While a dolly is great for adding movement to a shot, it isn’t always practical or possible to have one on location. With the increasing popularity of Compact HD cameras and HDSLRs, the industry has responded with innovative products to help you achieve that “big-budget” look with independent means. The slider (or glider) is a simple concept, allowing you to add movements to your shots with a small, low-key track and camera platform.

We’re often asked about sliders, and while there are several good products out on the market, we’re happy to be able to offer the great line-up of gliders and skaters from MYT Works. Available in various sizes and designed to accommodate cameras ranging from HDSLRs or the Panasonic AG-AF100 to a fully equipped cinema camera like the ARRI ALEXA, the MYT Works system is a truly unique product and a great addition to any camera kit.

Watch my video above as I describe several of the key features of the MYT Glide, MYT Skate, and the combined MYT Works 3-in-1 Dolly System.

The new VFM-056WP on-board monitor from TV Logic is ideal for working with HDSLRs and Compact HD cameras. Ergonomic design and user-friendly functions streamline your rig and offer monitoring solutions in a lightweight package.

The main reason the VFM-056WP works so well with HDSLR cameras is its ability to convert an HDMI signal to HD-SDI. Many people wish to convert their HDSLR video output into HD-SDI for monitoring. While signal converters exist, they require separate power and take up real estate on the camera. The VFM-056WP converts the HDMI input signal to a 720P HD-SDI output. This is a huge advantage, as it saves the cost of a separate signal converter and the power required for its operation.

The VFM-065WP monitor further addresses the scaling issue that occurs between monitoring and recording functions. The monitor includes a display menu item called DSLR scale. HDMI output from the Canon 5D is 1920×1080, but when the camera is in record mode, the HDMI signal converts to 640×480. The VFM-056WP will take in the HDMI signal and rescale the image to 720×480.

In addition to working well with HDSLR cameras, this small monitor works great with just about every professional camera today. Weighing in at just over a half pound, the options and routing solutions of the VFM-056WP on-board monitor from TV Logic will be hard to beat. Watch my video for an even more in-depth look.

AJA has just started to deliver their highly anticipated Ki Pro Mini external recorder. They had great success with the original Ki Pro, and the Ki Pro Mini brings several of the features of that device, but in a much smaller package. This little device can record an HD-SDI or HDMI video stream in several different flavors of the Apple ProRes Codec (422 HQ, 422, LT and Proxy). The video records directly to Compact Flash cards, which makes the workflow very easy. In the video above, I rigged the Ki Pro Mini to the new Sony PMW-F3. My rig was composed of a Zacuto Universal Baseplate with 12″ rods, two Ki Pro Mini mounting plates, AJA rod adapters, and an Anton Bauer battery plate. Watch my video to learn more about this compact, yet powerful device.

Compatible Compact Flash cards: SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB, SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB, and Hoodman UDMA RAW Compact Flash  675x  32GB.

Panasonic made several announcements yesterday, including new hardware, a reduction in P2 card pricing, wireless metadata, and native AVCCAM editing in Final Cut Pro. Read on to learn more.

PCD30 P2 Reader

The first announcement is the PCD30, a three P2 card reader with the speed of USB 3.0. The USB 3.0 interface permits super-fast transfer rates of up to 4.8Gbps. Additionally, the PCD30 can transfer data from all three P2 cards simultaneously, so your P2 content will download in no time. USB 3.0 is not available in many computers yet, but is growing every day. Look for this product in the summer for around $2,255.

…continue reading Pre-NAB News from Panasonic: 3D, P2 and FCP

The Sound Devices 302 is a three-channel mixer that features a compact size and intuitive design. All the controls that are needed for operation are located on the front of the unit, making it easy to operate even when in a bag.

Layout on the front panel is built for quick operation. You should be aware that input two has a slide switch above it that reverses polarity. It is a common mistake to activate this thinking that it is a filter. When activated, the switch turns off input number two, so make sure to check this setting.

The audio quality of the 302 mixer is excellent. It packs a lot of features into a low profile unit that is rugged and lightweight. This time-tested mixer will provide years of reliable service in any configuration. Watch my video above to learn more.

Another compact-yet-powerful product from Sound Devices, the 702T is a two-track audio recorder with timecode. Weighing just under two pounds without a battery, it certainly fits the definition of a lightweight field recorder.

Sound Devices did a great job of putting a lot of info at your fingertips without overwhelming the front panel for the operator. The most important menu items – such as bit depth and sample rate – are located at the top of a 91-item list. As for timecode, the 702T incorporates the Ambient timecode module, which is highly accurate. It also comes equipped with wordclock in and out for syncing multiple sound units.

The 702T boasts all the features required for professional sound recording, while its size and ease of use make it ideal for ENG or doc style shooting. Watch the video above to get more detail on this compact and useful device.

Panasonic has just released firmware version 1.15 for the AG-AF100, which addresses a few minor issues we’ve encountered with the camera. Previously, when shooting off-speed (under/over cranking), the audio meters on the AF100 would still display your input levels and you were able to monitor audio via the headphone jack. Since no audio is actually recorded when shooting in variable frame rate mode, this could lead to some confusion when recording off-speed. With the new firmware, a new symbol will now appear in the viewfinder and LCD reminding you that no audio is being recorded while shooting in VFR mode.

Panasonic has also made some adjustments to the LCD display – the color accuracy has been improved so it better matches the recorded image.

While a seemingly minor upgrade, this certainly shows that Panasonic is listening to their users and is taking every issue very seriously.

Additional details about the update and the downloadable software can be found here.

Having completed a successful Beta release of the updated camera firmware, ARRI just released a final version of the V3.0 firmware for ALEXA. In addition to the increased convenience and functionality controls, ARRI has now officially made ARRIRAW support available on the ALEXA for the first time. Codex Digital is the first company to be certified as fully compliant for ARRIRAW recording with the Codex Onboard recorder. ARRI also introduced a new version of the free ARRIRAW Converter software (ARC) for use with the improved V3.0 ALEXA ARRIRAW files.

Details of other improvements included in the ALEXA V3.0 firmware can be found in our post on the Beta release.

To download updated firmware, ALEXA owners must complete a one-time registration on the ARRI website. The file can then be downloaded to an SD card for uploading into the camera. The ARC software is also available as a free download.

ARRI has also enabled a LUT Generator on the ARRI Digital website. In addition to preset LUTs (Look Up Tables), the ARRI LUT Generator can create custom looks for on set, dailies or post use. A LUT is a group of color and contrast settings that manipulates the base output of the camera sensor for a specific look. Creating a LUT is a straightforward process on the website. On the ALEXA, you can record in ARRIRAW using an external recorder or in LOG-C without “baking in” a LUT, but monitor on set using a LUT to create a desired look. The same LUT can then be implemented or altered in post.