RED Retools Scarlet camera
September 22, 2008
One of the cooler products of last year’s NAB has been thrown back into the kiln for a whole new design. So says RED Leader- Jim Jannard over at Scarletuser.net:
http://www.scarletuser.com/showthread.php?t=1047
“We have changed everything about Scarlet because the market has changed and we have discovered a lot of things in the process. We have a new vision.
Wipe you minds of the past announced Scarlet. Forget the design and forget the price. It is all different now. We think you will be surprised. Glad we didn’t take any deposits… 
Jim”
If I had to venture a personal guess, I would imagine the idea of launching a compact motion picture camera with a fixed lens in this particular market segment a year from now became the issue. Recently released cameras like the Nikon D90 and Canon EOS-5D offer somewhat compromised, but still quite usable movie modes that encroach on Scarlet’s turf a bit. This becomes especially evident when you see little cameras like the brand-new Panasonic micro four-thirds cameras which are tiny little non-SLR but interchangeable lens, digital still cameras that shoot HD:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/21/panasonic-unveils-video-capturing-lumix-g-prototype/
You look at RED’s DSMC and it’s not hard to see how that and Scarlet should be one. If nothing else this is a fascinating look at how industrial design and manufacture works and why the whole thing is like a giant game of poker. You gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. Let the games begin, again.
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Canon EOS 5D- Digital Still camera with awesome movie mode.
September 21, 2008
Here’s an interesting blog on the Canon EOS 5D which shoots 1080p video using awesome Canon still lenses.
1. The 5D MKII camera produces the best stills in low light that I’ve ever seen - what you can see with you eye in the worst light (such as sodium-vapor street lights at 3 a.m. in Brooklyn) - this camera can capture it with ease.
2. It produces the best video in low light that I’ve ever seen - at 1080p. A top commercial film editor who who regularly edits RED camera footage - and has seen the raw footage from the 5D MKII - says the 5D MKII is “far superior to the RED camera” in terms of low light performance…
3. You can use your prime and zoom lenses from your Canon still cameras with it - and shoot wide open… so you can shoot films with fisheye lenses, 50mm 1.2 as well as the 200mm f2 or 400mm 2.8 that you may already own…
4. This camera is so easy to use - that you can work incredibly quickly, mostly handheld - without a huge production - and using natural light - ergo you don’t need a huge budget and tons of preparation anymore… forget the lighting trucks and generators that take up entire city blocks…
5. This camera will sell for approx. $2,700 - and perform better than many $100K plus video cameras out there…
6. Photojournalists in particular - will be able to take full advantage of this camera’s strengths - because they are used to walking into any room, and finding the best natural “available light” in the room - or knowing how to add a single light source to make it pop… they are used to working quickly and with small or no budgets… which is something this camera is begging you to do…
Blu-Ray Authoring on the Mac
September 21, 2008
Ok well it’s not full Blu-Ray in DVDSP just yet but here’s the next best thing. To make this work you need a Blu-Ray burner, such as this nice little 6X number from MCE:
http://www.mcetech.com/blu-ray/
You also need a copy of Toast Titanium 9 and then this new HD/BD plug-in for Toast 9 gives users the ability to author high definition video content on to Blu-ray, or even standard DVD discs.
Take high-def video footage from AVCHD camcorders, TiVo and EyeTV and create Blu-ray discs that can be played on any standard Blu-ray set top box or Playstation3 game console. Did you invest in HD DVD? The HD/BD Plug-in even supports HD DVD formats and disc players. For more information, visit this link:
http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/toast/plugin/overview.html
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The Digital Survival Guide: Part 2 of 2
September 3, 2008
In part two of our Digital Survival Guide, we continue our look at some of the latest digital motion picture cameras. If you missed part 1, check it out here.
In 2006, the independent movie making world was rocked by the introduction of the RED One digital camera. This camera was surprising for two primary reasons: its ability to shoot at 4K resolution(more than double that of competing HD cameras) and its base price of only $17,500. The net effect of RED’s introduction onto the scene has been the democratization of the tools of filmmaking.
Armed with a RED, a nice set of 35mm lenses and of course a modicum of talent in front of and behind the camera a user can create imagery equal or superior to anything a 35mm film camera can achieve. Shooting to solid-state flash memory cards, RED’s workflow can be complex and daunting but it’s ultimately intended for compatibility with relatively inexpensive editing software such as Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere.
With RED, the glass ceiling has broken and with even more cameras on the way at lower prices, RED clearly has its sights set on getting film quality digital motion picture imaging into the hands of anyone who wants it. Hollywood is just getting accustomed to the idea of RED as several big-budget motion pictures have gone or are going into production with the camera, including Steven Soderbergh’s Che and Knowing, which stars Nicolas Cage.
Silicon Imaging also offers a digital camera with relatively low pricing and high-end specs to provide another alternative to film capture. With its 2/3” 16:9 CMOS sensor, the SI-2K can shoot standard definition, HD in 720 and 1080 and up to 2K using PL mount and C-mount HD and 16mm cinema lenses. A variety of over and under-cranking options are also available, where the maximum frame rate depends on the capture resolution.
At SD the camera goes up to 150 fps, while at 720p the maximum frame rate is 85 fps. The SI-2K camera offers cinema style lens mounts and 2K image capture to the Cineform RAW codec for around $29,000. Movies shot with the SI-2K include The Dark Country starring Thomas Jane (Boogie Nights, The Punisher) and Slumdog Millionaire from director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later.)
The Phantom HD is yet another digital alternative to film whose speciality is very high-speed image capture. Phantom is capable of shooting up to 1,000 frames per second at 2K resolution, fully uncompressed using an array of ultra-fast onboard flash memory and PL-mount cinema lenses. To put that in perspective, an event that takes only 7 seconds to occur in real-time takes more than 7 minutes to playback when photographed at 1,000 frame per second.
Highly suitable to action movies, commercials and music videos, the Phantom slows time down to an art form and provides an unparalleled look into motion at unprecedented slow speeds. Phantom comes primarily as a rental camera complete with a utility to convert the camera’s native Cine file format into QuickTime and Video for Windows compatible files ready for editing in the NLE of choice.
The high-speed alternative on the film side is much more expensive because unfortunately film is charged by the foot and shooting high speed burns through film at an alarmingly expensive rate. Furthermore, with Phantom’s digital nature, complex actions can be reviewed immediately to see if everything went as planned. With high-speed film shoots, the production must wait until the next day’s dailies to see if a shot actually worked, when expensive sets and actors may be already unavailable.
Film no longer has the playing field all to itself, with viable, production-ready digital cameras here today and more on the way the choice has never been wider. Producers can now pick the camera that suits not only their creative vision but also meets their budget requirements. Never before in the history of filmmaking has so much opportunity been available to movie makers with a desire to make their mark. And as with all technological things, development constantly continues to make digital movie making less expensive with higher quality. The digital future is now.
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