News From Here & There

The death of the Flip I
Julia Roy reminisces about her first handheld video camera, but realizes that it has been replaced:
...its been years since I've taken it with me anywhere to capture video. This is for a few reasons. I now have a video camera on my phone (iPhone 4), which is always with me for capturing spontaneous moments, making it not necessary to carry another device. And, more importantly, over the years I've opted for much sleeker models, starting with the Sony Webbie and most recently the Sony Bloggie.
JuliaRoy: The Demise of the Flip Camera



The Final NAB Wrapup?
Splice Vine offers the 6 most disruptive things at NAB; I was a bit surprised that the death of DSLRs wasn't one of them! [removes tongue from cheek]
A certain video editing package was number 1....The Top 6 Disruptive Announcements for Post at NAB



The death of the Flip II
It seems Cisco axed the Flip the day before they were to announce a Web-Connected camcorder.
Called the FlipLive, the camera would have been able to stream video to Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail a link to a real-time video feed, using Wi-Fi. Gizmodo got exclusive access to images of the device, which sports the Flip’s signature candy bar design.
Wired: Flip’s Web-Connected Camcorder Nixed Before Release



Zacuto Cross Fire Review
Brian Troy reviews the Zacuto Cross Fire rig, which is the Striker rig with the addition of the Zacuto DSLR baseplate and the Z-Focus (follow-focus). It's $2,137 vs. the Striker's $810.
What I like about the Cross Fire is its versatility. You don’t need all that extra gear to carry around. The Cross Fire breaks down into five small pieces that you can easily fit into a backpack, camera case, pelican case, etc. Throw in a set of sticks, and you can do a lot.
If you haven't used a gun-stock style rig like the Striker, I'd recommend trying before buying. I spent some time with one and found I didn't like how much weight it put on my chest.

Brian notes in his review:
Bare in mind, this rig is heavier than the Striker, so don’t expect a long period of shoot time as the weight will put a lot of pressure on your arm. It’s great for the run and gun atmosphere that a lot of independent filmmakers are accustomed to, but it won’t replace a shoulder rig.
BrianTroyFilms: Zactuo Cross Fire Review



Shooting 3D with the Sony PMW-F3
Alister Chapman reported on a recent 3D shoot with the Sony PMW-F3. Everything went well except that:
Our only small issue was that the follow focus motors were shifting the camera very slightly due to flex in the tripod base plate on the F3. You probably wouldn’t notice this at most normal focal lengths in 2D but in 3D small shifts are very obvious. So a stiffener plate for the base will be needed to prevent this (as well as general flex) or a pair of 15mm rails mounted to the top holes on the F3 body.
XDCAM-USER: Two PMW-F3′s used on 3D Cinema Commercial



Quick Links
  • Canon EF 8-15 f/4L Fisheye coming in 20-40 days? The lens, announced last fall, was supposed to be here by nowm, but now Canonrumors thinks it's not far off: EF 8-15 Fisheye Coming Soon?

  • Free Stuff: Filmmaker.IQ has a list of 111 Filmmaking Tools; software, plug-ins etc.: 111 Free Filmmaking Tools

  • Panic! The iPhone 4 will soon be the most popular camera on Flickr: New York Times: Bits

  • Don't Panic! "As a marketing guy at a camera retailer, here are a couple of reasons why I honest to god believe that the point and shoot market has nothing to worry about": The Phoblographer: Why You All Need To Calm Down About Phones Killing Cameras

  • Dead Pixels: ChessyCam explains how to remap dead pixels in your DSLR camera sensor:  Fixing Random Hot or Dead Pixels






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