Sunday, November 30, 2008

Nikon’s Top DSLR Is No Video Camera

Scott Gentry | 11/30- 10:44 PM

Bucking a trend set by the D90 and the Canon 5D MKII

Why write about a DSLR on a pro video site?  With the Canon 5D MKII all the rage, as well as the fervor mounting over the new RED cameras, it’s almost surprising that the new top of the line Nikon isn’t touting video as a prowess.  This camera is no slouch by any means.  It sports a full frame sensor and lots of Nikon love.  Check out the camera, more images, and the press release on our sister site, ProPhoto Coallition.

Newly developed Nikon FX-format CMOS sensor (35.9 x 24.0 mm sensing area)

24.5 million effective pixels

Superior-resolution image quality equivalent to medium-format digital cameras

High-speed continuous shooting of up to approx. 5 frames per second in FX format (24.5 megapixels) / 5:4 (20.4 megapixels); 7 frames per second in DX format (10.5megapixels)*1

Wide ISO sensitivity of 100 to 1600 at normal setting, with low noise performance

Two Live View modes — Handheld and Tripod

High-density 51-point (world’s largest number*2) AF system

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Events: DCS & MFM discuss CineAlta; FCPUG SuperMeet; Broadcast Video Expo

Adam Wilt | 11/26- 05:20 PM

Three months, three events, in the SF Bay Area and London.

Get out, meet people, see cool things, and learn stuff. December: Learn about CineAlta cameras and different recording gammas in Cupertino. January: party with the FCP faithful at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. February: the UK’s own miniature version of IBC takes place at Earl’s Court in London. Be there, or may your pixels be ever non-square.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Liberating segregated HDTV sets

Allan Tépper | 11/26- 10:28 AM

Unfortunately, many of the latest-generation HDTV sets sold in the USA are segregated, but we can liberate them partially…

Unfortunately, many of the latest-generation HDTV sets sold in the USA are segregated, meaning that they cruelly block 50Hz signals on their video input. In some cases, they simply show no picture, while in others, they put up an unfriendly message stating: “Unsupported format”. However, as I explained in my recent comparative article on HD players, both AppleTV and WDTV fortunately liberate these segregated HDTV sets so that they can play 50Hz material (25p, 50p, or 50i) with no problem, along with ±60Hz material. My comment here regarding segregated HDTV sets refers to distribution, since for professional production and post-production, I highly recommend the use of professional HD monitors. So far, all of the professional HD monitors I have used personally or have researched are all free of segregation nonsense and play all desired signals.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Double Your iPhone Battery

Richard Harrington | 11/22- 06:51 PM

Long days in the field… phone keeps going

I know some of you hate iPhone posts (sorry)....

But here’s something I just had to gush about.... The mophie Juice Pack iPhone battery is shipping. I had the original battery pack, but with the new form-factor for the 3G phones, I had to upgrade. Here’s the specs:
* Standby Time – Up to 350 hours
* Talk Time – 6 additional hours on 3G | 12 hours on 2G
* Internet Use – 6 additional hours on 3G | 7 hours on Wi-Fi
* Audio Playback – 28 additional hours
* Video Playback – 8 additional hours

This device is absolutely awesome and lets me get through a long day of business.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Why Pro Res Should Be Your Only Res & The AJA IoHD Part 1

Kevin P. McAuliffe | 11/20- 09:24 AM

Unboxing the AJA IoHD, and setting up

I thought that for this next article series, I would take a look at Apple’s biggest addition to Final Cut Studio 2, and that is the inclusion of their newest QuickTime codec, Pro Res 422 (and Pro Res HQ).  Most editors might think “Big deal, I can already edit in HD, so why would I use Pro Res?”.  Well, I’ll tell you why.  First of all, you get real-time HD capture across HD-SDI at 8 or 10-bit.  You also get HD frame sizes at SD file sizes (in all major HD formats), you get a codec that gives you quality that is almost as good as codecs that you are currently using to edit HD with, and the best part is that you can edit in Pro Res 422 and Pro Res 422 HQ in the comfort of your own home on FireWire hard drives.  Oh, and did I mention that because it’s “Pro Res 422”, you are working in a true 4:2:2 color space?  Until Final Cut Studio 2, Avid has thrown in our faces the fact that they have great quality, compressed HD for their editors to work with, and Final Cut editors don’t.  Well, not anymore.  The big advantage we have over Avid editors right now is choice.  We can choose the hardware we want to use as our input/output device, and Avid editors really don’t have the choice.  So that brings up a very interesting question.  How do you actually get Pro Res into your system and edit with it?  High end post production houses use MacPros that you can install HD capture cards into for all your editing needs, but what about the rest of us?  Now I know that some editors might think that editors who don’t use high end MacPros aren’t professional, and are only working on corporate and wedding videos, which is completely untrue.  I am currently working on thirty webisodes of a show that I am editing in Pro Res that will be shown exclusively on the web, as opposed to on television.  Let’s take a look at how professional editors can edit anywhere with AJA’s IoHD and Apple’s Pro Res 422.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

AppleTV, WDTV, or Blu-ray: Which one is best to distribute your HD project?

Allan Tépper | 11/20- 09:28 AM

Even if your HD project isn’t destined to be shown over the air, you’ll still want your client be able to play it on an HDTV set

Even if your HD project isn’t destined to be broadcast over the air, you’ll still want to have your client be able to play it on an HDTV set, not just on a computer. The good news is that you have several options to make that happen, including Blu-ray, AppleTV, and the brand-new WDTV device from Western Digital. During this transitional period, it is often the producer who influences the client as to which HD player to acquire. Many producers even incorporate the cost of one of these HD players in the project price and then give the device to the client “as a gift” with the first HD project, if the client doesn’t already own any HD player. It’s great to have options, but you must understand them fully (both their strengths and weaknesses) in order to pick one, two of them, or all of them, depending upon the exact format of HD you have produced, the hardware you own (or are willing to buy), the type of client, and the type of delivery. This article will help you learn the details that will help you make the appropriate decision.

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