dslr video

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We just got back from NAB2105 and one of the hottest cameras on the floor was the Sony PXW-FS7 a.k.a FS7. It seemed every single booth had it on display along side of their products to showcase their gear at it's best. This is certainly a camera that is making huge waves throughout the industry.

Prior to NAB, I borrowed a Sony FS7 from SatoStudios and teamed up with Keiko & Roland from GearAddix to test drive the amazing 180fps feature shooting entirely in SLOG-2. The video samples finally made it back from editing, and we're quite pleased with the results. Enjoy this short piece.

The Sony PXW-FS7 rocks a Super 35 Sized CMOS Sensor with Sony E-Mount. Offers up UHD (4K) Up to 60 FPS, HD Up to 180 FPS. The FS7 can record to high quality XAVC-I Up to 600 Mb/s and holds Dual XQD Memory Card Slots. If you want even more quality and power, you can mount up the (optional) Extension unit for 12-bit 4K/2K RAW Data Output and up to 240fps to an external recorder. That's practically an entirely new camera with those added features.

Sony FS7 extension RAW
find-price-button Sony FS7 Extension Unit 12 Bit RAW

Sure it's an investment up front but consider that a Sony A7s + Atomos Shogun Recorder will already run you over $4500 dollars just to get a bit of that 4K goodness. Yet you're still far from the framerate, resolution, built in ND Filters, audio inputs, and ergonomic design the FS7 offers. Stripped down, the FS7 can be almost as compact as a Canon C100. For the run-gun traveling shooter who wants to step up from a DSLR body, the Sony FS7 is a camera to keep your eyes on, and it appears the industry seems to agree. Available now via B&H (click here).

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find-price-button Sony PWX-FS7 4K XDCAM Super 35 Camera System

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The NAB Show in Las Vegas is where companies show off the latest and greatest products to hit shelves. As far as Drones go, the two top consumer priced quadcopters under $1400 dollars were the DJI Phantom 3 and the new 3DR Solo. I'm pretty sure many of you will be either upgrading or finally purchasing a quadcopter this year, so i'm interested to see what your comments are between these two top picks.

Let's first take a look at some of the features that are found in the new 3DR Solo.

First off let's talk about the GoPro HERO4 interface. Many love flying the DJI Quadcopters, but may not be fans of the built in cameras. Previously when it came to flying a GoPro camera, you didn't have the ability to stream a Live HD Feed and control camera settings (start video, adjust exposure, change framerates and resolutions). The new 3DR Solo is the first quadcopter to properly interface with the GoPro HERO4 serial bus (connection used with an LCD BacPac). That's a huge plus for GoPro fans that are looking for a quadcopter to fly.

Talking to 3DR over at the NAB show, they also seem to have focused more on Auto Pilot features that allow you to program the quadcopter's moves, so that you don't need to be a skilled pilot to repeat shots over and over. The Cable Cam feature is a great example of this. Set your A and B points and the Solo will fly back and forth between points.

Obviously I haven't tested the Solo, but what immediately comes to mind is that you still need the $500-600 dollar GoPro HERO camera. The 3DR Solo also doesn't have the Vision Positioning system found in the Phantom 3 that allows it to fly indoors when there is no GPS signal. I've found that to be extremely handy lately with my DJI Inspire1. Including the 3-Axis Gimbal for the GoPro HERO4, the 3DR Solo lists for just under $1400 (Found Here).

3DR-Solo
find-price-button 3DR Solo Smart Quadcopter

Now let's take a look at the DJI Phantom 3 Intro Video

The DJI Phantom 3 now sports a 4K rectilinear camera, 3-axis gimbal, more powerful brushless motors, upgraded GPS antenna, and Live HD Feed up to 1.2 miles much like the DJI Inspire1. Though not the same as the 3DR Solo, the DJI Phantom 3 does offer many AutoPilot features and an SDK to develop on. If cable-cam is a popular feature for the Solo, DJI only needs to roll out a firmware update. The new DJI Phantom 3 with 4K camera starts at just $1250 (found here).

dji phantom 3 vs 3dr solo
find-price-button DJI Phantom 3 Quadcopter with 4K Live HD 3 Axis Gimbal

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I ride electric skateboards and I ride them quite a bit. I use them whenever I find the opportunity when tracking shots or subjects. Combined with a hand held stabilizer, you can get smooth long fast dolly like motion. One problem with skateboards though is they can't turn on a dime. Many Steadicam operators have used Segways, but they need to be modified for hands-free operation (so you can hold your camera equipment). But a big problem is that you can't throw a Segway in the trunk of your car.

