Camera Log
Adam Wilt has been working off and on in film and video for the past thirty years, while paying the bills writing software for animation, automation, broadcast graphics, and real-time control for companies including Abekas, Pinnacle, Omneon, CBS, and ABC. Since 1997 his website, adamwilt.com, has been a popular reference for information on the DV formats. He has reviewed cameras for DV Magazine and written its "Technical Difficulties" column, and taught classes and led panels at NAB, IBC, and DV Expo. He co-authored the book,"Optimizing Your Fi...
Read More
After the fear and trembling yesterday, suggestions of solutions; OLEDs; DSLRs; and more.
By Adam Wilt | February 18, 2011
Day 3 (by my counting; HPA calls this Day 2, because Tuesday's Super Session doesn't count) covered LTO-5, LTFS, IMF, HDSLR, OLED, FIMS, SOA, SLA, monitors vs. displays, file-based mastering, Hollywood in the cloud, and Disney restorations.
Read More
0 Comments
Mayhem, confusion, and chaos continue!
By Adam Wilt | February 17, 2011
Day 2 of the Tech Retreat covered the year in review, CES, cloud storage, broadcasting, pool feed audio, content protection, transcoding, stereo subtitles, and more...
Read More
0 Comments
HPA Super Session 2011 -- Snowflake Workflows
By Adam Wilt | February 16, 2011
HPA set the stage for the Super Session with these words:"With all the options in workflow today, it seems no two projects are exactly alike. Just like snowflakes, our projects begin beautiful, shiny, and a unique wonder to behold. But as they slowly drift to their final destination, they seem to just turn into slush, as we leave them behind searching for our next wonderful, pristine, new way."
Read More
1 Comments
The industry's most thought-provoking conference happens this week.
By Adam Wilt | February 14, 2011
There's a quiet gathering in Palm Springs every February. Many of the post-production industry's leading luminaries, along with a gaggle of production folks, hangers-on, and ne'er-do-wells (including your correspondent) assemble for the Hollywood Post Alliance's Tech Retreat, three and a half days of discussion about where the industry is and where it's going.
Read More
1 Comments
Zeiss lenses show what they're really made of.
By Adam Wilt | February 04, 2011
I attended a local tradeshow yesterday and today, and Zeiss had a display table showing off still and cine lenses. Herewith, some images for your viewing pleasure.
Read More
2 Comments
Oh, frabjous day: Apple offers PDF user manuals again!
By Adam Wilt | December 19, 2010
The PDF link downloads a copy of the docs to disk.
OK, so maybe I'm stupid (no comments, thanks very much) and these have always been available, or maybe they're new: Apple has PDF user manuals for Pro Apps available for download.
Read More
4 Comments
I take a not-entirely-reverent look at how the D90, 5D Mk II, 7D, and DMC-GH1 "versacams" really perform for video work.
By Adam Wilt | December 07, 2010
Art Adams wrestles a fully kitted-out Canon 5D Mk II with 85mm f/1.2 Canon prime.
Hybrids, HDSLRs, VDSLRs, EVILs, DSMCs, DILCs? There's as much confusion about what to call these highly-affordable, large-sensor, interchangeable-lens, video-capable still cameras as there is about their actual usefulness. Some proclaim them the revolutionary future, doing to RED what RED did to the industry before it: bring large-format, shallow depth-of-field motion imagery to the masses at a price point previously inconceivable. Others reject them out of hand for their technical shortcomings and unsuitable ergonomics.
Read More
18 Comments
Some chaps in the UK have shot a short with an PMW-F3, and Sony announces a pro large-sensor NXCAM camcorder.
By Adam Wilt | November 17, 2010
Things are really heating up in the large single sensor camcorder world.
Read More
1 Comments
Using the 3DA1 at the Createasphere / Panasonic 3D Workshop
By Adam Wilt | November 14, 2010
Last weekend I attended the two-day Createasphere 3D Production Workshop Utilizing Panasonic AG-3DA1 Cameras in Burbank, and got a good overview of the issues in shooting stereo 3D (S3D) content, as well as some immensely instructive hands-on experience with the AG-3DA1 S3D camcorder.
Read More
5 Comments
Quick links to early info on this large-format camcorder.
By Adam Wilt | November 10, 2010
[Updated 2010-11-13: Added link to Jon Fauer's preliminary report.][Updated 2010-11-11: Sony USA press release, shipping date, US prices.] Sony has announced the PMW-F3, a 35mm-sized camcorder designed for interchangeable lenses. Think 35 Mbit/sec, 4:2:0 XDCAM EX; handycam form factor; new Sony F mount with a PL mount adapter; available as a body only or packaged with three new Sony cine primes (35mm, 50mm, 85mm T2.0). It will ship in February 2011.
