- Kazuto Yamaki, SIGMA CEO, on fp L camera
- SIGMA fp L as DP Finder
- Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro
- 4 New ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance
- Ben Smithard, BSC on The Father
- Tillmann Brothers’ The Old World
- Ed Lachman, ASC and his EL Zone System
- News of the World: EZ Zooms, Steadicam Volt, LR2
- Angénieux Optimo Prime Silver, Gold and Platinum Sets
- Band Pro Optimo Prime Case and PAT-ACC Chart
- FUJIFILM GFX100S Larger Format
- DJI Mavic Air 2s & FPV @ MIT
- Sony G Master 14mm F1.8 Rectilinear
- Panasonic LUMIX Updates
- The Business of the Business: Lensrentals
- and lots more
- —Otto Nemenz“
Just read your latest issue and I found it so facinating and well written. It was some of the best cinematography writing in recent history. Thank you.
”—Peter Lyons Collister, ASC“The only thing to read for professional information
”—Alexander Bscheidl, Vantage Film“I don’t know how I managed before without all the info of FDTimes
”—Philippe Ros, AFC, Member Imago Tech CommitteeView All Readers’ CommentsAbout Jon Fauer
Jon Fauer, ASC is an award-winning cinematographer and director who has written 12 bestselling books, famous for their user-friendly way of explaining things as if you’re right there on location with him.
Cannes 2016
Over 120,000 of his books on cameras, cinematography, film and digital video have been printed. Think of this bimonthly Journal as Fauer’s next book — arriving a year early, with up-to-the minute information brought to you in episodic format.- Agnès Godard, AFC gets Angénieux Tribute at CannesOn Friday, July 16, 2021, Agnès Godard, AFC, is honored with this year’s Pierre Angénieux Tribute for achievement in Cinematography at Cannes. As an official partner of the Cannes Festival, Angénieux has celebrated a prominent Cinematographer every year since 2013 with the Pierre Angénieux Tribute. The ceremony typically opens with an introduction by Cannes Film Festival’s chief Thierry Fremaux and the presentation is hosted by Pierre Zéni, editor-in-chief at Cine+ Canal+. Agnès Godard has won 11 awards and 13 nominations for her Cinematography. She won a César in 2001 for Beau travail, directed by Claire Denis, with whom she has worked on more than 15 films. We spoke several weeks go. read more...
- SIGMA fp Update 3.00. Framelines! EVF!
Faster than you can say fp Firmware Update 3.00, this free download brings many of SIGMA's new fp L camera features to the fp camera.
Best of all, Version 3.00 lets you use the essential accessory SIGMA ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER EVF-11 on the fp. And it add custom framelines and aspect ratios.
The EVF is modular and screws onto the camera's left side. It's makes the fp a great DP / Director's Finder. read more... - Latest FDTimes Edition lands at SIGMA America
Sigma Corporation of America appears to be first to receive the latest edition of FDTimes—May-June 2021. Mark Amir, President of Sigma Corporation of America, (center, with tie) sent this team photo from their newly renovated Ronkonkoma, NY headquarters. SIGMA Corporation CEO Kazuto Yamaki is on the cover and the cover story is about the SIGMA fp L camera / DP - Director's Finder. read more... - ALEXA Mini LF SUP 7.0 with Super35
No sooner had ARRI ALEXA Mini LF arrived than users clamored for Super35 recording formats. And now, ALEXA Mini LF SUP 7.0 provides Super35 in addition to its existing Full Frame / Large Format sensor modes. The new Software Update Package provides your ALEXA Mini LF with identical recording formats as an ALEXA Mini. As an added bonus, maximum frame rates are faster in S35 and recording data rates are lower for the two new LF formats. read more... - Seth Emmons returns to LEITZ
Seth Emmons is back at Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH as Director of Communications. Seth previously worked with Leitz for five years. He will continue to be based in Los Angeles and will work primarily with the North American market of cinematographers, directors, rental houses, and professional organizations to increase exposure to the Leitz line of cinema lens products. read more... - 11 ZEISS Radiance Primes
