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Thursday, September 13, 2012

Quick Links

Sony A99 Field Test with NEX-VG900 Preview | TheCameraStoreTV | YouTube
In addition to the VG900, Sony also announced a full-frame sensor DSLR, the A99:
The A99 is Sony's new flagship, with the SLT design promising amazing autofocus. To test this, Chris Niccolls from The Camera Store went to Wild Rose Motocross Park to see how the stills and video stack up.Also this episode, Jordan Drake takes a quick look at the Sony VG900, the first full frame camcorder.


Sony A99 revealed with new video optimised full frame sensor | Andrew Reid
| EOSHD
On the audio side there are on-screen meters, a mic socket, headphone jack and even a XLR battery grip (XLR-K1M) for $800 which includes a shotgun mic. There’s a ‘silent’ control dial on the front of the camera. It isn’t a touch control though. The codec is AVCHD 2.0 and for the first time we officially have 1080/60p on a full frame DSLR. 24p/25p are there too but no word on whether it is region switchable yet.


Sony NEX-VG900 Camcorder Trailer [720p HD] | Focus Pulling | Vimeo
The NEX-VG900 is a new E-mount camcorder equipped with a full-frame sensor specifically designed for shooting motion pictures ideal for commercials and music videos, as well as action scenes in budget drama, for example. The large-format sensor's high sensitivity enables it to produce footage with shallow depth of field similar to that of a film camera.



Sony's New NEX-VG30 | Michael Christensen | B & H
Among the most notable advancements, the NEX-VG30 was built with a powered zoom seesaw lever, which will operate the new 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Power Zoom Lens and, when used in conjunction with manual zooms or even prime lenses, it will facilitate a 2x lossless digital zoom. This ground-breaking, new type of digital zoom is achieved by cropping the sensor in real time, as pioneered by Sony’s NEX-EA50UH, and entails no loss of resolution.



Canon EOS 7D Firmware Update 2.0.3 Released | HD CamTeam
Minor fixes:

  • Fixes a phenomenon in which the camera stops working when the auto power off setting takes effect.
  • Fixes a phenomenon in which the maximum number of images that can be captured in a burst may be less than the actual number displayed in the viewfinder.




My IBC round-up | Alister Chapman | XDCAM-User
Alister writes about Sony gear, and some other bits and pieces. He's surprisingly impressed by the NEX-EA50:
The zoom speed is variable but the maximum speed is quite slow, so no crash zooms with this lens. I also noticed some focus shifts as you start to zoom and throughout the zoom range. This was expected, after all this is a very cheap servo zoom based on a stills camera lens and stills zooms are rarely par-focal (constant focus throughout the zoom range). If you used autofocus the lens would hold focus as you zoom, but this isn’t always going to be ideal. 


Blackmagic Camera Part Deux: BMCC & Workflow | Jon Carr | Vincent Laforet
Vincent had serious reservations about the Blackmagic Diesign Cinema Camera, but his colleague liked it:
Most manufacturers are pushing 4K+ and I believe RAW video is also part of the future. Many of us who shoot stills with DSLR’s can’t imagine going back to shooting JPEG images because of the flexibility the RAW image gives you. In a few years we will think the same thing in terms of video especially as workflows evolve and hardware improves. It is important to become familiar and comfortable with RAW video now especially since it is so accessible with the BMC.


Zacuto's First Look at the Canon EOS C100 Camera | Zacuto | Vimeo
Join Steve Weiss and Jens Bogehegn as they take a first look at the Canon EOS C100 camera. Zacuto got a sneak peek at the prototype and we have been building rigs & accessories just for this camera ever since. The big development was the C100 Z-Finder, just like our Z-Finder Pro but we made a wider skirt extension and change the lens to accomodate the much wider screen on the Canon C100. 


Making Low Budget look like Big Budget | Alex Walker | Wide Open Camera
Some tips on dealing with difficult problems both during and after a shoot:
Hopefully this situation shows you how, despite having very little to control the light with, you can still succeed in delivering a product that will please your client. Just remember to focus on choosing the right locations, time of day for each scene, and know what you are capable of pulling off; also, keep an eye out for every day items you can repurpose to improve your lighting


iPhone 5 vs. iPhone 4S: Image comparison | Digital Photography Review
Is there much difference between the two cameras? It doesn't appear so:
Looking at the EXIF data of the images confirms Apple's assertion that this is a new sensor, despite the pixel count remaining the same. Close examination shows the iPhone 5 is using a 4.1mm lens to give a 33mm equivalent field of view, rather than the 4S's 4.3mm lens, which gave a 35mm equivalent view. This means the new sensor is a tiny fraction larger. The iPhone 5 has also selected ISO 50, 1/3EV below the 4S's minimum sensitivity of ISO 64.



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