Prokit's Blog
Atomos announced an enhanced version of their hugely popular Ninja HDMI Field Recorder at this years NAB.
The Ninja 2 now boasts HDMI output as well as HDMI input, which means it can be used to record directly from the amazing new Nikon DSLR sensor (D4/D800) and the retina-display Apple iPad, really taking advantage of their stunning HD output. The Ninja 2 touchscreen has also been upgraded, now incorporating an 800×480 pixel display, with a viewing angle of 170 degrees, both horizontally and vertically, with much improved visibility in direct sunlight.
One of the key new features of AtomOS 3.0 is SmartLog – the ability to mark in and out points and tag clips using XML metadata so that you can effectively make a pre-edit on your Ninja or Samurai before you even get to the edit suite. Another new 3.0 feature is SmartControl, designed specifically for use in James Cameron’s Deep Sea Challenge. It allows start/stop/pause to be triggered on any number of Samurais interconnected via their LANC port.
AtomOS 3.0 also incorporates precision monitoring aides such as Focus Peaking, Zebra, False Color and Blue-Only.
Originally developed in collaboration with Apple, the Ninja and Samurai field recorders allow the recording, monitoring and playback of pristine, 10-bit uncompressed images straight from your DSLR or camcorder directly to Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD.
Hello again,
In today’s post-NAB blog we will be concentrating on lighting. Sure, some of the new sensors out there have incredible low-light performance (such as the Super 35mm newbies covered in our recent NAB camcorder blog) but sensitivity is one thing: You will still need to use some lighting if you want your images to stand out from the rest.
We were lucky enough to see some great upcoming products from some of our best imported brands, including new LED heads from Ikan, innovative softbox solutions from Chimera and a powerful LED studio fixture from Lowel.
Here we go…
Ikan
We’ve been familiar with the Ikan range of LED heads for two years now, and that range is about to get bigger and better. Ikan’s stand was large, welcoming and had a number of new lighting heads on display.
First up was the IB500 and IB1000 heads, which are the “bi-colour” updates to the hugely popular ID500 and ID1000 heads. As their “bi-colour” description suggests, you have the option of both Daylight and Tungsten output, which is easily controlled via a dial on the back of the head. Just like their single colour temperature equivalents, they are dimmable and also have the option to be powered by 12v batteries. If you have V-lock batteries, they already make a compatible V-lock plate for these heads. The best part is that they’re just as good value as the Daylight fixtures, and hardly cost anything more! You can order this heads now by clicking here.
These next heads are – for me – the most exciting. We saw the new ID508 and IB508 heads, which are like slimline versions of the aforementioned ID500/1000 and IB500/1000 fixtures (the ID508 is the daylight model, and the IB508 is the bi-colour). They have a little less output, but they make up for this with their incredibly slim profile, tiny battery systems and light weight. You see, what’s special about these heads is that they come supplied a Sony-style “L” series battery and charger, making them some of the most portable and practical LED heads around. We get the feeling that the portable interview lighting kit is about to be re-invented with heads like these, and we can’t wait to get them into stock and on display in our showroom.
For those needing something with more power and coverage, Ikan had some good looking new solutions…
The new ID1500 and IB1500 heads are just over three feet long and are effectively like three of the ID500/IB500 heads in a long line, or like a KinoFlo-style 4 foot bank, depending on how you look at it. These ID1500/IB1500 heads will be ideal for lighting a full body shot and especially suited to chromakey work. As before, the ID model is daylight and IB model is dual colour temperature. These are very new, and we will have pricing on the Prokit website shortly.
Finally we saw the ID36 head (pictured above), which has the most powerful throw of all the Ikan range. It’s similar in size to the ID/IB1000 head but uses lensed LEDs to increase the output range. These would be idea in a number of situation, like studios or pieces to camera when outside. Like the ID/IB1000, they can be powered by battery with an optional V-lock plate as well.
Ikan lighting offers excellent value for money and we’re looking forward to getting these new heads into stock!
Chimera Softboxes
LED lighting is, by its very nature, a “hard light”. Lots of people are under the impression that LED panels are soft: This is not the case, as a source made up of bare diodes without any lensing or diffusion is effectively the same as lots of small bare halogen lamps. It’s a hard light, and to soften it you will need diffusion.
