Monthly Archives: April 2016
Cine Gear Expo 2016
Cine Gear Expo Exhibits at Paramount Studios, LA: June 3 – 4, 2016 Complimentary Exhibit Pass through May 27, 2016, 12:00 midnight PDT Register now at www.cinegearexpo.com Free Exhibits, Premier Seminars, New Product Demonstrations, Master Classes, Film Series Screenings + Competition, Technical Awards, Networking, Special Screening and Events. Cine Gear Expo June 2 – June 5, 2016 Location: The Studios… read more…
Tags: Cine Gear Expo
Brilliant Bright Tangerine Filter Tray
How many times have you skinned your frozen fingers on wintry locations pulling up on filter trays with those dastardly abrasive knurled posts? Bright Tangerine showed a brilliantly better filter tray at NAB. Instead of pulling up on a post to release the filter, you gently squeeze two levers. Simple, clever, and why didn’t anyone think of this before Andy Subratie… read more…
NAB Needs a Proper Theater
Two of the highlights of NAB 2016 were presentations in South Hall Meeting Room S226. Ang Lee’s 120 fps 4K Stereoscopic 3D “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” was stunningly realistic, and Lytro Cinema’s Light Field presentation was a futuristic walk in the fields of advanced physics, optics, mechanics and VFX. But incredibly, in this NAB wonderful world of cutting-edge technology, with 100,000 techie… read more…
Erik Feichtinger at cmotion
Erik Feichtinger was Managing Director at CW Sonderoptic (Leica Cine Lenses.) We just learned today that Erik is now a new Managing Director at cmotion. Congrats. Above, l-r: Stephen Chappell, Christian Tschida, Erik Feichtinger, Sebastian Lumme.
Schaller, artemis and Trinity at ARRI
Artemis stabilizers, Trinity and Curt Schiller have all moved from Sachler – Vitec to ARRI. Trinity is a stabilizing rig combining Maxima gimbal and body stabilizer. Curt Schaller, BVK is a camera operator turned inventor who designed artemis and is head of the product line.
Tags: ARRI, artemis, curt schaller, trinity
HAWK V-Lite 1.3x Vintage ’74 Anamorphic
Fueling the fires of anamorphic and vintage looks, Vantage introduces their HAWK V-Lite 1.3x Vintage’74 Anamorphic lenses. read more…
Tags: Hawk anamorphic
FDTimes NAB Edition Now Online
FDTimes Issue 75 April 2016 is now online. Subscribers can download–click on link. Paper copies are free at NAB and ship today to subscribers.
Tags: FDTimes
Can 2/3-Inch Broadcast Field Lenses Really Portray 4K UHD ?
There are quite a few 4K ⅔-inch broadcast lenses at NAB this year… Recently, some FDTimes readers have been asking similar questions. Rene Holbrugge summed it up: “My name is Rene Holbrugge and I work as a television cameraman. With UHD being a hot topic lately, I am wondering if it is at all possible to get UHD resolution out of… read more…
Tags: 4K ⅔-inch lenses, Larry Thorpe
Cooke 45-405 T4.5 Anamorphic/i Zoom
At a famous Cooke NAB Dinner in 2015, after swearing the entire conclave to secrecy, Les Zellan had a surprise. After giving details about the new 35-140 Anamorphic/i lens that would be the first of two zooms in the Cooke Front Anamorphic series, he said, “A second zoom—a long, front anamorphic—should be revealed in 2016.” True to form, exactly one year later,… read more…
ZEISS Batis 2.8/18mm Wide Angle Lens
3rd ZEISS Batis Full-Frame E-mount Lens The ZEISS Batis 2.8/18 (18mm f/2.8) is a super wide-angle lens for the Sony α system with E-mount (a7, a7R, a7S series). Diagonal angular field of view is 99 degrees, and it has autofocus. The OLED display on the lens shows focus distance and depth of field. The ZEISS Batis 2.8/18 joins the ZEISS Batis 2/25 and… read more…
Canon 18-80 T4.4 Zoom
