News
Nikon ZR Camera
Here’s the new Nikon ZR camera — a slim, stylish, lightweight, Full Frame collaboration from Nikon and RED. The ZR records internal 6K REDCODE RAW with its 24.5 Megapixel sensor and has an enormous rear display.
With the flip of a switch, the camera goes seamlessly from Video to Photo mode. Its partially stacked CMOS sensor may be familiar to users of Nikon’s Z6 III—but this is a lighter and even smaller camera for cinematographers craving internal R3D, N-RAW, ProRes RAW or ProRes recording, with 15+ stops of dynamic range,.
The new 12-bit R3D NE RAW codec supports Log3G10, REDWideGamutRGB gamut and RED color science. read more…
Tags: Nikon, Nikon ZR Camera, Red
IBC 2025 Brief Debrief
Brief bursts of sunshine punctuated daily rain with drenching gusts during IBC 2025 in Amsterdam. The pre-party was Fujifilm’s GFX ETERNA 55 launch at the Amsterdam EYE Film Museum. IBC began on Friday September 12 and lingered through Monday. 43,858 visitors arrived from 170 countries. Click any image below to begin slideshow. Hover for caption:
Next FDT goes online Friday Sept 12
The 112-page Film and Digital Times PDF goes online here on September 12 at 10:00 am Amsterdam time. Go to fdtimes.com for in-depth articles about all the latest new cameras, lenses, lights and products. Download using the links at the top left of the page.
The 64-page IBC 2025 Print Edition will be distributed when the show opens.
Our 80-page Worldwide Print Edition ships this week. read more…
Abraham Martinez on Optimo Primes and The Lincoln Lawyer
Abraham Martinez was Cinematographer on Season 2 and Season 4 of The Lincoln Lawyer. Here is an interview about his use of Angénieux Optimo Prime lenses. There are 12 lenses in the Angénieux Optimo Prime lens series (18, 21, 24, 28, 32, 40, 50, 60, 75, 100, 135, 200 mm). They are all T1.8, except the 18mm T2 and 200mm T2.2. Optimo Primes are compact and lightweight and, best of all, you can custom tailor the look with Angénieux’s IOP system. Abe begins: “The subjective and technical performance of lenses in alignment with the story speaks for you as an advocate for your show. You’re translating the script. You stand in the gap between the rental house and the director, using a certain kind of language and grammar…” read more…
Stijn Van der Veken, ASC, SBC on ALEXA 35 Xtreme
Stijn Van der Veken, ASC, SBC was one of the first people to try ARRI’s new ALEXA 35 Xtreme with the new ARRICORE codec and higher slow motion speeds. “We all know what chopped vegetables look like when they drop on a cutting board at 240 fps,” Stijn said. “But this is another and very practical use of the camera. Maybe you don’t need to go all the way to 240 fps, but you have that option without dialing down your resolution. You don’t have to reboot the camera. Changing frame rates is quick and easy. The ALEXA 35 becomes more versatile.” read more…
Charles Bergquist on ALEXA 35 Xtreme
Cinematographer Charles Bergquist has worked as a Phantom high-speed technician. “Without high-speed cinematography, we wouldn’t be able to glimpse these events, artistically or technically. Here, Charles discusses working with the ALEXA 35 Xtreme on his short film “Mirage.” The maximum frame rate was 660 fps. The lenses were ARRI Signature Primes with the 350P ARRI Impression Filter. https://fdtimes.us/mirage read more…
ALEXA 35 Xtreme on Extreme Sailing
Elias Maria, BVK filmed NATURE OF SPEED with ARRI’s new ALEXA 35 Xtreme slow-motion cameras, that “crank” up to 660 fps, on 69F foiling carbon fiber monohulls that sail up to 65 km/h. That caught the attention of this obsessed fast sailor who wanted to hear more from Elias and Henning Rädlein, ARRI Group VP Product Marketing. Here’s the interview. read more…
Claudio Miranda ASC, Dan Ming, Nobu Takahashi and Sony Team on F1
This is an in-depth discussion about the making of F1—with the following cast of characters:
Claudio Miranda, ASC, Cinematographer on F1; Dan Ming, First Camera Assistant / Systems Engineer on F1; Nobu Takahashi, Head of Sony’s Cinema Line Division; Tanya Lyon, Sony Cinema Line Marketing North America; Shunjiro Nishi, Sony Mechanical Engineer; Koji Morioka, Sony Mechanical Engineer; Kenji Sasaki, Sony Mechanical Engineer and F1 Camera Support; Kohei Suganuma, Sony Electrical Engineer; Keita Yasui, Sony Public Relations. read more…
20th Anniversary of FDTimes
The very first edition of Film and Digital Times appeared at Cine Gear Expo 2005. It was a 16-page newsletter at the beginning of the digital age of film with a 235 camera on the cover.
Visit FDTimes for the 20th time! We are in Stage 30 at Cine Gear Expo 2025: Booth S3039-3. @cine_gear_expo read more…
Angenieux honors Dion Beebe at Cannes
For the 12th year in a row, Angénieux honored a prominent cinematographer at the Cannes Film Festival. Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS received the Pierre Angénieux Tribute on Friday, May 23, 2025 in the Buñuel Theatre of the Palais des Festivals. Dion’s credits include: “Memoirs of a Geisha” (Best Cinematography Oscar and a BAFTA in 2006), “Chicago, “Collateral,” “Miami Vice” “The Little Mermaid,” etc. We spoke about film, style, career, Cannes, cameras and lenses. read more…
FDTimes April 2025 & NAB Editions
Film and Digital Times will be at NAB Show 2025.