At Prokit we have been selling Chimera Softboxes for over 10 years and they are simply the best way to make a hard source into a beautiful, wraparound soft light. Chimera have started to make a range of softboxes to fit the growing number of LED heads on the market…
Chimera now make softboxes for the large Ikan range of LED heads already mentioned in todays blog. These will wrap neatly around the barn door sections, as pictured below.
Chimera also have banks for the smaller range of LED toplights, and with some innovative features. First of all the conveniently fold away for transport, as demonstrated in the photograph. As you can also see, there is a “clear” looking front screen….which, as you can probably guess, is not just a clear screen: it’s much smarter than that. It is designed to reduce the “multi-shadow” effect that LED panels can create, which will mean a much clearer beam and more singular show effect. This front screen technology will also be available for the front of the new banks for larger LED heads.
This next Chimera bank is a little different, as it is designed for still photography rather than video. It’s called the Beauty Dish, works with strobe heads and is made to be a portable portraiture photography bank. We saw it in action and the results were very impressive. It is pictured below:
Lowel
Lowel’s latest entry into the LED world is the daylight balanced Prime head, which is a powerful studio based fixture with a similar output to the Kino Flo Diva 400.
We also saw a prototype of the upcoming GL-1 head, which is a handheld Tungsten LED head designed mainly for Wedding photography. Think of it as a neat, all-in-one version of the Lowel ID-Light. We saw it in its prototype state and it is looking good.
So there’s our Lighting news from NAB. Exciting stuff, right? We should have the new Ikan heads on display and in stock in around four weeks, and the new Chimera products will be on our website soon. We already have the Tungsten version of the Lowel Prime on display, so come down to our showroom and see these new heads in action.
Today’s blog by Stuart Dennis
Sound Devices PIX 220 and PIX 240 firmware revision 2.00 provides the following new features and changes.
- New: LCD Monitor Menu with Exposure Assist, Focus Assist and Flip Display features.
- Exposure Assist includes False Color and Zebra Stripes options and is activated using LCD + FILES buttons
- Focus Assist includes Peaking Filter and Edge Enhance algorithms. Activate Focus Assist using LCD + MENU buttons
- New: 1:1 Pixel Mapping Zoom function to further aid focusing of HD video. Activate using LCD + AUDIO.
- New: Image brightness, contrast, and chroma adjustments in LCD popup menu. Only affects signal on the LCD display of the PIX recorder.
- New: Support for Standard Definition recording and playback
- New: Ability to create and delete cue markers using the FILES button during recording or playback
- New: Locate to cue marker function using Rewind and Fast Forward keys
- New: Loop Play mode allowing looping from start to end of a clip or between consecutive cue markers
- New: Support for Analog + SDI/HDMI audio input combinations
In all a very impressive update.
You can find the update here: http://www.sounddevices.com/download/pix-firmware.htm and remember to follow the installation instructions to the letter.
GoPro Partners with Technicolor to Incorporate CineStyle™ into GoPro’s new Protune™ Firmware for HD HERO2 at NAB 2012.
Technicolor-Certified ProTune Mode Adds 24p, 35Mbps Data Rate; Non-Destructive 3D LUT and Color Presets to Greatly Enable Professional Production Workflow
GoPro announced at the NAB 2012 Show in Las Vegas they have worked to embed Technicolor’s CineStyle™ colour profile for the debut of the new GoPro Protune™ (a free firmware upgrade available for the HD HERO2 camera, available this summer).
Certified by Technicolor, and developed by GoPro, the Protune mode firmware upgrade is a significant development for the professional production and post-production market, which incorporates Technicolor colour science into GoPro’s latest product launch. These new features combine to allow professional filmmakers a vastly improved and flexible workflow for seamless integration with other source material and post-production platforms.
Key features of the GoPro Protune mode include:
- 24fps frame rate, enabling GoPro HERO2 content to be easily intercut with other sources without a frame rate conversion;
- 35Mbps data rate for the industry’s highest quality compressed image with virtually zero artifacts;
- Neutral colour profile, allowing for greater flexibility in a colour correction workflow;
- Log curve encoding, offering more detail in shadows and highlights;
- Reduced sharpening and noise reduction for improved flexibility in professional post- production and colour design workflows.
