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:
EVF on Fujifilm ETERNA 55
A couple of days after the Fujifilm ETERNA 55 camera launched at a gala event in the Amsterdam EYE Film Museum, it sported a new prototype EVF at IBC.
The 3D-printed electronic viewfinder was connected and displayed images. We were told that this is not the final shape or configuration and it was developed in response to numerous user requests. read more…
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…
The Art of the Zoom at Band Pro
9/11/25
Andy Rydzewski on the Art of the Zoom: Band Pro invites you to an evening with cinematographer Andy Rydzewski to discuss zoom lenses and more
Band Pro invites you to an evening with cinematographer Andy Rydzewski for a presentation on the art of the zoom. Andy’s credits include Friendship, Pen15, and I Love LA. There will be a recreation of one of the camera builds used on Friendship along with ARRI cameras and Angénieux lenses for visitors to demo in Band Pro’s showroom. read more…
Leitz HUGO Family grows to 14
And now there are 14 Leitz HUGO lenses. A beloved 40mm focal length joins the HUGO Series from Leitz Cine. In the beginning there were nine siblings in the HUGO family. They were descendents of beloved Leica M lenses, redesigned with robust cine-style barrels and gears and fitted with LPL, Leica M or Leica L Mounts. This is Series I. (The 50-N HUGO is in the N-as-in-Noctilux Series.) The HUGO family grew to 13 a year ago with the addition of the 75mm T2.1, 66mm T2.1 and 90mm T2.1. This is Series II. The new Leitz Cine 40mm T1.5 HUGO is ready for pre-order and expected to ship in Q4 of 2025. 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…
ARRI ALEXA 35 Xtreme
ARRI’s new ALEXA 35 Xtreme will replace the regular ALEXA 35. It will cost the same. But it goes extremely fast, with slow motion speeds up to 660 fps. On the outside, the 35 Xtreme looks the same as ALEXA 35, except for the extremely Xtreme graphic on the camera right side and taller antennas. ALEXA 35 Xtreme has a new processor, more efficient cooling and some new electronics. The sensor, body, controls, buttons, finder, menu and accessories remain the same. read more…
FUJIFILM GFX100RF
While waiting for GFX ETERNA, get ready for “More than Full Frame” imaging with the new 102 megapixel FUJIFLM GFX100RF camera. While FDT was calling it “Larger Format,” and others referred to it as “Medium Format,” Fujifilm trademarked “More than Full Frame.”
Tags: FUJIFILM GFX100RF
AJA KUMO 6464-12G
Is your current router starting to get overwhelmed as you work with more and more high resolution, high dynamic range signals? With 64x 12G-SDI inputs and 64x 12G-SDI outputs, AJA KUMO 6464-12G has you covered, offering high bandwidth and cost-effective signal routing. read more…
Tags: AJA KUMO 6464-12G
RED V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X Z Mount
RED V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X now come with a choice of locking Nikon Z mounts or locking RF mounts. The Nikon Z Mount has a Flange Focal Depth of a mere 16 mm from lens mount to sensor. Inside diameter of the mount is 55 mm. read more…
Nanlux Evoke 5000B – 5,000 Watt LED
NANLUX introduced the Evoke 5000B on February 12, 2025 in London. Powerful, IP66 weatherproof, this 5000 Watt LED fixture approaches the brightness of a 9kW HMI or 24kW tungsten light.
“B” is for bi-color: color temperature adjusts from 2700K-6500K with Green/Magenta correction. read more…
Tags: Nanlux Evoke 5000B
Sony OCELLUS Camera Tracking System
OCELLUS is the new camera tracking system from Sony. It consists of 3 parts: a sensor unit that sits on top of the camera, a processing box to calculate data, and lens encoders.
OCELLUS is marker-free. It recognizes objects on set and on location, so you do not have to attach targets on ceilings, walls or the ground. read more…
ALEXA 265 – 65mm Format Camera
The ARRI ALEXA 265 launched in December 2024. Here are some camera views from our FDTimes February 2025 article. 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…
Preston and RED Talk to Each Other
Preston Cinema Systems and RED Digital Cinema cameras now talk to each other.
RED has added a new communication protocol in Firmware 2.0 that allows for even more devices to communicate with the camera using the existing RCP2 (RED Command Protocol). Serial devices can communicate with the camera—as long as they can parse the language RCP2 uses. Previously, it was an entirely network-oriented protocol. read more…
DJI RS 4 Mini
The new DJI RS 4 Mini Gimbal Stabilizer is an excellent choice for almost any camera system up to 4.4 lb. Here’s looking at you Sigma BF, fp L, Sony a7 series, FX3, LUMIX S1RII, Canon R series, Fujifilm X series, Leica SL3-S—even with zoom lenses.
Although missing some of the high-end features of DJI’s RS 4 Pro (10 lb payload, LiDAR focus, etc), the RS 4 Mini costs about $500 less and is extremely capable.
The DJI RS 4 Mini is a lightweight (2 lb) gimbal stabilizer that you can operate with one hand. Sure, feel free to use two hands as well. read more…
Tags: DJI, DJI RS 4 Mini
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…
