4k Tag

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28 Aug Sony F5 Hacked, Can Shoot 4k Internally

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

The Sony PMW-F5 has just been hacked to shoot internal 4k XAVC video. This is big news, of course, because one of the biggest differences between the F5 and the more expensive (almost twice as much!) F55 was the ability to shoot 4k internally, without needing to purchase a separate AXS-R5 4k recorder. There has always been speculation that the F5 was capable of internal 4k, and this new discovery proves both that it’s capable, and that Sony has intentionally disabled the functionality of the F5. See cinematographer Paul Ream’s short Vine video below to see the 4k resolution readout on the F5 screen.

Ream, who discovered the hack, goes on to explain the process of hacking the camera on the ExtraShot podcast here. Start listening around 19 minutes to jump straight to his explanation, which is remarkable in that he does not change the firmware nor tweak the physical hardware of the camera in any way. Instead, he merely edits the camera settings via a text editor on his computer.

Of course, we’ll need to wait and see if others can replicate his results, as well as wait for Sony’s response. The company may choose to not respond at all, much like Canon and the Magic Lantern firmware hacks on their DSLRs, but the debate will continue about the ethics of artificially limiting a camera’s capabilities only to sell more higher-end models and accessories. Futhermore, if there’s enough backlash over this discovery, Sony may choose to update the F5 firmware to allow internal 4k, essentially making the F55 obsolete (at least for the price) and alienating F55 owners who’ve already made the purchase. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out.

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01 Apr Blackmagic Production Camera 4k vs Red Epic

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Motionctrl.de recently posted a comparison video between the Blackmagic Production Camera 4k and the Red Epic, shot it in Frankfurt, Germany. It’s not quite a fair comparison, as we’re looking at a $3k camera body vs a $40k body, but it’s nice to see them side by side to get a glimpse at the capabilities of each camera. Check out the video below.

It’s always hard to compare cameras from a few short clips via web-compressed video, but I think it’s clear that the Epic footage looks noticeably better than the BMPC 4k. There’s a distinct gap in the dynamic range, and the Epic comes much closer to the cinema look that everyone’s striving for with their digital footage these days. There’s also the problem of highlight clipping on the Blackmagic, seen at 1:10 (the little purple dot over the sun). This is something that Blackmagic can hopefully fix with a firmware update soon, though it hasn’t happened yet.

Nevertheless, I would say that the BMPC 4k still holds its own against a much more expensive camera body. It’s not an equal comparison to begin with, and the filmmakers note this in the description: “This test is by no means scientific or should prove which camera is better or whatever! The intention was to check, if these cameras will work together as an A and B-Cam setup.” Unfortunately for comparison’s sake, it appears that the filmmakers used different lenses on each camera (noticeable in the lens flaring), and this isn’t even RAW footage from the BMPC- only ProRes. Despite the shortcomings of the comparison, however, the footage from the BMPC 4k still looks great for the price, and could definitely work as a b-cam under tighter budgets.

For the best image quality, renting a camera package like the Red Epic is still the way to go. But while the Epic remains one of the high standards for digital cinema, it’s exciting as an independent filmmaker to see better and better images from increasingly cheaper cameras.

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04 Feb Arri Amira Camera Price Announced

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Arri Amira

The specs and design of the new Arri Amira camera have intrigued us since its announcement last year, but the lingering question on the back of everyone’s mind has been what the starting price will be. Last week Arri announced the base price point for the Alexa’s ENG-Style little sister, which will ship at different tiers of pricing for your choice of configurations.

The most basic version of the Amira camera body with a viewfinder will be $40,000. This features Rec709 ProRes 422 HD recording up to 100fps. Above that, the middle level configuration will include LogC, ProRes 422 HQ to 200fps, in-camera grading, and a few more extra features. Lastly the high-end version features 2k resolution at ProRes 4444 and custom 3D LUT controls. The lens mount, battery plate, and shoulder pad will be customizable for each option.

The mid-level camera is priced at $45,000 and the highest option is set for $51,500. And perhaps needless to say, these price points only cover the basic essentials, so expect to pay more for other necessary accessories like media, lenses, audio, and camera rigs.

When the Amira was first announced, many questioned the lack of 4k recording capabilities. While 4k would help future-proof the camera, the argument against it was that the Amira has a niche purpose as a run-and-gun ENG-style camera, for documentary or news video rather than for cinema. This and its touted 14+ stops of dynamic range, low-light capabilities, and the pedigree that comes from the Alexa’s success helped to change most critic’s minds. The hope, then, was that the Amira would be a bit cheaper and more affordable to independent videographers.

