OMG !… I forgot about this prototype two years ago at Canon Expo…Please tell me Canon have not gone onto develop this juke box come hairdryer. This will be the best comedy show since Charlie Chaplin if this menace has been reincarnated.
Craig Blair of Canon Rumors was NOT sent an invitation by Canon to attend the official launch of Canon’s new large sensor event but Craig has moles everywhere and has just posted this exiting news…
Possibly some early specs of the new Canon S35 camcorder :
While you are waiting for the Canon announcement here is some interesting info from AVID, Media Composer 6 is an all new built from the ground upwards 64bit edit system.
AVID could have stolen a fair number of Final Cut Pro editors but the general consensus is that it’s far too dear standing at £1799 which is a shame, £799 or less would have tempted a few us over to the purple side but when you consider FCPX is getting a major upgrade in January and at £199 is still a better option than AVID at £1799.
Just in case AVID are unaware we are going through a recession and everyone is tightening their belts, clients are not spending full dollar so it’s sheer madness to think we are going to spend £1799 on software we don’t need.
AVID is a “once upon a time” software in other words once upon a time AVID was the first name in NL editing but lost the plot a few years back and was largely overtaken by FCP and Premiere Pro…how sad !
All the info live from Los Angeles starts from 10pm tonight UK time. I will be glued to the keyboard bringing you all the exiting information from both Canon and RED…the event of 2011 tonight from 10pm.
Around 9pm tonight we will be getting the first pictures of the new Canon large sensor camcorder more importantly the first specifications and pricing in fact Chris Hurd from DV Info Net has had an email from Canon…
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“We are pleased to have you attend this historic Canon event on November 3, 2011. The exclusive unveiling and exhibit at Paramount Studios will showcase Canon’s commitment to play a larger role in the film and television production community.”
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Why is this news so momentous, so far all we have is teasing from Canon themselves…here is my take on this news.
Canon have been a major player in the DSLR race with the 5D Mk11 being the first camera to have HD video built alongside the photographic part of the camera setting a new benchmark in video/photography.
Until the announcement of the 1DX this year Canon have done little to amend the inherent problems that dog the DSLR from being a truly professional filming tool but even the 1DX has built in flaws that were explained by a Canon rep as being a part of the pro video input in other words “we are just about to launch a large sensor camcorder and would prefer if the 1DX was not a competitor”.
Why is this even newsworthy…Canon have a knack of looking at a marketplace and introducing camcorders that don’t need add on’s to make them broadcast friendly. They also want people to buy lots of Canon glass as they have had the best two years of all time because of the DSLR phase.
Canon also recognise that cameramen/women do not care for expensive add on’s like NanoFlashes etc in order to “make the grade” with the likes of the BBC etc thats why Sony missed the boat big time with the PMW-F3 making it 35Mbs claiming to speak to the “right people” when they clearly got it so wrong.
Thats why this Canon announcement is so important, professionals may at last have a large sensor camcorder that will be fit for purpose straight out of the box and the other most important point is the EF lens.
The Canon community have been waiting for an electronic solution for almost a year without success or delivery for the Panasonic and Sony large sensor camcorders, MTF are bringing out 3 adapters later in November for the AF101, FS100 and PMW-F3 but only to control the iris.
Many users have been disappointed with 8bit 4:2:0 processing which can cause banding in certain circumstances, I predict the Canon will come out of the box with 10bit 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 processing once again giving the competition a major headache.
What about that all important sensor…I think the Super 35mm sensor is just fine on my Sony FS100 but some people are predicting a 4K sensor which would be fantastic as long as you have the choice to still shoot 2K as for the majority of us 2K is as much as we need without a major rethink in the editing department.
My prediction : Firstly we will see a minimum spec camera as follows : 10bit, 4:2:2, CF cards, 50Mbs, EF mount, Super 35mm sensor, HD SDI, Hi Res viewfinder…beyond this we might get a second camera with 4:4:4, 12bit, 100Mbs, PL mount with EF adapter, 4K sensor. Pricing £6500 and £12,000.
This will have Sony and Panasonic in a major panic as they will be forced to show their hand on any new development for a PMW-F5 or an AF201, RED are also announcing Scarlet specs and pricing this evening but if Canon pull out the trump card as I predict then RED will have a lot less customers banging on their doors.
It’s all about “GLASS” the majority of Canon users have Canon glass now remember Canon may not introduce a specific EF mount camcorder but they will have an adapter for EF glass similar to Sony’s LA-EA1 that allows the Alpha lenses to be fully functional with the E mount seen on the FS100.
If Canon have been clever they will have designed their EF adapter to be controlled externally with a pull focus unit…only my thoughts.
You can be sure we will have all the specs and pictures as soon as Canon post them later on today.
This is a strange one, RED are to announce the up and coming Scarlet camera about 3 hours after Canons announcement. It may be a tactical move by RED to ingest the Canon specs before announcing their own specs…who knows.
Discussing this with “He who should not be named” said that RED should bring their news 1 day forward as it will be lost with Canon’s news, I agree as RED have nothing to gain by taking this to the wire.
The rumours are flying in thick and fast as to what Canon are going to announce tomorrow it seems that we are going to be treated to 2 camcorders a semi Pro version and a Pro version.
Rumours have it that both cameras share the ability to accept the full range of EOS lenses while the Pro version will also accept prime lenses.
We are talking 2-4K in line with a poke at RED and pricing from $15K down to $10K or lower for the semi Pro version all total speculation.
If Canon finally enter the large sensor marketplace I think they will put less effort into making the “prefect” DSLR because it will have a knock on effect on video sales which is why it was interesting that they down graded the recent 1DX DSLR with a non clean HDMI output.
If proof were needed Chris Hurd from DV Info Net is attending the special event, if you take on board that Chris lives in Texas and Hollywood is 1245 miles away it takes one special announcement to get someone to travel a 22 hour journey so you can take it from me this is a big time large sensor camcorder or two from Canon.
Please remember there is also a 7 hour time delay so if the news is not broadcast till 3pm as Chris seems to think it will be 10-11pm in the UK before news filters through.
Last weekend I was privileged to be at my ex-boss Chris Attkins 60th birthday party over on the isle of Arran. The picture above spans 30 years, we have all changed mainly in the hair department.
This is me at the side of the Ross road doing a piece to camera that Mr Attkins has not yet seen. As usual I volunteered to produce a birthday DVD for Chris and was aided by another ex employee Frank.
Frank no longer films but has taken up photography, he noted the size of the Sony NX70 saying that it was a far cry from the shoulder mounted Betacam days.
In this photograph all three men are still filming professionally while Alison is now a freelance television presenter…not bad for thirty years and a testimony to Chris (far right) who gave us all a chance and a start on the video production ladder.
