULTRA 4K Records 2K & HD in AVC-Intra 100/200 Capable of 4K RAW 1.5 to 6 Mbps Proxies Two expressP2 card slots (Record 130 minutes of 4K/24p with these cards) Two microP2 card slots (for HD and 2K) Four 3G-HD-SDI Outputs for 4K QUAD Two 3G-HD-SDI Outputs for RAW HD-SDI out for monitoring (down-converting from 4K) Two XLR inputs can record four channels of 24-bit, 48KHz audio Removable Control Panel OLED Viewfinder with Optical Zoom Availability: Fall 2014 Price: TBA They…
Canon has announced two new cinema cameras. There were lots of rumors the last couple of days and nearly everything was correct. The EOS-1D C is a cinema camera in a DSLR body and costs $15,000. Very expensive. Don’t know who will buy this camera, but perhaps I’m not the target audience. The 1D C is a 4K camera with a pixel size of 4096×2160 and records 8-bit 4:2:2 video to a CF card. Features Canon EOS-1D C 18.1 megapixel full frame CMOS sensor 8-bit 4:2:2 Motion JPEG 4K 24p to 60p at Full HD video mode crop APS-H, Full Frame, Super 35 Real time audio monitoring available within 2012 price tag $15,000 The Canon EOS-1D C doesn’t have built in ND filters, XLR audio, zebra or peaking etc. There is also a problem for PAL shooters like me. 4K seems to be only possible at 24p. That’s odd!! It also has no SDI out, but you can have a clean HDMI signal with uncompressed 1080p 4:2:2. UPDATE: Canon press rep said, menus showed 24p because camera was set in NTSC mode. Seems to be the camera can shoot 25p at 4K. Good news! UPDATE 2: Ok, still not confirmed….
This NAB gonna be huge! Sony just announced the Sony NEX-FS700, the big brother of the Sony FS100! The camera looks a bit like the Sony FS100, but it has some improvements, as integrated ND filters and a SDI output! The camera will cost below $10,000 and there will be a 4K upgrade in the future! The most amazing thing of this camera is the slow motion capability! It can shoot up to 240fps for 8 seconds in Full HD, 120fps for 16 seconds in 1080p and up to 1480fps 9 seconds in 1080i. That’s unbelievable!!! I will update this blog later on, I’m just hosting a workshop these minutes, but this news is too important!! 😉 Here are some photos and the press release: SONY EXPANDS NXCAM LINE WITH NEW FULL-HD SUPER SLOW MOTION CAMCORDER NEX-FS700U Delivers High Quality, Flexible and Creative Shooting Options for Workflows of Today . . . and Tomorrow PARK RIDGE, N.J., April 2, 2012 — Sony is pushing the creative boundaries once more with the new NEX-FS700U Full-HD Super Slow Motion camcorder, the latest in Sony’s line of NXCAM interchangeable E-mount camcorders. The new Super 35mm model is designed for high-speed shooting, capable of…
The 2nd March was the day everybody was looking forward to. Canon unveiled the 5D Mark III! Is there a big wow effect? Specs wise there are some features which are great, like a headphone jack and the faster image processor, which means we don’t have line skipping and minimised image issues. The camera records still compressed and uses the H264 codec, though there are some improvements too. You can choose between inter-frame or intra-frame codecs, which means every frame is a keyframe -> better quality. I wish this camera could shoot 1080p up to 60 frames per second, but it can’t!! Only 720p with up to 60 frames per seconds, but this is also a good news, because the 5D Mark II doesn’t have this feature! Audio leveling during recording is possible now, thanks god it has a headphone jack. Good news for bigger productions with more than one camera on set, now we have the possibility to use SMPTE timecode! And no more 12 minute clip, it’s possible to record clips up to 29 minutes and 59 seconds. Great for interviews! Canon also improved the light sensitivity (two more stops of latitude), which is absolutely superb (but I…
Great news!! First of all, a happy new year to you! The year has started and today Mike Tappa from MTF announced, that the first batch of their EOS electronic aperture adapter for Sony F3, FS100 (E-Mount, it also works for the Sony NEX5n…), AF101 (M43 Mount, works also for GH2) is shipping the first and second week this January. I’ve been waiting months for this adapter and tested it at IBC in Amsterdam last year. Thanks to Dan Chang, who interviewed Mike! This is absolutely necessary for owners of Canon glass, who are using any of these cameras. As you know I own a complete ZEISS ZF.2 set, but also a few great Canon lenses, which I can use with these adapter on my Sony F3. ZEISS prime lenses are simply perfect and I love the built and image quality, but you have to be fast and flexible shooting a documentary. PL-Mount zooms are quite expensive. I own a Tokina 11-16 mm 2.8 and a Canon 24-70 mm 2.8, but it wasn’t possible using these lenses properly on the Sony F3, FS100 or AF101. Of course there are a few adapters available, but these adapters don’t have an electronic…
During the Canon Hollywood Event lots of people have seen a new DSLR next to the new Canon C300 Camcorder! It has a C-Logo on the right side, which stands for Cinema. The camera is still in development, but they released a press release. There is no info about pricing or release date. Very exciting news. Seems to be the same sensor which is used in the new Canon EOS C300 camcorder! Here is the press release: Coming Attractions: New Canon Digital SLR Camera Under Development HOLLYWOOD, California, November 3, 2011/TOKYO, November 4, 2011 – Canon Inc. today announced that the company is developing a new-concept EOS-series digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. Incorporating an enhanced version of the video-capture capability offered in the current EOS-series lineup, the new camera will be ideally suited for cinematographic and other digital high-resolution production applications. The model will be equipped with a 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor and, enabling the recording of 4K video* (at a frame rate of 24P, with Motion-JPEG compression), will make possible the type of exceptional image quality and sublime imaging expression to be expected from the next generation of “EOS Movies.” The announcement coincides with the launch of the…