Canon’s new Compact Servo 18-80mm T4.4 EF-mount zoom for Super 35 cine format may be the harbinger of a new family of cinema lenses: hybrid zooms whose heritage spans cine and still photography. EF mount. Optical image stabilization, something not often seen in cine lenses. Autofocus compatibility with the EOS C300 Mark II and EOS C100 Mark II cameras. The servo handgrip attaches with one screw. When removed, an electronic module containing the lens servo motors remains, along with its own redundant zoom rocker switch. Suggested price: $5,500. read more…
Tags: Canon, Compact Servo 18-80
FDTimes at NAB
Film and Digital Times returns to NAB 2016 in the usual location: Central Hall, Booth C10206. We are against the wall, near Sony, across from Band Pro. Look for the big Airstar CUBE overhead with FDTimes logo and LED lighting. Free copies of the current NAB edition April 2016 issue #75 and February #74 will be there, as well is in publication… read more…
Tags: NAB
AFC Micro Salon Paris 2016
Oops. This Photo Gallery and report from Micro Salon Paris should have gone online on February 7, 2016. It became log-jammed in the dreaded cloud until we managed to unfreeze it today. Most of the photos were taken with a Sony a7R II and a Vocas PL to E-mount adapter and cine lenses grabbed at the show. The AFC Micro Salon is a favorite annual expo, series of lectures and screenings in the old Pathé Film Studios, now La Fémis film school. There were many new products not seen before (at least by moi.) read more…
Fujinon 20-120 T3.5 Cabrio XK Zoom
Fujinon will have a new S35 format zoom lens at NAB: the Cabrio XK6x20 20-120 mm T3.5 zoom. It’s positioned for a new market of performance and affordability. In other words, if you can give up 1 mm on the wide end and half a T-stop, have a slightly smaller image circle (16:9 instead of 4:3), but want but want to zoom in tighter, then here’s an alternative. This 5th member of the Cabrio line shares the same features as the rest of the family: detachable, auto-centering servo drive, flange focal distance adjustment, Macro, LDS and i/Technology compatible. read more…
Tags: 20-120 Cabrio XK Zoom, Fujifilm, Fujinon
Vittorio Storaro: Passage from Film to Digital
“Cafe Society” opens at the Cannes Film Festival on May 11. It was the first digital motion picture for Director Woody Allen and Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC. Woody Allen has directed 47 films on film. Storaro has shot 58 films on film. The following article is the cover story of Film and Digital Times Issue 75, April 2016. Download the 13-page PDF (1.4 MB) article “Passage from Film to Digital: Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC.” 75FDTimes-Storaro-PassageToDigital read more…
Cooke 35-140 Anamorphic/i Zoom
The new Cooke 35-140 mm Anamorphic /i Zoom (2x squeeze) anamorphic will be unveiled at NAB 2016. It is a front anamorphic design, with familiar oval bokehs and familiar Cooke Look to match the rest of the Cooke Anamorphic/i family. Cooke Anamorphic /i 180 and 300 mm primes will also be shown at NAB 2016. read more…
Tags: Cooke, Cooke 35-140, Cooke Anamorphic /i
Angenieux 44-440 Anamorphic Zoom Update
At NAB 2016, Angénieux introduces their third anamorphic zoom lens, the Optimo 44-440 A2S long range anamorphic T4.5. Three years earlier, at NAB 2013, Angénieux unveiled their first anamorphic zoom: the Optimo 56-152 A2S T4. Their second anamorphic was announced at IBC 2014: the Optimo 30-72 A2S T4. The timing is auspicious. Almost half of all successful films released in the US last year were anamorphic. The Optimo 44-440 A2S zoom lens has a dedicated rear group with cylinders and spherical elements that provide a traditional 2x horizontal squeeze with superb optical performance, minimal distortion and negligible breathing. The aperture is T4.5 across the entire zoom range. It can be used wide open without concern about loss of quality. Close focus is 4’ 1” (1.24m), and it is relatively lightweight at 16.6 lb (7.55 kg).