The News

A review of the Sony RX10 which mainly focuses on the still photo side of things:
Sony RX10 review: the everything camera | The Verge
Does the RX10 always take the best picture, in every situation, no matter what? No. But I never found myself wishing I had a different camera. Just the opposite, in fact: using the RX10 is like having a DSLR and a bag full of lenses with me at all times. And while I would have otherwise been changing lenses on my DSLR, I just zoomed in, got the shot, and moved on.
And here's a tear-down of the camera:




Nikon releases a new mirror-less still camera that does highish frame rates.
Nikon V3 features 120fps HD video | EOSHD
The Nikon V3 will be the first mirrorless camera to feature 120fps HD slow-mo at 1280 x 720 resolution. Also available are 400fps and 1200fps at lower resolutions. Nikon have added an electronic stabilisation mode (called EVR) and 1080/60p to round out the spec.


Now it appears that the train company didn't know about the film being shot on the train bridge:
‘Midnight Rider’ and the Fatal Flaws of Hollywood Safety | Variety
Mark August, VP of the Society of Camera Operators, agrees that many young crew members don’t feel they can question things. “They look to leadership for safety,” August says. “There is the assumption that your boss is taking every precaution, and that when you are employed, you are safe. The reality is, if it isn’t safe, (you have to feel free to) speak up.”


Sony Announces ProRes & DNxHD Recording for the F5 & F55 | AbelCine
Sony has just announced that they will be adding two new codecs to the F5 and F55 cameras: Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD. These two formats are the most desired in the industry due to their NLE compatibility and overall quality. Sony already includes some great codecs in the F5 and F55 cameras already, including XAVC, MPEG2, SR Codec, and Raw with the AXS-R5 recorder.


Blackmagic 4K camera crop tests | Philip Bloom | Vimeo
3 4K shots from the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K edited on a 1080p timeline and scaled to various sizes to see how well it can be re-sized. I have had great results from my 1DC especially and the F55.I have used filmconvert on all the shots as the grain on an adjustment layer evens out the noise a bit. I have also put the ungraded shots there to see.


What makes a ‘good’ lens? (part I) | Ming Thein
In order for a lens to deliver high performance in the corners and at fast apertures, it must be well corrected: this is to prevent different wavelengths of light focusing at different points – both laterally and longitudinally. If the focal plane for different wavelengths shifts laterally, then you’ll see spectral separation in the form of lateral chromatic aberration, or blue-red/ green-red fringing. 


Depth Perception – filming scenes for Under The Skin | MovieScope
The Underwater Studios in Essex has played host to numerous shoots for commercials, television and films. Tom Seymour was invited to watch the filming of scenes for Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, and discovered a whole new side to the British film industry…


The Indie Film World Needs 100 Amanda Palmers | Digital Dorr
This model uses Internet based tools and platforms. So you might crowd fund your movie on Kickstarter, sell your movie from your own web site with VHX, or organize a screening using tugg.


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