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Blackmagic Cinema Camera Sensor Glass Issues Delay Shipments
Unfortunately for those of you that have been waiting to get your hands on the new Blackmagic Cinema Camera, will have to wait just a little longer.
Issues with the Blackmagic sensor glass has meant that the company has had to hold back pre-orders, until new fixed components can be manufactured and installed
Blackmagic explains a little more about the delay and the problems they are experiencing with the sensor glass.
“Over a month ago now, we completed the testing of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and started production. Very quickly we started to see cameras failing our production testing as they suffered from blemishes on the sensor. These are high end cameras so need to be built to a very high specification.
We started testing to discover the cause of the problem and discovered that the problems were from our second shipment of sensors. The first shipment of sensors were fine. All the cameras you currently see people using had been built from this first batch of sensors and that is why we did not see any issues until we started to build cameras in volume.
While investigating the problem our engineers found the blemishes were in the glass that covers the sensor, and not the sensor itself. This is good because the glass might just be dirty so we saw this as a quick fix, but wondered how a supplier could deliver us sensors that had blemishes, as they are supposed to pre test them … When talking with the supplier, it turned out they had a bug in their test software that tested sensors after the glass had been applied. That’s why they shipped us bad sensors and did not notice. They fixed that problem and could then see the problems we saw and stopped production as about 95% of sensors were suffering this problem with the glass” Blackmagic Design”
To recap the $3,000 Blackmagic Cinema Camera features a super wide 13 stops of dynamic range, high resolution 2.5K sensor, built in high bandwidth SSD recorder, and open file format support to name just a few of its features.
Source: Slashgear
Canon Cinema EOS C100 hands-on (video)
Late last month, Canon added yet another model to its Cinema EOS line — the C100 captures 1080p video, rather than the 4K clips enabled with the C500, but it also costs a heck of a lot less, at just shy of eight grand. It also offers some other nifty features, such as a pair of built-in mics and a duo of XLR inputs at the front of the top handle, SD card slots on the rear and a new autofocus button — it’s not a continuous solution, offering only single-shot, but it sure beats not having the feature at all.
The camera is surprisingly lightweight, given its size and capability, and can be held quite comfortably with a single hand, as we did during our hands-on at Photokina earlier today. With a modular design, the camera featured a 3.5-inch 920k-dot LCD in its current configuration, and offers the standard suite of ports, including HDMI output with embedded time code. It also includes an ISO range of 3200 to 20,000, a maximum shutter speed of 1/2000 second and a built-in ND filter. The C100 is expected to hit stores in November for $7,999, but you can take a closer look right now in our gallery below and the hands-on video just past the break.
New $3,000 BlackMagic Cinema Camera Features 2.5K RAW Format Recording
BlackMagic has unveiled a new addition to their range in the form of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Which features a revolutionary digital cinema camera design, and a built in solid state drive recorder. With enough bandwidth available to capture open standard CinemaDNG RAW, DNxHD or ProResformats.
The Blackmagic Cinema Camera also features super wide 13 stops of dynamic range, high resolution 2.5K sensor, built in high bandwidth SSD recorder, and open file format support to name a few. BlackMagic Design explains:
“One of the most important features of the camera is its super wide dynamic range of 13 stops, allowing feature film quality images. Commonly people focus on more pixels, however often this just creates a higher resolution, but still “video” looking images that suffer from highlight and black clipping that limits details.
Blackmagic Cinema Camera’s wide dynamic range eliminates this problem and provides film quality with dramatically more detail retained in black and whites in the image. Once the shoot is complete, the included DaVinci Resolve color correction software can be used to adjust images and take advantage of this extra range in the images. The high quality EF and ZF lens compatibility also helps create sharp and cinematic images that look incredible.”
Blackmagic Cinema Camera will be available July 2012 for US$2,995 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide. For full details and specification of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera jump over to the BlackMagic Design press release.