A video posted by Emm (@mrcheesycam) on

So here's a fun new toy i've been riding around with for the last few weeks. It's a self balancing two wheeled electric scooter-thing much like a Segway but totally hands-free. It's actually very easy to learn and most people pick it up in just five minutes. Combined with a gimbal stabilizer, you've got a pretty smooth infinite track dolly that helps remove the up/down motion that often shows up when walking or running (even with gimbals).

A video posted by Emm (@mrcheesycam) on

We recently shot at a HUGE warehouse in San Francisco, possibly about the size of 4-5 city blocks. Moving from end to end would have been a task just walking, but we moved swiftly using our 3 electric skateboards and this segway-thing. I even carried equipment back and forth from the parking lot. This certainly was a huge asset and we plan on purchasing several more. It's small enough to throw in your car, and light enough to carry with one hand, but it will pretty much run you about 5 hours of average use. You'll find them under various name brands, but they all seem to be the same (CLICK HERE).

self balance scootersegway like scooter electric
find-price-button Self Balancing Two Wheel Electric Scooter

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I'm done with NAB2105, and even after all the new camera announcements I have no plans to sell my BlackMagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera. In fact I have a big shoot tomorrow in which i'm taking the BMPCC out. The specs and quality coming out of this little guy still holds up dollar for dollar. Yeah sure BlackMagic Design has announced two new 'Micro Cinema Cameras', but once you dig into the specs it's really quite different than the original Pocket Cinema Camera.

Now paying full price might be a stretch, but you're all in luck. Here's a great bundle deal for the BlackMagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera! You get an INSTANT -$500 OFF the retail price of the BMPCC. The bundle includesa Lumix 14-140mm Lens + Sandisk 64GB Extreme Pro SD Card so you can start shooting RAW), and a spare BMPCC Battery. And you can get FREE Expedited shipping on this deal.

So if you've ever wanted to shoot a camera that has many flavors of ProRes, and can shoot CinemaDNG RAW now's the time. This is over $500 dollars back in your pocket on this deal. Don't miss this deal, check it out now before it's gone (CLICK HERE).

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find-price-button BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera Bundle + Lens + SD Card + Battery -$500 OFF INSANT

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Now in a smaller, more handheld friendly form factor, the URSA Mini 4K Digital Cinema Camera from Blackmagic Design can record cinematic images with its Super-35mm 4K, global-shutter sensor with 12 stops of dynamic range. The ergonomic body design is balanced and can be used for many different styles of filmmaking. The PL-mount is compatible with a plethora of popular lenses, opening up different aesthetic options. A rosette on the side of the camera accepts the included side handle which can control start/stop via a LANC connection.

blackmagic design mini ursa

To produce cinematic images, the URSA Mini can record uncompressed raw sensor data in the CinemaDNG format onto CFast 2.0 memory cards at up to 60 fps. The raw files preserve the full dynamic range and color tonality output from the sensor so you can have greater control over the look in post-production. However, data-heavy uncompressed raw files aren't always easy to deal with on-set, so Blackmagic provides compressed raw at 3:1 and 4:1 ratios to save space while retaining postproduction flexibility.

