Cinoflex power-distro baseplate for the Canon C300, plus accessories. Yes, you can bulk up a C300 to the size of a CineAlta HDCAM!
I attended Cine Gear Expo on the Paramount lot in L.A. earlier this month. When I wasn’t busy discussing the FS700, I had a chance to walk around and look at a few of the unusual things on offer…
PRG Best Boy automated spot luminaire.
Calling PRG’s Best Boy “a light” is like calling 007’s Aston-Martin “a car”. It’s full of unexpected tricks and surprises; something common in the concert and event lighting world, less so in filmmaking. Yes, it throws light (using an HMI source); it also colors it, zooms it, and animates it with moir©s, gobos, patterns, and shutters, all under remote control.
Best Boy guts; this open-frame demo unit is pointing straight up.
“Two rotating gobo wheels, six gobos per wheel.”
“CMY color mixing plus designer color wheel.”
A Sony VCL-ECU1 wide-angle adapter reflecting the LED lighting of its display case and surroundings.
Some background for the following photos: I gave NYC doc filmmaker David Leitner a lift Saturday morning; we stopped for breakfast at Astro Burger and David said we should look at the two Luma Tech Illumina Mk II Super35mm primes he was carrying.
Extracting the outer shipping box from its bubble-wrap padding.
The shipping box cannot withstand the application of breakfast cutlery.
The inner box revealed: is fine Russian lens from St. Petersburg.
David Leitner: “it’s a nice looking lens”.
Checking out the optics on the 50mm T1.3.
The Illumina MK-II 50mm T1/3.
Illumina Mk-II 50mm T1/3, demo version.
The Illumina MK-II 35mm T1.3’s closed iris petals form an elegant flower.
These demo lenses appeared to be well built, and their focus and iris rings turned very smoothly. However we were a bit distressed by the amount of dust present in lenses; there was some unevenness in the antireflection paint, as you can see in the image above; and one of the lenses was missing one of the four screws securing the rear ring (the one with “Luma Tech Demo” inscribed on it). Hmmm.
Next: more lamps, bent lenses, gearheads, local sights, high-speed digital and film cameras, and more…
Phantom Miro M320S high-speed camera with Alphatron EVF at Abel Cine.
Radiant Images showed two LED edge-lit filters, which fill shadows like the old Lightflex System.
These filters (alas, I don’t recall what Radiant Images called them) work by suffusing the image with a wash of light. One filter offers variable color balance from daylight to tungsten, and functions like the bias light in a tube camera, or pre- or post-flashing film stock, adding a slight bit of luminous energy to lift the shadows, reduce contrast, and increase apparent sensitivity. The other uses RGB LEDs, allowing Lightflex-like control over the shadow color (as in the 1982 film “The Dark Crystal”), like split-toning a photograph.
I’m not sure if these were developed in-house at Radiant Images or if Radiant was just showcasing them; you should contact ’em for further info if you’re interested.
Convergent Design’s Gemini 4:4:4 SSD recorder.
This Gemini (a $6000, full 4:4:4 recorder using 1.8″ SSDs) was on the back of the Alexa that had the Radiant Images filter on it.
Litegear showed off their LED lighting components.
Another vendor (I think this was Osram) highlighted colored LEDs.
Korea’s DMLite used this tableau to showcase their LUMOS LED fixtures.
I didn’t even notice the really small sewing machine (to the right of the upright bobbins) until I was prepping this photo for posting!
The much-improved Gearnex head is still available through Filmtools.
Innovision’s Probe II Plus helps this RED ONE guard the craft services table.
Hard cases for GoPros from Calzone Cases.
Low-voltage power-distro rails and taps in Solid Camera’s Unity F65 system.
Yes, there’s an NEX-FS100 in there… somewhere inside this Solid Cameras rig.
Metal halide lamps from Wolfram Lights: 12,000 watts, and up.
Not your everyday manhole cover.
The Society of Operating Cameramen had this elegant Panavision Panastar-II Platinum on display. It shoots 35mm from 4 to 120fps.
In-Sync is the industry’s canonical classified-ad rag. It was handed out wrapped with a Bongo Tie.
Seen while walking from Paramount to Sim Digital for the CML gathering.
LA has installed LED-array streetlights on Clinton street south of the Paramount lot.
The LED streetlights cast the most interesting shadows.
Perhaps the only advantage of flying through LAX is the Disney Imagineering-designed Encounter Restaurant.
Disclosure: Sony provided me with airfare, lodging, and one meal at Cine Gear Expo 2012, as I was giving a presentation on the FS700. Aside from that, I was responsible for my own expenses, and when I was not talking about the FS700 my time was my own. Neither Sony nor Cine Gear Expo influenced my coverage in any way, nor did any of the vendors whose products are described above.