Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Canon C300 S35 EOS Cinema camcorder announced!

Canon announced their first S35 EOS Cinema camcorder Canon C300! The keynote is still running, but I will update this blog in the following hours. Some specs: Single 8.3 megapixel 2160×3840 Super-35 CMOS sensor (4K resolution) with Digic DV III processor Canon XF codec (50Mbps 4:2:2 1080p30 MPEG2 MXF) records to two Compact Flash card slots Canon Log gamma, SDI, compact body, Custom Presets and menus similar to Canon XF series Exposure and focus control are completely manual — there is no AE or AF on either camera Sold as a system, incl. LCD monitor / XLR audio unit, side grip, top handle, batt. & charger 10 bit 4:2:2 external, only single link HD-SDI no 4:4:4 10 bit (only single link HD-SDI) 4:2:2 8bit 50mb/s MXF wrapped Mpeg 2 to CF internal 24P, 25P, 30P, 1080p 60P at 720 2 CF card slots 4″ LCD monitor XLR outputs on the handle HDMI & HD/SDI out SD card for stills Time Code with Genlock Availability: Jan. 2012; Price: appx. $16,000 USD update: $20,000 (for C300) The camera has a 4K sensor, but which is limited to 1080p! That’s a bit odd! Also it’s only possible to shoot slow motion at 720p…

Continue Reading
Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

New Canon S35 camcorder: Canon EOS 300C?

Today is the announcement of the new Canon S35 camcorder in Los Angeles. I’m very excited, though I bought a Sony F3 a few months ago. There are simply no details out yet, but Canon Rumors published some new rumors today: Name: Canon EOS 300C EF and PL Versions Dual CF Card Slots Built in ND Super35 Sensor HDMI and HDSDI out Hot shoe mounted monitor w/ 2 XLR ins 1920 x 1080 resolution Also is able to record out of SDI I’ll keep you posted today on my Blog, Twitter and Facebook account!

Continue Reading
Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Letus introduced the Master Cinema Series for HDSLRs

Letus, known from their successful 35 mm adapters before the DSLR revolution has begun, has developed a completely new system for HDSLRs. In a strong partnership with Shane Hurbut they are now offering a very interesting and modular system. I recently thought there is no space for an additional manufacturer of rigs and accessories. Letus tried it in the past, for example with their Letus Hawk Viewfinder. Although it didn’t seem to be an huge success, there was no wow effect in the community, it wasn’t something mind blowing, because we already have seen these things from competitors like Zacuto. Though the quality was quite good, I personally own a Letus Hawk Viewfinder, but it wasn’t something spectacular. The optics and the built quality is superb! One of the best viewfinders on the market, but it didn’t blow me away… Letus introduced the new Letus Master Cinema Series in Los Angeles last week and it looks so good! Of course I haven’t tested the rigs yet, but the first look is quite impressing! Don’t know if the handles are built solid and strong! Looks a bit weird. I hope I get my hands on one of the rigs soon letting…

Continue Reading
Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Canon announced the next generation HDSLR: Canon 1D X!

Canon announced the Canon 1D X DSLR camera today. We have waited so long for the next generation HDSLR, and this one has some great improvements, though I hope the Canon 5D Mark III has some more features like 1080p at 50 and 60fps or higher! Now we have Timecode (amazing, could be possible to sync 3D footage with it), manual audio levels (also during recording), ISO range for movie from ISO 100 to 51,200 and no more 12 minute clip length. With the new model it is possible to shoot up to 30 minutes. Sadly the EOS-1D X still records movies using the H264 codec, but the compression type has changed. Now there is a “IPB” or a “ALL-I” compression. The price is quite high, will be in the $7,000 range! Here is the boring pre-press release: TOKYO, October 18, 2011—Canon Inc. and Canon Marketing Japan Inc. today announced the introduction in Japan of the new EOS-1D X digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera offering a high level of performance to satisfy the demands of professionals in such fields as sports photography, photojournalism and studio photography. To date, Canon has developed its top-of-the-line digital SLR cameras through the 1Ds series,…

Continue Reading
Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Sony announces Super 35 NEX-FS100 video camera

Last year I blogged about a Sony prototype, which looked like a cube. Now Sony has announced the series version NEX-FS100. It seems to be the small brother of the Sony F3. The Sony NEX-FS100 can record up to 50 frames per second in 1080p. Sadly the camcorder has no built in ND-filters and there’s no HD-SDI output. These two features are part of the direct competitor from Panasonic: The AG AF 100/101. The Sony NEX-FS100 will have the Sony E-Mount, a clean HDMI output – you will get 4:2:2 HDMI and a timecode signal out of it. Furthermore it has all the great inputs and outputs we want to have for our HDSLR’s. You will find 2x XLR inputs, zebra, peaking and up to 50 frames per second at 1080p. The Sony NEX-F100 records in AVCHD codec at a maximum of 28 MBit per second. It has a S35 sensor, which is quite good, it has the same size like a 35mm film frame. The Panasonic AG AF 100/101 has a smaller sensor and the crop factor of 2 makes it difficult to find a good wide lens. The crop factor of the Sony NEX-F100 will be much better,…

