The new Panasonic AG-DVX200 is a sub-$5,000 4K compact
camcorder that offers up to Ultra HD 50/60p recording, and a V-Log L gamma curve (with
12-stops of dynamic range - which doesn’t compare favourably to the new Blackmagic Ursa Mini 4.6K, which has 15 stops for about the same price - or even the
cheaper 4K Ursa Mini, which has 13 stops).
Canon has announced two new cameras, the EOS C300 Mark II 4K
(4096x2160) and Ultra HD (3840x2160) camera (pictured above), and the XC10 compact UHD model (pictured below).
Both use Canon’s new XF-AVC recording format.
The £11,299 + VAT (almost $17,000) C300 MkII will boast up to 15 stops
of dynamic range, when it ships in September.
JVC has launched two new large sensor (Super 35mm) Ultra HD
cameras with interchangeable Micro Four Thirds lens mounts. The GY-LS300
camcorder (pictured below), and the GW-SP100 miniature camera (above) and separate recording system, are
part of its new range of 4Kcam camcorders. The other two (the live streaming GY-HM200 and compact GY-HM170) use smaller 1/2.3-inch sensors.
JVC Professional has launched its new 4Kcam (Ultra HD)
product line, including two new large sensor cameras (the GY-LS300 and GW-SP100 - dealt with elsewhere), and two smaller models: the GY-HM200, which includes HD
streaming and an SDI output; and the compact GY-HM170. All four should arrive
early in 2015.
The GY-HM200 (pictured above) and GY-HM170 are essentially the same, but the
HM200 will be the one to choose if you need to deliver breaking stories for
broadcast or the web via WiFi, internet or mobile (3G or 4G) connections, or if
you are working with other (SDI-based) broadcast equipment.
Sony held its press conference this morning at IBC, and announced two new cameras: the PXW-X200 and the PXW-FS7. While the X200 looks interesting, the big buzz was around the FS7, a 4K XDCAM camera with a Super35
CMOS sensor.
Canon is introducing several firmware upgrades for its EOS
C500 and EOS C300 cameras, DP-V3010 4K
reference display and its Cinema Raw Development software, mainly aimed at
improved 4K performance, particularly support for the new BT.2020 colour space,
although the C300 (and C500) will also get simpler colour temperature setting.
It can record both UHD (3840x2160) at 50/60p and Cinema 4K
(4096x2160) at 24p in MP4 at up to 150Mbps (50/60p) or 100Mbps (24p), plus .mov
or MP4 in HD, which can use all-Intra compression for a maximum bit rate of
200Mbps, as well as AVCHD (1080p) at up to 28Mbps. Even if you are shooting for
HD, recording in Ultra HD can be useful during editing, as you can then zoom in
to a one-quarter crop without losing any HD resolution, or pan across the
picture to follow movement.
Users of Arri’s Alexa and Amira cameras will be able to
deliver Ultra HD and 4K despite the cameras not having UHD sensors, thanks to up-sampling.
The documentary-style Amira will be upgraded to recording
Ultra HD at up to 60 frames per second, in real time, via a paid firmware
update due later this year, while ProRes 3.2K, a new recording format that
allows easy up sampling in post to Ultra HD, will be available for the Alexa in
a software update early next year. The Arriraw Open Gate format already allows
this up sampling for 4K cinema.
An updated FT-One high-speed 4K camera, a new extraction
system to take HD windows from 4K images, and a 4K virtual studio system, are
just some of the things that For-A has introduced this week at NAB, where it
now boasts products for every stage of the 4K workflow — from capturing,
processing, switching, and viewing, to recording.
Canon has filled the gap between the XF100/XF105 and
XF300/XF305 with two new compact video cameras, the XF200 and XF205. The
single-sensor cameras are designed for people shooting for multiple outlets,
including the web, and come with WiFi and LAN connections - for the full story
see Christina’s report on the Canon XF Notebook blog.
Yet another non-camera maker has entered the camera market: AJA
Video Systems has announced a very nice looking 4K camera that doesn’t cost
much more than the Blackmagic Ursa, but has some nice features.
The AJA Cion has a Super 35mm-sized sensor, with global
shutter and 12-stops of dynamic range, and records using various Apple ProRes
codecs, including 12-bit 444. It builds on AJA’s excellent reputation for
external recorders, such as the Ki Pro, Ki Pro Mini and, most recently, the 4K Ki
Pro Quad, so it had already built the back-end of the camcorder.
The world’s first 4K 25p/30p wearable camcorder has been
launched by Panasonic, as part of a growing Ultra HD ecosystem that encompasses
home cinema, professional monitors, a new prosumer 4K DSLR (the GH4), and its 4K VariCam 35broadcast camera launched at NAB.
The new, lightweight HX-A500 UHD action cam can also record
HD at 50p, and is waterproof (to 3m for 30 minutes) and dustproof.
Blackmagic Design has announced a new high-end digital film
camera with a user-upgradable sensor and lens mount, larger-than-normal 10-inch
fold-out monitor, and a multi-screen design that should make it simpler to use.
Its feature set and upgradability cover many of the most common requests on
user’s wish lists.
The Super 35-sized Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) image sensor has a global shutter
(so no more CMOS sensor rolling shutter effects) and will be replaceable, along
with the lens mount, which can be EF or PL, or even, with a broadcast video
sensor, a B4 mount.
