The pre-NAB announcements keep rolling in, and Sony is making waves. Today they officially announced the PMW-100, which is a new variation on their popular XDCAM EX line of cameras. This tiny camera records in the traditional 35 Mbps 4:2:0 XDCAM EX format, but also features XDCAM HD422 (50Mbps) recording to SxS cards. This is a feature many have asked of the other EX cameras, and it’s nice to see Sony deliver. The tiny PMW-100 features a 1/2.9-inch Exmor CMOS sensor, with full 1920×1080 resolution, and a 5.4-54mm (40-400mm in 35mm equivalent) zoom lens, making it a nice solution for run-and-gun work, where mobility and flexibility are necessary. The PMW-100 features all of the connections that we expect in a professional camera, including XLR audio inputs, HD-SDI, HDMI, Genlock and timecode. Like it’s bigger brother the PMW-EX1, the camera can overcrank in 720p up to 60p. 1080p offers frame rates from 1-30p. Finally, the camera has a 3.5-inch WVGA (852×480) LCD screen, the same size as found on the EX1R and EX3. The PMW-100 is a nice small addition to the EX camera line up, and we are looking forward to seeing it at NAB.

Sony also announced a new piece of software that will be coming out in May, which will be good for all XDCAM EX owners. The SxS Memory Card Management Utility will be able to back up the data on an SxS card and also give a lifetime indication of the card in use. Read the full Sony Press release on the PMW-100 and this new software here, and check out some more pictures below.

…continue reading Sony Introduces the PMW-100

Today, Sony announced its latest camera, the NEX-FS700. This is the big brother to the FS100 but with some major additions. The big news is the inclusion of an 3G/HD-SDI output and ND Filters, which were two of the most requested additions to the FS100. And the really big news is that the camera is “4K Ready” meaning that in the future it will be able to output 4K RAW data over the 3G-SDI connection. This data will be recorded by a future Sony device, which has not yet been announced. Having a 4K output really future-proofs the camera, which is important with technology advancing so quickly. The FS700 has a newly designed 11.6M sensor, 8.3M of which are used in the video mode. This sensor can be read out extremely quickly, allowing the camera to have some impressive high-speed options. It can record 120 fps (16 sec burst) and 240 fps (8 sec burst) at full HD resolution. 480 fps and 960 fps bursts are also available at half and quarter resolutions respectively. It has the same sensitivity and ISO range of the FS100, starting at 500 ISO (0db) up to 16,000 ISO (30 db).

With the Sony LA-EA2 A-mount lens adapter, the camera can focus extremely fast using phase detection and even track faces. The new adapter also adjusts iris more smoothly on Alpha lenses, which was a problem with the older adapter. Other big features of the FS700 include: Cine gammas (the same found in the PMW-F3), progressive (P/Psf) outputs over HD-SDI and HDMI, still picture shooting, 50/60hz switchable, the ability to save picture profiles to an SD card, up to 8x focus magnification, and a sturdy body design. The camera will have a newly designed handle which attaches to the camera via an Arri style rosette. The handle will feature a zoom rocker, which hints at the possibility of motorized zoom lenses coming from Sony in the future. The camera will be out in June with a list price of around $10,000, and we can expect the street price to be less. This is exciting news for sure, and we look forward to seeing more of the camera at NAB. Stay tuned for a video blog on the camera and see our pictures of the camera below. Also check out Sony’s press release with more information here.

…continue reading Sony Announces the NEX-FS700

Over the last year we have talked a lot about creating camera looks. We posted about Arri Look files and created scene files for the AF100, FS100, F3 and C300. We have also started to post LUTs for cameras like the F3, with C300 LUTs coming in the future. We hope you enjoy all of this content, but if you aren’t exactly sure what the difference is between these looks, LUTs and scene files, then check out an article I wrote for HD Video Pro magazine. The article has the same name as this post, Looks, LUTs, and Scene files. It can be found in the latest issue of HD Video Pro, which is hitting store shelves soon. You can also check it out on their website here.

