Mini Mac for Pro Editing

You say you're looking for the cheapest editing system you can get and still cut 1080 HD video?  Check out this Guatemala Edit System.

It uses the  The Mac Mini.  These things start at $599 and can have dual core i7 chips,  8 GB of RAM and have the new Thunderbolt I/O ports.

Thuderbolt features two 10 Gbps channels of data transfer.  That's 12X faster than FireWire 800 and 20X faster than USB 2.0.

You can daisy chain six peripherals thru Thunderbolt including an Apple Thunderbolt display.  And because Thunderbolt is based on DisplayPort technology, Mini DisplayPort devices plug right in.  Plus, the Mac Mini has a HDMI port.

My first edit bay cost $250,000 and if I made a dub, I could do a dissolve.  Now, you can have an edit system with 100,000 times the power for the price of a case of D2 tape stock.

http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/atepper/story/mac_mini_for_pro_video_editing_a_field_report_from_guatemala/
http://www.apple.com/macmini/
http://www.apple.com/displays/

Canon EOS-1DX DSLR

Canon's revamped it's 1D into the Canon EOS-1DX with some real improvements including Intraframe compression, free run and record run time code, manual audio control while recording, a faster imager (read higher ASA) and longer record times.  Its slated to be available in March 2012.

The time code allows you to sync up audio recorders and multiple cameras.  ISO settings range from a new low of 50 ASA (great for working outdoors) to a whopping 204,800 ASA, which is useful for law enforcement and other field uses.

The 4 GB/Fat 32 is no longer a barrier.  You can now record for almost 30 minutes and there's dual CF card slots.  Plus, Canon claims to have made changes so there's less moire.  It better be a lot less with a price tag of $6800 bucks.

Oh, and it also takes still photos, I think...

Read the press release:  http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/prc/Canon-U-S-A-Introduces-The-New-Canon-EOS-1D-X-Digital-SLR-Camera-Re-Designed-From-The-Inside-Out_13497.html

German Octocopter with a Red Epic

OK, here's something crazy:  A German Octocopter with a Red Epic attached.  It's not the helicopter that's crazy.

In fact, I saw this local guy flying this little electric helicopter with a small Canon "point and shoot" camera that also records video (did I mention it was electric?  Very quiet).

No, the crazy thing is putting a brand new Red Epic on one of these fixed pitch helicopters.  It's one thing to put a $150 camera on one, but as a helicopter pilot, I'm here to tell you that if the engine fails on that German drone it will drop like a anvil and there will be lots of pieces of Red Epic everywhere.

Maybe that's why the German helicopter never flies higher than 4 feet above grass...

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/11/german-video-effects-company-builds-camera-drone-for-the-red-epi/

Canon Opens Tech Center at Sunset Gower

Last week Canon opened the Canon Hollywood Professional Technology and Support Center inside Sunset Gower studios.  The facility plans to offer "comprehensive product repair" starting later this year for Canon 5D's and 7D's now in wide use in production.

Canon wants to make it a one-stop-shop that will include two camera body and lens adjustment rooms, calibration equipment, a vast spare parts inventory and experienced staff.  Live workshops and training sessions will also be offered.

It will also be Canon's Research and Solution Engineering Department to engage studios, production houses, networks and rental facilities to beta test upgrades and new cameras.

Canon Press Release

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/about_canon/newsroom?pageKeyCode=pressreldetail&docId=0901e024803b2337

Tascam DR-40

If you've been shooing with DSLR's you've probably used the Zoom H4n audio recorder.

Now, there's new contender, the Tascam DR-40.   What's the big differences for recording audio?

1. Price, the DR-40 cheaper, less than $200 bucks.
2.  Dual Recording Mode captures a safety track at a lower level to avoid distortion, sort of like recording channels 1&2 at 0 db and 3&4 at -3.
3. The DR-40 has locking XLR inputs.  Working with the Zoom always makes me nervous because the cables don't lock in and a kick out is possible.

But I've used the Zoom a bunch and is it better the devil you know?

http://tascam.com/product/dr-40/

Dana Dolly

At DV Expo I also saw the Dana Dolly.  It's your typical skateboard wheel dolly but what separates the Dana Dolly from the competition are the Track End Brackets.

