In addition to being accessible on YouTube and Vimeo, the great majority of the videos on our website and blog are now iOS friendly. This means you can keep up with latest video posts from our AbelCine experts on your iPhone, iPad or other mobile device from the set, or anywhere you have internet access.

Visit blog.abelcine.com/tag/video on your iOS device today.

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.

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!!

Many of the features we included in this update came directly from client feedback and are designed to improve your shopping experience. To learn more about all the recent upgrades, click here.

Abel Cine Tech is now part of the Twitterverse! Stay on top of all our news, events and product announcements by following Abel on Twitter. You’ll also know when there is new technical content posted on our website, and don’t forget to subscribe to our dedicated YouTube and Vimeo video channels.

Follow us at twitter.com/abelcine today!

Do you Tango? Students who attended last weekend’s workshop hosted by Abel LA and taught by veteran instructor and respected operator Peter Abraham of Tiffen Steadicam now can! The hugely successful two-day workshop gave students the opportunity to learn hands-on the techniques of flying a camera on a Steadicam Rig. The workshop focused on the fundamentals of setting up a rig, including proper vest adjustment and how to balance a sled. Students were then taught real world techniques such “Tango” and “Don Juan” and tried their hands at flying cameras using the Pilot and the Flyer LE systems, rigs that can handle smaller to mid range cameras ranging from the EX1R to the RED. The class culminated with a long test scene that included navigating doorways and stairs. By the end of the weekend, students were Certified Steadicam Operators and most had discovered sore muscles they didn’t even know they had!

Stop by Abel Cine Tech LA, and Joe Guilfoyle, who was among the newly certified, will be happy show you his “Tango” technique and get you into a rig of your own. For more information on future Steadicam workshops, visit their site, thesteadicamworkshops.com.

Many have reported that this CES was all about 3D. I would say it was more about profitable 3D. Manufacturers have been showing 3D tech at trade shows for years, but, for the most part, the technology hasn’t changed very much. So, why is 2010 poised to become the “Year of 3D”? Because now there is a way for manufacturers to make money off of it. And this should be a good thing for all of us.

First let’s look at the success of Avatar. As I write this, Avatar is the #2 worldwide grossing motion picture of all time and well on the way to becoming #1. But in actual number of tickets sold, it is only something like #30. What’s the difference? Most people are paying a premium to see Avatar in 3D, Digital 3D, and even IMAX 3D – sometimes spending 250% over the ticket price of a 2D showing. This increased profitability is something that would make anyone stand up and notice, but that’s not the real reason the big manufacturers are mad about 3D. Manufacturers care about selling stuff – new 3D TVs, DVD players, camcorders, still cameras. Obviously you don’t have to buy all this, but they certainly wouldn’t stop you if you did.

Back when color was added to television, engineers jumped through hoops to make the signal still compatible with B&W sets (and forever saddled us with the twisted evil that is drop frame timecode). But every television maker started hawking their latest/greatest color sets, and networks promoted their shows as being broadcast “in living color.” Anyone remember why stereo was added to televisions in the mid-eighties? It was so that NBC could show a little peacock wearing headphones before every show, and Sony, Panasonic, et al could offer TVs with stereo speakers for 10% more than their mono models. Now that so many people already have large flat screen TVs—many of whom went from SD to 720p to 1080p to 120hz or 240hz refresh—what can the manufacturers add to get us to buy new TVs to replace what are otherwise really nice ones already hanging in our living rooms? That’s why 3D is such a big deal, and that’s the commerce that defines the Consumer Electronics Show.

What’s it mean for us production professionals? It means that we’re all going to have to start learning about interocculars, beamsplitters and convergence. It also means that if the manufacturers are really going to bring 3D to the mainstream they’re going to have to find the proverbial Better Way™, or at least the easier way, because most productions do not have the time, money or inclination to deal with the current complications that accompany 3D imaging technology. Some companies such as Element Technica and 3ality are refining the classic 3D rigs with modern technology, and soon there will be gear that is “good enough” to get productions most of the way there. At least there was something from both Sony and Panasonic on that front at CES; Sony has a project with a big camera with two sensors through a single B4 2/3” lens, and Panasonic has a smaller camera with a pair of 1/3” chips and what look like a set of binoculars on the front. There were some other tricks going on at other booths and in private suites – we’ll see which of them ever make it to market, or even survive up to NAB in April. But, in any case, we have some interesting systems to look forward to.

