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New F3 Firmware Adds S-Log to Every Camera | Andy Shipsides | AbelCine
New firmware for the Sony PMW-F3:
Version 1.40, which can be download here, adds S-Log into the Picture Profile menu of the camera. This allows anyone to turn on S-Log without the RGB key, although you still need the key for 4:4:4 output. Having S-Log in the profiles menu allows adjustment to the other camera settings such as black level, color, and white balance.


Canon EOS 7D Firmware 2.0.0 coming August 7, 2012 | HDCam Team
The new firmware for the 7D isn't due until August it seems...
Unfortunately the announced improvements don’t include much for video mode, besides what is really welcome but supposed to be already in the EOS 7D since very long ago: Manual Audio Gain. At least all EOS 7D users will be able to manually set the audio gain before start recording video. This was a worldwide requested feature that Canon finally decided to include!


Sony's Action Cam prototype is incredibly small, we go fingers-on at CE Week in NYC | Zach Honig | Engadget
Engadget takes a quick look at a prototype(?) of the new Sony active camera:
A variety of mounts were on hand to demonstrate the shooter's versatility, including a handlebar attachment, helmet holster and some sort of plastic enclosure that could presumably be used to shield the Action Cam from underwater hazards, though Sony declined to confirm. Specification details are also quite spotty at the moment, but we were able to confirm that there will be an Exmor R CMOS image sensor and a wide-angle Carl Zeiss Tessar lens on board.


JVC GC-XA1 ADIXXION POV Action Camera & Video Examples | Cinescopophilia
Seems JVC has gotten in on the act too!
Built-in Wi-Fi opens up a range of possibilities, including wireless connection to a smartphone that can be used to monitor the image – great for framing the shot when the camera is mounted on a helmet or other location where the user can’t see the LCD. Wi-Fi also makes it possible to send images live to a PC or mobile hotspot, or transfer data to a PC for sharing via social networks.


Customer Showcase – Art Meets Architecture at 24fps | Luke | Cinevate
A bit of a how-to on shooting interesting angles with a slider:
...the most recent video he sent us (which features the San Diego Home and Garden 2012 Home of the Year) has a larger variety of movement, not just limited to horizontal but also diagonal, escalator-like shots. This style of shot would usually be hard to pull off while still having the camera oriented properly with the horizon, but the Dromos Hi Hat and Bowl Riser allows to re-index the 100mm bowl, and thus the camera.


ARRI LED Lighting Comparison | YouTube
ARRI produced this comparison/test video of their new L7 LED lights - they ain't cheap!
We compared the L7 LED Fresnel and other competitor's products with the light quality of a 650W Plus Tungsten Fresnel. We found some surprising results in skin tone and color rendition. Shot on ALEXA, featuring actress Luciana Faulhaber.


codecs and the render engine in After Effects CS6 | Todd Kopriva | Adobe
Rendering with After Effects:
After Effects CS5.5 had to be activated (serial number entered) on render-only machines due to licensing restrictions for certain codecs. See this post by After Effects product manager Steve Forde for more background about this.

In After Effects CS6, you can now run aerender or use the watch folder functionality in a non-royalty-bearing mode, without activating the render-only instances of the application.


How Blackmagic can add anamorphic recording mode to their Cinema Camera the easy way | Andrew Reid | EOSHD
The Blackmagic Cinema Camera is coming soon, and Andrew is a big fan of shooting anamorphic, so he lobbies for anamorphic support on the camera:
Now the Blackmagic Cinema Camera has a sensor which is rather square, very close to 4:3 and perfect for anamorphic conversion. But it shoots with an activate area of 2432 x 1366 which is 16:9. The full resolution of the sensor is cropped significantly down from 2560 x 2160. You lose nearly 800 lines of resolution vertically to get to 1366 pixel 16:9. It would be a significant change at such a late stage to have a mode that records in 2560 x 2160 (or rather 2560 x 1920 which is exactly 4:3).


D|Matte Side Flag & Rod Support Upgrade | David Aldrich | Vimeo
A budget Matte for DSLR shooters. This video shows how to install the side flags and rod support:






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