- Getting Back to Work
- Dr. Roger Cicala, MD on Equipment and COVID-19
- Huzzah. John Brawley and The Great
- Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K
- Nicol Verheem on Creativity, Content and Coping
- SmallHD 4K Monitors
- Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6
- Sony α7S III
- Angénieux Optimo Primes
- On-Set Social Distancing Using AJA Products
- LEITZ ZOOM, PRIMES and other lenses
- Michel Suissa, The Studio – B&H
- Innovativ AXIS
- Otto Nemenz Moves
- 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.- Panalight Rome and Milan Reopen
As part of J. L. Fisher’s ongoing RHC (Refined Hydraulic Control) upgrade program, Wick Hempleman was scheduled to travel to Rome on March 17th and stay for a few weeks, tending to clients in Rome and Milan. On March 10th, his flights were cancelled. In June, the lockdown eased across Europe. It looked like work would be cautiously restarting in Italy in July. David Jarratt and Carlo Loreti, Panalight Managing Directors, wanted to get their fleet of dollies upgraded and ready to return to work. So, Wick got in his car and drove from his base in Cologne to Rome -- a two day trip.
read more... - Getting Back to Work
You probably tried to read various guidelines on going back to work on set or location. Your skepticism increased with each “it is highly recommended.” And you plowed through additional palaverous proposals of precautions for picking up production. Now, I’m no more qualified to give advice on getting back to work or working safely than some of the “experts” and magical thinkers expounding on TV, despite my few years in pre-med studies and a healthy skepticism of sheltering in place in a stunt coordinator’s “designated safe zone.” That’s too often the place where debris unexpectedly lands from an exploding car in a movie stunt, despite assurances to the contrary.
read more... - Roger Cicala, Founder of Lensrentals
In an interview with Jon Fauer, Lensrentals founder Roger Cicala discusses how he started out as a medical doctor. "I was born in New York. We moved to Memphis. I started in trauma critical care. After six years of that, I retrained in pain management, anesthesia and worked in a neurosurgery group. I wrote five textbooks on medicine and about 60 scientific articles. All that time, my hobby was photography and that’s how I ended up shifting over to what I’m doing now: writing, testing and working with camera equipment." read more... - Interview with Michel Suissa, The Studio – B&H
This episode of "The Business of the Business" is an interview with Michel Suissa, General Manager of The Studio - B&H. Michel discusses what has changed at The Studio and what he thinks will change in the future. Topics include Super35 and Full Frame, Primes and Zooms, high-end and affordable, lighting, fiber networks, 5G, remote camera operating, social distancing and more. read more... - 9/11. 19 years.
19 years later, I still have nightmares about this. Not long before the towers crumbled, we were on top—shooting a commercial for the World Trade Center. The spot featured Bobby Short playing the piano and singing “You’re the Top” by Cole Porter. As an over-the-top agency concept, the initial plan was to airlift a grand piano to the top of... read more... - Nicol Verheem on Creativity, Content and Coping
Nicol Verheem, Founder & CEO of Teradek and CEO of Creative Solutions discusses getting back to work and how entertainment methods will change and creativity. "I’d like to make the case that getting back to work in the media industry, and maybe in Hollywood specifically, is very important for all of us to prevent a landslide change that could permanently damage the industry that we know and love and are part of. Certainly, you have to walk a fine line and balance human lives. It’s not just economic interests. I do see a few outcomes in which we can make a difference as a group. We may even become stronger as a result and play a larger role in society." read more... - Huzzah. John Brawley and “The Great”
"The Great" is a bawdy farce streaming on Hulu, with Elle Fanning as the Empress of Russia and Nicholas Hoult as the Emperor. The creator, writer and producer Tony McNamara described this "occasionally true story" as being about a woman who wakes up and realizes that she’s in a really bad marriage. John Brawley was the cinematographer on 5 of the 10 episodes and he discusses how they captured this "punk history"drama in a contemporary way using ARRI ALEXA SXT and Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 cameras, with Cooke S5/i and ZEISS Super Speed lenses. read more... - Sony FX6 joins Cinema Line
September for Sony seems like clockwork. And a new camera: FX6. Despite COVID and crisis, IBC and Cinec cancelled, the cycles of product planning began long ago. So it is no surprise that Sony reveals a new cinema camera today. The details are sparse. The following is based on discussions with Sony representatives mixed in with a generous dose of speculation. FX6 is Sony's newest member of its newly-named Cinema Line. FX6 is the smallest member of the family, joining VENICE and FX9. The FX6 is planned for release later this year. It is almost surely Full Frame. read more... - Inside Angénieux Optimo Primes
The Silver Set of six Angénieux Optimo Primes will begin to ship in September. They are right on schedule, as announced at Cannes a year ago. Three partners in the Optimo Prime project are interviewed here: Severine Serrano, Managing Director, Angénieux International Sales and Marketing, located in Saint-Héand, France. Amnon Band, CEO of Band Pro, headquartered in Burbank, California. Jack Yu, Head of Cinematic & Broadcasting Solutions, Jebsen Industrial, based in Hong Kong.
