Jonny Lee, the creator of the $14 Steadicam and other unique indie-tastic solutions has come up with a Virtual Reality proof of concept program that works with a Wii Remote and sensor bar. It has obvious implications in the gaming world, particulary on the Wii platform. However, I see this as a potential tool for 3D artists and compositors. The ability to simple jog your head left or right to view and navigate around objects in a comp might be very useful. Here’s hoping someone picks up the torch and runs with this idea. You can download the software at Jonny’s site. Video embedded below.
Continue reading ‘Head Tracking for VR Displays with the WiiRemote’

Thanks to a tip from Joel Peregrine, I just ran across the Modo Steady 585 multi-purpose device from Manfrotto. This thing is a very unique little stabilizer/tripod/gizmo for sub-2 lb camcorders. It weighs just over a lb and supports up to 1.7lb max capacity. You can use it as a “gliding” stabilizer (reminds me of the Steadicam Merlin), a chest brace, and in low and high tripod modes. There is a video of the Modo in action at modo.manfrotto.com.

Guess what killer camcorder weighs 1.2 lbs? Yup. The $689.95 Canon HV20. To enhance the gliding effect, pick up the Schneider Optics .55x Wide Angle Adapter. The lens weighs just 4.8 oz and can be reversed and used as a fisheye. Sweet! You’ll just need a 58mm-43mm ring to adapt it to the HV20.

A slightly cheaper (and much heavier at 1.1 lbs) option is Canon’s WDH43 0.7x WA lens for the HV20. Note that you would be technically overloading the Modo Steady device with this lens on the HV20. Since the lens reportedly weighs over a pound, I am unsure if it would work at all with the Modo Steady + HV20.

Sony’s whole-lotta-not-much camera in “professional” shoulder-configuration camouflage is in stock at B&H for $1600. Just in time for Christmas, kids!

We mentioned the paper launch back in August when real specs and numbers seemed shaky. Unfortunately, those specs don’t seem to have improved in the ensuing months. The HD1000U is still an uuuugly, underpowered 4 lux behemoth that looks walks and talks like a pro shoulder camera, but doesn’t even include basics like XLR or full-size cassettes. To be fair, I suppose there may be a place for this model in some applications (particularly considering the price point). However, I personally feel the camera has been basically crippled out of the gate and (with the exception of DVCAM) doesn’t include any real tools or features that shooters demand.

Are we missing the boat here? Where do you see this camera taking hold in the industry, if at all?

UPDATE: Apparently no DVCAM.

The Canon DW-100 is an external USB DVD burner for PC and Mac systems that offers a unique twist…it can burn video directly from a camcorder without a computer. Details are a bit sketchy at this time, but in theory this means you could hook your AVCHD, H.264, or other difficult-to-edit-format consumer camcorder directly to the burner and author standard DVDs painlessly. Nice. As Gizmodo says…

“The DW-100 takes high-def AVCHD video from your camcorder and burns it to DVD without a computer. It’s hard to argue with that. It can also function as an external burner for any PC or Mac computer. If this works like it should, and Canon markets it properly, a device like this could do well in the current home movie market. It is expected to release in March 2008, but no price has been set.”

(Link via Anthony Ajit)

You know you want it. It’s Western Digital’s new 2.5″ notebook hard drive with a whopping 320GB of space, priced at a cool $200. Yeah, it only rotates at 5400 RPM, but what do you expect? It’s only 2007 after all! And they’ll have a 7200 RPM option out before you can say “Dang. I just upgraded my system with the 5400 RPM version and now I hate my life.” Here’s how to swap the drive in your Macbook or Macbook Pro with this new drive (or any other 2.5″ drive) using Leopard’s Time Machine.

Indie4K has a great post up on the benefits of the Birger electronic lens mount for Canon EOS SLR lenses in concert with Red’s Digital Cinema camera.

“…for the price of just a Red 18-50mm zoom, we can get the Birger mount, plus several primes and zooms. For the price of the 18-50mm zoom + the price of the 50-150 zoom, we can buy practically every current-model EOS lens we can ever imagine wanting to shoot with.”

“…the Birger mount can control focus as well as aperture, using the built-in focusing motors of EOS lenses.”

