There’s no denying that Canon HDSLRs have made a big impact on our industry, and while proving to be an amazing tool for cinematographers, some of their limitations become apparent in post-production. While the native HDSLR image is often lauded its for high contrast and saturation, this can also prove challenging to color correct and grade.

To solve some of these issues, Technicolor and Canon have teamed up to release a custom Picture Style designed to increase the dynamic range of the images produced by the Canon HDSLRs. Loading the Technicolor CineStyle profile replaces the standard REC709 profile with a log color space for maximum latitude.

When you load the Picture Style with Canon’s EOS utility software, you can see that it adds the “CineStyle” profile to the standard drop down list.

…continue reading Technicolor Picture Style for Canon HDSLRs

In addition to some of the new hardware offerings we showcased at NAB, we were also happy to introduce our revamped Digital Media Services department. As Apple Authorized Resellers, we are now able to offer complete post-production turnkey systems. We can also design and engineer multi-camera video switcher fly packs and data management solutions for productions of all sizes. I spoke with Jonathan Epner, the Director of Digital Media Services, and had him explain a few of the new services AbelCine is offering.

Apple has just introduced a new version of Final Cut Pro, completely rebuilt from the ground up as a 64-bit platform with full Grand Central Dispatch support to utilize multicore CPUs. In addition to a new user interface, Apple has added support for up to 4K resolutions, background rendering and has eliminated the need to wait for your footage to ingest before editing. You can now edit before your media is fully ingested, and Final Cut Pro X will silently switch to the local footage as it is brought in.

Other highlights include:

• Resolution independent playback system
• Color management via ColorSync
• All editing is natively supported – no transcoding required
• Content analysis – media detection, image stabilization, people detection, shot detection, color balance and audio cleanup as footage is ingested
• Magnetic timeline – audio moves to a new track when inserting new clips to avoid trim collisions

Final Cut Studio X is expected to be available on June 9th for $299 through the Mac App Store.

Other Apple related highlights from NAB this year include new Thunderbolt-based hardware and technologies from AJA, Blackmagic and Matrox. While AJA is using NAB to showcase Thunderbolt technologies for future products, Blackmagic is launching its new UltraStudio 3D, and Matrox is introducing Thunderbolt to the entire MXO2 family of I/O boxes.

The Blackmagic UltraStudio 3D features dual link SDI and HDMI 1.4a inputs and outputs, and supports capture and playback up to 2K (YUV 4:2:2 or RGB 4:4:4). 3D support includes playback and capture of 1080p side-by-side, line-by-line, and top and bottom formats.

Matrox will be shipping Thunderbolt adapters with the MXO2 family of adapters starting in July. Current MXO2 owners can purchase the Thunderbolt adapter separately for $299.

Convergent Design, makers of the popular NanoFlash, have created a new 10-bit uncompressed video recorder with a list price of only $5,995. The Gemini 4:4:4 combines a small (5″) touch screen monitor with an uncompressed HD recorder. The recorder supports HD-SDI, Dual Link and 3G-SDI inputs. It records to one or two 1.8″ solid state hard drives. Just about every HD format is supported up to 2k in resolution in both the 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 color space. Additionally, it is an incredibly light and small device, weighing in at around half a pound, and just about 5″ wide by 1″ thick (5.4 x 4.5 x 1.1”). The built-in touch screen controls the unit and also acts as an on-board monitor. The power draw is a very low 8 to 15 watts, which varies because of the monitor brightness and shooting mode. Convergent Design has pulled out all the stops on this recorder. Keep reading below to learn more.

…continue reading Convergent Design’s Gemini 4:4:4 Recorder

This week there have been three important firmware updates for XDCAM EX cameras, the Convergent Design NanoFlash and the Zoom H4n. Read on for the details.

Sony XDCAM EX Firmware Update

If you are interested in using the new 64GB or 32GB SxS-1A cards, your XDCAM EX camera will need a firmware upgrade. The SxS-1 32GB cards have been out for sometime now, but the new SxS-1A cards have just recently starting shipping. These cards have faster transfer speeds, up to 1.2Gbps, which really makes a difference when downloading your footage through the ExpressCard interface. The following cameras require the firmware upgrade to work with these cards: PMW-EX1, PMW-EX1R, PMW-EX3 and the PMW-350. The new PMW-320 and PMW-500 cameras should work with no upgrade necessary. The firmware can be downloaded from the Sony website, which also includes instructions for installation.

Convergent Design NanoFlash

Convergent Design has updated the NanoFlash to version 1.6.226 (beta). This update adds many features including the ability to hot-swap cards and switch between cards on the fly. They have also added support for playback of Canon XF305 files, which makes the NanoFlash the only deck that can playback the Canon XF305/300 video. There are several other updates and bug fixes that every NanoFlash user will appreciate. This firmware is currently in beta, but worth checking out. Click here to download the firmware and learn more (bottom of the page).

Zoom H4n

The popular Zoom H4n has just been updated to version 1.70, which allows independent level controls on the unit’s two XLR inputs. This is very important for anyone using the H4n as a recording device for video work. Download the latest firmware here.

The latest addition to the Nexto Video Storage Pro lineup, the NVS2525, has all the features of the original NVS2500, but with a dedicated P2 and SxS card slot. It also supports CF, SDHC and MS cards through a simple adapter. The NVS2525 has FireWire 800 and USB computer connectivity and syncs data with an external eSATA drive. The unit ships with both an internal 750 GB hard drive and an external eSATA 750 GB hard drive. Video can be downloaded to both drives at the same time when in sync mode.

The NVS2525 will be available at the end of November, and firmware will be released to support UDF formatted memory cards in December. This will enable it to work with ARRI ALEXA and Sony PMW-500 UDF formatted SxS cards.

The Glyph Triplicator is another great device that can really simplify workflow. It allows you to connect up to three hard drives, and your computer or Nexto will see them as a single drive. Now you can create three identical backups at once. Learn more about both of these devices in my video above.

With the first day of IBC wrapping up, there is a steady stream of products and updates coming from the show floor. Look for future blogs on some of this gear, but for now here’s a quick look at a few of the new products from IBC.

…continue reading New Product Announcements from IBC