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
- Takumi 40.6 – 332 mm Full Frame
Musashi Optical System Company is located in Saitama, Japan. Their expanders, extenders and optical adapters are well known, including the OptMag, OptMag Plus and OptMore. Now, Mushashi-Opt presents their new Takumi 40.6-332 mm T4.8 Full Frame zoom lens.
read more... - Leica M10-R — 40 Megapixel Sensor
March 1914, Wetzlar. Oskar Barnack completes the prototype of his Liliput camera, the “Ur-Leica. It shoots 36x24 mm (Full Frame) stills, using 35mm cine film positioned horizontally. March 1925. The Leica I begins serial production and is introduced at the Leipzig Fair. The format is called Leica Format. 1930: the Leica I gets a 39 mm diameter threaded mount for interchangeable lenses and looking back, can be called a primordial ILMC—Interchangeable Lens Mirrorless Camera. 1932: the Leica model C standardizes on a Flange Focal Depth of 28.8 mm. 1954. The first M series Leica Camera, with a bayonet mount, is introduced at Photokina. Flange Focal Depth is now 27.8 mm and the mount’s Inside Diameter is 44 mm. July 2020: Leica Camera introduces the latest in their long line of M cameras–the M10-R has a new 40 Megapixel sensor.
read more... - ARRI Lightweight Lens Support LLS-1
The sun is swiftly setting and you are scrambling with five more setups until wrap. You’re changing lenses faster than a short-order cook. But where are those essential lens supports? Instead of excavating the depths of the Bermuda Triangle that is your Camera Assistant bag, use ARRI’s versatile, adjustable lens support. The Lightweight Lens Support LLS-1 secures lenses with diameters from 39 mm to 153 mm. That’s a wide range from primes without support threads to big zooms.
read more... - Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6
Canon launched the EOS R System in Hawaii on Sept 5, 2018 with the Full-Frame Mirrorless EOS R camera and RF lenses. At that time, it was made clear that there would be more to come. The more affordable EOS RP was released in March 2019. For the third act in the EOS R series, Canon introduced the R5 and R6 cameras on July 9, 2020. Both cameras are weather, dust and spray resistant. My favorite feature, carried from the original R, is the mechanical shutter that completely covers and protects the sensor from dust when changing lenses (when the camera is turned off). All cine and mirrorless still cameras should have this.
read more... - ARRI Bicycle Grip Adapters
Philip Vischer started out as a Camera Assistant, Focus Puller and Camera Operator. Next he worked as a camera rental manager and head of sales. These positions surely influenced the thoughtful designs he undertook in the latest phase of his career, as ARRI PCA (Pro Camera Accessories) Product Manager for more than the past ten years.Here are some of the latest Professional Camera Accessories from ARRI, including the BGA-2 and BGA-2. Note that these accessories are camera agnostic. read more... - John Brawley and The Great New 12K Camera
Grant Petty introduced the Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 12K on July 16, 2020. It has a 12,288 x 6,480 12K Super35 image sensor, 14 stops of dynamic range, and shoots up to 60 fps in 12K at 80 megapixels per frame as well as 8K up to 110 fps, and 4K DCI full sensor up to 110 fps. One of the first cinematographers to try it was "The Great" John Brawley (who shot "The Great.") His demo footage showed silky smooth skin tones, gorgeous color and low to no noise. read more... - FUJINON Premista 19-45 T2.9 Zoom – Updated
FUJIFILM announces the third lens in their FUJINON Premista line of lightweight Full Frame zooms.
The new 19-45 mm T2.9 fulfills the demand for a wide zoom for documentary handheld shooting, Steadicam, aerials, underwater, on gimbals, remote heads and drones.
The 19-45 is 10% shorter and 14% lighter than its siblings, the Premista 28-100 mm T2.9 and Premista 80-250 mm T2.9-3.5. This is quite a feat for a short, wide zoom. The 19-45 has Cooke /i and ZEISS eXTended Data.
These are preliminary specsfor the 19-45 and will be updated when confirmed. The 19-45 is scheduled to ship in early 2021. read more... - Panasonic LUMIX S5
The new LUMIX S5 joins Panasonic's growing line of beloved hybrid mirrorless cameras that shoot beautiful video easily.
The S5 is Full Frame—lighter and smaller than the S1H.
It shoots 4K 30p 4:2:2 10-bit and 60p 4:2:0 10-bit video internally as MOV or MP4 files.
The sensor has in-body stabilizing. Add that to Optically Image Stabilized L-mount lenses, and you gain 5 to 7 stops of steadiness. Handheld, you can almost be a human tripod.
The camera's L-Mount has a 20 mm flange focal depth, and shares L-Mount lenses with SIGMA and Leica as part of the L-Mount alliance. read more... - DENZ FF Optical Director’s Finder
Because not all anamorphic lenses have a 2x squeeze ratio, DENZ has added two new desqueeze modules to their OIC FF Full Frame Optical Director’s Finder. Now you can view 1.8x and 1.5x in Full Frame anamorphic desqueezed glory.
Scorpio FFA and Glaswerks Anamorphics are 2x; Cooke Full Frame Anamorphics are 1.8x and Technovision Anamorphic lenses are 1.5x, among others.
The DENZ OIC FF has a lever to flip from spherical to anamorphic (desqueezed) viewing. read more... - SmallHD 4K Monitors
Maybe you saw prototypes at IBC or BSC Expo. Now they’re here. SmallHD has a new series of production monitors that address screaming needs: Affordable, 4K, HDR or High Brightness or OLED, Rugged and Lightweight. Lighting and shooting 4K HDR shows while viewing on HD standard monitors seems sadly comparable to the old days of watching flickering, grainy black &... read more...
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