Seamless Integration with GoPro CineForm Studio -
GoPro Protune mode makes integration with GoPro CineForm Studio simple, automatically detecting Protune settings and applying the default adjustments to create stunning images. The workflow is further enhanced by a variety of colour tuning presets, or ‘looks’ that further enhance the filmmakers’ story.
Using Protune with GoPro CineForm Studio Premium and GoPro CineForm Studio Professional provides additional benefits, offering extensive colour correction controls and customizable presets to create professional, cinematic looks from the GoPro HERO2 captured content. Non-destructive 3D LUTs provide even more flexibility, enabling users to further tweak their images, manipulate saturation and contrast and colour correction controls to create highly stylized content.
GoPro Protune mode is available as a free firmware upgrade through the GoPro CineForm Studio software, which is also available as a free download here.
Feel like getting your hands on a Canon XF300 or XF305? Then this May and June is the perfect time, as Canon are giving you £200 off and offering 24 months interest free credit.
The Canon XF300 and XF305 are BBC approved handheld camcorders, shooting at 50 mega bits per second to compact flash card media. They are ideal actuality and documentary cameras for anyone wanting to travel and shoot for broadcast.
Canon are also gving a 2 year warranty on XF300s and XF305s bought through this offer.
So if you’ve been putting off your next broadcast-legal small camcorder purchase – now is the time to buy.
Want to know more about the Canon XF range? Then check out our guides on the Prokit Learning Resource, where you’ll find workflow guides, video Masterclasses from Canon experts and much more.
Hello Everybody,
Welcome to the first of our post-NAB reports! We saw so much it’s hard to know where to start, but we may as well start with the product type that got the most attention: The small matter of new cameras…
The Large Sensor Camcorders
In the large-sensor arena, this year’s NAB saw the genesis of low-cost 4K acquisition in the shape of new models from Sony and Canon, and the curious 2.5K resolution debut of Blackmagic’s Cinema Camera. Let’s deal with these one by one…
Sony FS700
Sony’s latest large sensor camcorder has been designed around the body chassis, layout and lens mount of their FS100 model, but the similarity really ends there: The internal specifications of FS700 make this a different beast altogether.
First of all we have totally new sensor capable of delivering 4K resolution via the 3G-SDI output when using an external recorder. The 4K output will not be active straight away, and will become usable with a future firmware upgrade. Although there is potentially a 4K recorder coming from Sony in the future, this NAB saw the launch of some third-party 4K capable external recorders which I shall cover in more detail next week.
So if 4K for the FS700 is a “future” capability, then what of the specifications on release? Well, as you may have read in previous blogs, the FS700 is set apart from closely priced rivals by its unique framerate capabilities. To quote the marketing blurb from Sony: “The camcorder delivers Full-HD quality images at 120 and 240 frames per second in an 8 or 16 seconds burst mode respectively. The NEX-FS700’s high sensitivity and low noise shooting capability makes super slow motion shooting more convenient without additional equipment. 480 fps and 960 fps rates at reduced resolution are available for faster frame rate recording.”
We saw some slow motion footage of the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas shot by Alister Chapman, which you can see for yourself by clicking here. The YouTube footage doesn’t really do it justice: We saw it on Full HD OLED monitors on the Sony stand and it looked brilliant. There really isn’t another camera even remotely in this price range that has this kind of capability when it comes to frame rates and scalable resolution. Another nice touch is the inclusion of ND filters built into the front of the camera. Yes, that does mean increased girth at the lens mount end but it’s worth it if it means being able to knock down light at the flick of a switch.
All sounding good? Well, it gets better because the handgrip incorporates a zoom rocker. We all know what that means: Sony are planning a motorised servo zoom lens, meaning that the FS700 isn’t just for prime lenses and other fast optics. With the addition of a zoom controlled by the rocker, you’ll be able to use the camcorder in much the same way as a standard small sensor camcorder but with all the added benefits of the FS700’s impressive specification and capabilities (great low light performance, high framerates etc).