“Birger’s system will be controllable via Bluetooth. Imagine figuring out your focus marks using Red’s “magic focus assistâ€?, and then programing them into a laptop and cueing them at the appropriate times with a couple of key presses. Or imagine a “smartâ€? autofocus system based around range-finding equipment, which could rack focus to track an object through space far better than any human focus puller…”

I believe the Birger mount project started out aimed at 35mm adapter users who wished to use EOS lenses. Now it seems it’s been repurposed to interface with one of the hottest digital cinema cameras on the market. Options are a good thing for filmmakers, and it will be interested to see how this product develops. You can reserve a Birger mount here.

A few 133t H4X0rs have found a way to enable video recording on the iPhone. Right now the app only records five seconds of 15fps video to the iPhone’s RAM, but the developer says a future version will be able to record “somewhere from 15-30+ fps” with length only limited by the device’s storage. Video below.
Continue reading ‘Hackers FTW - IPhone Gets Video Recording’

ProRemote is a application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows you to wirelessly remotely control your ProTools LE workstation with realtime feedback.

“ProRemote will be going into beta next week…currently the server is Mac only but will be an easy port to Windows later on (one thing at a time!) It is nearly feature complete now and runs on jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches.”

While the Beta will be available soon, they won’t ship the final application until Apple certifies the software when the iPhone SDK is released. In a later revision the developer plans to use the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer for panning. Video of this unique one-two combo below…
Continue reading ‘Pro Tools + iPhone = Remote Control Sweetness’

Here’s an interesting short video that shows one of the issues with Image Stabilization that is not done optically.

In Smooth Moves News, Dave Williams of DVideography will be teaching an intensive two-day workshop in Las Vegas for Glidecam users. Dave is a professional Steadicam and Glidecam operator, and has been working with stabilizers for years. He really knows his craft. So if you’re a stabilizer user that doesn’t know your Don Juan from your Missionary, you might want to check out this workshop coming up on January 27-28, 2008.

See below for a detailed schedule breakdown with all the topics that will be covered. And here are a few pictures from one of Dave’s recent V-25 workshops.
Continue reading ‘Upcoming Glidecam Workshop in Vegas’

Just like our previous XDCAM EX1 coverage, we’ve got continuing coverage here on the new HVR Z7U and HVR S270U HDV camcorders from Sony. Check back here for regular updates and news. Note that newer links and notes will appear at the top.

B&H has the Z7U in stock at this time, listed at $6,299.95 $5,399.95 (simply add to cart to see this lower price reflected). At this time you can also order the S270U, listed at $8,499.95 $7,950.00. All purchases made via those links help support FreshDV at no additional cost to you.

* Shawn Lam reviewed the S270U for EventDV here.

* Here’s a great video overview of the Z7U compliments of Midtown Video.

* EX1 vs Z7U vs Z1U lowlight framegrabs are up here. The EX1 has the clear edge in noise and brightness with the Z7U not far behind. That’s down in the PD170 low light levels, folks!

* Sony has released an import utility plugin for re-joining split M2T files from the CF Card Recorder. The plugin for Final Cut Pro users enables the use of the Log and Transfer import utility to acquire footage from CF Cards. Get it here. (Update: The download link now works)

* This thread at DVinfo has a few user-submitted M2T clips.

* Per DVinfo, Sony is offering a rebate for a free 8GB CompactFlash card with the purchase of a Z7U or S270U. The rebate link is not yet active, so check back soon.

* Jordan Oplinger wrote in to mention that the Sony HVR-Z7U user manual is in the wild, we have a copy mirrored here.

* Here’s a user report from Shawn Lam on his brand new HVR-Z7U. Several very interesting details.

* HVR Z7U User footage is beginning to surface. Here is one such clip at Divx Stage6. Recommend muting the music, it’s a bit overbearing. There is a mirror at Youtube. Could be my browser, but it plays back a bit jerky for me as if pulldown cadence is “off.” Thanks for JO for the tip!

* Digital Content Producer has posted a first look review of the S270 and Z7U.

* Here are a number of pictures of the prototype Z7U on display at GV Expo. You can see how the flash recorder unit hooks up, the interesting placement of a tape transport, and the free-spinning iris ring.

* Another article by IEBA about the new Z7U and S270U, this was a summary of the updates and features for EventDV Magazine.

* Anthony over at IEBA/Techthoughts has added several videos in the past few days:
- A seminar on the new models by Sony’s Juan Martinez.
- Demos of the TC/UB, Memory, In/Out, and Others menu systems.
- A demonstration of HVR S270 and HVR Z7U lens operation.

