We are in the middle of what some would call the “small camera with a large sensor” revolution, which includes Panasonic’s AF100. However, large sensor cameras can be difficult to use in certain situations. Sometimes you may want a camera that gives you a lot of depth of field and has a long zoom range for run-and-gun shooting. Small sensor cameras such as the HVX200 and HPX170 have always been good for this application. Panasonic has continued that tradition with their new HPX250.

The HPX250 has the same 1080P 1/3″ 3MOS sensors that are found in the HPX370, but with a fixed zoom lens and small form factor. It really shines because it records to P2 cards in Panasonic’s AVC-Intra 100 4:2:2 recording format, and is very well balanced for hand-held operation. Watch my video above to learn more about the camera.

Earlier this week, I visited Createasphere 2011 and I spent some time checking out gear that our friends from Assimilate, Litepanels, and Sony had on display.

Litepanels demoed their new Croma dual-color, on-camera light for me, as well as their Sola 4 and Hilio lights. I took a look at Sony’s PMW-TD300 fixed lens 3D camera, which features slow and quick motion recording in 3D, a first for a shoulder mounted camera. Finally, I got a tour of a new, compact DIT Station that offers Scratch 6 and is compatible with RED and ALEXA, as well as Panasonic and Sony cameras.

Watch my video above for details on all these products.

Panasonic has now released the AVCCAM Importer software that was announced at NAB 2011. This Final Cut Pro 7 plug-in allows you to edit AVCCAM (Panasonic’s variant of AVCHD) footage directly, without having to run it through Log and Transfer first. Previously, you would have to transcode AVCCAM footage to ProRes before working with it in FCP 7, but now you can work directly off the .mts files from the camera. This software also allows you to use QuickTime to view the AVCCAM footage, so even if you’re using Final Cut Pro X (which has native support for AVCHD), this will add AVCHD playback to QuickTime.

…continue reading Panasonic AVCCAM Importer for FCP 7 Now Available

Sound Devices is known for their high-quality and robust sound recorders and mixers, so we were all surprised to see them announce a video recorder. However, after receiving our first demo units, we were not surprised to see how well made they are. Like all Sound Devices products the PIX 240 is very durable and solid. If you haven’t read about it yet, the PIX 240 records in ProRes or DNxHD formats onto SSDs or Compact Flash cards. It has both HD-SDI and HDMI inputs, as well as timecode and sync connections. And, it also works as a nice small monitor; the built-in LCD has a 800×480 resolution and wide viewing angle. Watch my video above to learn more about the PIX240 and all of its different options.

As IBC 2011 winds down, we’d like to take a moment to share some of the more exciting developments. In addition to the announcements from AJA, Arri, Blackmagic Design, Panasonic, and Sony, there were a few other highlights from this year we thought were worth mentioning.

Atomos has announced a very clever field converter that’s about the same size as a Sony “L” battery aptly called the Connect. Available as an SDI to HDMI or HDMI to SDI converter, the Connect features a built-in battery that will power the converter for two hours. Alternatively, you can attach a Sony “L” battery to power the Connect that will also pass power through to another Sony “L” device, such as the Atomos Ninja recorder. This will actually provide uninterrupted power to your Sony device, which is a nice touch. Other impressive features include a test pattern generator and real-time 3:2 pulldown removal that will extract 24p or 30p from a 60i signal (or 25p from a 50i signal for our PAL readers). This means that if you’re using a camera that only has an HDMI output (such as the Sony NEX-FS100) or a recorder that does not offer 3:2 pulldown removal, you can use the Connect for “on-the-fly” 3:2 pulldown removal. Pricing for the US has yet to be determined, but the current MSRP is €249.

…continue reading IBC 2011 Updates: Wrap up

At IBC this year, ARRI announced several products that were expected, along with a few surprises. The ALEXA and ALEXA Plus cameras welcomed two siblings to their Digital Cinema family, and it turns out pre-production versions of these new models are already out in the field working. The ALEXA Studio has an optical viewfinder with a spinning mirror shutter like a traditional film camera. It also has a taller sensor than the other ALEXAs, with an aspect ratio of 4:3 so that anamorphic lenses can be used with proper field of view. The ALEXA M is a split-head camera, meaning that the sensor section of the camera connects to the rest of the camera (where the signal processor and recording section live) by way of a fiber cable. This allows the ALEXA M to be used in various rigs where size and weight are critical issues, such as helicopter mounts, car interiors and 3D beamsplitter rigs. The ALEXA Studio pre-production units are currently testing on real shoots in Europe, while the first ALEXA M production prototypes are starting to ship to the Cameron-Pace Group, a leader in 3D production.

…continue reading IBC 2011 Updates: ARRI

AJA has made several key announcements at IBC this year, including updates for the KiPro Mini, the Thunderbolt based Io XT, the new KONA LHe Plus, and a new Up/Down/Cross mini converter .

The popular KiPro Mini external recorder will be updated to support the Avid DNxHD codec, bringing direct-to-edit capabilities for Avid Media Composer based productions. This free update will be available via firmware sometime in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Building upon their announcement from NAB, AJA has revealed the Io XT, a Thunderbolt based I/O device. With two Thunderbolt ports, the Io XT can be daisy-chained to other Thunderbolt devices or displays. Inputs and outputs include two 3G/HD/SDI ports with support for 4:2:2 and 4:4:4, one HDMI with 3D support, component, composite, and multiple audio inputs and outputs. The Io XT is a powerful addition to your Thunderbolt capable machines. Expected to ship Q4, 2011 with an MSRP of $1495.

…continue reading IBC 2011 Updates: AJA