At a private demo on Wednesday, Matt Plec demonstrated several of the major new features that will be in Nuke 5.2 and 6, as well as the new NukeX. Here’s what I learned.

Version 5.2

Nuke 5.2 has a few major features for a dot-release, including the first one listed here, which I wish were in certain other compositing applications:

• pre-comping via an outside project – update the upstream comp and the changes ripple into all projects using it
• native playback of R3D
• expanded support for 1D and 3D LUTs and OpenGL
• video monitor output via Blackmagic, Aja Kona and Xena
• expanded Python and medadata capabilitiies

Nuke 5.2 is scheduled to be released later this quarter.

Version 6.0

The most salient upgraded features in version 6 are said to be the roto and paint tools, which will have a more powerful UI for controlling unlimited masks and strokes, per-vertex feather, per-shape motion blur, support for keyframe animation and tracking, and more.

Nuke 6.0 is scheduled for a third quarter 2009 release.

NukeX

There was also an overview of the special NukeX release, aka “Nuke Pro” or version 6x, which incorporates The Foundry’s own Furnace Core toolset, along with Keylight and a built-in 3D Tracker supported by an automatic lens distortion tool.

Related to that was something completely new to any commercial software, specially debuted by Simon Robinson: the first automated tool for removal of rolling shutter artifacts. Even when not immediately apparent these “jello vision” wobbles due to sensor scan lag are a matchmoving nightmare, so this tool nicely complements a built-in tracker.

NukeX 6.0 will be a free upgrade to owners of a valid maintenance contract at the time of release, which is also scheduled for third quarter 2009.