Source: BlackMagic
Canon Cinema EOS C500 camera hands-on (video)
The familiar EOS-1D C isn’t the only Canon camera to make its public debut ahead of NAB. The Cinema EOS series welcomes a third model to the collection this week, with looks that nearly match last year’s C300. Unlike that model, which you can already pick up through e-tailers and at specialty shops, the C500 has a long way to go before it gets a shipping nod — it may not even make it to market in 2012. The $30,000 price tag may pose an even greater barrier to entry than its to-be-announced availability date, however, and may in need of some tweaking before it’s ready to compete with already established models, like the much less expensive RED Scarlet. Like the 1D C, the C500 can shoot 4K video — the most apparent upgrade from the $16,000 C300. To that end, boosting its price tag may be the only way for Canon to avoid cannibalizing that less-abled flavor, since many cinematographers would otherwise pay little attention to the C300, due in part to its 1080p-limited shooting capabilities.
Canon Cinema EOS-1D C 4K camera hands-on (video)
It’s been but half a year since Canon first entered the motion picture market, and the company is already back with its second and third professional video rigs. The Cinema EOS-1D C marks the most drastic departure from the C300, which launched last November at an elaborate Hollywood event at Paramount Studios. It was at this spectacle that we were first introduced to the 1D C, which was then but a glass-protected prototype. Now, far sooner than expected, the (relatively) compact camera is making its return to the spotlight, in more polished form. Like the 1D series bodies that bear similar monikers and appearances, including the yet-to-ship EOS- 1D X, the C model is a very capable still shooter, offering the same core functionality of the $6,800 X. It also brings 4K capture to the table, however, prompting Canon to price the camera far above its less-abled counterpart. At $15,000, we don’t expect to see red C logos popping up in many a photojournalist’s gear bag, but for deep-pocketed professionals with a need to capture 4K clips, this may be a worthwhile acquisition.
Canon EOS C500 is a Pro Level 4K RAW Cinema Camera
The Canon C500 was announced today alongside the Canon EOS 1D C. Both offer 4K video capture; however, the C500 is clearly targeted toward the higher-end Hollywood user.
The C500 supports 4K-resolution video and outputs as a 10-bit uncompressed RAW data stream with no de-Bayering. The C500 can shoot 4K at 1-60fps.
The camera will also output quad full-HD (3840 x 2160), 2K (2048 x 1080) and full HD (1920 x 1080). The C500 offers a 12-bit RGB 4:4:4 signal format during 2K output, which can be selected to operate from one to 60 fps. The C500 can capture 120 fps when switched to a 10-bit YCrCb 4:2:2 mode.
In addition to the external video output options, the C500 simultaneously records in-camera a 50 Mbps HD proxy video to a CF card.
Like the C300, the C500 features a Super 35 format CMOS sensor and will be available in EF-mount and PL-mount options. Pricing (rumored to be around $30k) and release dates are yet to be confirmed.
Canon EOS 300 cinema cam gets pre-order status, ships at month’s end for $16,000
Canon C300 cinema camera hands-on (video)
Man, is this thing ugly. But when it comes to cinema cameras, looks are the last thing on a cinematographer’s mind — performance is where it counts, and with the Canon C300, its compact size is an asset as well. We haven’t had a chance to shoot with Canon’s new flagship cinema cam, but we’ve heard from plenty of folks who have, including director Vincent Laforet. The C300′s incredibly compact size allows cinematographers to work in environments that aren’t typically accessible to big rigs — you can shoot with this camera just as easily as you can with a DSLR, hand-holding it for quick shots, with a waist-mounted Steadicam system for walk-around shoots or even mounting it on a small remote-controlled helicopter, as Laforet did during his three-day Mobius shoot.
