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Watch Garrett Brown Demo Two New Steadicam Designs

Tiffen is getting ready to release two new iterations of Steadicam. First, the Solo: a lightweight post and platform for cameras under 10lbs that mounts to a stabilizer arm or can be handheld, and also transforms into a monopod. The Curve is a miniature version of the Merlin design for GoPro cameras that also converts into a hard mount. No information yet about pricing and availability.

The Solo is a great concept and is kind of a throwback to one of Garrett Brown’s original Steadicam designs, which was just a center-balanced post mounted to a handheld gimbal. At first glance, the Curve seems a bit silly and the Solo even looks a bit cheap, but in the hands of a master like Brown you can see just how well they actually work.

Check out this video below, courtesy News Shooter. Brown shows off both the Solo and the Curve, and the way he handles both makes the MōVI look like a set of training wheels.

NABshow Wrap Up: Lenses

Thursday sees the conclusion of NAB 2013, and it’s been just as eventful as any of the previous years, if not more so. 4k (aka UltraHD) has cemented itself as more than just hype, and the entire show seemed to revolve around creating bigger and better images. Our wrap up will examine how each element of the imagemaking process advanced this year, and we’ll do it installments.

First up: lenses.

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ARC @ NAB 2012: Cinevate Sliders

 

Cinevate President Dennis Wood guides us through the range of cinema sliders the company offers for smooth dolly shots, which we’ll be adding to ARC’s arsenal in the near future.

We discuss models designed to meet different needs for ruggedness, weight, portability and price. The Atlas FLT is a compact and lightweight slider for DSLR shooters. The Atlas 10 is the big brother of the FLT, also very light and portable, with 7 tripod mount points and capable of loads up to 40 lbs. The Atlas 30 is a rugged but ultra-smooth system founded on parallel aluminum rods. And finally, the Atlas 200 is a professional grade solution with 1″ chromed solid steel rods and with a load bearing capacity of up to 200 lbs.

NAB 2012 Roundtable Wrapup: Surprises, Trends & What’s Next

The Crew at NAB (l to r): Nathan Pardee, Miguel Goodbar, Nathan Lee Bush, Daniel Gurzi

Adorama Rental Co. had four team members scouring the the floor of NAB 2012. We asked each of them what they think about this year’s biggest surprises, biggest takeaways and what they expect to see next year.

Daniel Gurzi, Director of Digital Cinema

Biggest Surprise: Blackmagic’s Digital Cinema Camera. It’s a great entry level item for both them and the end users. It’s also nice to have an affordable video camera in the DSLR price range to help renegotiate the differences between stills and motion.

Biggest Takeaway: 4K trickle-down. There is A LOT of new gear coming out. 4K should just about be finding itself as an official standard in the next year or so which is already beginning to trickle down to the consumer level.

Next Year: Lenses! There are a lot more low cost lens options coming to market. Look for the industry to start shedding more and more film gear and continue developing lower cost digital equivalents.

Miguel Goodbar, Director of Business Development

Biggest Surprise: What no one expected was to see a 2.5 K, 12-bit RAW uncompressed camera for $2,995. But somehow, Blackmagic (more…)

ARC @ NAB 2012: Canon C500, 1D C & 4K Monitor

 

Adorama Rental Co’s Miguel Goodbar meets with Canon’s Chuck Westfall to discuss the new 4K flagship cinema camera, the EOS C500, EOS 1D-C 4K cinema DSLR, new compact cinema zoom lenses and concept 4K display.

We find out who these cameras are aimed at, where the 1080p C300 fits in the range, and why Canon has its sights on 4K.

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ARC @ NAB 2012: Angenieux Optimo 28-340mm T3.2, 19.5-94mm T2.6, & Optimo Servo Unit

 

Miguel Goodbar of Adorama Rental Co. talks with Jean-Marc Bouchut of Thales Angenieux about the new PL-mount cinema lenses optimized for 5K video, including the Optimo 28-340 T3.2 and the Optimo 19.5-94 T2.6, as well as the Optimo Servo Unit for zoom and iris control for run-and-gun shooting.

Jean-Marc also shares some of the French company’s storied history in the development of cinema.

 

 

ARC @ NAB: K 5600 Joker 1600 & Alpha 1600

Adorama Rental Co. catches up with K 5600 to check out some of the new continuous light fixtures they have they have.

The first is a Joker Bug 1600, available with two different optic kits, a standard kit like that from the 200, 400 and 800 Jokers, as well as a lensless beamer optic, option.

The Alpha 1600 fresnel is the junior version of the 18K and (more…)

ARC @ NAB: ARRI ALEXA Plus, M & Studio

The ARRI ALEXA Studio

Miguel Goodbar talks with Stephan Ukas-Bradley of ARRI Digital Cameras about some new concept technologies in development, software updates adding features like additional codec support, and peripherals on the way for the ALEXA family.

He discusses the ALEXA Plus, which adds lens metadata tracking and an integrated wireless remote control, the ALEXA M modular camera for action and (more…)