Category Archives:  Equipment

Highlight Tech: Joker-Bug

We offer the K5600 Joker-Bug lights in 200, 400, 800 and 1600 denominations. If you are looking for big light on a budget, the Jokers are an excellent choice with both the muscle and flexibility for single light set ups.

As you’d expect from a PAR the Jokers pack a punch in a small profile. With both large output and strong throw relative to their size. They’re great on location because of their fairly small power draw, although if you’re rocking a 1600 you’ll want to isolate it on the circuit. You can also run the Joker 200 and 400 off a battery belt if you are shooting in a location where there is no power available. Like any HMI the Jokers will take a couple of minutes to heat up to full illumination. Also plan for extra time for cool down before pack up.

The Jokers can be used with or without modifiers, but because of the high output you’ll want to a least diffuse through one of the kit lenses for most uses. A range of modifiers are available from softboxes to the Joker Big Eye profiled last week. Also, with the Joker Cross Over adapter, you can use it with ProFotos lineup of modifiers.

So if your looking for a powerful, flexible and affordable continuous light, take the Joker-Bug for a spin.

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Anna Fischer is a fashion and beauty photographer based in New York City. You can find her work on her website.

Highlight Tech: Joker Big Eye

The Joker Big Eye is a Fresnel modifier that fits the 200, 400 and 800 Joker heads.

The Big Eye gives you plenty of bang for your buck with a 24” fresnel lens that packs extremely small and weighs significantly less than most smaller fresnel housings.

The glass is frosted for a softer light than your average fresnels, and the large size gives it more wrap than a traditional fresnel but still maintains a strong contouring directionality. Because of it’s size it feels a bit like a beauty dish, offering broad directional light.

The Big Eye will Zoom to spot and flood. From 60% wide open focusing all the way down to 10%. At 10% you can produce a narrow directional but still soft beam. It’s important to note the Big Eye significantly reduces the throw of the Joker, especially when flooded; at a 50% spread you lose about half of the output every 5ft.

Full photometrics can be found on k5600′s site.

Overall the Big Eye is a flattering light for tighter portrait length video shots or still photographers who want to experiment with a beauty dish alternative.

Sony’s 4K Bombshell: F5, F55 and Prime Family

While residents in the New York Region were stumbling (or kayaking) out of their dwellings after the semi-apocalyptic Sandy on Tuesday, Sony gifted area filmmakers with a bit of solace as they tried to ignore that tree branch through the window and the water sloshing in the basement.

Even a storm closing the NYSE two days running for the first time since 1888 wasn’t enough to stop Sony from announcing a dizzying array of digital cinema goodies to update and extend its already formidable offerings. From two new 4k premium CineAlta bodies to PL prime lenses to the long-awaited solution unleashing 4K FS700 output to the first global shutter on a digital camera(!!!), there’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started…

Sony F5

The Sony F5 looks to be a placed as a complement to the F3, not a complete replacement. Pricing is unspecified but I speculate it assuming the pricing of the F3 at launch, probably stacked to against the C300, with the F3 taking a step in the direction of FS700 pricing, where it will still be differentiated by its S-Log and chroma sampling rates for users not in need of high framerates.

The F5 is an impressive top-to-bottom revamp addressing the F3′s few shortcomings, adding modularity, raw horsepower robust build and generous new internal and external codecs. Sporting a RED-style modular system and an Alexa style interface, the camera has borrowed some of the strongest elements of these two rivals. It also promises tons of pro recording options on-board, though with the caveat that many marquee features will arrive with firmware upgrades at unspecified future dates.

The newly designed Super 35 sensor is capable of quite a lot natively out of the box. Upon release, it will record a C300ish 8 bit MPEG-2 HD with 4:2:2 color at 50Mbps internally to SxS media, which will fit comfortably into existing broadcast workflows. But promised firmware updates will support an impressive cadre of internal recording formats, like 10-bit, 100 Mbps XAVC HD 2K at 4:2:2 at up to 120fps with no loss in (more…)

PhotoKina 2012: Zeiss offers 3 New Mirrorless Lenses, Fast SLR 55mm

Carl Zeiss has been firing on all cylinders the past few years, bolstered by growing demand for its cinema-oriented lenses, and at Photokina it addressed the photographic community, pushing into new product categories and recommitting to older ones.

