Adam Wilt is a software developer, engineering consultant, and freelance film & video tech. He's had small jobs on big productions (PA, "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", Dir. Robert Wise), big jobs on small productions (DP, "Maelstrom", Dir. Rob Nilsson), and has worked camera, sound, vfx, and editing gigs on shorts, PSAs, docs, music vids, and indie features. He started his website on the DV format, adamwilt.com/DV.html, about the same time Chris Hurd created the XL1 Watchdog, and participated in DVInfo.net's 2006 "Texas Shootout." He has written for DV Magazine and ProVideoCoalition.com, taught courses at DV Expo, and given presentations at NAB, IBC, and Cine Gear Expo. When he's not doing contract engineering or working on apps like www.adamwilt.com/cinemeter, he's probably exploring new cameras, just because cameras are fun.
Just a few bits ‘n’ pieces I saw at NAB, in between working a booth and running to meetings… This is as close as I ever got to this Canon XC10, an oddball little camera that drew crowds in inverse proportion to its size. It’s a $2500 1″ 4K camera that also shoots stills. It has a fixed 10x f/2.8-f/5.6…
SmallHD always has something interesting to show: last year it was the DP7 7″ monitor with built-in LUT generation; this year it was the 502, a 5″ 1920×1080 monitor that converts to the Sidefinder EVF (tap any picture for a larger image): The 502 has a decent complement of exposure and focusing aids, with a unique interface: instead of toggling a viewing…
At NAB 2015, Panasonic gave private demos for members of the Cinematography Mailing List, discussing the Varicam 35 and the AG-DVX200. Here, reproduced with permission, are some of the slides from those demos. Some corners are cropped and the perspective is a bit odd because I was seated well off to the side; I distorted these pix back to some…
Panasonic announced a firmware update for the GH4 to add proper anamorphic support: 3328×2496 (1.33:1) recording at 23.98, 24, 25, or 29.97 fps. 4:2:2 10-bit HDMI output for external recording. New electronic shutter speed of 1/16,000 sec. Available later this month. [UPDATE 22 April 2015: GH4 Version 2.2 now available here.] Anamorphic shooters have previously been able to use the GH4’s…
Today at NAB, Panasonic announced a new large-single-sensor 4K handheld: the AG-DXV200: Specs: 4K 60p capable, 4/3″ imager, fixed 13x Leica Dicomar lens, 5-axis stabilization, 12 stops latitude, requires UHS Speed Class 3 SD card for 4K recording, V-Log gamma curve. Available in the fall of 2015 for a suggested price under US$5,000. No word on weight, and no hands-on:…
Doin’ the HDMI-DownRes-ProRes Shuffle… Convergent Design’s Odyssey 7Q+ firmware version 5.10.100 includes the ability to take in a 2160P (4K or UHD) HDMI feed and record it as 1080P (2K or HD) ProRes. I’ve been working with a beta version for a while; here are my thoughts and impressions. Odysseys have previously been able to accept 2160P raw feeds from…
[Update 23 March: event coverage at Sound & Picture.] The Digital Cinema Society is having its annual Lighting Technology Event in Burbank, California this coming Saturday, 21 March. Almost twenty manufacturers and vendors will be showing off incandescent, fluorescent, and LED lights, as well as the various bits of grip & electric equipment used to position lighting instruments and affect the quality…
This past week, the first four-lens sets of Veydra Mini Primes for MFT cameras started shipping to Kickstarter backers, resellers Hot Rod Cameras and Duclos Lenses, and rental house LensProToGo (page loads scrolled down; scroll up to see rental info). My set arrived on Wednesday: I previously wrote about the Veydra Kickstarter project, including a short Q&A with Veydra founder Ryan…
Last December I did a series of side-by-side test with a variety of lenses on my GH4: T1.9 Ultra Primes, T1.3 Mk II Super Speeds, and T2.2 Veydras, all dedicated cine primes; two T1.5 Rokinon DS cine primes, based on still-camera lenses; Nikon and Voightlander still primes; and the Lumix 12-35mm and 35-100mm still zooms. I’ve already written up the …
In which I test several color meters (an Asensetek Lighting Passport, two Sekonics, and a Minolta) side-by-side; compare the spectral quality of various lights; and may have figured out one reason why color meters often overestimate required tint corrections. (Updated 10 March 2015 with more info on the C-700.) I bought the Lighting Passport for some product development work I’m doing, along…