Monthly Archives: June 2015

Steadicam M-1, Steadicam 40th Anniversary, Cartoni 80th Anniversary

Tiffen introduced the new Steadicam M-1. Its modular, ultra-rigid design and innovative features make it the most hotly anticipated “big rig” in decades. AT NAB, Steadicam celebrated their 40th Anniversary and Cartoni celebrated their 80th Anniversary. read more…

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More Gear from Cine Gear 2015

More Gear from Cine Gear 2015: photos by Mark Forman with Sony a7R and a7S. read more…

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Editing: Sight, Sound and Story

Stephanie Mergal reports on the Manhattan Edit Workshop Seminar “Sight, Sound and Story” held on Saturday, June 13. With William Goldenberg, Gordon Burkell,  Alanda Yudin, Joe Schuck, Jolie “Bob” Lombardi, Garret Savage, Andy Grieve, Zac Stuart-Pontier, Pax Wassermann, Fabienne Bouville, Jesse Averna, and Sidney Wolinsky. read more…

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Dan May, BMD Pres, on URSA Mini and more

It’s always good to spend time with Dan May at NAB for an interesting guided tour. He puts things in perspective and explains not only the what and how of new equipment, but why. read more…

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Hawk65 from Vantage Film

On February 9, 2015, Vantage Film announced three new sets of lenses for 65mm format. Since then, other products and pieces of the puzzle have come together. RED introduced the RED Weapon 8K camera, with its 21.60 x 40.96 mm sensor at NAB. ARRI announced an alliance of Alexa 65 with IMAX. I met with Peter Martin in Los Angeles. Peter is CEO of Vantage Film and leads technical development along with CEO Wolfgang Baumler.

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Cooke 65 mm Macro Anamorphic /i 2x Prime

Here’s the lens that many cinematographers have been waiting for from Cooke. Cooke introduces their new 65 mm Macro Anamorphic /i 2x Prime lens at Cine Gear. It has a close-up magnification ratio of 4.1:1. read more…

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FDT Japanese Edition 70J

FDTJ — Film and Digital Times Japanese language Midsummer 2015 Edition is now online and ready for free download. A limited number of printed copies are available in the offices of the sponsors in Japan. Cover photo of sandstorm at NAB by Mark Forman. read more…

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Canon’s Mr. Maeda alludes to future technology

“Lunch with the FT” is a weekly column in the Financial Times. Their weekly interview with a leading cultural or business luminary was something we have been doing—but to paraphrase Virginia Woolf, “It’s dinner one wants, not lunch.” It was therefore a pleasant surprise to receive an email from Mr. Hitoshi Doi, head of the Future Product & Solution Group at Canon U.S.A. “Jon,” he wrote, “Can you slip away for a couple of hours during NAB to have lunch with Mr. Maeda and me?” Mr. Masaya Maeda is Managing Director and Chief Executive of Image Communication Products Operations at Canon. read more…

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All About Dolly Track

Dolly track is a long story. When you go back far enough in history there’s a classic division between European and American track dimensions. Most of the European track was 1¼ inch diameter, and most of the American manufactured track was 1½ inch diameter. At some point during the mid ’70s and early ’80s, there was a realization that this really had to be standardized. We’ve all kind of moved to the 1½ inch diameter for the rails. Along with this, we started having all sorts of problems with rails bending, which plainly and simply was a function of moving from simply using dollies to using small manned cranes, to using larger manned cranes, to using very large manned cranes and enormous unmanned cranes. And then there’s the question of aluminum or steel. read more…

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Gavin Finney BSC, “Wolf Hall,” candlelit, Leica Summilux-C T1.4, Alexa, Handheld

“Wolf Hall” is a series on BBC and PBS Masterpiece Theatre about Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance), a blacksmith’s son who rose to power as chief minister to King Henry VIII. Gavin Finney, BSC was the cinematographer. read more…

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Fujifilm IS-Mini

The Fujifilm IS-Mini is a complete color management and monitor profiling system. It’s a small hardware box and comes with free software. It’s inexpensive and is an essential tool for DITs and post houses. The color science behind it is very sophisticated. You can use IS-Mini to create a LUT or CDL for the DP on set; and, if you have multiple monitors on set, you can attach a separate IS-Mini to each monitor. read more…

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New Gear at Cine Gear

Here’s a gallery of new gear I saw at Cine Gear Expo 2015 in LA last week. Apologies to anyone we missed, and acknowledgement that some things may not be totally new–but this was the first time I’d seen them. Additional Cine Gear Photos to be posted shortly. read more…

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Sony α7R II Details

Sony’s new α7R II Mirrorless Digital Still/Video Camera demonstrates innovative technology that I think foreshadows additional 4K Full Frame and Super35 cinema cameras to come. The camera records Full Frame 4K 24×36 mm video. Additionally, the camera can also record APS-C format in 4K. The α7R camera’s E-mount with 18mm flange depth offers a world of adapters for almost any photo or cinema lens known to man–including PL and PV. read more…

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Sony a7R II – 4K FF, 4K S35

  At a penthouse press conference and demo in the Parker Meridien Hotel overlooking midtown and Central Park, Sony gave us the camera I was wishing for: The α7R II (model ILCE-7RM2). It does everything I was whining about at Cine Gear: Full Frame 24×36 mm sensor that shoots 4K video (beautifully). Windowed S35 format that also shoots 4K video (also truly… read more…

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New Cine Standard Size & Mount?

This is a preview of the Introduction to FDTimes June 2015 Issue 70 – coming Tuesday. It raises an important question: can all the camera and lens manufacturers agree on a new cine lens mount standard? Especially if 24x35mm format takes off. The Popular PL and PV mounts were dreamed up in the age of spinning mirror shutters — which took up a huge amount of room between lens mount and image plane. Without mirrors — with electronics viewfinders — the distance can be much less… read more…