Blackmagic design mini ursa super 35

The URSA Mini also records UHD (3840 x 2160) and 1080p video using ready-to-edit ProRes files in many different flavors within the 444 and 422 chroma subsampling variations depending on your workflow. Starting at the high end, UHD footage can be recorded in ProRes 444 XQ at a rate of 312.5 MB/s all the way down to 1080p in a ProRes 422 Proxy file coming in at a relatively paltry 5.6 MB/s data rate. Since the camera accepts dual CFast cards, you can record for long periods of time by having the camera switch cards when one is full.

blackmagic ursa mini camera
find-price-button BlackMagic Design URSA Mini 4.6K Super 35 Camera

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Blackmagic Design Micro Cinema Camera

Blackmagic Design Micro Cinema Camera 2

The Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera is a miniature digital camera with a Super 16mm-sized sensor designed to be operated remotely and capture footage from virtually anywhere. It features the same image sensor found in Blackmagic's Pocket Cinema Camera, which supports 1080p video and 13 stops of dynamic range but adds a global shutter that supports frame rates up to 30 fps. Frame rates up to 60 fps are possible using a rolling shutter. The camera is equipped with an active MFT mount that can accept native MFT lens or be adapted to a wide range of other modern and vintage lenses using optional third party adapters. Video is recorded to SDHC/SDXC memory cards using the 12-bit CinemaDNG RAW format or 10-bit Apple ProRes family of codecs. Read More...

Blackmagic Design Micro Cinema Camera 3
find-price-button Blackmagic Design Micro Cinema Camera

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The Atomos Shogun 4K HDMI Recorder is continuously becoming more and more popular with more cameras supporting clean HDMI signals. Instead of your camera recording to a compressed file to an SD or Compact Flash card, the feed is recorded in the Shogun to a variety of high quality formats. Aside from just being a recorder, the Atomos Shogun is an amazing full featured high resolution monitor with waveforms, peaking, zebras, and more. The fact that it can see a 4K signal also makes this ideal to monitor from such cameras that only output 4K where other monitors won't work.

Atomo Shogun 4k Recorder
find-price-button Atomos Shogun 4K HDMI/12G-SDI Recorder and 7" Monitor

HDMI itself though can be problematic as there is no locking mechanism to keep the connection solid, and as the cable protrudes, there is the possibility of damaging the HDMI port. If you're working with the Atomos Shogun, and want to instill a higher level of confidence, check out the PVGear KavalCage with HDMI Locks designed for the Atomos Shogun.

At almost $2,000 dollars, I think the Shogun's ability as a 4K Recorder, Monitor, and Audio Preamp makes it worth every penny, but it might be worth spending a few bucks more for the PVGear KavalCage system to protect the Shogun during use.

PVGear Shogun Cage
find-price-button PVGear Cage for Atomos Shogun 4K HDMI Recorder with HDMI LOCKS

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The BlackMagic URSA gets a new firmware upgrade allowing HD capture at 150fps (almost doubling the previous max of 80fps). The new firmware also hints about a new 4K sensor that will allow 120fps 4K RAW capture. (The URSA sensor is upgradeable). I recently tested 80fps on the URSA.

Right now DVEStore is offering up a 128GB 2.0 CFAST Card + Card Reader + extra savings COUPON off the total price. If you're familiar with 128GB 2.0 (not 1.0) CFAST Cards, they can run well over $600 dollars. Add in the extra savings from a coupon code, you're on your way to almost $1K OFF the URSA. For more information about the BlackMagic URSA visit the DVEStore.com (here)

BlackMagic URSA

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Supporting the weight of a gimbal has been done by in a variety of ways, but the latest trend is being coined as exoskeletons. There are a few already available, but Tilta - known for making exceptional camera rigs, has an exoskeleton Gimbal Support Vest called the Armorman. Two mechanical ISO Arms (similar to steadicams) are attached to the arms of the operator to carry heavy gimbal setups.

tilta armor man

One unusual feature is a V-Lock battery plate attached to the rear of the vest. Possibly to run power to your camera setup while relocating that battery weight off the stabilizer.

tilta armorman gimbal vest

Asking price is about $2300+ US dollars. The vest has been shown around the web for some time, but this is the first time i've seen it available on eBay (click here).

tilta gimbal vest armor man stabilizer
find-price-button Tilta Armorman Gimbal Support Vest