Another New AVCHD-based Camera

Sony has released the new NEX FS 100, an AVCHD camera that seems to be aiming its sites on Panasonic's AF100 with its large sensor (S35), ability to interchange lenses, real video controls on camera like iris, gain and volume control as well as XLR audio inputs.  There is already some varying opinion on how good or mediocre this camera might be.

Here is a clip from FSTOP Academy with their positive review:


And on the more negative size is this rather in-depth look from DVuser. This reviewer was definitely not blown away by the camera's feel, build, etc.  But he does compliment the quality of the video.

The FS 100 features its LCD screen on top of the camera body which is a bit unusual, but depending on how you use it/shoot with it, it might be placed in the right spot.  I'm used to the side LCD screen, so it might take some getting use to.  And like the AF100, the FS100 only has 8-bit 4:2:2 out of the camera via HDMI.  This at least allows you to bypass the AVCHD processing in-camera, but many will be yearning for 10-bit out.  The FS100 also allows you to screw-on a hand grip with a built-in mic as well as a eyepiece viewfinder to make the camera have a more traditional video camera feel and form factor.

Here's more information from the ProVideo Coalition. 

So here's another contender in the battle for "combine the DOF abilities of a DSLR but with the ergonomics and controls of a real video camera".  It will be interesting to play with one of these at NAB.

Premiere CS5 and the New Apple Mackbook Pro

The new Apple Macbook Pros seem really impressive to me with their quad core processors, 1 GB video cards, and the new Thunderbolt port, but one disappointing aspect for some is the fact that the video card is ATI and not Nvidia.  So how does it play with Adobe Premiere CS5?  Adobe seems to notice that the word on the street is you MUST have a CUDA-enabled card to get great performance.  Adobe says this isn't true, and that their Mercury Playback Engine's software mode is more than capable, with the right machine, of great performance.

So thanks to some tweets I found the above clip showing off Premiere CS5 on a new 17" Macbook Pro.  This makes these brand-new laptops even more intriguing.

To read more about this, follow this link to Adobe's Blog.

SmallHD

One of my favorite vendor stops last year at NAB was SmallHD, the maker of - get this - small HD screens that are perfect for your DSLR rigs.  One of their biggest strengths are resolution.  Many similar LCD screens around this size don't offer 720p resolution, but SmallHD does.  It also features a HDMI port, perfect for connecting to your DSLR, DVX, HMC, EX1r, etc.

Matt Jeppson over at FreshDV has a great write-up on using a SmallHD for a live music shoot he did in New York.  It sounds like the monitor did a great job and could be counted on for an accurate representation of what the DSLR is capturing.

Read the article here.

New Final Cut Pro!

There's a really good chance you already know this, but just in case you're that guy who's living under a rock in the GEICO commercial, a new version of Final Cut is apparently going to drop this Spring. NAB might just be all the more exciting this year if Apple has something to show (though early consensus seems to think that Apple won't show it on the floor, but perhaps at an event before NAB kicks off).

Larry Jordan, a Final Cut instructor and host of the Digital Production Buzz, was invited out to a "secret meeting" of "industry professionals" and shown the new software.  Larry doesn't reveal much, but what he does say gets you excited (if you're an editor, that is).

Combine this news with Apple's unveiling of Thunderbolt (an odd name for Intel's Light Peak connection) and you have some really exciting possibilities with the new Macbook Pros unveiled today. Basically think of Thunderbolt as this extremely fast connection capable of connecting monitors, drives and other devices together. A number of manufacturers are announcing support for Thunderbolt, so you'll see I/O devices from Blackmagic and AJA in the near future.  Also with the new Macbook Pros, for the first time, you have an Apple laptop with 1 gig of dedicated video RAM.  Some are upset that Apple chose only ATI cards for this release, locking out those wanting Nvidia's CUDA technology for CS5 and Resolve, but for those who are firmly rooted in Final Cut and Avid the video card news is exciting.  I also wonder if there'll be some sort of external PCI Express chasis that you can connect via Thunderbolt.  If so you could load it up with Nvidia CUDA-based cards and your laptop will fly with Premiere CS5.  Of course this is conjecture on my part, but there's a chance this can happen.

I assume Apple will add Thunderbolt to the Mac Pro, and the iMac as well.  If so, you can then see Macbook Pros and iMacs being serious editing machines with the ability to connect to drives fast enough to support multi-streams of HD video.  Granted you can do this now with FW800 drives, but we're talking significantly faster drives here (think beyond e-SATA speeds).

Suddenly there's something to be really excited about with Final Cut.  Of course I could just be setting myself up for disappointment, but that's nothing new.

Gamma Differences

Wow, so I've known for a while now that Quicktime X and 7 use different gamma settings when playing video. But until now the differences have been mostly minor. That is, until I compared something I shot the other day:

QT X on top, QT 7 on bottom

The video in Quicktime 7 (the lower one) most closely matches the way the footage was shot.  Yes, it's a little too red (and we really needed to adjust our fill light!) but that's not the point.  Color correction has yet to happen. Compare it to how QT X shows it.  Amazing!  I have to admit I haven't fully wrapped my head around this problem but it really makes me second guess things.

The bottom line is the way QT 7 plays back the clip matches the way it looks in Final Cut and the way it looks on my "broadcast" monitor.  But how will the client view things?  Scary...

Editblog's QuickTip of the Day

The Editblog is doing a Final Cut Pro tip every day this month and today's looks like a good one.  Ever wonder why Motion projects take FOREVER to render in Final Cut? Well today's tip might just speed things up.  Check it out here.

An In Depth Look at the AF-100 In Action

That's not how that brake light's suppose to look!

Stunning Good Looks over at the ProVideo Coalition has a nice fairly in-depth look at shooting with Panasonic's AF-100.  The article covers the strengths of the camera and the limitations, including a tendency to clip the chroma values of the camera.  As you can you see in the picture above, the brake lights of the car are suppose to be an orange red, not yellow.

The article points out the many strengths of the camera too, especially how the images benefit from the large sensor, but overall you can't help but feel a little disappointed about the limitations of the 8-bit AVCHD codec.   Bottom line, if you can control the lighting, the camera shines. But under many real world conditions the camera presents some issues to work through.

Read the article here.