We’ve been looking forward to some of the camera accessories from Canadian company Shape WLB ever since NAB, and we were not disappointed when we received our first samples. Shape has been developing handheld rigs for years based on feed back from users, and this attention to detail shows in every product.

Today, I’ll take a look at the Composite F3 Kit for the Sony PMW-F3 and the Double Quick Handle Rosette system. The Composite F3 system includes the popular Quick Handle, which is attached to standard 15mm rods via the Rod Block. By simply depressing the big red button, you can quickly unlock the handles to reposition them to fit your needs. With a comfortable shoulder pad and options for a battery plate or counterweights, the Shape Composite F3 system is a great run-and-gun solution for the F3.

The Double Quick Handle Rosette system attaches to an Arri rosette, which offers adjustment on two axes. Both the quick handles and the arm extensions can be repositioned using the red release knob. They are ideal for attaching directly to the ALEXA or to the PMW-F3 when paired with the Element Technica Riser. In either case, the adjustment takes just seconds.

Watch my video above as I detail some of the features of the Shape Composite F3 and the Double Quick Handle Rosette system.

It may seem like a simple topic, but a properly balanced fluid head is a necessity for getting that perfect shot. The process of balancing a camera on a fluid head can be quite simple, or rather time consuming, depending on your camera setup. Using a Libec RS-250M tripod and a Sony EX1R, I put together a quick example of how to balance with just the camera, and then again with more accessories added. Watch the video above to see the process.

ARRI’s latest lighting innovation is the L7 series of LED-based Fresnels. The line is made up of three fixtures: the L7-T (3200K tungsten-balanced), the L7-D (5400K daylight-balanced), and the L7-C (color-controllable). The L7-C can be adjusted from 2700K-10000K, with an additional green/magenta control. It also features a “Hue Mode” for theatrical color effects.

These fixtures have a wide range of beam control, produce single, sharp shadows like conventional Fresnel fixtures, are fully dimmable from 0-100% with no color shift, and have an even field of illumination. Most importantly, at just 220w, the L7 LED lights use less than a quarter of the power of a 1000w tungsten Fresnel fixture with equivalent light output. Watch my video above to learn more about these versatile new lights.

In recent years, we’ve come to rely on iPhone’s as a readily available source of information, and this goes for on-set reference tools as much as any other area of life. iPhone apps have been developed for nearly every aspect of production, and now there are apps designed for those working in the Grip and Electric departments.

theGripApp (Enlightened Shenanigans, $4.99) is designed specifically as a reference manual for those working as grips, describing itself as 25% dictionary, 25% equipment stats, 25% descriptions of equipment, and 25% practical applications. A wide variety of equipment is presented, from dollies to flags to cranes, all with detailed specs and images directly from the manufacturer. In fact, the app is helpfully organized into four categories (Dolly, Cranes, Hardware, Rigging) to make it easier to find exactly the information you’re looking for.

Enlightened Shenanigans also makes another app, setLighting ($9.99) that presents a wealth of information, in this case on lighting equipment. It is organized (similarly to theGripApp) into four categories: Lights, Power, Bulbs, and Useful. The app provides a guide to the most common lighting units in the production world, including images, specs, available accessories, and bulb options. An especially helpful feature is the power distribution cheat sheets, such as the amperage usage chart and the maximum ampacity chart. setLighting is a great reference guide for anyone working with fixed lighting.

Ever since Mitch’s original iPhone app blog, we’ve been discovering more and more apps that we think our clients will find useful. Check out our iPhone Apps for Modern Cinematographers resource for a list of apps, organized into categories such as FOV calculators, timecode, filters, etc. Don’t forget to bookmark the page, as we will be continually updating and adding more to our list.

There’s a lot to be thankful for this Friday, as there have been several important firmware update announcements across the board. In addition to the ARRI ALEXA update released on Wednesday, BlackMagic Design, Sony, and Sound Devices all have announcements to get your weekend off to a great start.

BlackMagic Design HyperDeck Studio:

The uncompressed HyperDeck Studio recorder will gain compressed recording capability with a free update slated for “the end of this month.” DNxHD recording and playback of MXF files will be added, promising an expedited workflow for those working with Avid Media Composer, as well as a big advantage for those that do not require uncompressed files.

