We seem to be witnessing a new trend of having more than one camera, especially large sensor cameras, I asked Alister Chapman why he needed a Canon C300 when he already had two Sony F3s.

Alister “I purchased my first pro camera and recorder back in the late 80′s. It cost me an arm and a leg, around £50k with the lens in todays money. Until a year ago I always had a main 2/3″ shoulder mount camcorder. The last one was a PDW-700, which with the lens cost about £30k. With such a large investment in a single camera, it HAD to be a jack of all trades, which in many respects it was. However when Sony launched the EX1 almost 5 years ago, I felt that the writing was on the wall for the traditional, shoulder mount camcorder.

Once external recorders like the NanoFlash could be paired up with good cameras like the EX1 to meet and even exceed broadcast requirements it became harder and harder to justify the expense of a single, bulky camcorder. Remember a smaller camcorder also means smaller batteries and support equipment, all significantly reducing the cost of ownership, size of vehicle needed, insurance etc.

Now I have the luxury of owning an EX1R for run and gun, quick and easy shooting, the EX1R works very well in that type of application. Next came the PMW-F3 for those more set up shoots, interviews, documentaries, shorts and movies. I now have 2 of them as I shoot a lot of 3D and they are fantastic in this role. However the F3 (which is my all time favourite camcorder) just isn’t suitable for some of the things I shoot, especially things like tornadoes, which are often fleeting, fast moving and unpredictable. It can be done, but the EX1R is a much better camera for this type of thing.

Now I’m planning on getting a C300. Why? Well in part it’s experimental. I want to spend time learning the menu’s and setups to see what it’s capable of. But I also think that the C300 with the EOS mount may sit somewhere between the F3 and EX1R. It’s more compact than the F3 and with an L series zoom will make a very portable system that can produce broadcast quality images without an external recorder. Perhaps not quite as quick and easy to use as the EX1R but with size and weight benefits over the F3. I still think the images from an S-Log F3 with an external recorder will be superior, but that’s a pretty bulky rig. I think it might be a good fit for some of my expeditions, I’d really like to have one for my Northern Lights trip in January, but I don’t think deliveries will be in time.

I’ve also considered a Scarlet or Epic, these are great cameras, but not suited to the kinds of productions I make. Perhaps that will change. What I really want is a 4K version of the F3!

In summary the difference today is that I can afford to have  2 or 3 cameras tailored to specific shooting styles for the same cost as what I’ve been used to spending on a single jack of all trades camera in the past.”

Alister Chapman XDCAM URER.com

Thanks Alister, last night I sat and watched Philip Blooms candid review of the Canon C300 for CVP and was rather disappointed when Philip was comparing the C300 versus the Sony F3 remembering the C300 was only 8bit and no 1080 50p or full HD slow mo, that is very limiting for a camera of this magnitude, seemingly because Canon used a current 8 bit processor they were limited to 8 bits but we all know what version 2 will have !!!

As I have pointed out before when you bring out a camera you need to equal or better the competition thats why I am still confused as to why anyone with an F3 (10 bit out) would look at a C300 (8 bit out).

One of the most respected photographic review web sites has just completed their full user review on the Fuji X100 and surprise, surprise come to the same conclusions as I first reported…

DPreview “Autofocus not quite as fast and accurate as the best mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras”

The camera also scored an overall poor 73% and could only attain their SILVER AWARD so maybe the numpties who hung me out to dry and had a bitching session, at my expense, on the DPreview boards can now apologise for what was a very accurate assessment of this flawed camera.

In fact this is one reply on their Fuji X100 forum that puts it in a nutshell…

Given:

• The power of dpreview and its reviews
• The dreadful mess that Fuji seem to have made of this camera’s firmware
• The bad history Fuji have with firmware updates

Then I don’t think we need to worry about any post-nuclear-incident problems in Japan and possible consequent supply shortages, because this camera just isn’t going anywhere, fast. I would love to know how many orders have been cancelled today.

Build a Rolls-Royce and power it with a 150cc 2 stroke motorcycle engine….

The best bit about the Fiji X100 was the box it came in.

I thought this lens was arriving next week when out of the blue it arrived today and for £160 including Registered Delivery it’s a cracking lens. I have tested it out on the AF101 using the Kippon EOS adapter and what can I say…it blew me away.

This is a picture in my kitchen of my dear wife Susan and look at that shallow depth of field now  there must be a drawback I hear you say well the main drawback is the minimum focus which sits at one meter.

The picture it produces without any sharpening I may add are unreal for a lens of this price and don’t kid yourself it’s well made.

The company have already announced this 7.5mm f3.5 WA lens with a mFT mount which will be a great WA prime for the AF101…FANTASTIC. I would have no qualms about recommending the 85mm lens for the AF101 bearing in mind the one meter minimum focus restriction. I will be putting it to the test using it with the AF101 this Friday.

Sony recently let us know about a software upgrade for the PMW-F3. This addition adds many features to the F3, including several key features for getting the most out of the camera. The firmware upgrade product code from Sony is CBK-RGB01 and, once purchased, the firmware can be installed at any Sony Pro dealership, or by a tech savvy owner. It enables S-Log gamma mode, Dual Link 444RGB video output, 3G-SDI output, four pre-loaded LUTs (look up tables), and five custom user LUTs.

What does this all mean? This firmware allows the F3 to output full RGB video in S-Log – in other words, it opens up the true potential of this camera. S-Log ups the dynamic range of the camera to 800%, and effectively increases the ISO to 1600. Dual-Link SDI or 3G-SDI (dual-link on one cable) gives you full RGB444, and the LUTs allow you to monitor video normally while shooting in S-Log. Finally, the five custom LUT options mean that users can create their own looks in the same manner. The firmware will be available this summer for a list price of $3,300.

