Monthly Archives: March 2010
Film and Digital Times NAB Issue 31
Our 80-page NAB edition of Film and Digital Times issue 31 has gone to press and will be distributed at our booth (C-6843) and from the publication bins at NAB in Las Vegas. Subscribers will receive their paper copies in the mail shortly after, and the online edition for digital subscribers will be posted on Monday, April 12. There are… read more…
Tags: Film and Digital Times
Sony 1 Terabyte SR Memory Card: HD, 3D, 2K, 4K
No, that’s not a misprint: 1 Terabyte Memory Card capable of 4K production. I almost fell out of my chair halfway through Sony’s pre-NAB presentation last week. Although accompanied by the disclaimer “Future Technology Demonstration,” this was a pivotal moment. Imagine a solid state memory card about the size of a Hershey Bar, with storage capacity up to 1 Terabyte, RAID… read more…
Tags: Sony
Canon EOS Final Cut Pro Plug-In
The Canon EOS MOVIE Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro is now available. Go to the Drivers & Downloads page for each supported DSLR camera on the Canon Web site. http://www.usa.canon.com/ When on the Drivers & Downloads page, select “Mac OS X” as your operating system in order to download the plugin. Here’s a direct link to the Canon 7D drivers… read more…
Firmware upgrade 2.0.3 for the EOS 5D Mark II
Owners of Canon EOS 5D cameras: firmware upgrade 2.0.4 for the EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera is now available. The Update adds 24p video acquisition and changes the 30p video frame rate to 29.97 to comply with production standards. In addition, audio capability is enhanced with a manual audio level control (using the round dial on the back), and… read more…
Clairmont 1D PL
These photos by Arturo Jacoby of Clairmont Camera, Hollywood show their new Canon EOS 1D Mk IV modified with PL mount to accept all lenses. What’s the difference between this camera and a 7D? The 1D has an APS-H sensor (27.9mm wide x 18.6mm high). The 7D sensor is APS-C (22.3mm x 14.9mm). And what’s 35mm four-perf? Full frame is 24mm… read more…
Abel Cine’s 5D Firmware Upgrade Party
Imagine a party celebrating a firmware update for your Canon 5D Mk II. That’s what happened yesterday at Abel Cine Tech. Attendees got to see the latest Canon HDSLRs set up with the latest accessories, and hear FDTimes discuss how these cameras are changing everything. Read about it on Abel Cine’s Blog.
OConnor Follow Up
Eric Johnston brought over OConnor’s brilliant new Cine Follow Focus CFF-1 for us to test today. OConnor goes where no follow focus has gone before. Lower. It has the lowest clearance of any left-side/right-side studio device. This is essential when using big, fat lenses. The mechanism is silky-smooth. The same CFF-1 works on both 15mm and 19mm rods–no modifications necessary. The entire… read more…
Tags: OConnor
California Sunshine in Moscow
by Roman Hoffmann The Luminys SoftSun 100K and 50K light heads (www.luminyscorp.com) are now available in Moscow. Bogdan Chaplinsky and his crew at Bogdan I Brigada (www.bogdanibrigada.ru), one of Russia’s largest rental houses, manage these two units. At a presentation on February 4, 2010 in one of Bogdan’s stages, 20 Russian gaffers, lighting technicians and Dedo Weigert’s crew gathered around the two… read more…
Tags: Dedo Weigert, Lighting
P+S Technik 3D Freestyle Rig
Here’s Anna Piffl, modeling the new P+S Technik Freestyle Rig, shown here with two SI-2K cameras. This 3D mirror rig is made of Carbon Fiber, also used for Formula 1 race cars. Wireless remote control systems work with the rig’s integrated motors for stereo base and convergence adjustments. The Freestyle Rig has been tested with Sony HDW 750, Sony EX3,… read more…
Tags: 3-D, P+S Technik, Sony
Canon 7D FGV-PL at CSC
We tested the new FGV PL-mounted Canon EOS 7D at ARRI/CSC today. Solid as a block–which is how the mount is machined–from the same custom block of metal that holds the CMOS sensor. FGV removed the entire mirror and optical finder assembly, and replaced it with theirs. This saves weight, and as you can see, supports a big ZEISS Master… read more…
Tags: ARRI, Canon, EOS 7D, Otto Nemenz Intl, ZEISS
PL Mount for Canon 7D from FGV
FGV Schmidle is a respected rental house in Munich and Berlin, with more than 35 years’ experience. Their PL retrofits for Canon EOS 7D HDSLR cameras appear to be the most sophisticated yet; we’ll be testing them next week. The excellent idea is how they’ve attached the PL mount to the base, which adds rigidity and provides three 3/8 x… read more…
OConnor Follow Focus
OConnor Introduces Cine Follow Focus CFF-1 Jim Elias and Eric Johnston are now at OConnor, and introduce the first product off their assembly line: the Cine Follow Focus CFF-1. What’s different or special about it? 1. It attaches to 15mm or 19mm studio rod systems. 2. It has the lowest clearance of any double-sided studio unit, so it works with large diameter… read more…
Tags: OConnor
Earthquake in Chile, Report by Juan Pablo Fabres
TOTALLY UNOFFICIAL REPORT, JUST PLAIN NEWS AND PERSONAL COMMENTS by Juan Pable Fabres, Even though we should be used to and prepared for these events, an 8,8º earthquake affects and scares us all. As you can see on the map below, the center of it was around 400 KM. (248 miles) south of Santiago, by the shore. A big circle… read more…
Alexa’s Left Hand
Great news for everyone who wants a camera that doesn’t assume you’re right-handed, right-eyed or right-shouldered. Here’s an unofficial sneak peek at the camera-left side of a very recent prototype ARRI Alexa A-EV. They’ve moved the operating controls up, making room for a handgrip rosette mirroring the one on the camera right side. Last seen on the Arriflex 16SR3, I’ve… read more…
Tags: ARRI
