Monthly Archives: August 2016

The Machines of Cinema

La Cinémathèque française in Paris will exhibit “From Méliès to 3D: the Machines of Cinema” from Oct 5, 2016 – Jan 29, 2017.

Laurent Mannoni, Director and Conservator of the Cinematheque, curated the exhibition and wrote the wonderfully informative accompanying book. (Coedition Lienart / The French Cinematheque. 304 pages, 350 illustrations, October 2016.) Laurent looks after the Cinematheque’s vast collection, by far the best in the world, in an annex normally open by invitation only. Now the Cinematheque puts on display more than 250 historically significant “machines” (total of 12 tons) that made moving pictures. read more…

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New Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Canon USA announced the highly anticipated successor in the EOS 5D series of DSLRs, the EOS 5D Mark IV. From a still photography standpoint, Canon has improved upon the already impressive 5D line by upgrading to a 30.4 megapixel 35mm Full Frame Canon CMOS sensor, and with the help of their new processor, the DIGIC 6+, 7 fps for up… read more…

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FUJINON XF 23mm F2 Weather Resistant Lens

  Fujifilm USA announced a new addition to it’s X-Series lens lineup, the FUJINON XF 23mm F2 R WR. This APS-C format compact lens comes in at only 180g and is both weather and dust resistant. This lens pairs well with the recently released Fujinon XF 35mm F2 R WR. Overall, optically, one would expect the same great image quality that Fujifilm shooters have… read more…

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Fujifilm X-A3 Mirrorless Camera

Fujifilm released of the successor to their X-A2 mirrorless compact camera. The Fujifulm X-A3 features the same large 3″ tiltable touch screen LCD for all those selfie-taking needs.  While the marketing aims this new camera at younger photographers, Fujifilm hasn’t cut many corners in terms of specs. The most significant improvement seems to be the brand new 24.2MP APS-C sensor, rumored to… read more…

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ZEISS Loxia, Milvus and Otus Sets

ZEISS Milvus lenses are manual focus lenses for DSLR cameras. ZEISS Otus lenses are top of the line manual focus lenses. ZEISS Loxia lenses come in Sony E-mount, 18 mm flange depth. They have a manual iris ring, which can be de-clicked (like the Milvus) with a tool that is supplied with the lenses. read more…

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Scorpio 138-405 T4.3 Anamorphic Zoom

Alfredo and Andres Valles, above, have a long history of obsession with building lenses. Alfredo was working as a mechanical engineer in Barcelona in the late 1970s. Andres was a DP. They decided to start a camera rental company and start building lenses. The company was Servicevision and their first product was the Servilens series of Nikon Macros, with a… read more…

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Leica Cine MacroLux +1 (x3)

Leica Cine MacroLux +1 is no ordinary Diopter, as we saw at NAB. You could do the almost unthinkable: stack 3 of them together (to achieve +3) and still maintain great image quality. Thee MacroLux is a spherical doublet that exhibits no spherical aberrations, no color fringing, and almost no light loss. Its coatings are color matched to the rest… read more…

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Lighting with Paint: Vintage 1876

The Pendulum of Styles   The following review was uncovered in the dusty archives at the Duchy of Grand Fenwick Cinematheque. Then, as now, style was a dialectic. Artists experimented. Tastes changed. Academies and the Establishment were challenged. In one year, 1876, we see a spate of styles. Bold artists attempted to distinguish themselves from their confrères. At the same time,… read more…

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“A Beautiful Planet” – Canon, IMAX

Three Canon EOS C500 4K Digital Cinema Cameras and two EOS-1D C cameras were sent to the International Space Station for the IMAX production A Beautiful Planet. FDTimes discussed the technique and technology of this production with James Neihouse, ASC and Marsha Ivins, along with Tim Smith and Leigh Nofi of Canon. As Variety wrote, “Short of putting Emmanuel Lubezki through Astronaut training, it’s difficult to imagine more rapturously beautiful images of the Earth from orbit than those supplied by A Beautiful Planet, the latest collaboration between IMAX and NASA.” read more…