First there is big news for mirrorless fans. Zeiss debuted three new lenses as some of its first steps into the mirrorless market, following its introduction of the 24mm f/1.8 prime introduced last year. These new lenses will fit Sony’s E-mount and Fujifilm’s X-mount. Zeiss has licensed the auto-focus protocols so these lenses will be auto focus, as well!

So far the new family is all primes: a 12mm f/2.8 wide, 32mm f/1.8 normal and 50 f/2.8 Macro.

But the Zeiss blog hints that zooms may be forthcoming: “We’ll start the family with prime lenses. Zoom lenses are an option that is still being considered.”

The X System only has a limited range of first party lenses, so the entrance of such a such a respected lens maker should have a bolstering effect for the standard among the Fujifilm faithful and those on the fence.

I think everybody was surprised by the lack of Micro Four Thirds lenses among its mirrorless offerings. While Sigma, Voigtlander, and Tokina have all invested in the successful system, Zeiss is still withholding development.

In addition to its Mirrorless offerings, Zeiss was showing off it’s new Apo Sonnar 135mm f/2.0, its longest offering in the medium telefocus range. It will feature the Zeiss “floating elements” and metal barrel that we’ve seen on the previous ZE and ZF.2 lenses.

Zeiss also announced a new family of SLR lenses designed for high resolution SLRs like the D800. The manual focus 55mm f/1.4 T* is first model to roll out and should be available to the public in autumn 2013.

So there is plenty of buzz-worthy news coming out of the Zeiss “tube” at Photokina, and more to look forward too as Zeiss expands its numerous new  lines.

Panasonic GH3 is a Video-Optimized Powerhouse

Long championed by a loyal cadre as an under-appreciated black sheep in the filmmaking world, the Panasonic GH2 had its retribution moment this past summer, when a hacked version of the camera was the surprise belle of the ball in Zacuto’s Revenge of the Great Camera Shooutout. Pitted against cameras up to a hundred times its price (really), it managed to win over none other than Francis Ford Coppola and other exclusive audience members in attendance as the favorite at Zacuto’s live optimized screenings, where each camera was presented anonymously against its competitors to prevent bias. The caveat was that the results were also highly influenced by how each camera team chose to add to the base lighting of the scene. In the test comparing the cameras apples-to-apples under one constant lighting scenario, they corresponded more closely to their price points. Still, it showed what the GH2 could be pushed to do.

Zacuto’s test propelled the GH2 into the spotlight. Just in time to capitalize on the massive upset, Panasonic has unveiled the successor, a camera drastically upgraded and reconfigured in practically every area and geared unapologetically towards video shooters (though its the top of the line stills camera from Panasonic as well). The GH3 is a full-fledged response to practically any complaint its lauded predecessor had leveled against it during its two year run.

The vibrant GH2 hacker community exposed massive unused potential in sensor and processor by unlocking higher bit rates and increasing high ISO range, among other enhancements. The result was pure magic, with video that was sharper and cleaner than cameras many multiples its price. The grain at (more…)

The Full-Frame Future is Upon Us: Nikon D600 & Sony’s SLT-A99, RX1, NEX-VG900

A Very Big Year for Full-Frame
2012 has seen a full revamping of the entirety of the traditional Canon and Nikon full-frame product lines. Those two companies have throughout the modern digital era lobbed back-and-forth assaults on one another in two categories: all-purpose models like the D800/D800E and 5D Mark III in the $3000-$3500 range, and supercharged cameras designed for specialty applications like sports and photojournalism at double the price.

Yet, in the past 24 hours, this clockwork-like pattern of incremental updates in defined product categories has seen a massive shakeup. Surprisingly (and admirably), Nikon is one of the disturbers of the peace. This generally conservative company has a lot to lose if it cannibalizes its bread and butter lines. But that’s exactly the risk it’s taking with the D600 entry-level full-frame.

Nikon D600
Time after time we’ve seen it demonstrated that if you don’t make your own products obsolete, your competition will for you. Apple famously undermined the very product that led to its resurrection in the early 2000s, the iPod, gambling big on a vision of a new kind of mobile phone, and winning untold riches in the process.

