Atomos Samurai Blade looks sharp

Atomos announced its latest field recorder, the Samurai Blade, at NAB, which it promises will answer demand for a recorder that is also a fully fledged on-camera monitor.

It competes with the larger Convergent Design Odyssey7 monitor-cum-recorder on base price ($1,295), but unlike the Odyssey the Blade includes recording capability from the start, and will be the less expensive option if you don’t need the raw and higher-speed recording capabilities and extra screen size of the Odyssey.

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera

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 PMW-400 XAVC camcorder

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.

LiveU LU² modular live links

The new LU² from LiveU is the first modular system for bonding cellular networks, for live transmission from the camera. It is being launched at NAB and will allow users to combine two LiveU field units for occasions where additional resiliency is needed. LiveU systems are widely used by broadcasters for news coverage.

LU² users will be able to increase the number of connections, and therefore boost the uplink bandwidth available, by connecting an additional LiveU unit via a standard Ethernet cable. This will work with its current units, so is available immediately.

Its first implementation, the LU40², combines two LU40-S units together in a lightweight backpack (under 4lbs/2kgs, including batteries), providing up to 12 cellular/network connections. The LU40² GUI is controlled remotely by a standard smartphone for greater flexibility and ease of use on-the-move.

This new development complements the Xtender, LiveU’s wireless external antenna, which can be combined with any LiveU product, and offers up to 13 cellular connections.

“The new LU² modular approach allows customers to add connections on the spot, as needed, in challenging scenarios such as crowded areas and remote locations,” said Samuel Wasserman, LiveU’s CEO. “This concept offers a highly flexible and cost-effective solution for HD live video transmission anywhere, anytime.”

By David Fox

Canon shows 4K to handheld at NAB

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.