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Canon Compact Servo 18-80 T4.4 and a Discussion with Mr. Hibi and Imaoka

About the new Canon Compact Servo 18-80 T4.4 Canon’s Compact Servo 18-80mm T4.4 EF-mount zoom for Super 35 cine format is a new kind of hybrid lens. It combines attributes of 3 lines of Canon lenses: L-Series EF professional still photography lenses, Cinema Zooms with manual focus/iris/zoom barrels, and Cine-Servo zooms. The 18-80 comes in an EF mount. It has… read more…

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Rental Agent – Motion Picture Cameras (North Vancouver)

Clairmont Camera seeks a Rentals Professional for its North Vancouver office.  Here are the details: The applicant must be confident, very detail oriented, organized, personable, responsible with the ability to multi-task.  Excellent computer, phone and marketing skills preferred.  Prior experience with professional digital camera equipment, rentals experience and/or on set experience are a plus.  This will be a full-time position and… read more…

AJA Hi5-Fiber Mini-Converter

AJA Video Systems has updated the Hi5-Fiber Mini-Converter with 3G-SDI support for high frame rates. It is shipping now. The Hi5-Fiber’s small size lets you attach it to easily onto the back of a monitor and extends signal reach to HDMI displays up to 10km from the source. Hi5-Fiber converts 3G-SDI over single mode optical Fiber to HDMI. Up to… read more…

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Operations Manager – Camera Rental House (North Vancouver)

Clairmont Camera in Vancouver is seeking an Operations Manager. Here are the details: Fast paced film and digital motion picture Rental Company is seeking a multi-tasking, detail-oriented, organizationally exceptional person with excellent communication skills to manage the Operations Department. Must be a true “people person”. Ideal candidates will have at least 10 years of customer service experience, facilities / property management,… read more…

Tatara Samurai: Film on Film

By Yasuaki Mitsuwa Director Yoshinari Nishikôri and Cinematographer Akira Sako, JSC recently completed the feature Tatara Samurai. This interview took place at the Imagica head office in Tokyo after the first screening of the film in April.     FILM AND DIGITAL TIMES JAPAN (FDTJ): Tell us about the film Tatara Samurai. DIRECTOR YOSHINARI NISHIKÔRI (N): “Tatara” is a unique… read more…

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Panasonic VariCam Workshop at Keslow Camera

Article and photos by George Leon On August 6, Panasonic hosted a workshop at Keslow Camera covering Panasonic VariCam 35 and VariCam LT Cameras. The event introduced camera crews to the cameras and the latest technical details. Panasonic staff provided technical assistance to train end users in how to maximize the capabilities of these cameras. Keslow Camera staff were there demonstrate how… read more…

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Sony AXS-R7 X-OCN (Original Camera Negative)

As many suspected, Sony’s new AXS-R7 Recorder does a lot more than 4K RAW, full resolution 120p recording, and 30 second caching. Why else would it be larger than its older brother, the R5? The big news is X-OCN.     In addition to 16-bit linear RAW, the AXS-R7 will record Sony’s new 16-bit X-OCN format. X-OCN stands for eXtended… read more…

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Meeting Sony Designers and Planners in Tokyo

Meeting the Designers and Planners Shinagawa sits on the southeastern shore of Tokyo, just before you hit Tokyo Bay. It’s a collection of modern highrise office towers housing many of the area’s major corporations. The large building with the diamond patterned exoskeleton (above) is Sony’s Shinagawa Headquarters in Sony City. Peter Crithary, Sony’s Manager for large sensor cameras (below, far… read more…

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King Peter (DENZ) Sensor Positioning Gauge

King Peter (KP for short) is the latest optical measuring device for professional digital cinema cameras from DENZ. It provides accurate measurements of the image sensor’s position—including the optical center, rotation around the optical axis, and any deviation of the chip away from perpendicular. read more…

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