Get a free copy of the FDTimes NAB Edition at our booth N1372 in the North Hall, or in the FDTimes Publication Bin near the North Hall entrance, or at many booths throughout NAB Show 2025 in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Meanwhile, download a free online PDF edition.
Subscribers, your high-res printable PDF is also here.
And worldwide print editions will be in the mail. (They are the same as the NAB Edition.)
See you soon! read more…
CP+ 2025 Imaging Show Japan
CP+ 2025 (International Camera and Photo Imaging Show) ran from Feb 27 – March 2 on Yokohama’s waterfront in the beautiful Pacifico convention center. It is described as “the world’s largest photo, camera and imaging equipment show.” Organized by the Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) of Japan, 125 companies exhibited and more than 50,000 visitors attended. New product launches and announcements included SIGMA, Panasonic LUMIX, Fujifilm, Petzval, RED, ZEISS, Cosina, and many more. read more…
SIGMA BF Beautiful Fun
BF stands for Beautiful Foolishness. The new SIGMA BF is also Beautifully Fun, Beneficially Fast, Bellissima Fashionista, Bravely Functional.
But in Italy, I am also called a BF. Buona Forchetta. The Good Fork. Someone who likes to wield a big fork over a fine meal. So named by Jacques Lipkau Goyard and Elisabetta Cartoni.
Here in Japan, Masako Misako calls me Film and Delicious Times. And so, BF the person takes BF the camera for a day of street and restaurant photography in Tokyo. read more…
BSC Expo 2025 Slideshow
BSC Expo 2025 was the location for the latest working pre-release Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65 and a FUJIFLM ETERNA 65 under glass. Dominick Aiello got measurements and had Wooden Camera accessories ready for the yet-unreleased camera. So did Vocas.
Cooke showed a prototype Panchro/i 65 prime. Leitz rebranded THALIA to THALIA 65 and had a super wide 20mm prime. Geck0-Cam also had a hot-off the assembly bench 65mm Ayana prime.
RED DIGITAL CINEMA showed V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X cameras with Nikon Z Mount and the new cinematized Z Mount NIKKOR Z 28-135mm f/4 PZ.
Nanlux premiered their incredibly bright new EVOKE 5000B (5K COB LED).
And lots more… read more…
Tags: BSC Expo 2025 Slideshow
FDT at BSC
Film and Digital Times February 2025 Worldwide Edition goes online at 9am EST February 12. Print editions are in the mail.
A Special BSC Expo Print Edition will be distributed at BSC Expo London.
See you there — at BSC Expo 2025 in Battersea Evolution, London. Lots to see. Register now.
Friday 14 Feb 10am to 7pm.
Saturday 15 Feb 10am to 5pm.
Many new products to see. More than 160 exhibitors. Bigger Picture cameras and lenses. Panel discussions and demos. As always, this is one of the best shows of the year. read more…
Johanna Coelho, Cinematographer of THE PITT
THE PITT is a 15-episode series about a 15-hour shift in a Pittsburgh hospital emergency room. It is airing now on MAX. They call it “a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital.” THE PITT comes from ER and West Wing executive producer John Wells, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh. It may remind you of ER with West Wing brilliant dialog.
Johanna Coelho is the cinematographer of THE PITT. They were still filming in January when we discussed her work on the series. read more…
Leica SL3-S with Leitz ELSIE 15mm
A DP walks into a museum. What could possibly go wrong? The DP is trying out the new Leica SL3-S camera and new Leitz ELSIE 15mm prime cine lens. In fact, nothing goes wrong in the Parrish Art Museum. hat better place to illustrate the prowess of the wonderfully wide angle 15mm ELSIE than the large and high-ceilinged indoor space of the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill? The DP stumbles upon an interesting exhibit: Ralph Gibson—Nature : Object. He films and photographs the photographs, testing 6K Open Gate SL3-S and ELSIE’s angles of view. https://fdtimes.us/elsie15mm read more…
Serra on SENNA
The 6-hour Netflix series SENNA follows the life of legendary F1 driver Ayrton Senna with white knuckle racing scenes, action, drama and stunning cinematography by Azul Serra, ABC and Kauê Zilli, ABC (Association of Brazilian Cinematographers). It was a huge production in Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina—including six ALEXA 35 cameras, four RED cameras, 266 cases of cameras, lenses and equipment – 2500 kgs of gear.” Here’s an interview with Azul Serra, thanks to Michael Keegan at Netflix and Ernesto Musitelli, Managing Director of Musitelli Film and Digital. read more…
Tags: Azul Serra ABC, Netflix, SENNA, Serra on SENNA
P. Scott Sakamoto on A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
P. Scott Sakamoto, SOC talked about operating on A COMPLETE UNKNOWN: “I’ve worked on two movies with director Jim Mangold and he loves having the Steadicam. Often, when we rehearse a scene and he sees me setting up a dance floor for the dolly, he says, ‘I don’t want you to be on the dolly. I want you to be on the Steadicam.’ Because he often improvises the shot and doesn’t want camera moves to be restricted, he just prefers the freedom of a Steadicam. Jim and Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC have made several exceptional movies together and have a good rapport with each other. They know how to dance and tell a compelling cinematic story. It is a pleasure to come up with shots to advance that narrative at the right time with the right equipment.” read more…
Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC, GCA on “A Complete Unknown”
Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC, GCA and Sony’s Tanya Lyon were in New York for a pre-release screening of A Complete Unknown. (It opened on Christmas day.) We meet at a favorite restaurant—Sistina, across from the Met Museum. Storaro likes the table in the back corner of the back room where the light is always beautiful. Skylights above make it just… read more…