All in all the FS700 excites us. It’s scalable in terms of resolution, offers unique features at an excellent price and the eventual introduction of a powered zoom lens make it a great all round camcorder that will be ideal for accomplishing both cinematic and televisual aesthetics. And we’re taking pre-orders now…
Canon C500
Canon’s follow up to the wildly popular C300 gets their 4K ball rolling in a similar way to the Sony FS700 by equipping the camcorder with a sensor capable of 4K and a 3G-SDI output that will send out the 4K stream. So – like the Sony – no 4K on board but instead you’ll able to get that huge resolution onto the imminent range of 4K capable external recorders.
The C500 differs to the C300 in other ways as well. The 3G-SDI output will be capable of 10bit output, allowing you to go to recorder capable of that bit depth and technically extending the limits of what is possible in the post production grading process. Moreover, on-board you’ll be able to record up to 120FPS, making it a powerful slow-motion camcorder that will likely be broadcast legal due to the 50MBPS bitrate. In a necessary chassis design change from the C300, the C500 foregoes the side grip found on the C300 in order to make space for what looks like a heat sync/vent. One imagines that when in 4K mode, it gets a little hotter inside than its 8 bit/1080P relation.
Just like the C300, the camera will be available in the choice of EOS or PL mount. We’d love to know what you guys would put on the front: Would you be inclined to use feature and commercial level PL glass on a camera capable of such a resolution? Or would you stick it out using EOS glass from your DSLR days? It’s an interesting question, and we’d like to know your answers.
So enough of the tech talk on the Canon C500, onto what the footage looked like…
We saw a demonstration film played on Canon’s insanely impressive 30” 4K monitor (yes, I did say 30” and 4K in the same sentence) and put simply: It was quite beautiful. It probably helped that it had clearly been shot by a very talented crew, but what was striking was how sharp and “filmic” it was. I’m not normally one for the occasionally vague language employed by some of the online production community, and I would never say “filmic” unless I was attempting to convey the textural quality of celluloid itself, but in this case I can’t really find another adjective that really nails the feel of the C500 footage. Even then, it wasn’t so much texture on its own in a tactile sense, but more the way it interacted with the movement, colour and latitude around it. It was a type of aesthetic I hadn’t seen since I first looked at a Red R3D file with the RedSpace setting switched on: Full of detail, colour and punch, but without ever feeling like the OLPF-compensated sharpness of other camcorder footage. Of course, a demo real made to look brilliant through talented crew, high level grading and then displayed on a 4K monitor was always going to look great, but even if you’ve taken all that into account and the hairs on your neck still stand up…then surely you’ve just seen something that is just a little bit special.
The camera will be arriving sometime in the last quarter of this year. I can’t wait.
Blackmagic Cinema Camera
At a broadcast exhibition, always expect the unexpected. The unexpected can come in various forms: At last year’s IBC exhibition in Amsterdam, a man in a gorilla costume demonstrating a very strange piece of camera suspension kit casually sped past me with the aid of rollerblades. This year at I saw a middle-aged businessman singing “My Way” at a dedicated Karaoke tent (yes, really) outside the North hall. His audience? Nobody in particular, just exhibition attendee’s walking past.
Of course, the unexpected can also come in the form of a new product…
This year’s unexpected product was the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, which judging by its pricing, ergonomics and capabilities is directly aimed at the DSLR filmmaking community.
It’s intriguing, curious, it looks seriously weird…but boy could it be a neat little B-camera if it does what the specification says. We’ve blogged this already but I’ll run the important specs past you one more time: a 16mm (or ½”) sized sensor/EOS lens mount/touch screen interface/big range of recording options including uncompressed, Avid DNX and Pro Res/records to removable SSD drives. And the cost? About £2,000.
I have seen no footage to wax lyrical about like the aforementioned Sony and Canon cameras, and my experience so far has been limited to peering at this strange, silver, miniature monolith through the glass cabinet you can see in the picture above (which, in a way is kind of apt: the camera looks a little like a science project or an experiment). It essentially feels like a recorder with a sensor and lens mount installed, and of course the 16mm sized sensor will mean a 2x crop over 35mm. Still, the planned capabilities are impressive, and it will be interesting to see a company more famed for converters and recorders make their debut in the world of large sensor camcorders.
The camera is due for release in June.
