We would like to thank everyone on the Abel team, as well as all of our associates from the great group of manufacturers we represent, who helped make NAB 2010 such a great success! If you couldn’t make it out this year, check out our gallery of images of some of the people and gear that made Abel’s booth shine. (Photo credits: Mark Forman & Joe Guilfoyle)
Earlier this week we posted “The Bicycle” – the short film shot by DP John Inwood to test Zeiss’s Compact Primes. Check out the gallery above for some behind the scenes shots of the crew working with the RED One, the Lumix GH1, and of course, the Zeiss lenses. Additionally, you can click here for more info on Zeiss’s new CP.2 lenses.
Courtesy of BroadcastNewsroom.com
On National Geographic’s Repossessed, a reality show about a company that confronts people in order to repossess their vehicles, being able to capture authentic, emotional moments as they are happening is a must. Enter AJA’s Ki Pro tapeless recording device.
Bradley Levin, director of Repossessed and co-executive director of Stick Figure Productions, knew that being able to record without interruptions was crucial to the show. “Last season…we captured onto 33-minute DVCPRO HD tapes. Every 33 minutes we had to stop to change tapes, which was very disruptive – particularly with the nature of the material that we shoot.”
After attending an Emerging Technologies workshop at Abel, he came away impressed with the versatility and portability of the Ki Pro. Levin and the show’s DP Antonio Rossi devised a special rig that consisted of two Iconix HD lipstick cameras and two AJA Ki Pros. The whole thing could be installed quickly and easily onto whatever car or truck the crew were shooting. “Ki Pro enabled four hours of continuous recording which has been ideal for our fast-paced production environment. Once we went into editorial, we could FireWire the SSD drives and bring our material right into Final Cut Pro. It couldn’t get any easier,” Levin says. Along with the Ki Pro’s low power consumption and compact size, he also praised the device’s rugged construction, “The Ki Pros worked flawlessly…through rough weather conditions, in a car during high speed getaways, going up and down ramps, on rough roads, and in the back of a tow truck hauling a heavy load…The Ki Pros performed beautifully in every situation and climate during a rigorous shooting schedule.”
Read a full article on Repossessed at BroadcastNewsroom.com
Yesterday, Abel teamed up with Canon to help celebrate the release of its highly anticipated firmware upgrade for the 5D Mark II. Throughout the day clients brought in their cameras, and technicians from Abel and Canon performed free upgrades. Multiple Canon cameras were set up on the showroom floor, fully rigged-out with various audio and stabilization accessories. This gave our guests a chance to try out the various HDSLR setups for themselves. In the evening Abel was bustling, as the formal presentations were standing room only. Jon Fauer, editor of the Film & Digital Times, started things off by discussing how HDSLRs have impacted the industry. Ed Meyer from Canon gave a thorough review of all the new features in the newest 2.0.3 firmware – including 1080 24P. The evening concluded with Abel’s own Andy Shipsides giving a run through and demonstration of the various accessories made for HDSLR filmmaking. After the sessions, Canon representatives and Abel staff were available for discussion and, of course, showing off the cameras. Check out our gallery of images above.
Thank you to everyone who made our “party” a success!!
Earlier this month, long-time Abel client Daniel Dacian of BigAppleFilms shot some nice low-light tests using Arri Master Primes and Hawk Anamorphics on their RED Mysterium-X. They used only the light they found, with the exception of one Litepanel (the video says it is a Litepanels Micro, but it is actually a Litepanels Mini Flood) to give some fill for the exteriors. The shoot starts out in Brooklyn Bridge Park, then moves indoors for more tests, the only light coming from a half dozen lit candles. Abel’s own Gregger Jones assisted on the shoot, and you can find the full video here: www.bigapplefilms.com/lowlight.html
Edit: Here is a great “making of” video, courtesy of ProductionMeeting.com and shot by Ethan Sigman on the Panasonic 2700: Watch it here.
Some of the newer Phantom cameras, such as the v640, feature an internal mechanical shutter used to shade the camera’s sensor during a Current Session Reference (CSR). A CSR calibrates all pixels that will be used for a given set of camera parameters and sets them to pure black – an important step in making sure the image is as accurate as possible. With the internal mechanical shutter, a camera operator can do a CSR without manually capping lens.
Recently, Vision Research announced that they are bringing this useful feature to its existing line of V-Series cameras with an External Mechanical Shutter. For use with the v5.2, v7.3, v9.1 and v10, the V-series lens shutter replaces the F-mount on the camera so you can keep using your existing lenses. The shutter is meant to be used in conjunction with the new VRI Signal Breakout Device that provides access to every available signal on the cable. Simply exchange your existing capture cable with the Breakout Signal Device, then connect the shutter control cable to the shutter. Now you can do a CSR in situations when it was previously impossible, such as when the camera is unattended. Vision Research has a nice five-minute video explaining the benefit of this setup on their site.
Find more information on the Vision Research
With all the various HDSLRs appearing on the market, keeping their features straight can be a bit of a challenge. Abel’s Andy Shipsides has put together a handy chart comparing five of these cameras side-by-side. He compares the Canon 5D Mark II, 1D Mark IV, the 7D, the new Rebel T2i, and the Panasonic Lumix GH1. His chart is available to view or download in the Resources section of abelcine.com.
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