And now there are 11. Initially, 7 ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance (SPR) lenses were introduced in June 2019. Inevitably, cinematographers asked for more. Now, just short of 2 years later, ZEISS introduced 4 more Supreme Prime Radiance lenses. ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance lenses artistically emphasize ghosting (flares). They are consistent across the entire set. They are based on Supreme Primes but have a warmer color tone. And no, they are not simply the same Supremes with coatings removed. There is no loss of light and no uncontrolled “white-out.” Instead, Radiance Primes have newly formulated T* Blue coatings. While there are 13 focal lengths in a set of Supremes, there are now 11 Radiance Primes, from 18 to 135 mm, all T1.5. read more... - DJI FPV @ MIT
Jonathon Brearley, MIT Master of Architecture and colleagues fly the DJI FPV. " The FPV system’s precise navigation makes it feel extremely easy to position the drone in the sky. With this drone, the intention is to use the superb first-person-view (FPV) goggles that provide the pilot with a high definition stream of the 150˚ FOV drone camera. The goggles are so immersive, if you’ve had dreams of being a bird, free to roam the skies, this might be the closest you’ll get with your feet planted safely on the ground. It’s slightly uncanny how natural the flight felt, especially the ability to assess depth and proximity of obstacles through the goggles, something I do not find easy to do while flying other phone-screen operated drones. read more... - Steven Meizler on “The Queen’s Gambit”
In its initial month of streaming, The Queen’s Gambit was viewed by 62 million households. These are Netflix numbers. Director Scott Frank has brought so much excitement to a story about chess and a conflicted prodigy that the New York Times headlined Marie Fazio’s review with “The Netflix show has reignited interest in the game and fueled demand for chess sets, accessories and timers.” Reviews were quick to extoll the beautifully lit and masterfully composed cinematography of Steven Meizler. And so— read more... - DMG DASH
Dash Dot Dot / Dash Dash / Dash Dash Dot.That's Morse code for DMG as in DMG Lumiere.And now, DASH is the brilliant new pocket LED light fixture from DMG Lumiere by Rosco. It is housed in a rugged aluminum housing that can endure most production scenarios. DASH can all be controlled with the myMIX app for iOS, Android and APK. DASH is tiny (5" x 3.1" x 1.1") but powerful (up to 35 footcandles at 3.3 feet / 380 Lux at 1 meter.) read more... - Cooke Tour 2020
This was my 4th tour of Cooke Optics in Leicester, England. The factory has come a long way since previous visits in 2006, 2009 and 2013. It is now a state-of-the-art, modern facility with clean rooms, the latest machines, and many more technicians. As Les Zellan described it, “The glass manufacturing area is cleaner and neater and there are many... read more... - ZEISS Supreme Primes Special Report
FDTimes Factory Tour and Special Report about the new ZEISS Supreme Prime lenses. Download 44-page 11MB (high rez) PDF. ZEISS Supreme Primes cover a FULL FORMAT image area up to 46.3 mm diagonal. They are incredibly small, lightweight and fast. The focus barrel has a unique, advanced square helical thread that is as smooth as cams and even more rugged. There are 13 lenses planned so far. read more...
News
Factory Tours
- Angénieux Optimo Ultra Compact ZoomsAngénieux lifted the mystery at Cannes today. Christophe Remontet, Managing Director Cinema Optics, announced two new Full Frame Optimo Ultra Compact Zoom lenses: 21-56 T2.9 37-102 T2.9 Specifications are expected in August, with the official launch of prototypes at Cine Gear in September and IBC in December. Christophe said that deliveries could be early 2022. These two lightweight and compact zooms complement and match the existing Optimo Ultra 12x (36-435 T4.2 in FF/VV and 24-290 T2.8 in S35) and the 12 Optimo Primes. read more...
- Le Voyage Continue
As seen on Angénieux Instagram feed.
And on Angénieux Americas Instagram. Mysteries continue.
And Jebsen JCineCast. read more... - Blackwing7 News on 7/7
There’s something special about the number 7.
Tribe7, makers of Full Frame, tunable Blackwing7 lenses are especially attuned to sevens. Initially, there were seven focal lengths, each ending in a seven: 27, 37, 47, 57, 77, 107 and 137 mm. An additional focal length, 20.7mm, has been introduced.
