I’m in Vegas for NAB… but with no luggage, so no clothes or camera kit. Grrrrrr
Anyway, Sony have released details of the new PMW-320 shoulder mount camera which is basically a 1/2″ version of the PMW-350. This is a camera that a lot of people have been waiting for. As far as I know it has an all new optical block and sensors that are said to be better than those in the EX3 etc. You can read the full product details by clicking here.
I’m watching the first episode of the new season of Dr Who on the BBC HD channel and there is a woman wearing a black colored police uniform, except it isn’t quite black. The stab proof vest is very slightly maroon in some scenes. There are black plastic pieces attached to the vest and these are completely black, but in many of the exterior scenes the vest has a distinct red tinge, as does the Dr’s tie. In other scenes it’s completely black. This looks very similar to the near-IR contamination you can get with an EX1. Other than that the pictures look really nice, very high detail, yet with controlled DoF, rich colours and very clean. Anyone know which camera Dr Who is shot with?
UPDATE:
So it’s a Sony F35. Other than what possibly may have been some near IR contamination, I thought these were some of the best HD images I’ve seen on TV. It really looked great. Lets hope that we see more productions using the F35. I did at one point say that the F35 was 2/3″, which of course it is not, it is a 35mm size sensor (Thanks for the correction Dave C). One of the nice things about Dr Who was the way DoF was used. There were many scenes with very deep DoF, loaded with fine detail that looked amazing and there were also scenes where shallow DoF was used to good effect. But what was nice IMHO, was that the producers didn’t go over the top with the DoF, it was never so shallow or so deep that it detracted from the story telling.
The last couple of days provided some really spectacular skies with amazing vapor trails and fluffy clouds. So I grabbed a selection of cameras and shot a bunch of timelapse which you can see cobbled together in this clip. I used a Sony PMW-350 and a Canon 350D and 550D. Amazing how well they match after a quick grade. I also included an previously un-used Aurora shot from Iceland at the end. The name of the clip comes from the fact that clouds are made of water vapor and ice crystals.
According to this news item Discovery, Sony and IMAX are set to launch a US 24hr 3D channel by 2011. If true this is an interesting and exciting development. This year ESPN are launching a US 3D sports channel and Sky are to launch their own 3D Channel in the UK. It would seem that the 3D revolution is starting to gather further pace. I’m still not convinced that it will ever become mainstream but I would love to see top end documentaries and movies in 3D. I’m still in the middle of a huge 3D corporate shoot and I hope to soon have news of some other exciting 3D projects.
I’m not going to write much here as if you look under the reviews tab at the top of the page you will see full reviews of both cameras. What I will say is I like them both. The PMW-350 is an excellent camera and I Think a 350 plus NanoFlash will make a very powerful combination.
I’ve added some frame grabs from the EX1R in the forum here.
And a PMW-350 frame grabs here. As soon as I get decent internet access I’ll post some more, Im in Ireland today running an EXperience event for Sony.
The Sony USA XDCAM EX micro site has a rather large headline saying that “Something BIG is coming on 20:10:09″. As this is only on the XDCAM EX micro site it is a pretty strong hint that they are going to launch a new XDCAM EX product. Certainly it will be worth coming back here or checking the Sony UK site for more news on Tuesday.
I have a busy few weeks ahead. Starting on the 20th of October I will be presenting a short session on the use of XDCAM HD and it’s file based workflow as part of the Televisual Roadshow which will be touring the country at the end of October and beginning of November. If your in the area do drop in and say hello. I’ll be blogging regularly from the events with any news and gossip.
On the 21st of October I will be running an EXperience event at Temple Bar, Dublin for EuroTek. For a place at the event please contact EuroTek. If you are considering purchasing either HDV or XDCAM these free events are well worth attending.
I’m still trying the best way to run the Master Classes that any of the roadshow attendees have requested. These will be one or two day hands on events where we will go through the entire XDCAM EX or XDCAM HD workflow, from camera setup to editing and camera write back. If you would like to join one of my Master Classes please contact me: alister -at- ingenioustv dot com.
Those clever boffins at Sony have unveiled a new 3D camera that shoots at 240fps through a single lens. It’s certainly an interesting concept using a large lens ahead of a pair of mirrors that split the image into two light paths that pass through further relay lenses before finally falling on a pair of CMOS sensors. Sony say that one of it’s advantages is that the left and right images are so closely aligned that if you watch the 3D picture without any glasses the ghosting is so minimal that the picture is still viewable. This suggests to me that there is very little parallax (as you would expect with a single lens) so the 3D depth will be very shallow. Perhaps I’m missing something here, but I just can’t see how this would work in many situations. I have also heard that Sony are working on real time hardware to take a 2D HD image and turn that into 3D. Those that have seen this say it is very convincing. Maybe this is the way 3D television will go forward, not with bulky and expensive cameras that are difficult to use, but with clever electronic processing. The latest Harry Potter film is being re-mastered into 3D using special software that analyses scenes and works out what is in the foreground and what is in the background.
You can read a more in depth article on the HFR-Comfort 3D camera by clicking here.
Whatever cameras appear and whatever technologies emerge it certainly looks like 3D is here to stay this time round. I will be running a 3D Master Class in Iceland early next year if anyone is interested in having a go in some spectacular scenery.
Perhaps I’m missing something here, but I just can’t see how this would work in many situations. I have also heard that Sony are working on real time hardware to take a 2D HD image and turn that into 3D. Those that have seen this say it is very convincing. Maybe this is the way 3D television will go forward, not with bulky and expensive cameras that are difficult to use, but with clever electronic processing. The latest Harry Potter film is being re-mastered into 3D using special software that analyses scenes and works out what is in the foreground and what is in the background.
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