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Posts from ‘May, 2012’

Blackmagic: We’re ready to remove the Band-Aid!

May 11th, 2012
by Allan Tépper.
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If you agree, please sign the online petition requesting the required updates.

Despite years of diplomatic prodding on my part, both via articles in ProVideo Coalitionmagazine and private emails, Blackmagic has still avoided and postponed offering RGB on its HDMI outputs. [If you’ve read my articles regarding HP DreamColor connectivity, you already know that the DreamColor enginedemands digital RGB (not YUV/component) and true progressive (not interlaced or even PsF).] As a result, until Blackmagic updates their products (hopefully via a firmware and software update), you’ll have to spend an additional US$495 for an HDLink Pro 3D DisplayPort which will take the SDI signal from either the DeckLink HD Extreme 3D card or the UltraStudio 3D external interface. And that also means an additional SDI cable, an additional power supply, an additional power outlet, and having to make additional adjustments in another device. If you agree, please sign the online petition I’ve created.

How the Blackmagic Cinema Camera will indirectly take sales from AJA, Matrox, and MOTU

May 10th, 2012
by Allan Tépper.
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What are you talking about Allan? AJA, Matrox, and MOTU don’t manufacturer or sell cameras! How will the Blackmagic Cinema Camera take sales from AJA, Matrox, and MOTU? The reason is related to the DaVinci Resolve grading software that Blackmagic is including with the camera at no extra cost. Even though Apple bundled Color (which was an updated version of Final Touch) with Final Cut Pro 7, very few people I know actually used it, and it is effectively dead since Final Cut Pro 7 is no longer available for sale, and Apple doesn’t supply Color with Final Cut Pro X. Things will be different with Blackmagic’s inclusion of DaVinci Resolve with the camera, because almost all users (i.e. anybody who shoots in RAW mode) will need to grade their footage. Given DaVinci Resolve’s excellent historical reputation and the fact that purchasers of the camera will get a free license, many of them will likely want to invest in learning to grade with it, rather than spending cash on some other grading application. In this article, I’ll explore why this situation will mean less sales for AJA, Matrox, and MOTU.

Read the full article free in ProVideo Coalition magazine.

AbelCine updates its free Field Of View Comparator for Blackmagic Cinema Camera

May 9th, 2012
by Allan Tépper.
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Now you can compare the field of view of just about any camera and lens, free of charge!

We applaud AbelCine for updating its unique interactive Field of View Comparator to include the recently announced Blackmagic Cinema Camera. This camera’s sensor size joins many other sizes and even some specific camera models from manufacturers and brands like Arri, Canon, Panasonic, Panavision, Phantom, RED, and Sony. Of course, the AbelCine Comparator continues to include standard HD sensors including 2/3“, 1/2”, 1/3“, and 1/4” used by several manufacturers. Just select one sensor size or camera model on the left side, another on the right, and select the lens’s native focal length in the middle, and voilà… Ahead in this article, you’ll see some examples which compare the field of view of a Super35mm sensor, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera sensor, a 1/2” HD sensor, and a 1/3” sensor.

Read the full article free in ProVideo Coalition magazine.

Sony quietly releases the NX30 camcorder, a little sister to the NX70

May 8th, 2012
by Allan Tépper.
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With an 1/2.88″ sensor and 26mm wide angle (35mm eqv), the NX30 should ship in June for well under US$2500.

Although during the past year I’ve written quite a bit about the Sony NX70 (officially, the HXR-NX70) here in ProVideo Coalition magazine, I haven’t yet published my review on it because I only received the NX70 loaner unit yesterday. While I prepare the review of the NX70 in the next couple of weeks, I feel compelled to let you know that at NAB 2012, Sony quietly announced the NX30 (HXR-NX30), a little sister (i.e. smaller and lower cost) to the NX70 which apparently shares the same sensor and almost identical specs on its lens. From my perspective, the NX30 is clearly focused by Sony to overtake the market space currently occupied by the Canon XA10 and the Panasonic AG-HMC40 (price/size/progressive/electric zoom/balanced audio inputs), about which I’ve already written a few times. In this first look at the NX30, I’ll highlight the NX30’s unique characteristics, make some initial observations & comparisons, and include some videos about it.

Read the full article free in ProVideo Coalition magazine.