Panasonic has launched two new VariCam models: the VariCam
35 (shooting 4K Raw) and the high-speed (HD) VariCam HS.
The PL-mount VariCam 35 (AU-V35C1) uses a newly-developed
super 35mm MOS image sensor (4096x2160 - 17:9) and can shoot 4K, UHD, 2K and
HD, making it suitable for high-end filmmaking, commercials and episodic
production as well as live 4K events.
Arri has revealed its first documentary-style
shoulder-mount digital camera: the Amira, which takes the sensor and many
features of its Alexa, and adds such things as in-camera colour grading and 200
frames per second shooting.
“Everyone wants the Alexa image quality, but said make the
camera smaller, lighter and more affordable,” said Stephan Shenk, Arri’s
general manager, camera division. “But not too small or too light, as
documentary shooting often involves large lenses that need to be balanced.”
Blackmagic Design keeps on keeps on disrupting the market
with broadcast equipment at lower prices than the competition, and has done it
again with two new cameras: The £665/$995 Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and the £2,675/$3,995
4K Production Camera.
Both offer high quality lossless 12-bit CinemaDNG RAW and
Apple ProRes recording, and lots of interesting features that should keep
prospective buyers salivating until they ship in July.
Sony gave its XAVC codec another boost at NAB in Las Vegas
with the introduction of a new broadcast camcorder that supports it. It also
extended XAVC downwards for prosumer and consumer users. In other news, Sony
also introduced a new studio/OB camera.
The new PMW-400 shoulder-mount camcorder (pictured above) is an “affordable”
broadcast camera with three 2/3-inch high quality Exmor CMOS sensors – boasting
good low-light sensitivity of F12 at 59.94Hz and F13 at 50Hz.
The annual NAB show in Las Vegas is America’s biggest
broadcast expo, and Canon is using the opportunity to demonstrate everything
from high-end 4K workflows to a three new handheld cameras that should be
useful for professional use.
You can get the full details on the small new XA25, XA20 and Vixia/Legria HF G30 camcorders on our Canon XF Notebook blog, but these palmcorders
should appeal because they promise to be an improvement on one of our favourite
small camcorders, the XA10. Plus, the XA25 includes HD-SDI output for
uncompressed signals for broadcast use.
The latest version of Apple’s Final Cut Pro X (10.0.8) can
now work with Sony’s new XAVC codec (as used on the PMW-F5 and PMW-F55), so
that users can import XAVC files directly into FCP X and start editing
immediately.
It has support for resolutions up to 4K, and users can work
natively or convert to Apple ProRes in the background for better performance.
The plug-in requires: FCP X 10.0.8 or higher for the XAVC
format or FCP X 10.0.6 or higher for the XDCAM format, and supports only SxS
Cards, not Professional Disc. XDCAM Professional Disc users can use Content
Browser software to ingest material into Final Cut Pro X.
One user (nweaver) who had downloaded the plug-in said: “Very
happy to report that 4K XAVC on 27-inch iMac 3.4ghz/680MX is VERY fast in FCPX.
Like 1080p fast.
“Moreover, the GPU scales it on the fly to pass to the
Blackmagic Mini Monitor to output at 1080p, high quality scaling, no hiccups
whatsoever. Like working with 1080p, except there's 4x the pixels that you
don't see unless you go blowing up clips.”
Another user (sconnor99) on the fcp.co/forum/ added: “It
works very well with 4K XAVC material on our 2008 8-Core MacPro. It's slightly
surreal editing 4K like it's just 1080! I get realtime, even with CC and 300%
zoom.”
The Sony PMW-200, which records at 50Mbps, has proved to be
a popular camera, and Christina regularly does training with it. It benefits
from having half-inch sensors, whereas its competitors in the compact camcorder
market, like the Canon XF305 and Panasonic HPX250, have 1/3-inch sensors.
The seminar will cover various aspects of shooting on the
PMW-200, including:
- Overview of the features and workflow of Sony's XDCAM
format
- Advanced shooting modes such as slow motion and 50P
recording, interval recording (timelapse) and the PMW-200's cache record
function, plus various shutter functions.
- How to get the best from the sensor and format:
Understanding Picture profiles, detail and gain levels, gammas, matrix settings
Incidentally, Alister also conducts expeditions to film the
Northern Lights in Norway, and to chase storms and tornados in the US (New Mexico,
Texas, Oklahoma and other states in the tornado belt), with the next one coming
up from April 13th to April 20th. These include tuition on how to get the best
shots of these natural phenomena.
Have a look at his beautiful timelapse footage of the
Northern Lights embedded below:
News and comment about TV technology, training, and anything related that catches our eye. Also, look at www.UrbanFox.TV - our main site for TV training, longer articles, reviews and tutorials.
There is also now a blog dedicated to the Canon XF range of camcorders and any related products.
Christina Fox has trained thousands of broadcasters, videographers, and others to use camcorders - her long list of clients includes: the BBC, Channel 4, ITN, NBC, Discovery, MTV, the Press Association, Endemol, and UK government departments.
Full details about the training she offers, including tutorials and rewritten, easy-to-understand manuals for some of the most popular professional camcorders, are at UrbanFox.TV. She also writes about gardening and photography at the Photographer's Garden blog
David Fox has worked for various broadcasters as a writer, producer, director, and reporter in TV and Radio, and has worked as a journalist for national newspapers and magazines in the UK and Ireland. Amongst other things, he writes regularly about TV technology for TVB Europe magazine.
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