Products
Nikon 1 AW1 Waterproof 1080p
When bouncing around in a Zodiac, with spray and salt stinging, you have always dreamed of a waterproof, stabilized, shockproof digital camera for video and stills. It’s finally here: Nikon’s new 1 AW1. Whether you’re shooting training videos on the college racing circuit, at the Olympics, or flying at 45 mph on Oracle’s AC45 America’s Cup catamaran, the 1 AW1 shoots… read more…
Tags: interchangeable lenses, Nikon, sailing, waterproof
Dante’s EF Mounts
Dante Cecchin is a DP and inventor — and he was at P+S Technik’s IBC booth with the latest amazing updates to his Prime Circle Canon EF lens mount adapters, remote iris controls, and more. The adapter attaches to PL cameras (ARRI Alexa. Sony F65, RED Epic) and Sony FZ cameras (F5, F55) and the IMS System (interchangeable mount system… read more…
Tags: Dante Cecchin, Lock Circle, Prime Circle
ARRI Amira SR
It reminds me of the ARRI 16SR — the camera that launched a thousand careers, including mine. The 16SR was designed by Erich Kaestner as a documentary and news 16mm film camera so lightweight and portable that it could fit into an attaché case (that came with the camera–optional extra in those pre-Petrol-Kata-Tenba-Lowepro days) and fit under an airline seat… read more…
Cooke at IBC
Les Zellan arrives at IBC with new Cooke anamorphic primes and a new Cooke Metrology Lens Projector. A hundred years ago, William and Thomas Smithies Taylor, founders of the company that became Cooke Optics, said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t make it.” Along the way, they built all kinds of machines to measure things, including the famous Talysurf…. read more…
Tags: Cooke Optics
Angenieux 25-250 Optimo DP
Still a few hours to go before the cone of NDA silence lifts on the new zoom from Angénieux — covered, above. This zoom lens is an update and reboot of the famous 10:1 zoom that first came on the scene and on locations everywhere in 1962–and sparked the Nouvelle Vague, the New Wave. It was used on Claude Lelouche’s… read more…
Tags: Angénieux
ZEISS Compact Zoom 15-30 mm T2.9
ZEISS will preview a mock-up of their planned 15-30 mm Compact Zoom at IBC. The CZ.2 15-30/T2.9 is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2014 (NAB 2014). This will be the third member of the successful ZEISS Compact Zoom lens family. The Compact Zooms are 100% “Made in Germany.” Like the Compact Primes, they cover all the way… read more…
Tags: Compact Zoom, ZEISS
Sony PXW-Z100 4K under $6.5K
Sony’s latest 4K camera, PXW-Z100 XDCAM camcorder, shoots HD, QFHD and 4K. With a list price of less than $6,500 (street price probably $5,500), jaws were dropping at a press briefing. “This new camcorder puts professional 4K capabilities in your hand,” said Takahiro Kagawa, Product Manager at Sony Electronics. With the familiar “Handycam” shape (viewfinder in back, hand inserted between… read more…
Tags: Sony
Vantage PSU-3X HD Digital Video Assist
Vantage Film’s new PSU-3X records video streams from as many as 4 cameras at once. It can play back 2 separate takes while simultaneously displaying all 4 cameras on its high quality touch-screen. Simultaneous recording and playback saves time and money, whether you’re shooting with a single camera or multiple ones. read more…
Tags: PSU, Vantage, Vantage Film, Video Assist
Blackmagic Design Updates
Blackmagic Cinema Camera Blackmagic Cinema Camera (2.5K sensor) EF and MFT models will be reduced in price to US $1,995. Orders placed that have not yet been filled can be reduced to the new lower price. The Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes an SSD recorder, rechargeable battery, and a large 5” LCD touchscreen for monitoring, metadata entry, camera settings and focus. Available in… read more…
Alexa’s New SUP 8.1 gets /i
ARRI Alexa XT/XR Software Update (SUP) 8.1 enables Cooke /i lens metadata support, 90 fps Arriraw 4:3 recording onto XR Capture Drives, and other features outlined in the release notes and user manual (go to Downloads at arri.com ). Up to now, Alexa cameras recognized LDS metadata from ARRI/ZEISS equipped lenses (Ultra Primes, Master Primes, Master Anamorphics, etc). ARRI’s /i Technology… read more…
Tags: /i Technology, Alexa, ARRI Alexa, Cooke, LDS
Cinetech Italiana Dollies
