Sony has just announced details on their upcoming zoom lenses for the F3. The new SCL-Z18X140 lens is a 14x powered zoom in the native Sony F3 mount. It will ship in November with a list price of $12,200, but will likely retail for less. This zoom is the first servo driven lens designed to cover the Super-35 sensor found in the F3. It features full auto iris, auto focus and stabilization. At the wide end of the lens, it has an aperture of T3.9, which drops to around T6.8 at the end. However, the image stabilization and other functions add up to make it quite an amazing lens. Firmware version 1.20, which enables the use of the zoom rocker found on the side of the camera, is required to use the lens. The firmware will also be released in November; see yesterday’s blog for details. View the bottom of the post to see the full specs of the new lens.

Along with the 14x lens announcement comes a bit more information on Sony’s new wide angle 11-16mm zoom. This is a PL mount zoom lens, which is designed to match the 35, 50 and 85mm lenses that come with the PMW-F3K model. It will be available around the end of the year.

…continue reading Sony’s New Zoom Lenses for the PMW-F3

Sony recently announced firmware version 1.20 for the PMW-F3. The new firmware, which will be released in November, will enable the use of the zoom rocker found on the F3, as well as some other very cool features. The first is the ability to turn on the 3D Link function in the camera with a new add-on key called CBK-3DLO1. On the back of the camera you’ll find the 3D link port, which will enable two F3s to be linked together for 3D. When combined with a Sony paintbox, both cameras can be controlled at the same time. Additionally, if Sony’s upcoming 14x lens is used on both cameras, a matching zoom, focus and iris can be achieved at the same time. (Read more about this new lens on our blog tomorrow.) This makes the F3 very straightforward to set up for 3D use. The CBK-3DL01 option key has a list price of $5,500 and includes the cable needed to connect both cameras.

Perhaps the most significant addition of all is Exposure Index S-Log mode. You will still need the S-Log option installed to make this work, but if you already have the S-Log option on, this will be enabled right away. The Exposure Index mode works differently than the standard S-Log mode – it sets the camera at an optimal ISO (800) and maximizes the sensor output, giving a full extra stop of exposure. Then when the gain switch is adjusted, instead of adding gain it adjusts the exposure index. A practical explanation of this is that when gain is increased the camera will push up the exposure values, and when it is decreased it will pull down those values. Because the ISO is set to get the most out of the sensor, the exposure index change works more like an adjustment in post. The extra stop in exposure is big news though, and I can’t wait to try it out.

We also learned about another firmware update coming out at the end of the year. Version 1.30 of the F3 firmware will be available around the end of December or January 2012, and will coincide with the release of Sony’s wide angle 11-16mm PL mount lens. The firmware will add one really important feature, which is the ability to output S-Log in 422. When S-Log is enabled (with the optional key), you will be able to send a 422 signal out of the Dual-Link ‘A’ output. Right now S-Log can only be sent out via the regular SDI output, by turning off the output LUT. With the new firmware, we will be able to send out S-Log over the ‘A’ output, while sending out another signal with the LUT applied over the regular SDI. This is a great feature for anyone using a Ki Pro Mini, PIX240 or other external recorder.

Recently, we have seen a wide variety of recorders being released that write video directly to Solid State Hard Drives (SSDs). These recorders include the Sound Devices PIX240, CineDeck, Atomos Samurai, the BlackMagic Hyperdeck Shuttle, and the Convergent Design Gemini 4:4:4. SSDs can be very fast and have become very price competitive compared to other memory cards. The high-speed Sandisk Extreme Pro Compact Flash cards that are required for ProRes recording cost around $7 per gigabyte, versus a comparable SSD that can be purchased for less than $2 per gigabyte. However, these drives were built to be used in computers, and it can be a bit confusing to choose the right drive for a video recorder.

In order to find a drive that works, you should first calculate the data rate requirements for the compression format you are recording. SSDs are usually rated in terms of maximum read speeds in megabytes per second (MB/s), however most compression is described in megabits per second (Mb/s). To converts bits to bytes, just divide by 8. For instance, ProRes HQ is a 220 Mb/s compression; divided by 8, it is 27.5 MB/s. Most drives, however, only list their maximum data rate for reading or writing; for video, we need a drive that can maintain a consistent data rate. That’s why determining the average sustained read/write speed is so important.

…continue reading Choosing a Solid State Drive for Video Recording

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.

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.

Sony has been making some noise at IBC this year. Along with the news about their F65 camera they also announced more details on their F3 lenses, another OLED monitor series, and additional XDCAM media. We’ve already written about the F65, but I found this video from Sony to be very interesting – Introduction to the F65 and 4k Workflow. It shows the camera up close and also the iPad interface, which seems very nice.

…continue reading IBC 2011 Updates: Sony

Panasonic has made several announcements at IBC this year including two new monitors, pricing on their new 3D camera, and more on the future of AVC Ultra.

Originally announced at NAB, the new shoulder-mounted AG-3DP1 takes the idea of Panasonic’s 3DA1 camera and puts it in a shoulder-mounted form factor with larger chips. It features two 1/3″ 3MOS chips (the same as those found in the HPX370 and HPX250) and a twin-lens system, while stereoscopic adjustment controls make it easier to use and operate. Recently Panasonic brought the camera in for us to check out, and we were impressed by its ease of operation. The convergence point can be adjusted on the lens and information can be displayed on the LCD and viewfinder to let the operator know if the image is creating ‘safe’ 3D. The camera will display different color blocks over areas of the image that are either too close to the camera, or too far based on the convergence point. The 3DP1 represents another step into bringing 3D production to a larger market. It will be available in December at a list price of $34,950.

…continue reading IBC 2011 Updates: Panasonic