A more common refrain, though, are the missed opportunities monolithic companies make, which compound into a slow, almost imperceptible decline, eventually spiraling into sudden collapse.

Nikon seems to fit the latter mold. The 1 system, while winning over some soccer moms and japanese teens with its cute styling and simple interface, was mocked upon its release as a tepid, underspec’d entrant in the skyrocketing mirrorless market, whose elite members were already going toe to toe with enthusiast and semi-pro DSLRs in much smaller packages. The J1 and V1 seemed cynically calculated not to step on the toes of the traditional product lines. It seemed like a move by a company with too much skin in the game to make truly visionary leaps. Yet today Nikon has revealed a truly affordable full-frame with a killer spec sheet attached.

The D600 is essentially a cross between the D7000 and D800, arguably borrowing the best of both worlds at a price point ($2100 MSRP) smack dab in the middle. The camera body, closer in size to the enthusiast D7000, takes more styling and interface cues from the camera as well. It borrows its AF system, has dual SD card slots and USB 2.0 connectivity. The 24 megapixel sensor (presumably Sony-designed and Nikon-modified) brings it to the top of the megapixel heap, save for the D800.

On most other counts, the camera matches its big brother, the D800, from EXPEED 3 processor to 3.2 inch 920k LCD. In fact, for those who don’t need the billboard-sufficient mega-megapixels of the D800/E, the 24 megapixels on the D600 could provide low-light advantages in the video department, where the D800 languishes at higher ISOs.

Sony
Meanwhile, Sony has quietly been working on an entirely different roadmap, consistent with its propensity to forge new categories with an eye to future over present rewards. Yesterday it announced a raft of updates to its lineup, claiming three firsts in the full-frame arena:

  • The SLT-A99, the first full-frame camera employing its Single Lens Translucent (SLT)/EVF system
  • The NEX-VG900, the first dedicated video camera based around a full-frame chip and first E-Mount full-frame camera
  • The RX1, the first fixed lens and mirrorless rangefinder style full-frame

SLT-A99
This stout-yet-svelte camera is the long-awaited followup to the almost 4-year-old A900. That camera, while no slouch when pitted against its nearest rivals at the time, belonged to the B.5D. (before 5D Mark II) era of straight photographic devices. The Mark II, which would be announced a week later, held the secret sauce which would, for the next generation, redefine the definition of the camera as a multi-media tool, empowering a new generation of Indie filmmakers and shaking up the entire video world.

The A99 is a thoroughly future-looking update, hell-bent to not be outdone as the multimedia DSLR of choice, and designed to wrest control from the big two with pure bleeding edge technology, leading the way among full-frames in its class for video features, including 1080/60p, an AVCHD 2.0 codec, clean HDMI out, and a multi-peripheral hotshoe allowing for additions like XLR inputs.

The A99 incorporates Sony’s single lens translucent technology, which employs a semi-transparent mirror which allows a small amount of light to be diverted to the always-on Phase Detection AF system. The system also allows for an all electronic viewfinder sending a live signal directly from the sensor to your eye, with a class-leading 2.4 million dot image in place of the classical optical system used in other traditional SLRs.

The EVF has advantages and disadvantages, depending on who you talk to. On the one hand, you get a live preview approximation of the changes you’re making and can have HUD features, such as a live histogram and settings overlayed on your image. On the A77 I played with last year and the NEX 7 I own, this turns out to be a huge advantage. You can even get a preview of the completed shot as you’re shooting. You can get focus assist and peaking for manual focus and video shooting. Removing your eye from the viewfinder becomes a much rarer occurrence. On the downside, despite its industry-leading resolution, the digital image can still not replace the clarity of looking through a large, bright optical viewfinder. It’s getting there though.

At $2800, the A99 is $200 and $700 cheaper than its intended competition (though the D600 surely blunts this coup, somewhat). Still, it’s taken for granted that Sony is in an uphill battle with the Big Two, and must offer more for less to wrest market share and encourage investment in its system.

RX1
Sony has finally done it. A full-frame sensor is now in a mirrorless, impossibly compact body. Remarkably, the camera is smaller in width and height than the APS-C based Fujifilm X100. Only the fixed 35mm F2 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* lens costs it the dimension Triple Crown. Like the X100 this product is definitely niche, especially when its $2800 price tag and lack of viewfinder is taken into account.