Read More
5 Comments
Panasonic shows off a prototype AG-AF100 at Birns & Sawyer
By Adam Wilt | November 08, 2010
Thursday, 4 November 2010: Panasonic's Jan Crittenden Livingston appeared at Hollywood rental and sales facility Birns & Sawyer to show off a prototype AG-AF100 Micro Four Thirds cine-style camcorder. I was in town for the Createasphere 3D Workshop, so I stopped by for a look. Herewith, my notes and observations.
Read More
11 Comments
Aye, laddie, it takes you back...
By Adam Wilt | October 24, 2010
Over the weekend I cleared out a bunch of old gear, including the capture card that launched a revolution: the DPS Spark. Thirteen years ago, this card changed low-cost video editing forever.
Read More
3 Comments
I compare an early 2009 and a late 2010 Mac mini with a three-year-old MacBook Pro.
By Adam Wilt | October 11, 2010
At work, I have a big, snorting, hairy beast of a MacPro, but at home I want something small, quiet, and abstemious with the power—yet still capable of dual-screen HD editing with reasonable playback performance when I need it. I've tested two Mac minis, with GeForce 9400M and 320M GPUs, alongside my older 15" MacBook Pro with a Radeon x1600 GPU, and the results are... interesting. They may be applicable to recent MacBooks with the same GPUs, too.
Read More
3 Comments
I hold an EPIC in my hands, and get a glimpse beneath the covers and behind the scenes.
By Adam Wilt | September 26, 2010
[Update 2010.09.27: Spanish version / versión en español with thanks to / gracias a Carlos Zapater.]At five minutes to midnight on 13 September, I received a short message from RED Digital Cinema's Jim Jannard: "Want to come to the studios and get a sneak peak of EPIC and the soon to be famous HDRx?" Eight days later—this past Tuesday, at high noon—I stood at the gates of RED Studios in Los Angeles, not really sure what to expect.I wasn't disappointed.
Read More
12 Comments
RED's approach to HDR capture works better than it should.
By Adam Wilt | September 23, 2010
Last week, Jim Jannard at RED invited me to come down to RED Studios to talk about EPIC and HDRx, RED's new High Dynamic Range capture mode. I made the trip this past Tuesday, and had the opportunity to sit down with Jim, Jarred Land, and Deanan DaSilva for three hours. Here's what I learned about HDRx; a report on EPIC will follow.
Read More
17 Comments
Little low-light 60i handycam with 64GB of built-in storage and a sharp, stable image.
By Adam Wilt | September 14, 2010
Sony's HXR-MC50U (US$1695 list, $1499 street price) is a fit-in-your-fist handycam shooting 1080/60i and recording AVCHD (and SD MPEG-2) to 64GB of built-in memory and/or a removable card (Memory Stick or SDHC). A back-illuminated sensor gives it great low-light capability, and infrared "NightShot" mode lets you shoot in utter darkness. Active SteadyShot adds superb stabilization, and the supplied shotgun mike offers tightly focused sound. [Update: typo: it's 64 GB, not 64 MB!)
Read More
19 Comments
Production stills from Art's August evening outing with a prototype Alexa digital cine camera.
By Adam Wilt | September 06, 2010
Seen Art Adams' writeup on his Alexa shoot? I have a whole mess o' photos from that long, cold evening...
Read More
3 Comments
Arri's Michael Bravin shows off the Alexa at the Digital Cinema Society in San Francisco.
By Adam Wilt | August 04, 2010
Just a quick note: The DCS meeting in San Francisco this Tuesday (yes: this coming Tuesday!) will focus on the Arri Alexa. The meeting will be at BlueSky Studios from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Read on for details...
Read More
2 Comments
Comparing Canon HDSLRs to video and cine cameras at high ISOs.
By Adam Wilt | August 01, 2010
The blogosphere is all a-twitter (and the twitterers are all blogging) about how good HDSLRs are in low light. I thought it would be interesting to compare the Canon 5D Mk II and Canon 7D with a couple of video cameras as well the RED ONE M and M-X, and see just how well they all perform at high ISO settings.
Read More
7 Comments
The HPX370 offers 50/60Hz AVC-Intra and DV-format recording, and improves noise, sensitivity, and skew over the HPX300.
By Adam Wilt | July 29, 2010
The Panasonic AG-HPX370 (US$11,700 list; $9,200 street price) is a 1/3" 3-MOS shoulder-mount HD camcorder with interchangeable lenses. It records everything from 480i to 1080p in 10-bit AVC-Intra 50/100 and 8-bit DV/DVCPRO50/DVCPROHD formats, with variable frame rates in 720p. Its MOS sensors capture a true 1920x1080 image with remarkably high sensitivity and low noise; and its "rolling shutter" skew is comparable to other affordable high-quality CMOS cameras like the PMW-EX series Sonys.
Read More
6 Comments
DBA Createasphere