It’s too early to know if the $40-50k price range is too high or not, but I think it’s safe to say it is well out of most people’s budgets. Most of the popular digital cinema cameras being used today come in well below that, price-wise, but then again Arri has proved with its previous digital camera models that studios will pay the high price for quality. A breakdown of which cameras were shot on in Oscar-nominated films this year proves that the Alexa is quite popular in Hollywood, though that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Expected shipping date for the Arri Amira will be after March 2014. It remains to be seen if it will be a popular camera purchase, but there’s no doubt it will be a hot rental item later this year.

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18 Jan CES 2014: Larger Resolution, Smaller Packages

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

If there’s one thing to gather from the video products announced at the Consumer Electronics Show last week, it’s that “4k” is more than just a passing fad. All of the major electronics companies seem to be jumping on the bandwagon, with 4k televisions, projectors, and cameras.

For example, among several other companies’ 4k TV announcements, Samsung unveiled 105″ and 85″ bendable 4k TVs, while Sony showed off their new 4k Ultra Short Throw Projector.

Samsung Bendable 4k TV Sony 4k Ultra Short Throw Projector

Both look like really sleek solutions to one of the main problems with 4k footage: the inability to view it at full-rez on your current TV or computer screen. Now, finally, the monitoring options are catching up to 4k cameras like the Red Epic or Sony F5, (though with 8k cameras already in production, it looks like the resolution arms race won’t stop there).

And while camera resolution keeps getting bigger, the size of the cameras themselves keeps shrinking. One of Sony’s big announcements at CES was the FDR-AX100, a handheld consumer 4k camcorder.

Sony FDR-AX100

Although this seems like it could be more of a gimmick to sell cameras based on the “4k” buzzword, the technology is there to where we can get very high quality images from such a small package.

The wild popularity of the GoPro line of cameras speaks to this. With such a small form factor and a high quality image (4k even, at low framerates), the GoPros allow for completely unique perspectives in filmmaking– such as affordable aerial cinematography with the DJI Phantom quadcopter.

DJI Phantom Quadcopter

This year at CES we saw new GoPro accessories like the robotic camera operator Jigabot AIMe and the Steadicam Curve, proving that the range of applications for these tiny cameras is getting wider every day.

Steadicam Curve

If these trends continue we’ll have cinema-quality 20k footage coming from a pinhole camera within a couple years, but for the time being we’ll gladly stick with 4k, as the sheer volume of recorded data is putting enough stress already on the Studio B servers.

Get with the trends and rent a 4k digital cinema camera or GoPro today!

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22 Nov New Arrivals: FS700 and Odyssey 7Q Recorder/Monitor

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

FS700Banner

We’ve got some exciting new additions to our camera lineup but we’re most excited about the arrival of our new Sony NEX-FS700. While this camera has been out for over a year now, firmware and hardware updates have had time to be released enabling a myriad of new functions to the FS700 including the ability to shoot in 4k Raw @ a continuous 60 fps or 120fps in burst mode. While the FS700 is more widely known for its ability to shoot at a buttery smooth 240fps in 2k, this function only becomes available with an external recorder.

Ergonomics:

This is where the Odyssey Recorder comes in. With its integrated monitor, the 7Q compared to Sony’s own IFR-5 Recorder has the added benefit of shaving off weight and bulk off the rig enabling it to be more compact for whenever the need for a shoulder/ hand held shot arises. While this isn’t the most scientifically accurate size comparison between the two recorders, you can gauge from the photos below just how much of a difference this could potentially make. The body is almost an exact clone of the older FS-100 so anyone familiar with that camera will feel right at home with it’s younger, more able-bodied brother.

Screen Shot 2013-11-22 at 10.12.26 AMO7QBracket1

Pros/Cons:

While the camera stumbles a bit in low light, its ability to shoot continuous 2k footage at 240fps allows the user to do what they can’t on other mid level professional cameras. Another thing to be weary of is the slight bit of aliasing that is introduced while shooting at the highest frame rate. I wouldn’t go as far as saying these are shortcomings: more so tiny nuances that are eclipsed by the camera’s unique features. The built in ND filters and insane frame rate should keep this setup as the go to choice for anyone doing sport/outdoor shooting or anywhere the high fps required/desired.

We now have both the FS700 with EF mount for Canon glass and the 7Q External recorder available for rent at Studio B Rentals. Call today to reserve a camera package!

External Links:

A nice little video showing off the varying rates of slo-mo available on this camera: http://vimeo.com/43056694 

More technical breakdown of the Odyssey 7Q: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JDNQNocsuo

 

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