I visited Cinetech Italiana s.r.l. — a couple of miles from Cinecittà Studios in Rome. Armando Grottesi is the owner and President. Over lunch at Gigi’s, his favorite restaurant (and now one of mine), I asked how the company got started. “I was an independent camera technician,” Armando explained. “One day, a long time ago, Henryk Chroscicki, Manager of Technovision (Natasza Chroscicki’s Dad),… read more…
Tags: Cinetech Italiana, Dollies
Panalight Rome
[new_royalslider id=”8″] Panalight s.p.a. is a major motion picture equipment rental house. Headquarters are a couple of miles from Cinecitta Studios in Rome, where they also have a branch office on the lot. Panalight was established in 1990. In 2008, offices were opened in Milan and Bucharest. In 2011 Panalight opened a branch in Malta. Panalight is an exclusive agent… read more…
Tags: Panalight
“The Human Voice” starring Sophia Loren – Naples Production Stills
[new_royalslider id=”7″] Here’s a slideshow of production stills from Naples, on the short film production of “The Human Voice.” Starring Sophia Loren, directed by Edoardo Ponti, cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC. From the 1930 play by Jean Cocteau, about a woman’s break-up and breakdown. Her lover calls on the telephone to announce that he is going to marry another… read more…
Tags: Canon, Sophia Loren, The Human Voice
Canon C500 vs C300
This just in from Larry Thorpe: an illuminating look at the differences between Canon C500 and C300 — with a PDF download. Perfect July 4th reading. Larry’s long title is Canon Senior Fellow Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Professional Engineering & Solutions Division. His four-letter title is “guru.” It’s a fascinating look at why shooting 2K 12-bit (or HD) on the Canon… read more…
Tags: Canon C500 vs C300, Larry Thorpe
Sophia Loren, Edoardo Ponti, Rodrigo Prieto and Canon C500 in Rome
Sophia Loren stars in “Human Voice,” based on the play “La Voix Humaine” by Jean Cocteau. The 25-minute short is being directed here in Rome and Naples by Edoardo Ponti. Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC is the Cinematographer. The interesting news for FDTimes readers may be the Canon C500 cameras with Codex Onboard S Plus Recorders being used on this production. They are… read more…
Panavized F55
Here’s a nice view of the Sony F55 (ghosted) with the new Panavision modifications in plain sight: customized viewfinder with heater, leveling rod, finder arm, handles, cage around mount, PV mount, mattebox, and more. The two characters on the monitor are (l-r) Panavision’s Haluki Sadahiro, Director, Product Management for Camera Systems, and Dominick Aiello, Senior Camera Applications Engineer.
Tags: Panavision
LED Ellipsoidal Spotlights
Barbizon Electric in New York put together a thorough and informative side by side comparison of leading LED fixtures. All were ellipsoidal spotlights and while this test may have less immediate interest to FDTimes readers than a test of Fresnel or panel type LED fixtures, the wide variation in design and performance points to the confusion in the marketplace and the difficulty that crews and rental companies have in selecting equipment. read more…
Tags: Ellipsoidal Spotlights
Leica X Vario
The new Leica X Vario is an APS-C format camera with a 16.5 megapixel CMOS sensor camera and an attached Leica Vario Elmar 18-46 mm f/3.5-6.4 ASHP lens. It does HD video recording at 1920 x 1080 30P, MP4. Style and function follow the Leica M. The Leica X Vario has a compact body whose top piece is machined from solid… read more…
Tags: Leica
JVC 84″ 4K Monitors
Two new 84″ 4K monitors will ship later this month from JVC Professional Products Company. The new PS-840UD Professional Series ProVérité and RS-840UD Reference Series 4K 84-inch LCD monitors are 3840×2160 – 60p. Two PS-840UDs were shown at Cine Gear by FOR-A with their 4K super slow motion camera. A Quad MC converter from Keisoku Giken was used to connect the camera’s 4x3G-SDI outputs to the… read more…
Tags: JVC
Angenieux Zooms on Cannes Films
The Cannes Palme d’Or winner, La Vie d’Adele (Blue is the Warmest Color), was shot on two Canon C300 cameras fitted with Angénieux Optimo lightweight 28-76 mm T2.6 zoom lenses. The Canon cameras, supplied by PhotoCineRent/PhotoCineShop Paris, were purchased with Canon EF mounts. (The choice is PL or EF.) The Angénieux zooms therefore came with EF mounts. This is a well-known,… read more…