They are flat on one side for laying on the floor, apple boxes, counter, etc., have junior receiver on the other side for mounting on standard stands and are designed to hold 1 1/4" pipe.  That's Speedrail to you and me so you can cut track any length you need.

The complete Dana Dolly kit is $600 (the show special was $550 so they will deal) but the real deal is you can get the Track End Brackets for $70 bucks each.

For lighter cameras and for travel they have a Dana Dolly Jr.  The complete Jr. kit is $400 (show special $350).  These Track End Brackets and U bolts for accepting all kinds of pipe so you could buy cheap pipe on the road and toss it at the end of the shoot.

http://danadolly.com/

Litepanels Sola 600

At DV Expo I had the chance to play with Litepanel's Sola 600.  The is a direct competitor to Arri's LED fresnels and you couldn't have two more different design philosophies.

The Sola 600 is made of carbon fiber/plastic material and seems like it's not as well made as the Arri BUT (and notice that's a big but) it's much lighter than the built-like-a-tank Arri.  The Sola 600 weighs less than 10 pounds while the Arri weighs 14 with active cooling and a whopping 24 pounds using passive cooling!  The Arri would be great in the studio but there's no doubt I'd be taking the Sola out on location.  Plus, the Sola seems to burn cooler and you can easily handle it when it's powered.

The Sola 600 also has a nifty little LCD screen in back to tell you what's going on but it would be useless if it's hanging in the air.  Up in the grid the Sola can be controlled through DMX.

One of the big differences between the Arri and the Sola is color correction.  Arri has a tungsten balanced Arri L7T, a Daylight balanced L7D and on the Arri L7-C color temperature can be change electronically at the head or through DMX.   The Sola's daylight balanced and requires color correction filters.

The Sola 600 has the light output of a 600 watt tweenie and it has a great spot/focus range from 70 degree flood to 10 degree spot (Arri is 15-50).  At $2850 it costs about 4 times as much as a Mole Tweenie but you can run 6 Sola 600's on the same amount of power as 1 tungsten tweenie, you'll never have to buy a new bulb for it and you'll never burn your fingers.

Litepanels also has a Sola 400 that is priced at $1500 bucks... but no fancy LCD screen.

Canon Aperture Ring Patent

Canon has applied for an Aperture Ring Patent and bringing back the physical ring on the lenses.

The new lens design separates aperture adjustments between movie capture and still capture.  When capturing movies, aperture changes are made via the lens ring.  When the mirror is down and capturing still images, aperture changes are made via the camera body. 

There are also numerous other features that could be built into these lenses (e.g., programmed/remote focus pulls, smoother/slower AF adjustments, etc.); however, this patent application was limited to a specific feature-set tied to this new aperture ring.

Read more at:  www.photographybay.com

Mosaic Engineering 5D Anti-Morie/Aliasing Filter

The name of the Mosaic Engineering 5D anti-morie/aliasing filter is self-explanatory. The filter really helps with morie and aliasing problems but you can't use this filter with a wide angle, the edges get very soft.

Supposedly you can install and uninstall in just 20 seconds but I'd hate to have to do this in the field every time I wanted to use a wide angle lens.  The MSRP is $385 bucks.  Check out Philip Bloom's review.

http://www.mosaicengineering.com/products/vaf-5d2.html
http://vimeo.com/29069158

iPhone 4S

I've been holding out for a shiny new 5 but it's looks like I'm going to have to get a 4S.  It's got a new 8 MP still camera but the big news is the 4S shoots 1080p video instead of 720.

Plus, Apple says the "backside illuminated" CMOS sensor will capture 73 percent more light, the 4S has a sharper f2.4 lens, noise reduction and a built-in image stabilizer.  They also claim white balance is 26% better, whatever than means.

And it can also make phone calls...

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

Big Canon Nov. 3 Annoucement

I've been waiting for this third shoe to drop.  First Panasonic, then Sony and now finally on November 3 Canon is announcing a new product in Hollywood.

The Hollywood location is a giveaway that it's something for the motion picture types rather than for the still photographers, although some speculate this might be the a new mirror-less 5D MarkIII.  More likely it will be something completely new to compete with the AF100 and the FS100.

Now, if they've only given it a name that's two random letters followed by 100...