In this last part of my Sony F3 and S-log series, I go over how to generate 3D LUTs that can be used with external LUT boxes and in post. In order to do this I use an HD Link Pro from BlackMagic Design and, to control it, a program called LinkColor. In my last video, I generated several 1D LUTs with Sony’s CVP File Editor, and then converted them to 3D LUTs for use with LinkColor. I call these simple 3D LUTs “DeLog Curves,” and you can download them here. Finally, I created several 3D LUTs and CDLs that are matched to my F3 Scene files, which you can download here.

You can use these LUTs in post for a quick grade with many different tools. A free and quick tool to try is LUT Buddy for FCP. On a side note, also check out Antler Post’s S-Log Plugin for FCP, which applies a standard LUT to the your image and allows you to add burn-ins. Watch the video above to see how I put all of these together, and check out our Understanding Log class to learn even more.

You can find the rest of Andy’s S-Log and F3 series here:

Part 1: On the Charts
Part 2: Exposure Index Mode
Part 3: Application
Part 4: In-Camera Look Up Tables

In this third part of my series on the Sony F65 Workflow, I go over how to use Sony’s SR Compression format. In the latest firmware revision, the F65 is able to record in the SStP (Simple Studio Profile) video format, also known as the SR Compression format. This is the same format found in the F35 and other HDCAM SR recording cameras. Right now, the F65 can record in the SQ Mode (at 440 Mbps) to the SR Memory cards, with HQ and Lite options available in the future.

We were able to get our hands on the new F65 firmware and grab a few quick shots. I downloaded the footage onto a hard drive using the same methods as shown in Part 1 & 2 of this series. Clips are stored in a standard MXF format and can be read with either Sony’s SR Viewer or by using plugins for AVID and Final Cut Pro. You can find all of these tools on the Sony F65 microsite, under the television section. Watch the video above to learn more about working with this high quality HD format.

In the fourth part of my Sony F3 S-log series, I explain how to create Look Up Tables (LUTs) to be used in the camera. When shooting in S-Log, the F3 allows you to apply a LUT to an output of the camera, letting the operator visualize how the image will look after post-production correction. In Part 1 of the series, I covered the in-camera Look Up Tables that come with the camera, and now I go over how to make your own. In the video, I show how to use the Sony CVP File Editor; click the link to download the Mac version. Watch the video above and check out our upcoming Understanding Log class to learn more.
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You can findthe rest of Andy’s S-Log and F3 series here:

Part 1: On the Charts
Part 2: Exposure Index Mode
Part 3: Application
Part 5: 3D Look Up Tables

Sony recently released software version 1.1 for the SR-PC4 interface box for SRMemory cards and a new beta version of the F65RAW Viewer application.

With this update, the SR-PC4 can now play back F65RAW footage from the SRMemory cards via the HD/SDI port. Being that the F65 records F65RAW in full 8k sensor resolution, which produces a demosaiced resolution of 4096×2160, the SR-PC4 will first down-convert the playback footage to 2048×1080, then provide a 1920×1080 cropped image. The crop window is selectable via the PC4 control interface, finally providing a way to quickly monitor and review F65RAW footage. Other new features include the option to import partial files via the familiar IN/OUT mark structure any NLE user is accustomed to. For the longer clips, the new “Chunk” import option allows you to split up a large file in to several smaller, more manageable files. The last new feature allows you to add clip data (such as Good/No Good) and write-protect the clips via the PC4 control interface. The 1.1 update can be obtained from Sony.

In addition to the updates for the SR-PC4, Sony has also released an update to the F65RAW Viewer application. Beta version 0.97 adds support for the new S-Log2 curve, allowing you to add a highly gradable log to your export files. The F65RAW Viewer requires Windows 7 64-bit or OS X Lion, and can be downloaded directly from the Sony website.