Sony NEX-FS100

Sony will be releasing an major update to the popular AVCHD Super35 NEX-FS100 by early 2012. One of the most requested features is the ability to switch between NTSC and PAL recording, which Sony has added to this free update. In addition, you will be able to:

• Save and load camera profiles to and from a memory card
• Additional 4x and 8x Expanded Focus magnification
• Selectable ISO or Gain sensitivity display
• Selectable focus indication in feet or meters (E-Mount lenses only)
• Selectable shutter indication as exposure time or shutter angle
• Added the following Aspect-Ratio markers: 2.35:1, 1.85:1 and 1.66:1
• Display ON/OFF button enables Zebra and/or Histogram overlay onto video output

The new firmware will also allow you to use the new Sony LA-EA2 Alpha to E-mount adaptor with full support for continuous phase-detect autofocus, auto iris, and lens metadata on most Alpha mount lenses.

…continue reading Keeping Up with the Firmware: Friday Edition

Sony is constantly updating their F3 camera with new accessories, and we were able to get our hands on their new lens and recorder. The Sony 14-252mm lens (SCL-Z18X140) is designed specifically for the F3, and if you’ve been following our blog you probably already know a lot about it. This is the first powered zoom for a Super-35 camera and has a very interesting design. The lens attaches directly to the F3′s native mount, allowing for power and communication. The zoom lens offers auto focus (and push auto focus), auto iris and optical stabilization. The zoom motor is controlled by the F3 rocker, which I found to be very smooth. You’ll find controls for all of these features on the lens itself, in addition to a Flange Focal depth adjustment option, which can be activated by holding down a special button combination.

On the back of the camera, I connected the SR-R1 portable recorder. This is the first of Sony’s SR Memory recording options, which utilizes the high-quality SR Codecs found previously on HDCAM SR tape. This devices is perfect for anyone working in the SR world, and is basically a much less expensive and more portable version of the SRW1 deck. It records in 220Mbps, 440 Mpbs and 880 Mbps (coming in a future firmware) in either 422, 444 RGB or 3D (future firmware also). The compression format is what Sony calls Simple Studio Profile (SStP), which already has support in FCP and AVID. Learn more about SR-R1 with the F3 on Sony’s site here. An optional DPX Uncompressed recording option will come in the future. Downloading of the cards can be accomplished with the SR-PC4 or SR-PC5 data transfer units, which will be available early next year.

Watch my video above to learn more about both of these new products.

ARRI has released the latest Software Update Packet (SUP), v5.0 for the ALEXA and ALEXA Plus cameras. All new cameras will ship with SUP v5.0 installed, and it is available as a free download from the ARRI website for all current ALEXA owners. SUP 5.0 is a major upgrade for the ALEXA cameras, with several important new features and useful improvements.

New features of SUP v5.0 include (for both ALEXA & ALEXA Plus):

High Frame Rates

Access to the new High Speed License

With SUP v5.0, you can now purchase a license through the ARRI website which allows the camera to shoot from 60fps – 120fps and record to ProRes 422HQ on the new Sony 64G SxS Pro cards.

ProRes 4444 recording up to 60fps

The new Sony 64G SxS Pro cards have much higher sustained data read/write capabilities than the 32G SxS Pro cards. This allows the ALEXA to feed up to 60fps of ProRes 4444 to the cards with no dropped frames or file corruption. In previous firmware releases, ProRes 4444 was limited to 40fps and you needed to capture in ProRes 422 HQ or below to record 60fps.

ARRIRAW and HD-SDI 4:4:4 recording up to 60fps

ARRI has developed a unique dual-link 3G signal path so that ARRI Partner recorders can capture up to 60fps of full uncompressed ARRIRAW or 10-bit HD-SDI 4:4:4 in full resolution progressive signals. Codex has released software to enable their Onboard recorder to capture ARRIRAW and HD-SDI 4:4:4 over this protocol.

…continue reading ARRI Releases New ALEXA Firmware 5.0