* IEBA blog has the display menus up now. (For more info on “Cam Leveling”, check out the product brochure linked below. Interesting feature.)

* Anthony Ajit passed on this link to the PDF brochure for Sony’s HVR-Z7E and HVR-S270E versions of the HDV cameras, and it offers more concrete specs and details. For instance, it becomes clear here that in addition to 1/3″ interchangeable lenses, you can also utilize standard 1/2″ and 2/3″ HD lenses using adapters. The camcorders feature standard ENG 12-pin lens connectors. Note that there is a zoom factor when adapting lenses, namely: 2x focal length for a 2/3-inch lens adapter, 1.3x with a 1/2-inch lens adapter, and 7x with a Sony Alpha DSLR still lens adapter. You should also check pg8 for some interesting features called “Camera Leveling” and “Focus Marking”…yes the camera can detect it’s horizon and display that on the LCD. Sweet. And the Skintone detail feature is now fully configurable…you can set the color manually. I should also note that the CompactFlash recorder automatically syncs with the camera when attached…it does all the recording start-stops without manual intervention. And here’s the answer to a question asked by a friend the other day…YES, you can record HDV 1080 to tape while also recording downconverted DV to card for short term SD delivery.

* Anthony Burokas has screencaps of the camera menus and audio menus (others to come).

* We previously were hoping that you could simultaneously record to tape, CF card, and firewire out to a hard disk recorder. It appears that you cannot as the Flash recorder covers up the Firewire port.

* Our initial coverage of the camcorder announcements. Features, specs and preliminary info from the press-releases.

As always, keep the links and comments coming.

We’ve mentioned Jeff Han several times here at FreshDV, from his first multi-touch demo at the 2006 TED event to his tech growing into a company and garnering mainstream attention. Well it’s time for another Jeff Han Multi Touch Update. Embedded below is the latest interview and video demostration. I can’t wait until we can get multitouch in the edit room!
Continue reading ‘Specialized Multi-Touch Interfaces Mature’

FreshDV recently had the opportunity to review the full Lowel Super Ambi kit, and one of the components included was the Rifa eXchange softbox. This is a unique softbox solution with a twist…you can swap out the lamps from tungsten to fluorescent on demand. The benefits seem obvious…you now have the choice of outputting daylight or interior balanced light from your softbox, and of course flouro lamps are much more energy efficient. In this video, Kendal Miller walks through the features and construction of the Rifa EX, shows how lamps are swapped, and finally we measure and compare output from both lamp options.

 Lowel Rifa EX Review [4:49m]: Download

While everyone was salivating over and pre-ordering the XDCAM EX1, Sony has been quietly putting together the final pieces of it’s alleged “Z1U replacement” camera. And they have now announced not one, but two new models…a boxy handheld unit dubbed the HVR-Z7U, and a shoulder-mount configuration designated HVR-S270U. Pricing for the new models is quoted by Sony as $6,850 and $10,500, respectively.

Both record 1080 HDV @ 24p and 30p via Sony’s 1/3-inch 3 ClearVid CMOS Exmor imager, and are rated at 1.5 lux. Other options include 1080i, DVCAM, and DV. Both downconvert HD to SD via Firewire (ok, i.LINK) and “other SD output connectors.” Additional output options include HD-SDI/SD-SDI (with embedded audio and TC) on the S270U and HDMI output on the Z7U.

What’s more, there is apparently a CompactFlash card module available for these cameras that will allow solid-state recording on industry-standard CF cards. You have the option of recording HDV, DVCAM, or DV to CF, and can do this at the same time you are recording to tape. The only requirements here are a 2GB minimum capacity and 133x minimum speed card. An 8 CF card would net you 36 minutes of HDV/DVCAM/DV, and 16GB CF doubles that to 72 min. I find it odd that Sony is backing a non-proprietary format, perhaps we have Red to thank for that.
Continue reading ‘Sony Announces HVR-Z7U and HVR-S270U Pro Cameras’

Paul Harrill over at SRF has a nice list of light dimmer solutions, including the Harbor Freight Router Speed Controls we’ve recommended previously. Cheap and effective. He’s also got directions for building your own dimmer boxes, if perchance you happen to be into the DIY thing.

NOTE:
Harbor Freight dimmers can really only support up to around 1,500 Watts per line on a dimmer over that and you risk burning them out they work great just don’t overload them

-Kendal