Me, I’m just glad not to be in the iPhone accessory business.

Paul Cronin of Whitecap Video recently wrote a post on his blog detailing his first impressions of the Sony XDCAM PMW-350 (also known as the EX350) that he bought at Abel. A long-time Abel client, Paul had traveled to New York to attend our Sony EX350/EX1R launch event back in December, and was nice enough to bring along some footage that he had shot over the past year with his EX1.

In his post, Paul provides a pretty thorough round-up of the pros and cons he’s noticed, as well as a few helpful close-up shots of the various menus and controls. Some highlights he mentions are the quick power up (2.5 sec), the “cool” on-camera light options, and the pleasure of having a full size camera with easily accessible controls.

He concludes with: “I am keeping my EX1 as my B camera. With proper shoulder support the EX1/3 are great cameras. But from my first test they cannot match the sharpness, latitude, low noise, and better DOF the PMW-350 offers. Add to this having the endless choice of B4 lens options for your shooting style. The EX line of cameras just keeps getting better and the EX350 is a nice move by Sony!”

Read the full post over at Paul’s blog here.

Recently, Abel hosted a pair of seminars exploring Sony’s new XDCAM EX camera models. The events at Abel’s New York and Burbank facilities showcased the 2/3” CMOS EX350, which joins Sony’s popular XDCAM EX family. Each of the cameras in the line—the EX1R, the EX3 and the EX350—has a different feature set and form factor, which makes it ideally suited to a particular application. You can read more about these applications on abelcine.com.

At each event, Abel’s Andy Shipsides presented an overview of the XDCAM EX format and gave an EX350 camera tour. Filmmaker (and Abel Rental alumn) Ben Bloodwell joined Andy at the New York event to give his impressions of the EX350. He screened footage from a recent documentary on cyclist Lance Armstrong shot with the EX3. Veteran Network News Magazine shooter Dennis Dillon then spoke about combining the EX cameras with nanoFlash recorders and XDCAM optical discs.

Director of Photography Tim Paterson was the special guest at the LA event. He shared his thoughts on the EX350 and discussed his experiences shooting the recent documentary Michael Jackson’s This Is It with the EX1 and EX3.

Browse the image gallery above to see images from both events.

By the way, we are now taking pre-orders on the EX350, which will begin shipping right after the New Year.

Over the past three years, there have been numerous high profile projects shot with Phantom HD digital high-speed cameras. Hollywood features like Sherlock Holmes and Zombieland, wildlife documentaries from National Geographic and Discovery, sporting events from the NFL, NASCAR and the Olympics, as well as high end commercials for Acura and Xbox 360 – these are just a few examples. But if ever there was an important individual to shoot with the Phantom HD Gold, it would be none other than President Barack Obama

NFL’s Play60 teamed up with President Obama’s United We Serve initiative for this Thanksgiving campaign to encourage physical activity and combat childhood obesity. The President, along with NFL players DeMarcus Ware, Drew Brees and Troy Polamalu, were all stars in this PSA, which was filmed on the lawns of the White House in early November 2009. I served as the Phantom specialist on this project.

Time is absolutely critical and every second counts when capturing the most powerful figure in the United States. With its CineMag capabilities and instant transfer to flash memory function (no need to wait for the shot to play out to a deck before moving on), the best choice of camera for the high-speed shots in this campaign was clearly the Phantom HD Gold with 512GB CineMag.

With NFL Films’ Hank McElwee as the DP and Howard Neef pulling focus, every shot of the President catching and passing the football was nailed perfectly. After just 5 takes, director Jonathan Klein got exactly what he needed. The 1000fps shot was played back instantly for the President to review on the monitor. “Wow that looks amazing, good job!” commented Obama as he watched a playback of the shots in super slow motion moments after capture. It’s always a great thing when the President himself gives you the thumbs-up on the Phantom.

Here is a link to the video on the NFL site: Thanksgiving Play 60 PSA