The Small Sensor Camcorders
Sony expanded their range of small sensor camcorders with the introduction of two new models. They are actually covered in detail in a previous blog which you can read here. Suffice to say we saw them in action on the (enormous) Sony stand and they both look good.
The first model is the NXR-NX30, which is a like a cross between the MC50 and NX70. That means small and neat, recording onto internal memory or onto SD card in the NXCAM format.
The second model is the 50MBPS recording PMW-100 camcorder, which uses SxS cards. Think of this as a 1/3” sensor sidekick to the larger, shoulder mounted PDW-500 camcorder.
GoPro
Pumping bass. A racing car. Lots and lots of people. It could only be the Go Pro stand.
Last year GoPro acquired a company called Cineform, who create RAW codecs for high end recorders. It may have seemed an odd choice for an up and coming point-of-view camera company primarily concerned with extreme sports, but our visit to the Go Pro at NAB 2012 pushed a little logic our way and now we get it.
The result of the partnership is threefold: An upcoming flat/LOG picture profile to get the most dynamic range possible out the GoPro 2, the ability to shoot at a datarate of 35mbps (just under double the existing data rate) and their new “Protune Software” (basic version is free, fully spec version you need to pay for) which allows manipulation of footage, application of simple LUTs and some 3D manipulation when having shot stereoscopically.
The introduction of a higher data rate and flat picture profiles will make the GoPro 2 a more flexible and powerful tool than it already is, and make it easier to match the footage from the diminutive shooter to other high end camcorders.
So folks, that all for today. This week we’ll have blogs on camera grip, lighting and the latest on external recorders.
Today’s blog by Stuart Dennis
Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic Cinema Camera, a revolutionary digital cinema camera design that includes powerful features such as super wide 13 stops of dynamic range, high resolution 2.5K sensor, built in high bandwidth SSD recorder, open file format support, colour correction with full version of DaVinci Resolve and a built in LCD with metadata entry, all in an attractive compact design for only £1925 + vat.
Key Features
- High resolution 2.5K sensor allows improved anti aliasing and reframing shots.
- Super wide 13 stops of dynamic range allows capture of increased details for feature film look.
- Built in SSD allows high bandwidth recording of RAW video and long duration compressed video.
- Open file formats compatible with popular NLE software such as CinemaDNG 12 bit RAW, Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD. No custom file formats.
- Includes no custom connections. Standard jack mic/line audio in, BNC 3 Gb/s SDI out, headphone, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology, LANC remote control and standard DC 12-30V power connection.
- Capacitive touch screen LCD for camera settings and slate metadata entry.
- Compatible with extremely high quality Canon EF and Zeiss ZF lenses.
- Supports 2.5K and 1080HD resolution capture in 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 fps.
- Thunderbolt connection allows direct camera capture via included Media Express software and supports live waveform monitoring via the included Blackmagic UltraScope software.
- Includes a full copy of DaVinci Resolve 9.0 colour grading software.
Blackmagic Cinema Camera will be available July 2012. Click HERE to Pre-order
Prokit have just dropped the price on all Panasonic cameras and are offering new special offers on the AG-AC130/160, AF-101 and HPX250 camcorders:
Panasonic AG-AC130/160
Buy an AG-AC160 camera and receive 2 x Panasonic RP-SDB32GB1K Class 10 32GB 90Mb/sec UHS-I SD cards worth £250+VAT free of charge.
The AG-AC160 camcorder is a professional model that feature an incredible 23x zoom lens. It is built to a very high standard and delivers excellent results, particularly at low light.
Panasonic AG-AF101
Buy an AG-AF101 camera and claim back up to £430 towards accessories (proof of sale with accessories is required for credit).
The AG-AF101 series is a professional AVCCAM Series HD camera recorder equipped with the Micro Four Thirds optical system commonly used in digital single lens still cameras.
Panasonic AG-HPX250
Buy an HPX-250 and receive a 64GB P2 Card worth £445+VAT free of charge.
The HPX-250 is the latest P2 HD camcorder from Panasonic and is the first handheld model to record AVC-Intra at 100Mb/s. It is impressively equipped for a camera at this price and produces images that are broadcast-approved for HDTV.
Offer Ends: 22nd June 2012
Sound Devices have just announced a new model to their external video recorder range at NAB, the PIX260.
