If you would like to review all of the 2013 NAB coverage. Follow the link below.
Blackmagic Design Ramps Up Their Production Hardware and Software
Posted by KL Tech Muse at 9:42 AM on April 11, 2013
Blackmagic Design has not only been busy this year making excellent cameras but also updating their production hardware and software. Among the updates were the DaVinci Resolve 10. It now has a new tool set for sound sync. Resolve Live offers many new features including grading live from the camera. You can add as many nodes and color corrections as you like. The DaVinci Resolve allows the user to do multitrack editing with up to 16 channels of audio per clip and unlimited video and audio tacks in the timeline. It also allows the user to edit 3D projects with support for left and right eye clips. The color correction has also been upgraded. The DaVince upgrade will be available to all DaVince customers in Q3.
Blackmagic is also introducing the ATEM Production Studio 4K. This is the world’s first Ultra HD production switcher. It operates natively in Ultra HD, HD or SD. It has a total of 8 inputs, 4 6G-SDI and 4 HDMI. There are a multiple number of features that all work with Ultra HD. The switcher can monitor up to 8 sources. The user can work in Ultra HD and then down convert to a regular HD programming feed. You can do live aux switching directly from the front panel. There is an LCD for monitor the aux output.
The Blackmagic MultiDock is a solution for managing and editing media from HyperDeck disk recorders and cameras. A rack has 4 independent 2.5 inch disk docking slots. You can mount both regular hard disk and SSDS. It has its own built in power supple and a single thunderbolt connection to the computer. It has an independent SATA chip per slot for maximum speed. Disks can be stripped together for a disk array. It will be available in May for $595.
Blackmagic Design is also introducing the DeckLink Mini Recorder and DeckLink Mini Monitor. This is the PCIe plug in cards version of the UltraStudio Mini Recorder and UltraStudio Mini Monitor. It can fit into regular PCIe slots and is perfect for the PCIe slots found in rack mounts. It supports the same software for Windows, Mac and Linux that the regular DeckLink models do. It will be available in mid April for $145.00.
Blackmagic not only produces great video monitoring products but also excels in audio monitoring with the Blackmagic Audio Monitor. It is attractive with all the features that a professional needs. It has a SDI input, an LCD screen and a HDMI monitoring output built in. The SDI input can handle Ultra HD as standard. It is designed using machined metal,even the speaker grills so it not only works great but looks great. The level meters are customizable and the volume knob is contact-less so it will never wear out. It will be available in a few weeks for $1,495.
BlackMagic is also releasing a new model of their ATEM Studio Converter. It is also machine metal design. It had its own built in power supply. There are analog connections in the rear panel. It also works with the new 6G-SDI technology. There are controls on the front panel o operating the talk back. The director can talk directly to the camera operator without using headphones. There is a mic and speaker input built directly into the front panel. The ATEM Studio Converter will be available in May for $1,995.
As is expected, BlackMagic Design continues to produce quality hardware and software products for the professional in the field of audio and video at reasonable prices.
BlackMagic’s Pocket Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K
Posted by KL Tech Muse at 12:51 PM on April 10, 2013
BlackMagic is introducing a lot of great products in 2013 including
The two products that has me looking at my finances are the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K . The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is extremely small. It is 128mm across, 66mm high and 38mm thick and weighs only 355 grams. It has an extremely high-resolution 3.5″ LCD screen. At the bottom if the screen the camera status is displayed including record status, shutter angle , time-lapse interval and more. Despite its small size this is a true digital film camera. It produces a true film look with high-end television commercials and feature films quality. It has a super 16 size 1080HD sensor with 13 stops of dynamic ranger. It offers various lens mount options including a Micro Four Thirds™ for low-cost lenses and an adapter for Super 16 Cine lenses. By using the Super 16 lens plus the Super 16 sensor size and the 13 stop dynamic range you can shoot like you are shooting Super 16 film. Switch to larger lenses and you are ready for bigger jobs too. It has a built-in 3.5mm stereo mic and headphone jacks. You also get a 2.5 mm jack connection for LANC remote control. The micro HDMI output lets you connect to electronic viewfinders, monitors, external disk recorders and more. The Blackmagic Pocket camera has a built-in SD card that captures stunning ProRes 422 (HQ) and lossless compressed CinemaDNG files to SDXC cards. The solid grip handle holds a removable Nikon EL-EN20 battery. The battery charges within about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera supports true open file formats so you can use what ever editing software you want. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera will be shipping in July for $995.