Continue Reading
Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Denz announced PL Support for Panasonic AG AF100

I have used products made by Denz a very long time now and I’m always impressed by their perfect quality. For the most of you the brand Denz is unknown, but my friends from Munich are a well known and loved company in the film industry. They won the technical Oscar for their Video Assist in 1996. Since the HDSLR revolution the guys from munich also offer many good products for DSLR video cameras, including there great Mini Follow Focus, which I don’t want to miss anymore! I will publish a review about their Follow Focus the next couple weeks. Denz has modified the Canon DSLR’s with a PL-Mount and has a huge success with these modifications. A new year begins and there are also new cameras on the market. Now there is also a Denz PL54-mount with integrated support system available for the Panasonic AG AF 101 / 100. I tested the camera recently, but didn’t have luck with the weather, so I will get it again to achieve better results with it. The Denz support system includes a mount for 15 mm support rods as well as Hirth-toothed rosettes according to the ARRI/Denz-standard for adjusting handles and accessories….

Continue Reading
Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Marshall 7″ LCD V-LCD70XP-HDMIPT w/ HDMI Loop!

Marshall announced a new 7″ LCD with HDMI Loop-Through. Vincent Laforet has already tested the new Marshall LCD (V-LCD70XP-HDMIPT) and I think it’s a good solution if you need a First AC to pull focus. You don’t need an HDMI switch anymore. The new monitor costs round about $ 1,199 and is available now! The other big function is the »DSLR Ratio Adjustment« feature, which will resize the image while recording. This is a great new feature and I will test it as soon as I get the new Marshall. Below you can see a short demonstration about this feature. Thanks to Vincent for doing this Hands-on video! You can read a short test about this new monitor on his blog! Facts: • High resolution 800 x 480 LCD panel • DSLR Ratio Adjustment • HDMI Auto Color Space and Ratio detect • Manual Gamma Adjustment • Adjustable Backlight • Image Flip • 1/4″-20 mounts on all sides • Robust Power switch and rugged front panel • Variety of Markers, including user-adjustable • HDMI Loop-Through* • False Color On/Off • Peaking Filter On/Off • RGB Check Field / Field Detect • 15:9, 16:9, 4:3, Pixel-to-Pixel modes • 4 user-configurable function…

Continue Reading
Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Official: Canon announced T3i / 600D DSLR

Canon announced the new T3i / 600D today. Now it’s possible to zoom 10x into the picture without loss of resolution in video mode. That’s a great feature! Sadly that’s the only new video function compared to the Canon T2i / 550D. It has also a flipable display at the back of the camera. Here is the link to the full press release. Canon EOS 600D features: 18-megapixel CMOS sensor Scene Intelligent Auto mode Full-HD EOS Movie On-screen Feature Guide 3.7fps continuous shooting Wide-area 9-point AF 1,040k-dot vari-angle 7.7cm (3.0”) screen Basic+ and Creative Filters Built-in wireless flash control

Continue Reading
Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Video of a working Red Scarlet Fixed Lens Camera!

The last days I asked on twitter if there are any news about the upcoming Red Scarlet and Red Epic-S. Today Tonaci Tran published the first video of a working Red Scarlet with a fixed lens! Can’t imagine that the camera will come out, I thought they have lost the competition against the DSLR’s. I’m more interested in the Red Epic-S with the possibility to change lenses! In conclusion we have to wait for more info, especially for the Red Epic-S. The most interesting point will be the pricing! I hope the price of the Red Epic-S won’t be above $8,000, more than this price wouldn’t be attractive for the most of the HDSLR shooters.

Continue Reading
Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Magic Lantern released 66 Mbps hack for the Canon 5D!

I thought Magic Lantern was history, but now they have released a new hack for the Canon 5D Mark II. With the new beta version of this hack you are able to shoot up to 70 Mbps H.264. I haven’t tried the new Magic Lantern version, but perhaps you need new CF cards because of the higher bitrate. I think 60 MB/s or 233x cards should be perfect. You can choose between many bitrates, the 7 Mbps has a very low quality, perfect for shooting video with it is 66 Mbps at 24p. Here is a text from the Magic Lantern Wiki: +8 30p 7 Mbps Very low quality -9 24p 32 Mbps -10 24p 41 Mbps -11 24p 51 Mbps -12 24p 59 Mbps -13 24p 62 Mbps -14 24p 66 Mbps Best, sustainable in 24p mode? -15 24p 68 Mbps 2 buffer bars -16 24p 76 Mbps Only a few seconds 24p seems to have less issues than 30p Locked-off shots seem less likely to trigger buffer overflows; amount of motion? Auto-exposure changes seems to lead to immediate overflows: shoot manual exposure mode -14 seems to be the best that can be sustained with the card with all…

Continue Reading