Sony a9 Image Samples And Autofocus Review

We evaluate the images from the Sony a9 and its autofocus performance

David Schloss

The new Sony a9 camera arrived in a flurry of promises of image quality, autofocus speed and performance. When we tested the Sony a9 at the company’s media event, we found that the camera largely lived up to those promises. In my first testing of the camera, at two different sporting locations, we found that the AF was generally spot on, with the... Read more

Hands On With The Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera

From aerial photography to remote control operation, powerful and versatile features in a tiny and extremely capable dedicated video system

By David Alexander Willis

With RAW video capture, the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera is a dream solution for special-purpose video needs, like hiding in a scene or aerial photography. Incredibly compact at external dimensions of only 3.25 x 2.74 x 2.57 inches, the 11-ounce $995 Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera saw some POV usage on a fast-moving commercial for Mountain Dew recently... Read more

Canon EOS C700 GS PL Cinema Camera Set For July 2017 Release

Featuring a Super 35mm CMOS 4K sensor with a global shutter, the flagship camera is designed for a variety of shooting scenarios, from features to docs to episodic TV

Staff

Canon has announced a July 2017 release date for its flagship EOS C700 GS PL Cinema Camera, joining the EOS C700 EF and EOS C700 PL Digital Cinema cameras, which are available with a rolling shutter. Originally announced in September 2016, the EOS C700 GS PL features a Super 35mm CMOS 4K sensor with a global shutter for cinematographers who need quality... Read more

Blackmagic Design Announces URSA Mini Pro 4.6K Camera (And More)

The highlight of the product announcements is the new full-featured camera, where exceptional digital film image quality meets broadcast camera features

Staff

Blackmagic Design has been busy innovating—again. What’s exciting is the company’s announcement of the new URSA Mini Pro 4.6K camera, which marries exceptional digital film image quality with broadcast camera features, built-in ND filters, an interchangeable lens mount and more for a wide variety of applications. Among its many imaging features... Read more

A Less Is More Camcorder

With the release of the AG-AC30, Panasonic has taken the simplicity of point-and-shoot digital video to a new level

By Jimmy Matlosz

If you’re seeking a basic way to capture content, Panasonic’s entry-level AG-AC30 camcorder is the perfect choice. It’s built with the quality that’s expected of Panasonic, yet streamlined in a reduced bodyweight design that makes you wonder if there’s anything hidden inside. Rest assured, the AG-AC30 offers enough features to make it a worthy... Read more

Blackmagic Design Gear Captures NPS Centennial

The URSA Mini 4.6K, Micro Studio Camera 4K and other products were used for live streaming and archival footage

Staff

The National Park Service just celebrated its 100-year anniversary, and Blackmagic Design products helped to capture the momentous occasion. The URSA Mini 4.6K, Micro Studio Camera 4K, Blackmagic Duplicator 4K and other Blackmagic gear were used for live streaming and archival footage during the celebration in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. Glacier... Read more

New Announcements From Canon At CES 2017

Canon announces three new affordable handheld camcorders, a travel video kit and new flagship PowerShot camera, the PowerShot G9 X Mark II at $529 will be on hand at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which begins tomorrow in Las Vegas

David Alexander Willis

The day prior to the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which runs January 5-8th in Las Vegas, Canon has announced brand new updates to their consumer lines of VIXIA camcorders and video-capable PowerShot fixed-lens cameras. With 1”, 20.2 megapixel sensor, the latest flagship in the PowerShot line, the Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II ($529 for a... Read more

Seeing In The Dark: Hands On With The Canon ME20F-SH

With a stellar top light sensitivity equivalence of more than 4 million ISO and a massive imaging sensor, Canon’s first full-frame video camera is capable of working in a variety of applications

Text & Photography By David Alexander Willis

The Canon ME20F-SH multi-purpose camera with full-frame sensor features insanely high light sensitivity and an extremely modular form factor. With the “M” standing for multipurpose, the very new Canon ME20F-SH camera is not only a cinema camera with the internal benefits of large-sensor capture, but also an extremely versatile video solution for... Read more

Immersed In Lytro Immerge

The Lytro Immerge light-field camera is almost here, the most exciting, and potentially disruptive, thing to happen to filmmaking in decades

By Robert Powell

In film production, the phrase “We’ll fix it in post” has always been synonymous with mistakes and failures. Just this month, I was on a commercial set calling for a live Bengal tiger to be shot in front of a greenscreen. Unfortunately, the spot’s director and production team were so enamored with filming the beautiful animal that they completely... Read more

Cinema Quality Handheld Design

The Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K offers 15 stops of dynamic range on a Super 35 sensor, plus 60 fps of RAW 4K-quality footage. In a word, it’s impressive.

By Jimmy Matlosz

The Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K is a lightweight camera designed with handheld ergonomics in mind. Images captured during tests proved to be rich and organic, with plenty of latitude. Blackmagic’s latest camera is an excellent choice for film, reportage and documentary filmmakers. Blackmagic Design has been a player in the video scene since the early... Read more

4K Super 35 Varicam LT

Panasonic has entered the 4K market again, this time with a lightweight, compact, high-end Super 35 camera

By Jimmy Matlosz

Panasonic was the first pioneer of nonlinear motion-picture cameras with the legendary AG-HVX200, a camcorder released over a decade ago that quickly attracted the attention of filmmakers for its progressive capture on 3CCD 1/3-inch sensors. Once larger-sensor cameras made it to marketplace, however, Panasonic soon found itself at the back of the pack.... Read more

Canon EOS C300 Mark II

Designed with user input, this powerful update offers creative flexibility, with 4K/2K/full HD internal and external recording and a new 10-bit Canon Log 2 Gamma, for a variety of applications

By Simon Wakelin

Only a few months old, the Canon EOS C300 Mark II Digital Cinema Camera offers a batch of new and improved features compared to its younger brother, the C300. This is a production-grade 4K camera offering both broadcast (3840×2160) and DCI cinematic (4096×2160) resolutions, perfect for any number of professional productions. The review unit... Read more