The Blackmagic Production Camera 4k is the first ultra HD products this year. It has a Super 35 size sensor with global shutter. It offers great shallow depth of field and the ability to shoot fast motion shots. It has an EF compatible lens mount. It records to solid state disk using CinemaDNG RAW and ProRes 422 (HQ) formats. It has built-in Thunderbolt and 6G-SDIoutput allowing Ultra HD video out. It’s sensor features 12 stops of dynamic range. With the Blackmagic Production Camera 4k you can use 6G-SDI output to allows for monitoring on an Ultra HD displays. The user can down convert to regular HD for viewing on a smaller monitor. The Blackmagic Production Camera is great when used with the new ATEM Production Studio 4K. The Blackmagic Production Camera will be available in July for $3,995.
Blackmagic is showing off these and their other products off at NAB and will be releasing them all this year. Allowing independent film makers to produce great quality products.
Tags: Blackmagic, Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Blackmagic Production Camera 4k
Posted in Information, NAB, Photography, video
Lowel SlimLight Kits Expand Creative Options
Posted by JenThorpe at 5:54 PM on April 9, 2013
The Tiffen Company has some brand new accessories that will open up creative possibilities for image makers who are doing an interview, shooting a video podcast for a client, and more. Two brand new Lowel SlimLight Kits are now shipping. They are portable, flexible, and excellent for small shoots. Each kit comes with a 200W Rifa eX 44, which is a dedicated tungsten-halogen softlight.
The Lowel SlimLight Rifa Blender combines the popular Rifa eX 44 with the Lowel Blender LED. The Lowel Rifa’s smooth, soft, light takes just 60 second to set up. The Lowel Blender’s tungsten & daylight LED’s blend to easily match the mixed light sources in real world environments. They can also be used to create a contrasting color mix. A SlimLight three-light kit draws just 232 watts.
The Lowel SlimLight Rifa Pro Kit includes a Lowel Pro-Light that gives even light with Fresnel-like shadow quality, evenly dispersed flood, and a uniform spot with significant barndoor cut. The light is a compact size, and can be used for low-level key or accent light, fill light (with diffusion) or back-light for interviews and small shooting areas.
Those who are attending the NAB 2013 Exhibition can visit the Tiffen booth (8818) to see the new Lowel SlimLight Kits first hand.
Red Digital Cinema : Red Dragon is Here
Posted by KL Tech Muse at 11:45 AM on April 9, 2013
Anyone who is interested in working with videos or professional still photography has heard of Red Digital Cinema. When the Red camera was first announced many “experts” said it was vapor ware or a scam.
History has proven that this was far from true. Movies such as Thor: The Dark World and series such as House of Cards were made using the Red Camera. Magazine such as Vogue are using it to shoot their still photos. Well Red Digital Cinema is at it again, introducing Red Dragon at NAB. The new Red Dragon sensor shoots 6K resolution at 100 frames per second. It translate at 9 times the resolution of HD at over 19 megapixel. These upgrades are going be available to Red Epic and Scarlett owners. Coming with the upgrade is REDCINE-X PRO a post-production advance coloring toolset, integrated timeline and post effects collections program. This is one area were being an early adopter definitely has its advantages.
Tags: photography, Red Digital Cinema, Red Dragon, video
Posted in Information, NAB, Photography, video
Atomos Announces Ninja-2 Support for New DSLR Cameras
Posted by Alan Buckingham at 5:04 PM on April 8, 2013
Atomos, creator of the field recorders Ninja-2 and Samurai, and the Connect converters, announced Ninja-2 support for many new DSLR cameras today at the National Association of Broadcasters show.
According to the company, “Our close relationships with major camera manufacturers means that at NAB this year we have over 20 different cameras on our booth working with our field recorders,” said Jeromy Young, CEO and Founder of Atomos. “Of these, over half are DSLRs with ‘clean’ HDMI video output. This time last year there was only one. This is a great illustration of just how DSLRs and affordable large sensor video cameras are changing the world of professional video”.
The company unveiled Ninja-2 by showing it working with the pre-release version of the Canon 5D MkIII — the top of the Canon line of DSLR cameras.
Atomos also announced a price drop for the product, bringing it down to $695. It also claims that the “Ninja-2 allows the recording, monitoring and playback of pristine, 10-bit 4:2:2 images straight from the camera sensor directly to Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD editing codecs. Atomos makes production truly affordable by using commodity, off-the-shelf 2.5″ computer HDD or SSD drives”.
camBLOCK Announces Adventure Motion Control System
Posted by Alan Buckingham at 7:42 AM on April 8, 2013The National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB) is now in full swing and the product announcements are beginning to roll out at a fast pace. Today camBLOCK made its big announcement, with a product that has been given the intriguing name of “Adventure”.
Adventure is a fully featured, ultra-portable motion control camera system. It is designed to enable filmakers to create repeatable and precise camera moves for real time effects, motion time-lapse and animation. It is a much smaller and lighter version of the original camBLOCK.
The camBLOCK Adventure kit will begin shipping this summer and will be priced at $8990. A special limited-time pre-order pricing is available through Kickstarter until May 8th.
