We got an early chance to run some tests with the new Canon C300 mkII, the successor to the popular Canon C300. With 4k recording, high framerate options, 444 12-bit recording, and up to 15 stops of dynamic range, this camera has a lot to offer. Check out our First Look review of the new camera (above).
The Canon C300 mark II is available now for rent!
Here’s a taste of our drone cinematography from the past couple months, shot on the DJI Inspire quadcopter. Rent the Inspire with an experienced operator for your next shoot!
Our Newtek Tricaster 460 was out in action this weekend on a crew services gig, managing the live-edit and recording of the UDEF Style Elements Crew 21st Anniversary breakdancing competition in San Jose. Using three Panasonic GH4 camera feeds, audio inputs from the floor and commentators, and a pre-loaded bank of images and video for screen overlays and commercial breaks, we cut and live-streamed the competition to the UDEF website.
View the replay of the live-stream above and check out images below courtesy of individuals’ Instagram accounts. The first image is the live stream and the second shows the event commentators, director, and technical director on the Tricaster.
The one consistent piece of gear that you’ll find in the majority of Studio B set photos is the BLUESHAPE battery. We use these V-Mount batteries to power most of our high-end cinema cameras, as well as several of our monitors and light panels. We own several of the 190Wh and 225Wh versions of the BLUESHAPE V-mounts, and rarely, if ever, have to switch them out and recharge on shoot days. These beasts can often power a fully-loaded camera for an entire shoot.
We’re so happy with them that we like to share. Our cinema cameras, like the Red Epic, Scarlet, or Sony F5, rent out with three BLUESHAPE batteries and a dual-bank charger included in the package.
The last couple months have been so busy at Studio B that we’ve neglected to post about our newest Sony cameras, the Sony PXW-FS7 and the Sony a7S. Both are amazing cameras, especially when compared with their low prices. The FS7 rivals the Sony F5 or the Red Epic with its 4k internal recording, 14 stops of latitude, and high frame rate options– all for a much lower rental day-rate. It records up to 180p in HD and up to 60p in UHD (3840×2160), all in 10-bit 4:2:2 with the option of S-Gamut3Cine/S-Log 3 encoding. What’s more, the Studio B FS7 rental comes with your choice of an EF or PL lens mount adapter, in addition to the basic Sony E-mount on the camera.
Above: The FS7 with a Metabones Speed Booster EF-mount Adapter, and the Canon L-series 16-35mm EF zoom lens.
Below: Flying the FS7 on the Porta-Jib Traveller, with a Panasonic 17″ Director’s Monitor in the background.
We’ve used the FS7 as the main camera, or as the B-cam to the F5 on several of our most recent shoots, including the Tesla spec spot, Tencue Netsuite event video, and the Adobe Creative Cloud & Photography and Adobe Warriors spots. Here is the test shoot we did on the first day we had with the FS7.
Below: Shooting on the FS7 with the Canon CN-E 30-105mm Lightweight Cinema Zoom Lens.
The Sony a7S is a much smaller, lightweight DSLR option for the more independent videographer. It rivals the Canon 5Dmk.III in price, but blows it out of the water in low light shooting and with its 4k output capability. The a7S records in 50mbps XAVC 4:2:2 in camera to SD cards, and outputs 4k to be captured with an external recorder such as the Atomos Shogun. The main selling point is the low-light capability, which allows this camera to shoot in near complete darkness with an ISO range of up to 409,600.
Below: Low-light comparison between the A7S and Panasonic GH4, by TJ Donegan (seen here).
Both cameras are available today for rent and come with all of the necessary accessories (media, lens mounts, batteries) to pick up and shoot. Just mount a lens and you’re ready to go. Check out Studio B Camera Rentals for these cameras and more.
The Studio B Camera Rentals website is all new! New layout, product categories, pictures, and descriptions, and new design all around. After several years of the previous layout, we decided to switch to a WordPress template for easier editing capabilities and a simpler, more elegant design consistent with the parent company site at studiobfilms.com.
Big thanks to Otterly Designs for designing and build the site from the ground up; Erica at Otterly did a fantastic job turning our ideas into a reality. You can see the site up in Otterly’s portfolio.
Check out all the new pages and features of the site today: studiobcamerarentals.com