And so, on 7/7 of this year, Tribe7 announces that Blackwing7 lenses will be distributed exclusively in North America by AbelCine. The news follows on the heels of TRIBE7 announcements that Second Reef GmbH is the exclusive distributor of the Blackwing7 lenses in Europe. And, CVP is the exclusive distributor in the UK. read more... - Teradek Bolt 4K LT MAX
“Video Village is a dot on the horizon. The walkie barks for a quick reset. The sun is setting.” That’s how Teradek introduces their new Bolt 4K LT MAX wireless video system. This good and terse writing style catches your imagination. It follows the 1917 Kansas City Star Style Sheet used by Hemingway. And so Teradek’s new Bolt 4K LT MAX sends and receives DCI 4K, 10-bit HDR, zero-delay video from camera to crew and video village over a line-of-sight distance of more than 5,000 feet, in a lighter, smaller, less power-hungry, more affordable 4K wireless video transmitter and receiver system. read more... - Sony Airpeak S1 Drone
This is not your father's Sony. My father's Sony was an iconic 5" tummy TV. Being a Mad Ave ad man, he also loved the print ad: "For waist sizes 38 to 46. For smaller tummies, buy the 4 inch set." Nor is this your Sony, familiar for VENICE and Alpha. This is the Sony of Vision-s electric vehicles and Airpeak S1 drones. The sibilant letter "S" suggests something special. Today, Sony Electronics Inc. announced their Airpeak S1 drone. The Sony Airpeak S1 was also designed around carrying Full-Frame Sony Alpha series (a7, a9, a1, FX3) mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras. These cameras connect to the drone directly via HDMI for video and USB for start-stop and camera control. The S1 flies at a maximum speed of 55 mph and stays steady against headwinds and gusts up to 44.7 mph. read more... - Musashi-Opt 29-120 T2.9 Full Frame Zoom
Musashi Optical System Co. Ltd announces the new Takumi 2 Full Frame 29-120 mm T2.9 PL-mount zoom lens. Musashi Optical System Co. Ltd is based in Saitama, Japan, about 20 km north of Tokyo. Founded in 2003 by former Fujinon executives, Musashi-Opt (as it is commonly called) is well-known for its OptMag and OptMore PL mount extenders and Full Frame expanders. In 2019, they introduced a Super35 23.9-195 mm T2.9 zoom lens. This was followed by the Takumi 1, a Full Frame 40.6 - 332 mm T4.8 PL-mount version of the lens. And now the Takumi 2 29-120 T2.9. read more... - EL Zone by Ed Lachman ASC
Ed Lachman, ASC has come up with an incredibly intuitive, innovative and essential exposure tool. It’s called EL Zone, which stands for Exposure Log Zone — or Ed Lachman Zone.
Think of it as a spotmeter in your viewfinder or monitor. Toggle it on or off. Each stop of exposure is represented by a color. White shows areas of the scene that are over-exposed by 6 or more stops. 18% gray is normal-neutral. Black is under-exposed by 6 or more stops. read more... - Litepanels Gemini 1×1 Hard
Hard Soft. The new Litepanels Gemini Hard 1x1 is both hard and soft at the same time. This is not a paradox. It may remind you of a 5K Tungsten Fresnel, full spot through a 4x4 frame of 216 Diffusion. The light has intensity, punch, direction. And yet there is peripheral softness and fill. It is a very pleasing for portraits. Directional enough to punch through a studio fogger yet soft enough to avoid seraphic shafts. Bright and soft to light a studio sky of overhead rags. Perhaps in separate Space Light style: skirted, diffused or raw. The Gemini Hard 1x1 is bright. I measured 3660 lux / 340 footcandles at 10 feet and set to 5600K CCT. That’s T11/2 at 800 ISO, 24 fps. read more... - DJI Air 2s
The new DJI Air 2s combines thrill of flying and amazing image capture. It is nimble, amazing in low light, and super steady—even as a tripod in the sky. You can film in 5.4K or take 20 Megapixel stills. The one-inch sensor has 2.4 micron photosites — significantly larger than the Mavic Air 2 camera's 0.8 micron photosites. This contributes to gorgeous picture quality and great dynamic range. read more... - SIGMA fp L: 61 MP. Still. Cine. Director’s Finder. Webcam.March 25, 2021. SIGMA Corporation CEO Kazuto Yamaki presented the SIGMA fp L as the sequel to fp and the world’s smallest and lightest full-frame digital single-lens mirrorless camera with a full-frame 61 MP sensor. The camera continues SIGMA’s fp development concept: smallest and lightest pocketable full-frame camera; seamless STILL/ CINE switch, and scalability. The optional EVF-11 OLED electronic viewfinder addresses many user requests. And, the SIGMA fp L is one of the best Director’s Finders you could possibly find. read more...
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