CANON LAUNCH NEW 4K CAPABLE CAMERA

Exciting times ahead, as Canon recently announced the addition of a new camera to their EOS Digital Cinema Camera range.

 

Following on from the success of the C300 (announced last year), Canon have announced the new C500, which is based on the existing C300 design, but is now equipped to output RAW 4K  picture to an external recording unit.

 

The C500, sits at the higher end of the EOS Digital cinema family, has a fixed grip  (unlike the C300), several different additional shooting modes to the C300 and the ability to output both 2K and 4K resolution, whilst at the same time also offering the operator full 1080p HD. Canon have announced that the price tag upon shipping dates (expected Autumn this year) Will be approximately £16,000. The Canon C500 will also be available with a PL mount version, just like the C300PL before it.

 

Yuichi Ishizuka, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A had this to say about the company’s latest and proudest announcement,

“With the unveiling of our Cinema EOS System last November to great acclaim, Canon marked our full-fledged entry into the motion-picture production market. To further serve the needs of Hollywood’s premier filmmakers, Canon is developing the Cinema EOS C500 and Cinema EOS C500 PL digital cinematography cameras, which deliver the added benefit of full 4K motion-image capture to the Cinema EOS System.”

SONY REVEAL NEW CAMERA TO JOIN THE XDCAM FAMILY

Exciting news for the video, television and film industry, as Sony announce the launch of a new light-weight and compact, yet fully featured camera to the XDCAM range.

The PMW-100 is Sony’s brand spanking newest and smallest addition to the XDCAM HD422 series, meaning it is capable of recording both 1080i and 1080p at upto 50MBps making it suitable for industry standard broadcast, and yet is still Handheld.

The camera is equipped with the newly developed 1/2.9-inch “Exmor” CMOS sensor, which means it delivers excellent picture performance, and because of it’s handheld, light-weight body makes it a camera for use in virtually any production scenario or environment, especially where flexibility, speed and space are paramount.

The PMW-100 also allows operators the flexibility of recording media, with the high-speed SXS Cards (also developed by Sony), Memory sticks and SD cards.

Bill Drummond, Strategic Marketing Manager of Sony Europe. had this to say about the new addition, “The PMW-100 combines exceptional picture quality with portability and outstanding manoeuvrability based on the proven XDCAM workflow, taking professional users to a whole new level of productivity. The development of the PMW-100 is a natural step in the progression of the XDCAM range and is a direct response to our customers requirements. Long-time XDCAM users requested a light and compact camcorder that will not only work seamlessly on its own, but also alongside other XDCAM cameras such as the acclaimed PMW-500,”

 

We at All Ablaze Productions are very excited about the announcement, and are very much looking forward to getting our hands on one of the Sony PMW-100s for a test whent hey begin to ship in early May 2012.

Sony prepare for new announcement at NAB 2012

This year’s National Association of Broadcasters trade show in Las Vegas sees Sony set to make a ‘sepcial announcement’. There is a lot of speculation around this mystery announcement, as last year’s NAB 2011 saw Sony unveil the prototype for the 4K resolution camera the F65, and with recent releases of and releases of the full frame 35mm F3, the industry waits with baited breath for their announcement, which they are keepign quite close to their chest.

“Despite challenging natural disasters, 2011 has been a year of discovery and success. Notably, OLED and F65 technologies have broken new ground in producing superior image quality. We also understand that speed and reliability of workflows is key for our professional customers and products like XMPilot and our media asset management solutions have encountered strong pick up throughout the world ” said Olivier Bovis, Head of AV Media, Sony Professional, Sony Europe

“At NAB 2012, we will show that our ability to innovate has been fueled by customer insights and will continue shaping the broadcast industry, bringing the audiovisual and IT worlds ever closer.”

 

There you have it, just a teaser, but watch this space, and wit for the revealing of whatever it maybe during the NAB show in Las Vegas from 14-19th April.

Save a local independant cinema for future generations

Light House cinema, founded in 1986 and formally opened by Mayor of Wolverhampton in 1987, has launched a campaign to save the independant cinema  based in Wolverhampton for future generations of cinema goers across the West Midlands region, by trying to raise funds to upgrade and convert  all of its cinema screens to fully digitial. For the last decade, since the start of the ‘digital revolutiuon’ in films and media, digital projection is the way forward for cinemas looking to future-proof themselves, with most large UK cinema chains having already switched to digital projection, it is important to preserve the future of this independant cinema for future generations of cinema-goers, and fans of independant cinemas alike. Check out the link below to read more and to show your support.

 

http://light-house.co.uk/visit/save-your-local-cinema/