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Filed under: Cameras •Editing •Hardware •Lighting •NAB 08 •Post Production •

Snapshots - NAB 2008 Day 2

The Silicon Imaging SI2K

The SI2K (in its new, P+S Technik-designed bodywork) is a cost-effective ($16K if I recall correctly, but don’t hold me to that), 16mm-sized, single-sensor, 2K CMOS cine camera, using Windows XP as its core OS and Cineform RAW recording. RED gets all the buzz, but SI has also been delivering a solid digital cine camera, and in many ways SI is a more open, user- (and developer-)friendly system.

SI2K Mini (accessories not included)

SI also offers the Mini, with the same sensor and PL lens mount but with all the other guts removed to the far end of a cable. Yes, there’s a camera nestled in this rig; it’s smaller than the RED Scarlet. SI2K Minis are favorites of 3D filmmakers and others needing compact 2K imaging.

SI2K LCD display

SI’s user interface is an information-rich, touchscreen-driven LCD. Nothing intrudes on the active image yet all important controls are only a tap or two away.

Nila LED lighting

Nila was one of several serious LED lighting vendors present; I spent much of the day staring into LED lighting arrays and then stumbling around cursing the resulting temporary blindness. The Nilas claim environmental friendliness (long life, low power consumption) and high brightness— the grid at the upper right, comprised of six basic Nila “bricks”, drew 3 amps @120V and threw off about 1200W of tungsten-equivalent light, and was casting a pool of light on the Central Hall’s ceiling! One Nila brick runs about $1800, or $300 with a full set of focusing lenses, yoke, etc. Both tungsten-replacement and daylight-balanced bricks can be had.

Of course, Lite Panels was showing similarly tasty instruments with roughly comparable prices and performances, and Zylight offers a couple of small LED fixtures with fully tweakable colors (even using wireless networking to updated multiple fixtures from one light’s controls). The new Kelvin Tile from Element Labs, sold by Kino-Flo, also provides color tweakability. Even Prompter People has LED fixtures… I photographed Nila, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others with compelling products; one of the many messages I take away from this NAB is that LED lighting has truly arrived, big-time.

But there’s more than LED lighting; we spent time looking at Kino Flo and Mole-Richardson BIAX fluorescents, and Dedolights—probably the most elegant and precise incandescent fixtures around, though with prices to match. And I still have to go by Arri and look at their ceramic lighting.

Tomorrow: Panasonic, Angeneiux, Cooke, and more… I hope!

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The SI-2K is a wonderful camera, I thought the most impressive aspect of it was the touch-screen interface. It seems, hands down, to be quickest, simplest interface I’ve seen on a digital-cinema camera.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  05/03  at  10:14 PM

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