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CineGear 2014

main street at cinegear 2014

Well it’s that time of year again – CineGear!!!

Seems like 2014 is the year of the copter and the gimbal.  
There were more copter offerings and camera support systems then I could shake a Steadicam at.  When you first walked in there was a copter & gimbal booth just waiting for new folks to have a peek.
All the usual suspect were there and many new ones.  This year I had a short list of items I was interested in.  I’m mostly looking at camera support and control.  Things like wireless video, wireless follow focus, a basic copter solution and I’m paying close attention to the race for the winning handheld gimbal kit. The camera race is definitely heating up but I don’t think I’m ready to jump into 4K yet and since that race is just getting started at the consumer and prosumer level, I’m hoping more time will lead to better product and pricing.
Here are some of the cooler rigs

But the best one of all (Yes.. the USS Enterprise.  We are at Paramount after all =)

For me, I found something I was looking for on every street.  Teradek had a nice offering with their updated Bolt Pro line of wireless video.  Noe it can work up to 2000 feet line of sight.  I also checked out IDX and Paralinx.  I think, for now, I might lean towards the Paralinx Arrow solution as I mostly need a multicast function with near zero latency.
I stopped by the Redrock Micro booth and took another look at their wireless follow focus the MicroRemote.  Still looks nice.  I wish they would come out with the iPhone controller they showed in 2012.  Zacuto has a really cool lens control system that works in a grip form factor called the Control Grip.  It’s a 2 motor system that can control either Zoom and Iris or Focus and Iris.  It’s still in the testing stage and should be out later this year.  I wish I had known about the new TitlaMax focus system from Tilta.  I just saw this yesterday and would have loved to check it out in person.  It is a 3 motor system (FIZ) with brushless German motors and a nice IPS touch screen for easy configuration and display.
One of the best things I found is from Woodencamera.  It’s their multi connector breakout box: the C-Box.  It can take HD-SDI and/or HDMI in and then send the signal out 3 HD-SDI BNCs and 2 HDMIs all at the same time.  Wait, it get’s better…  You can put a battery mount on one or both sides so it can function as your power distro with 2 D-Taps or clip on to an existing battery mount as an add on to extend a system. Nice!!!
It was a nice show this year.  I ran into a lot of friends there and saw a bunch of great new gear.  Can’t wait till next year!!!
Until next time, Good shooting

TDTrey
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Rokinon Cine Lenses-First Look

Just got the sneak release of the Rokinon 35mm T1.5 Cine lens from B & H — Wow.  Very impressed with it out of the box.
I’m going to be using it on my F3 so the build quality needs to be OK and lets face it… It has to look a little impressive besides being sharp.  I did a lot of research on the Bower, Samyang, Rokinon brands (they are all the same manufacturer) and thanks to information found on KenRockwell.com site and a few other sites these lenses seem really sharp in comparison to their Nikkor counterparts.  I thought I would give them a try and report back.  They aren’t supposed to be out until September but a few got released early and I was able to get one.  I’m waiting for the 24mm, 50mm and 85mm.
Build quality is very nice at first blush.  Not all plasticy.  The witness marks are on the left side only.  Barrel rotation is about 180 degrees and smooth.  Aperture rotation is smooth as well.  Image looks nice and sharp on the first tests.  Bokeh is creamy.  It is a full frame or FX lens so compared to my 5D2 where it’s a 35mm it’s more like a 50mm field of view on the F3.

All in all a nice lens so far.  More to follow…

Until next time, good shooting.

TDTrey.com

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Which Camera?? Decided… Sony F3

Well after a little over a year of searching and waiting and wanting I made a what I think is a fine decision for my next camera.  For those of you who have been following my “which camera” posts you’ve scene me ponder everything from the Scarletus… I mean, Scarlet.  And the 5Dmk3, Nikon D800, FS100, FS700 and more.  But after working with the Sony F3 for others I decided to get one of my own.  Great Camera!!!
I went to CineGear this year to look at everything that was coming out and projected to be out soon.  Lots of cool stuff – (technical term).  Spent quite a while at the Canon booth and the Sony Booth.  Big competition there.  With all the research about new cameras and features I was feeling very lost and then about 2 weeks ago sat down and took a hard look at what I do and how this new crop of cameras could affect that – here’s what I found:

Most used this year: 5Dmk2
Most flexible: Sony EX3
Best combo of the two: Sony F3

I’m not being asked to go 4K just yet. If need be I can rent an EPIC from VR and go crazy with resolution.  Super Slowmo is great but likely to get overused in my circles and burn out quickly and again — EPIC if needed.  Super Shallow DoF nice but not the end all be all.  The F3 seems to fit the bill right down the middle.
The best part I like is I’m already an EX3 owner so all my achechepies plug right in. I’m planning to do the S-Log upgrade soon so I’ll keep you posted on the progress.  Also I’m getting a set of the Rokinon T1.5 cine lenses as the come out.  See my review of the 35mm T1.5.  I’ll be getting the 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm.  I can rent a Zeiss ZF.2 kit when needed but I wanted to start with the Rokinons to give them a try.  I got the Tokina 11-16 in Nikon F — no cine mod yet; a Nikkor 28-70 ƒ2.8 and a Nikkor 80-200 ƒ2.8.  It will be a balanced kit when I”m done.

Well dinner is ready.  More to come…

Until next time, good shooting