The Fujifilm X100 is ostensibly its nearest competitor, though at less than half the price and with a sensor 2.4 times smaller, I doubt there will be much overlap in audience. On the other end of the spectrum, it could give the Leica M9 a run for its money, at a fraction of the cost, with a killer lens and the manual aperture control ring giving a hint of that old school experience, with the luxury of AF and first rate video. The third, rose colored glasses way of looking at the camera is that it has no direct competitors, and will mop up as an unchallenged anomaly designed for an very real, if idiosyncratic, audience.

It’s a tool for street photographers and photojournalists, and I suspect it will find a small but devoted following in that category, those for whom the X100 is too flawed and the M9 too costly for its dearth of cutting-edge technology. I’m tempted myself, as it seems to fit the bill for most of my shooting. In my personal work, I rarely veer from that angle of view, and would love a fast and quiet camera full-frame camera to surreptitiously capture the life of the street.

NEX-VG900
Sony’s strength has always been incorporating its vast proprietary bleeding edge technology portfolio into its cameras. Its weakness has always been lenses. Its new E-mount, though still experiencing a native lens drought, has the considerable advantage that owing to its incredibly short flange-mount distance, with an adaptor, pretty much any glass can be affixed to NEX cameras. This is especially valuable in the digital cinema arena, where AF is still an afterthought on 99% of shoots anyway.

The main question with this camera is: is there a market for a prosumer camcorder with a full-frame look? I can see an offshoot of Sony’s Digital Cinema Cameras, like the F3/FS700/FS100 incorporating this sensor, though the choice of a run-and-gun style body kind of contradicts the purpose of the unique, super-shallow cinematic look full-frame provides.

The Irony of it all
Fifty years ago, “full-frame,” i.e. 35mm, was the smallest format you could reasonably expect to work with. APS sized sensors are an offshoot of a failed amateur-oriented film format introduced by Kodak in 1996. The digital era has brought us on a long, slow slog back up to parity with the minimum quality of a couple generations back.

Of course, this simplifies the situation. Digital has evolved ease of use, allowed productivity and workflow gains, and provided tangible progress in areas only digital technologies can provide consistent gains, like High ISO performance and noise control. But that we’d be counting our lucky stars to have an affordable 35mm equivalent capture size would surely seem ironic to even amateur photographers of yore, considering Brownie cameras had larger capture area over a century ago. In any case, here we are, back where we started, and full-frame imaging is fast becoming the new normal. And I have to say, it feels pretty good.

iPhone 5 for Photography and Video

iPhone 5 cameraApple just announced the true heir to the iPhone 4 (none of that S stuff) with a broadly revamped design and a raft of new features. Of course, giving special coverage to one phone so clearly in the consumer category seems beside the point amidst the raft of new announcements coming in the wake of IBC and leading into Photokina next week.

But com’n, this is no ordinary phone. This phone’s last two iterations hold the top two spots of most-used cameras on Flickr, and the top four among camera phones (the 3G makes the list!). Hell, this phone could shift US GDP prospects. And, this particular device has broad adoption among working photographers and photojournalists. This is confirmed both anecdotally, based on my observations in my daily interactions with industry professionals, and well-established in the media. The iPhone is a has a lot of fans among pros (Annie Leibovitz among them).

So what does the iPhone 5 offer image makers?

Optics
The new body is taller and lighter and most notably, 18% thinner. Thinner is generally bad for optics, and Apple forced the “iSight” into a 25% thinner package, costing the camera any improved specs. So on this front Apple managed to remain merely constant, making up for the crippling parameters by maintaining the five element, f/2.4 lens and 8 megapixel sensor of the 4S. Additionally, however, it boasts “precision lens alignment” and a new durable and clear sapphire lens cover.

Hardware
Apple says the new A6 chip has a 2X faster CPU over the A5, and a doubled graphics boost to boot, while still managing to reduce size and increase efficiency. The speed bump allows for a 40% faster image capture over the 4S, which was already quite zippy. Absent hard numbers, I’d say we’re approaching consumer P&S shutter speeds with this latest update.

