Cameras
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2022 in Cameras
2022 was a quiet year for camera technology, thank goodness. The decade plus I’ve been covering camera breakthroughs on this website has been a rocket ride. So much velocity, so little time to stop, catch one’s breath, smell some roses. Ask yourself, who can any longer tell the difference between film and digital origination on the big screen? Be honest. No less than Roger Deakins declared film a dead issue half a dozen years ago. His latest, Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light, shot using Arri Alexa Mini LF (large format) and spherical Arri Signature Primes, is a loving paean to […]
by David Leitner on Dec 31, 2022 -
Facebook Unveils an Open-Source 360-Degree Video Camera
Facebook introduced Surround 360, a high-end video camera, today at F8, the company’s annual developer conference in San Francisco. In reality, Facebook unveiled a reference design for the VR video camera, which it plans to release as an open-source project on GitHub this summer. In other words, Facebook will not be producing the camera. Instead, Facebook is open-sourcing the camera in order to encourage developers to take the design and create their own version of the camera. “In designing this camera, we wanted to create a professional-grade end-to-end system that would capture, edit, and render high-quality 3D-360 video. In doing so, we hoped to meaningfully […]
by Paula Bernstein on Apr 12, 2016 -
The One-Cam: Under the Skin’s Customized CCD Camera
Eventually we’ll stop posting about Under The Skin but today is not that day. Last month, I ran a featurette from A24 about the film’s guerrilla style execution. The production rigged Johansson’s vehicle with eight hidden cameras, recording her improvised interactions with any given passerby in real time and with maximum coverage. Now, we have yet another featurette that gets into the specifications of said cameras, called “One-Cams,” which were developed especially for the occasion. For the van sequences, the VFX studio One of Us rigged a CCD camera (about the size of a GoPro) with anamorphic super 16 lenses. Though the rest of the […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Apr 30, 2014 -
The Two Big Camera Announcements at NAB – AJA’s CION and Blackmagic’s URSA
There were two big camera announcements at NAB yesterday. First up AJA is entering the camera market with CION. This is a 4K camera with global shutter that has the ergonomics and connections of a more traditional camera. It’s priced at just under $9000 for the body and a power adapter. However there’s some things to keep in mind. It’s PL mount only so the lens options will be pricier. It also only takes AJA PAk Drives which run about $700 for 256 GB and $1300 for 512 GB, so media will not be cheap. And you’ll need to get […]
by Joey Daoud on Apr 8, 2014 -
ARRI Reigns Supreme at the Oscars
Setlife Magazine has generously compiled the technical specifications of the films nominated for the Cinematography, Directing and Best Picture Oscars, and let’s just say ARRI shows up more than once. All of the Cinematography nominees were photographed on an ARRI (3 Alexas versus 2 Arricams), with a mix of Panavision, Zeiss, Cooke and Angenieux lenses. Also noted were the films’ negatives and prints, which bandied back and forth between Kodak and Fuji. Only her (C300) and The Wolf of Wall Street (EOS C500) opted for Canon, in addition to their arsenal of Alexas and Arricams. Notably absent is any sign of Red. […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Jan 20, 2014 -
Blackmagic Releases v1.5 with CinemaDNG RAW
Today, Blackmagic Design announced the release of the first and long-awaited software update for their Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. The 1.5 upgrade adds a 12-bit Log CinemaDNG RAW recording file so users can capture extensive dynamic range — the brightest highlights and darkest shadows — in a single file. The new addition will allow for lossless quality when images are decompressed, and greater flexibility in the color grading process. Further, users can begin editing or color correcting directly from an SD card, which will facilitate the post-production workload. A nice function for a camera that runs under $1000. The Blackmagic […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Nov 12, 2013 -
Test Footage and Drawbacks of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
Many pundits predicted a serious shakeup when Blackmagic announced their new Pocket Cinema Camera back at NAB in April. Priced at just $995, the Super 16 handheld, complete with 13 stops of dynamic range, seem poised to encroach upon DSLR’s steadfast popularity. As the camera underwent initial shipments in August, homegrown test footage began popping up here and there. Dan Chung, co-editor of News Shooter, recently took his BMPCC out for a spin in the Sanlitun area of Beijing — at night. The experiment yielded mixed results. Armed with a Voigtlander 17.5 mm f0.95 lens to maximize light on the […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Sep 4, 2013 -
Which Camera for Which Genre? Five Questions for D.P. Timur Civan
As an undergrad at NYU, Timur Civan studied sculpture before moving into video. “I became really interested in video because I was able to bring time into my sculptural work,” he says. Civan has produced a wide variety of work, from short films, music videos, and corporate videos, to commercials and documentaries. He recently DP’d Vincent Laforet’s intro for the M?VI digital 3-axis gyro-stabilized camera gimbal. He has an affinity for experimenting with unusual gear, and finding new in-camera effects. Civan spoke to us briefly at a recent presentation he gave at Rule Boston Camera: Filmmaker: How did you first get […]
by Michael Murie on Jun 26, 2013 -
Shooting in Snow and Ice with the Canon C100: Interview with Ben Pender-Cudlip
Ben Pender-Cudlip is a Boston-based documentary filmmaker who recently switched from shooting with a DSLR to the Canon C100. His first project shot on the C100 was a short that included a segment on ice climbing. In this second part of our interview with him about switching to the C100, Pender-Cudlip talks about the project and what it was like to use the camera in these conditions. Filmmaker: How did this project come about? Pender-Cudlip: It’s a film for a woman named Lauren Schaad. She approached me about shooting a TV pilot. She was looking to get into reality TV […]
by Michael Murie on Jun 4, 2013 -
Switching from a DSLR to the Canon C100: Interview with Ben Pender-Cudlip
Ben Pender-Cudlip is a Boston based filmmaker who specializes in nonfiction work. His short film Sanjiban, which chronicles the passing of filmmaker Sanjiban Sellew, premiered at Hot Docs last year. Ben recently switched from shooting on a DSLR to the Canon C100. In part one of this interview he talks about his experience switching to the C100, and in part two he talks about the first major project shot with the camera: documenting an ice-climbing expedition. Filmmaker: What were you using prior to getting the C100? Pender-Cudlip: Before the C100 I was using a Canon 60D, which is sort of […]
by Michael Murie on Jun 3, 2013
