We have had a lot of interest in Matte Boxes for the AF101 so today after a lot of bolts and the odd rail or two a design was finally agreed on along with a follow focus unit as well.
There is no price as yet I will keep you informed of developments.
Another rig was put to the test, the Genus Shoulder Mount System, this will give the operator far more freedom and stability while going hand held, once again no price as yet.
Firstly I’m not a format snob. I can’t afford to be these days. Like many I’ve had to ring the changes and while I think small cameras are great (I have shot with a 5D plenty of times) and the pics are brilliant, I’ve been alarmed by the quality of material shot outside optimal parameters.
I was intrigued when I heard about these two new cameras. I think Sony and Panasonic have done what Canon should have, but why have they opted for such physically small designs? Why on the Panasonic for example, did they not shift the focal plane forward by (guessing) 30 – 40mm and add an optional EVF mount on the front of the top grip? Add a modular shoulder pad and a detachable mount for hard-drive and v-lock batteries and you have a device priced attractively in it’s base configuration. It looks like both cameras will output footage at good enough resolutions for quality production. Why undermine the things by making operating them so damn awkward ~ even with aftermarket solutions like the one in the shot above?
I still remember a particularly gruelling 3 week doco shoot, all on handheld with a digi-beta, and I can’t believe I’m saying this but small is not always good I think.