Photos
The iPhone 5 makes up for its surface spec-deficiency with some clever software tricks. It has a new dynamic low-light mode, which uses an algorithm evaluating nearby pixels to enhance low light performance up to 2 stop. The image processor reduces noise and includes a “smart filter” for better color matching. The camera also sees a trickle down of an increasingly popular feature among consumers: the panorama sweep. Starting with the camera in a vertical position creates a luxurious 28 megapixel file, with artifacts from moving objects and shaky hands removed in-camera.

Apple, hoping to break one of the few oft-cited criticisms of the company – its inability to crack into social sharing – is taking another obvious foray into the crowded but still up-for-grabs photo sharing sphere with Photo Streams (how Flickr didn’t wrap up this market with its seemingly interminable head start is beyond me… oh yeah, Yahoo bought it). The service allows you to share photos over with specific friends and family of your choosing.

Video
The video retains the 1080p resolution of the previous incarnation (I don’t think we’re ready for 2K phone videos just yet). The camera features improved Image Stabilization over the 4S. Also a long-missing consumery feature, facial recognition, is included. The camera also includes a feature I’ve noticed in prosumer offerings like Nikon’s 1 series and Sony’s RX100, allowing for uninterrupting photo snaps during video recording. There are now three mics, on the front, bottom and back and noise cancellation technology built in. Finally, the iMovie app has been updated, though Apple didn’t go into details during its presentation.

Display
As everyone knows, the display is critical when showing work to clients and colleagues alike. The 4 inch display has 44% “better” color saturation and full sRGB rendering. The added real-estate on the 336 ppi, 1136×640 retina display is of course welcome, as is the aspect ratio for filmmakers, which is much closer to 16:9.

Is It For You?
As everyone knows, the iPhone is so much more to working image makers than a compact camera or even a phone. “Personal Digital Assistant,” SIRI’s self-described role, doesn’t even do justice to just how central the device has become to our productivity, not to mention social lives. With updates and enhancements across the board, from maps to calendar to LTE connectivity (!), the device won’t have to rely on having the best camera to compete in this dynamic playing field. With elite competition on all sides, the iPhone brand carries such caché, all Apple has to do is not majorly screw up. And its lucky for that: Nokia’s PureView technology already blows everything else out of the water. But considering the, frankly, shocking growth of mobile photography in the past year alone, the imaging capabilities of the camera you always have on you are certainly a major factor to consider, especially for professionals.

What do you think? Are the iPhone 5 camera updates enough to entice you, or has another cameraphone already won your heart?

Hasselblad Announces H5D Cameras

Hasselblad has revealed the followup to its H4D camera system in advance of next week’s photokina biennial imaging fair. The press release, though short on specifics, nevertheless points to a wave of enhancements and refinements to the system.

First and foremost, the guts have been enhanced. Faster processors and improved motor drive and focus algorithms promise to speed up the capture process. The second generation True Focus II technology promises immediate focus confirm. The viewfinder is brighter and larger than the competition, with a sturdier eye cup to boot. A grippier material and enlarged buttons lend the design new ergonomic comfort. Updated graphics and interface improvements promise a more straightforward and intuitive user experience.

The system will come in 40, 50 and 60 megapixel flavors as well as 50 and 200 megapixel Multi-Shot versions. Additionally, the cameras will ship with both the proprietary capture software, Phocus, as well as the latest version of Adobe’s Lightroom, potentially a bolstering step against Phase’s industry-standard Capture One software.

In addition the Swedish company announced the addition to its enviable lens lineup, in the form of the HCD 4.8/24mm lens, equivalent to a 17mm on a 35mm system.

Fashion Week Filmmaker Interview: Paolo Baroni

We caught up with Milan-based DP Paolo Baroni outside the Lincoln Center Fashion Week Pavilion about what he’s shooting with and the challenges that come with capturing this hectic event.

Adorama Rental Company: Who are you shooting for?
Paolo Baroni: We’re shooting for IMG

ARC: What setup do you have here?
PB: Scarlet with a Canon mount. I do prefer Nikon lenses, since I’ve had them for years, so I just bought a Nikon adaptor, and I use mostly Nikons with a Canon adaptor. I’m waiting for the true, official Nikon adaptor from RED.