The C300 will be more familiar to cinematographers — photojournalists may have access to the cam, thanks to its $20,000 price tag (that’s a relative bargain, believe it or not), but you can’t pick this up and fire away without taking some time to learn the interface. It has quite the solid feel, as you’d expect from a camera in this price range, though it’s not as heavy as it looks — you won’t want to hold it in your hand for a full day of filming, but quick shots probably won’t be an issue. The system is modular, so you can add and remove components as you wish — industry standard connectors let you hook up cinema gear, which is something you could never do with the 5D Mark II. The small form factor and price tag to match should help Canon gain some ground in Hollywood, but we’ll wait for a chance to shoot some footage before drawing any firm conclusions. In the meantime, we’ll have to take Laforet at his word — which you’ll find just past the break.
Canon C300 makes an appearance in Vincent Laforet’s Mobius, find the short and behind the scenes right here (video)
A New York Times photojournalist turned Hollywood director, Vincent Laforet has become synonymous with DSLR video, after his short film Reverie helped catapult Canon’s 5D Mark II into the world of digital filmmaking. And after playing such a significant role in launching that camera, we certainly weren’t surprised to see Laforet make an appearance at today’s Canon Cinema event, with his short film Mobius getting some time on the big screen. The film follows a photojournalist who stumbles upon a Cartel execution, but it also tells the story of Canon’s tightly-veiled C300 cinema camera, which the company launched just moments ago. Laforet used a pre-production C300 (note the green tape button labels) to shoot Mobius in the Mojave Desert under a variety of harsh conditions, including powerful sunlight and near-darkness, in both extremely hot and chilly temperatures — the camera appears to have performed extremely well, given both the remote shooting environment and tight production schedule.
Canon has yet to reveal the C300′s price tag, which we expect to far undercut the $120,000 Arri Alexa kit, but its sheer portability makes it a more appealing option for filmmakers — especially those with limited time and other resources. Laforet was able to shoot his film with a very small crew, since the C300 can be operated by just one photographer. The director used the camera mounted on a tripod, tethered to a variety of helicopters, sitting on the road and even hand-held, like a camcorder or DSLR. Laforet shot with Canon’s new FK30-300 telephoto cine zoom PL-mount lens, along with a variety of EOS mount lenses, and notes that the camera’s form factor makes it even easier to shoot with than a DSLR like the 5D Mark II. Its cost — somewhere in the range of $20,000 — should also put it within reach of not only Hollywood cinematographers, but also television directors and even documentary filmmakers and news photojournalists. We won’t see the C300 hit the market until late January 2012, so jump past the break for a sneak peak at Mobius to see Canon’s new cinema flagship, along with a rather comprehensive behind-the-scenes video.
Canon launches C300 cinema camera, prepares to take on Red Scarlet and Arri Alexa
Well, we have to hand it to Canon — this was one tight-lipped product launch. The imaging company just unveiled its C300 cinema camera at Hollywood’s Paramount Studios, in front of a crowd of hundreds of journalists and film industry elite, including Martin Scorsese. Canon is no stranger to the professional photography community, but it has yet to make a name for itself in Hollywood, where cameras such as the Arri Alexa and RED EPIC dominate the digital filmmaking world. The C300 may not appear to be overwhelmingly powerful on paper — stock features include an EF or PL mount (not both), 1080p capture, a pair of CF card slots, timecode and HD-SDI output — but judging by the sample films we saw today, its incredibly powerful sensor and versatile form factor are likely to play a more significant role in making this camera a success.
Fujio Mitarai is saying that the camera is especially well-suited to accurate color reproduction, particularly skin tones. We’re also receiving word that the C300 will cost somewhere in the range of $20,000 — how’s that for affordable? It contains a Super 35mm CMOS sensor and delivers up to 4K resolution with the outfit’s new “top-end” EF zoom lenses, which come in four flavors: two 14.5-60mm lenses and two 30-300mm. And the lenses keep on coming, with three EF prime lenses in 24mm, 50mm, and 85mm variations. That CMOS sensor offers 1920 x 1080 pixels for the reds and blues and 1920 x 2160 for greens. Like we said before, list price for the C300 will be $20,000 when it hits stores in late January 2012. And that appears to be it for this very long announcement, but we’ll have our first impressions soon. Full PR awaits you after the break.
