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

At A Glance: Leica Summilux-C Cine Lenses

With industry-leading focus scales, consistent lens dimensions through the range and corner-to-corner illumination across the Super 35 image circle, this 12-lens set of PL-mount primes are cinematic perfection

By David Alexander Willis

A 16mm has proven so popular that it’s currently backordered through the year. In February 2015, the development team behind the Leica Summilux-C range of PL-mount lenses received the Scientific and Engineering Award® from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for technical innovation. This, after only four years of existence, during which... Read more

Keeping The Balance

With camera stabilization becoming more affordable for filmmakers, we examine the options for cinematographers seeking support for both light and heavier-weighted cameras

By Jimmy Matlosz

New stabilizer technology allows filmmakers to set up and capture just about any shot they desire. Here, a Jeep is outfitted with Freefly Systems equipment to stabilize two RED cameras, each mounted on cinema vibration isolators by Stratus Productions. The spinning Revolver Rig on top of the Jeep is especially useful with its extensive range of movement.... Read more

At A Glance: BBS Lighting Pipeline Reporter And 4 Bank

Tough lights with high-quality rendering are the hallmark of a company concentrating on the energy efficiency and low-heat output of remote phosphor and LED solutions

By David Alexander Willis

The low-heat, high-output and very compact BBS Pipeline Reporter remote phosphor lights, small and portable enough to be hidden in any scene. Photo by David Alexander Willis You know a product is going to be good when you meet with a lighting company and the first thing they do is knock the bulbs sharply against a table to prove their sturdiness. BBS... Read more

June 2016

Rounding up the best new gear for filmmaking and production

By The Editors

For daily updates on multimedia technologies, follow us on social media at Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Twitter! PRICE REDUCTION The AJ-PX230PJ AVC-ULTRA camcorder from Panasonic builds on its popular, but much more expensive predecessor, the $5,750 AJ-PX270, to offer 10-bit, 4:2:2 HD capture in AVC-Intra or AVC-LongG codecs only at a much more... Read more

Beyond The Rectangle

The evolution of virtual and augmented reality, and the players who are revolutionizing how we might view content

By Robert Powell

For years, futurists and filmmakers have lamented the passive experience of viewing entertainment enclosed within the frame of the screen. Even as devices become smaller, the rectangle still remains, delivering content to phones, tablets and computers. Over the next decade, emerging technologies promise to fundamentally transform content beyond the... Read more

At A Glance: The Sky Is The Limit

The Zeiss VR ONE is a virtual-reality headset with premium optics and first-person view for use with drones

By David Alexander Willis

When historic lens maker Zeiss announces a virtual-reality headset, it literally turns heads. The VR ONE is a portable VR headset that will affix to smartphones with display sizes of between 4.7 and 5.2 inches. Smartphone trays are available for the Samsung Galaxy S5 and S6 and the Sony XPERIA Z5, as well as the iPhone 6, with plans to support the S4,... 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

April 2016

RED’s SCARLET-W is the latest addition to their RED DRAGON family of cinema cameras

By The Editors

THE SCARLET LETTER RED’s SCARLET-W is the latest addition to their RED DRAGON family of cinema cameras. Updating the SCARLET-series 5K camera system to heightened frame rates of up to 60 fps (48 fps in the previous iteration), the SCARLET-W is also capable of impressive 4K slow-motion at 150 fps, 3K at 200 fps and 2K at 300 fps. With integrated mounting... 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

Light It Up: Speaking The Language Of Illumination

Tools to help you light your production on any budget

By Dan Brockett

Whether you light as a one-man band or work as a director or cinematographer alongside a huge crew, some things are a constant. Take lighting, for example. Effective lighting is both an art and a science. It takes a good eye along with ample imagination and skill—but it also takes knowledge, knowing how to put the correct tools together to help shape... Read more

A Magic Wand For Video

Giving Steadicam a run for their money, the DJI Osmo is a new handheld camera capable of full 4K with built-in 3-axis stabilization

By David Alexander Willis

Based on the gimbal and camera system of DJI’s $3,000 Inspire 1 quadcopter, the Osmo is the company’s first handheld camera solution, and, as a bonus, it gives video the same feel and buttery smoothness as a drone. At dimensions of 2.4×1.9×6.4 inches and a weight of only 221 grams (base model; it’s a bit more than a pound with all attachments),... Read more