ARC: What accessories do you have here?
PB: Usually I have the 5-inch monitor and the touchscreen. But you know traveling, with backpacks, you try to minimize your gear. I’m shooting also 5D stuff, and I’ve brought the Zacuto EVF, which is really sharp and then the RED itself has got the magnifying and the edges features, so you don’t really need a big monitor to focus.

I just bought the new Redrock blue microFollowFocus because I like hard stops, especially when you’re doing runway. You just set the beginning of the runway, and the end of the runway. Shooting details is not easy, especially if you can’t close the lens too much because of the lights. So if the runway is well-lit, you can close more, and it’s easier to focus. If you have to shoot like f/8 it’s a little bit tricky, especially if the runway is long. So hard stops really help.

I really like Bricks instead of Red Volts, because 30 minutes, it’s like you switch it on, and then it’s done. So two hours and a half, at least, with the brick. And I’ve got a handle. As you can see it’s pretty compact.

ARC: Are  you shooting full-res?
PB: Yeah I’m shooting 4K every time. [Our team is] mixing a lot of stuff, like Sony EX, Panasonic, 5D and RED, but mainly, when you want some details like hair – beauty stuff, 4K really pops out from the monitor more than the other cameras. Like closeups of the eyes or lips or nails, it’s gonna be more ‘beauty’ in the beauty shots.

ARC: What’s the client looking for?
PB: Actually the client is looking for everything and nothing. They want establishing shots, they want to see the people, the mood, sometimes they want to see just the venue, they want wide shots and sometimes interesting closeups of people interacting, inside and outside the venue, in the lobby. They have different points and you try to accomplish day-by-day what they ask. So it’s not about the gear itself, but more about what you can get from the gear for a special request. For wide shots? Okay, crisp lens, 4K – it’s a very detailed wide shot. If you wanna go with closeups, a 5D with a 50mm (for out of focus stuff) is good enough. 100 macro 4K for eyes is the best shot you can get from backstage.

ARC: And what’s the final output? Is this for the web?
PB: Mainly the official website. Something for YouTube. Something Blu-Ray. Something on the monitors inside the lobby, streaming. So it’s really different. The final taping is always Full HD, so shooting RED is going down-res, but it’s really nice if you want to zoom in or crop something out. For runway if you don’t set the proper white balance, or maybe if the designer is complaining about colors of some textures or other things, you can fix that later with the RAW.

ARC: Do you do a lot of Fashion work?
PB: Every city in the world. All the Fashion Week’s for IMG.

RED Announces B&W EPIC-M Monochrome

RED, never one to back away from a risky but potentially fruitful market, just announced the EPIC-M Monochrome. The entire camera is optimized for B&W recording with custom firmware and a specialized sensor that allows the debayer to be removed, preserving net resolution and sharpness.  RED’s Jarred Land has revealed that David Fincher is already using it for his current project.

It’s an exciting move for the niche community interested in a custom solution for high end B&W filmmaking, with an option which may finally rival film in dynamic range. B&W is an artistic choice which has grown increasingly popular in the last few years, with easy conversion techniques making their way into popular and specialized color grading applications. But nothing can match the image optimized for B&W directly in-camera.

Modern classics, like Wings of Desire and American History X, reintroduced audiences to the magic of the medium, while still failing to bring B&W into the mainstream. I can still recall the sense of wonder when watching Jim Jarmusch’s 1995 film Dead Man, which took advantage of then-modern B&W film technologies to produce an image of unsurpassed beauty, with a strikingly rich range of tones from black-and-white. Until that moment, I’d always thought of black-and-white as anachronistic, belonging to another era, and not a living media, which could be utilized today.

Monochrome images have a distancing and abstracting effect upon the mimetic nature of photography, removing it by degrees from the descriptive qualities of color which we see around us. As anyone who has shot with black-and-white film, the experience of shooting in black-and-white requires a totally different way of seeing, one that takes into account totally different factors – contrast, light and shadow interplay – to achieve emotional poignancy.

RED joins Leica, which earlier this year announced the M-Monochrom, in offering a high-end custom solution geared towards black-and-white enthusiasts. Hopefully, this latest option will fan the growing flame of black-and-white fervor and bring this vibrant medium into greater relevancy in the modern day filmmaker’s toolkit.