Quick Links

(SR5) First picture of the Full Frame E-mount VG-900! | SonyAlphaRumors
Rumors are that Sony is going to announce another camcorder that's full-frame (not Super35 or APS-C), uses the E-mount, and will be called something like the NEX-VG900 and cost about $3,000. How that fits together with the already announced Sony NEX-EA50 and the existing NEX-FS100, which are also in the same approximate price, is a puzzle I'll leave to Sony:

This is the first image of the first E-mount Full Frame camera! It’s actually a camcorder to be correct, the new VG-900. [...] It finally proves that a FF sensor indeed fits into an E-mount. 

First Impressions: Sony NEX VG-900 | CHRIS GAMPAT | The Phoblographer
Before today's Quick Links was even posted, the camera has been confirmed! It appears very similar to the Sony NEX-VG20 (which is now replaced by the NEX-VG30). I'm really curious to see what the image looks like, and how this camera fits in between all the others (the VG20 and FS100 specifically.) Who is going to buy this $3,000 camera that wouldn't be looking at the FS100?

I’m interested to see how the footage performs when different gain is used though. As a former news videographer (you have to start somewhere as an intern) I would want to stop my lens down to around F8 or so when interviewing someone with a full frame camcorder. With that said, I would surely need lite panels like the Switronix Bolt that we reviewed if the gain needs to be kept down lest there be too much noise in the image.

Sony Handycam NEX-VG900 | Jeremy Stamas | Camcorderinfo

The Sony Handycam NEX-VG900 is an impressive feat of technology and design, but the camcorder itself raises more questions than answers. Since the NEX-VG900 is limited to 1920 × 1080 recording, how much will the Full Frame sensor, with its whopping 24 megapixels, actually improve video quality? Is this model simply a stepping stone to a 4K Handycam in the future—something that would take full advantage of the Full Frame sensor?

IBC 2012 – Sony NEX-EA50 hands-on & footage | Claytom Burjhart | Cinema5D
Clayton gets his hands on the NEX-EA50, and is a little underwhelmed: "far from a perfect camera - a little bit disappointing." He also found the focusing rather slow...

We recorded some footage and realized the quality that comes from the same APS-C sensor that's also used in the older Sony VG-20 is not as nice as we initially expected. Granted, what we recorded was grabbed at 24db, in a really bad lighting environment, but it must be said that it's a different kind of image than the ones we've seen from cameras like the Sony FS100, 700, the Canon C100, or other Canon HDSLR's for that matter, that pretty much spoiled us in that regard. 

The Sony Trio “Too many cameras, not enough output” | Philip Johnston
| HD Warrior
I think Philip might be on to something; Sony is coming up with too many cameras. In the small chip world (1/2 and 1/3") they have released/announced three similar cameras: the PMW-100, PMW-160 and PMW-200 (actually, the 100 and 200 make sense, the 160 seems close to the 200):

Sony in my opinion are three camcorders too late, it’s unprecedented for a video camera manufacturer to produce 3 similar spec cameras, let alone 3 cameras in four months.It all started with the PMW-100 which was an MC50 single chip in a bigger body and the ability to record at 50Mbps, the chip size alone put a lot of people off this camera.

For Sony's take on this, you can watch this video from IBC: Sony Professional - IBC 2012: Latest updates for professional camcorders | YouTube



Production Audio is Ripe for Revolution | Stu Maschwitz | Prolost
Stu makes some brilliant suggestions about how the field of sound recording could be revolutionized, maybe by using the iPhone as an interface:

Don’t even think it’s enough to use it as a platform for new, sexier UI. Put that little pocket supercomputer to work to make my life as a filmmaker easier. 

Rate the quality of my incoming audio on the screen, live. Warn me when I have a bad echo, or background noise. Suggest fixes. I’ll move the mic around as instructed and watch the quality level change, and then stop moving when it’s great.

Audio Recorder Comparison – Digital Recorders vs Preamps | Olivia | Olivia Tech

Robert from JuicedLink performs a really great audio test comparing popular external audio recorders and popular preamps. He compares and reviews signal to noise tests of the Zoom H4n, Tascam DT-100 MKII, Sound Devices 702, Beachtek DXA-SLR PRO, Edirol R44, Tascam DR-680 and the juicedLink Riggy Micro / Assist.

Dynamic Link: After Effects & Premiere Pro | Clay Asbury | Premiumbeat

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to work smarter (not harder!) by taking advantage of Adobe’s Dynamic Link tool.  Now you can seamlessly move back and forth between Premiere and AE without all the hassles.  A major timesaver for creating support graphics for your video projects!

Building and Working with a Film Community | Lewis McGregor | Dare Dreamer
Great article about building up a local film making community:

Look out of your window and hopefully for the purpose of this paragraph there’s an old man cutting the grass. Boom, that’s your onset electrician, the teen riding past on the scooter, he can be your runner. You turn to your community for help. That’s what I have done with Grim: A Tale of Death. Bar myself and James, everyone on board were complete strangers to us two years ago.

Ep. 12 - Prelude to Analog [Pt. 1] (with Rick Macomber and Matt Allard)
| NeedCreative Podcast
This podcast is interesting not just because of the history, but because Rick explains how he decided on the Canon C300:

In this first of two parts (2nd part comes in Ep. 13), the group talks various subjects influenced by the topic of Analog vs Digital. In Part 2 (Ep. 13) we get into a lively talk about analog, looking back into Matt and Rick's long history with analog formats and how they helped, or hurt, creativity. Artist picks of the week come in Part 2 as well. 

Samyang to show 24mm F3.5 tilt-and-shift lens at Photokina | DPReview
I've always wanted a tilt-shift lens (even before they became a 'fad') but couldn't justify the price. Maybe the new Samyang will be affordable:

Optical design of Samyang T-S 24mm 1:3.5 ED AS UMC comprises of sixteen lenses arranged in eleven groups, including two aspherical lens and two lens made of ED glass with low dispersion factor. Thanks to this solution, the lens perfectly reproduces detailed elements and gives splendid image plasticity, also with the T-S function on.

Samyang 24mm T1.5 Cine Lens for Canon EF-Mount [$749.00 - September 15] | B&H
Meanwhile, Samyang has entered the world of "cine" lenses, and now have four models in a number of different mounts; the 8mm and 35mm are already available, while the 14mm and 24mm are expected soon: Samyang 35mm T1.5 Cine Lens for Sony Alpha [$549 - available now], 14mm T3.1 Cine Lens for Nikon F-Mount [$449 - September 15], 8mm T/3.8 Fisheye Cine Lens for Canon [$349 - available now]
I already have their 'standard' 35mm lens, which is very nice and $50 cheaper, but I wish I'd known the cine lenses were coming:

The Samyang 24mm T1.5 Cine Lens for Canon EF-Mount was developed primarily for film and video applications. The cine version of Samyang's 24mm lens features industry-standard gearing for the focus and aperture ring, and the aperture ring has been "declicked" for smooth iris pulls. The aperture and focus scales have also been relocated to the side of the lens, where it is easier for focus pullers to read them.