The rack-mounted PIX 260 is a file-based video recorder/player that seamlessly replaces tape-based video decks in production and post-production environments. Using the Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD codecs, the PIX 260 records and plays files up to 220 Mbps in high-quality 10-bit 4:2:2 video as well as 32 tracks of 48 kHz audio. Files from the PIX 260 are ready for direct import into Avid and Final Cut editing environments, eliminating time-consuming transferring and transcoding. Files can also play out of the PIX 260 for real time applications.
Up To 32 Tracks Of Audio
The PIX 260 has extensive audio connectivity. With up to 32 track record/playback capability, the PIX 260 accepts eight channels of line-level analog I/O, eight channels of AES digital, 16 channels of embedded SDI, 8 channels of HDMI, and 32 tracks of audio over Ethernet using Audinate’s Dante.
Key Features
- Based on the successful PIX 240 Production Recorder.
- File-based recording using Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD encoded files, up to 220 Mb/s.
- Up to 32 track audio recording over Ethernet.
- Simultaneous recording to up to four eSATA-connected drives.
- 5-inch, 800 x 480 pixel video display.
- Front panel drive access behind video display.
- 8 balanced, line-level analog inputs and outputs.
- 8 channels of AES digital audio I/O.
- Time code, genlock master generator.
- Can record and play up to 16 channels of embedded SDI audio.
- Can embed and de-embed audio from analog, AES digital, and Dante.
- External RS-422 control.
- Embedded web server for machine transport over ethernet-based networks.
- Up to 32 channel audio interconnection using Audinate Dante.
- Playback from FCP 7, FCP X, and Avid sessions.
- Built in hardware scaling and frame rate conversion.
- Convenient 1/2-rack, 2U chassis dimension.
- Powered by 10-27 VDC, 4-pin XLR, 30 watts.
Price and availability coming soon. Please contact Prokit for more info.
If last week’s Sony 4K announcement didn’t quite satisfy your appetite for higher-resolution-than-HD imaging then worry no more, because today Canon have also crashed the 4K party with the announcement of two very exciting and powerful new models.
Canon EOS C500
The first is a 4K update of the C300, called a C500 and essentially a 4K version of the aforementioned Super 35mm shooter. Here are the preliminary specs:
- 8.85MP Sensor
- 4K/2K output via 3G-SDI x 2 (this explains the large bulge on the right hand side)
- Same modular design and operation as the C300 camcorder
- Will be available in both Canon EF mount and PL mounts (just like the C300).
The Canon C500 is clearly designed to be a high resolution tool for top-end acquisition, and will be duking it out with the likes of the Red Scarlet, Red One MX , Sony FS700 and F65 in the world of 4K. No word on pricing yet but we can safely guess that it will be more than its older HD brother, the C300. Be aware that just like the Sony FS700, 4K recording is likely to be via the 3G-SDI and onto an external recorder (not supplied) and the onboard recording is likely to be HD resolution.
Canon EOS 1DC
The second camera announcement is a 4K recording, Full Frame sensor, DSLR-shaped camera called the EOS 1DC. The camera will record 4K onboard using the motion JPEG format, and looks a lot like the Canon 1DS, which also has a full frame sensor. In video mode the camera records in and image size equivalent APS-H, which is larger than Super 35mm (although presumably not as large as full frame).
Obviously these are all preliminary specifications, and when more info is available we will have a more comprehensive idea of the specific camera functions. Hopefully we will see both of these camcorders at the NAB Exhibition next week!
UPDATE:
Scheduled release date and RRP for EOS-C500: Q4 2012 – £16,666 + VAT
Scheduled release date and RRP for EOS 1-DC: Q4 2012 – £8,333 + VAT
Please be aware that as these prices are tentative and are subject to change.
Today’s blog by Stuart Dennis
- @AmexOffers_UK You might want to check the URL you've just posted. 13 hours ago
- #C300 #Canon #5D Mark III kits and body only, and C300 now in stock again! 13 hours ago
- @Mediakinetic @litepanels Hey Lindsay. No problem at all, we've got it put to one side for you. See ya later! 2 days ago
- @sandomedia Amazing! Get Stuart and I an ice cream please. 6 days ago
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