Thanks to Andy Shipsides for this info  http://blog.abelcine.com/2011/03/02/sonys-new-firmware-upgrade-for-the-pmw-f3/

This could easily be the new box for Final Cut Pro 8 but it’s a mock up. It has been reported that FCP-8 is due for release soon after NAB 2011 and will be demonstrated to the world during NAB this year. The user interface has been given an overhaul “not before time” and as we all know it will utilise the new high speed bus called Thunderbolt. Rumours tell us this version will be a flying machine but I will not get to excited yet…Mr Jobs tells us that this version will be “Awesome” which is Steve’s stock word for all Apple products.

You can tell I am a wee bit cynical but Apple have kept us in the dark for well over 2 years now and it’s a joke when you consider that Adobe are firing on all 64 bit cylinders and incorporate Blu-Ray authoring, which is still doubtful with Apple once again !

It’s not often I get exited about a camera light these days but the Minima is the exception. I came across this light by chance last week and phoned Ianiro to ask if I could review the light for them.

So whats exiting about a camera light…one that gives you SIX accurate colour temperatures for less than £200. LED technology is not only getting better but we are seeing camera LED lights that were the best part of £500 two years ago…I should know I own one.

A couple of days latter the Minima arrives, the first thing you should know is that it is small…35mm x 90mm x 130mm and weighs 365 grams with 6 AA batteries. You also get a D-Tap connector that will power the light from most professional ENG camcorders. Sadly when Panasonic were designing the AF101 they forgot about external power connectors like Hirose and D-Tap. They also supply a hot shoe adapter as seen below.

UPDATED

So last week I posted a video saying that there’s no way to do trim edits in Premiere using the keyboard, it turns out I was wrong. Here’s how you do it.

Sometimes I get the odd interesting job and to many football fans this job doesn’t come any better, filming pre match press conferences at Ibrox stadium in Glasgow then after match interviews tonight after watching the match itself (Rangers v Manchester Utd.)

That’s me filming at the Rangers training ground which is about 7 miles from the stadium, I am using my trusty Sony PMW-350 camcorder recording onto SxS cards at 750p 35Mbs. I prefer to film 750p as it gives me good action shots and it great for web content.

Once we got back to the stadium it was filming the opposition and Sir Alex Ferguson, seen here in the file and transfer window of Final Cut Pro 7. I have FCP loaded onto my MacBook Pro for this very occasion where TV companies need footage roughly edited and sent to a FTP somewhere in the world.

I use the SxS card reader rather than the camera, I am not a fan of using cameras for playback or connecting them to computers. The job was done and my final task was to make an .MP4 SD copy to send to a server.

My trusty Elgato Turbo .264 HD was on hand to produce that final down convert from 750p to SD 720 x 576 PAL. My boss was gobsmacked at how little time the Elgato took to convert the footage to SD as he also uses an EX1, needless to say he took note of the .264 converter.



This was the big surprise in London’s Press launch of the new Sony F3 FilmLike camcorder, after the formal presentations talking about the F3 and showing some footage we were invited to a world exclusive, the launch of the Sony NXCAM Super 35mm camcorder at a tentative price of €6000 that’s surprise, surprise £4000.

SONY’S PR

Sony Professional today announced that it is developing a new type of E-mount 35mm camcorder. Aimed at professional cinematographers utilising a Super-35mm large format CMOS sensor, this new camcorder will become one of the new models in the “NXCAM” line-up. Available early summer of 2011, it targets the expanding entry-level digital cinematography market.

Sony Professional is already a key player in the 35mm digital cinematography market with the highly acclaimed “Cinealta” F35 and SRW-9000PL for high-end digital cinema production. Sony has also just strengthened its line-up in this category with the recent PMW-F3 camera, combining performance and price in a powerful and affordable production tool. With this latest “NXCAM” HD camcorder, Sony looks to further strengthen its position in the entry-level segment. The new model provides an affordable yet highly capable professional solution for many applications, including independent film, pop promotions and corporate communications all looking for a cinematic look to their content.

The “NXCAM” HD camcorder under development will be equipped with a Super-35mm sensor, a widely used stock size in the film industry, perfectly designed for capturing motion pictures. This new sensor will have extraordinary performance in terms of picture quality and sensitivity, and is able to offer depth of field control and flexibility with a wide range of lens options available.

The adoption of the E-mount interchangeable lens system means that it is identical to the “α” series lens system used on the NEX-5, 3 and NEX-VG10, current and future E-mount lenses will be compatible with this new camcorder. In addition, a very short flange back distance (the distance between lens mount surface and sensor surface) allows various A-mount lenses be mounted via a lens adaptor (LA-EA1). Furthermore, it is also possible to attach a range of other lenses using third-party lens adaptors. With such flexibility, users will be able to experiment with various creative expressions by exploiting the characteristics of different optics.
The recording format for this new HD camcorder will be AVCHD, widely supported by many NLE software vendors and the same format as the HXR-NX5E NXCAM camcorder.
There is also a plan to implement 1080p ( 50p / 25p) recording modes.
(MPEG4-AVC/H.264 compression will be used for these modes.)
*2: 59.94p / 29.97p / 23.98p respectively.

I will bring you a full report tomorrow from the London show.

Sony NXCAM HD Teaser Trailer from H. Paul Moon on Vimeo.