Archive of the Camera Accessories Category

I often find some of the more unexpected new technology stories of NAB while walking from appointment to appointment. Today, walking from the South Hall to the North, I saw three people fooling with a laptop and a cynlindrical metal object that was mounted on a tripod. I thought at first that it was a bare-bones camera prototype that was recording directly to the laptop, but in actuality it was receiving (or trying to receive) a video signal from a standard Panasonic broadcast camera that was set up a few hundred yards away. more

A brief visit to Panasonic‘s booth today reminded me how far we‘ve come when it comes to codecs. Their AVC-Intra, based on H.264 a/k/a MPEG-4, is twice as efficient as DVCPRO HD. In a split-screen demo on the show floor, video compressed using AVC-Intra at 50 Mbps (1440/4:2:0/10 bits) matched identical video compressed using DVCPRO HD at 100 Mbps. Differences in resolution or artifacting were undetectable. In another split-screen, AVC-Intra at 100 Mbps (1920/4:2:2/10 bits) matched D-5 HD (north of 230 Mbps). Same impressive result.

Where this gets particularly interesting is in the case of Panasonic‘s new P2 flagship, the AJ-HPX3000. The shape and size of the chic black 3000 affirm its lineage to 3-CCD ENG camcorders, yet resemblance ends there. With 2.2 million-pixel CCDs (1920 x 1080) and 14-bit, 4:2:2 signal processing, the 3000 is a spirited thoroughbred more in league with Sony’s F900 than a Varicam. However at $48K list, it‘s half the cost of an F900. more

This afternoon I saw a lot of the camera support gear in the Central Hall of the LVCC. Anton/Bauer introduced a trio of camera accessories last year — its Elipz system. That involves a battery pack that mounts on the bottom of handheld camcorders (the Elipz itself), a pair of handles that can help the shooter steady the camera support it on his/her forearm (Egripz), and a 6oz. fill light that mounts to the top of the camera.

This year Anton/Bauer brought out Hubz and Spokez, which build on the Elipz system to accommodate additional accessories such as hard-drive recording units and audio receivers. Hubz is a polycarbonate base that mounts to the camera base or the Elipz battery, and it has two holes that each hold posable arms with mount plates on the ends (forming the Spokez). more

Following up on Cynthia’s note about the JVC booth: I just left the JVC Press Luncheon, where the HD250 Libre package mentioned by Cynthia was prominently promoted. As Cynthia stated, JVC has added a BMS wireless microwave transmitter to the camera to offer what the company says is wireless HD transmission capabilities well suited for live remote broadcast ENG work.

I was struck by the irony of the fact that, just over a year ago I wrote stories for Millimeter on the limited use of Wireless RF technology at the Winter Olympics and other events, and noted how the transmission of wireless HD signals was a big deal back then. JVC, and others, now say that wireless ENG work with true HD cameras is eminently feasible these days. That’s a 12-month turnaround from difficult to feasible. Typical of how our industry is evolving, as those of us at NAB right now are seeing first-hand.

–MG

Thomson Corporate Research General Manager Henry Gu, PhD, was an enthusiastic fountain of information a few minutes ago about the company’s research division, and some of the prototype technologies coming out of that division that are being revealed for the first time publicly at NAB.

We at Millimeter and Digital Content Producer tend to write frequently about the goings-on at Thomson’s systems’ division (Grass Valley) and service division (Technicolor), but Gu suggests research is where the action really is. He also points out that the research division (400 researchers worldwide, “most” of whom are PhD’s, according to Gu) also impacts not just the Thomson bottom line, but the industry as a whole, since much of the technology eminating from the group will eventually get licensed to manufacturers and users outside the Thomson umbrella. more

Shining Technology manufactures the CitiDisk HD and CitiDisk HDV, hard disk on-camera recording units that record up to 120GB of DVCPRO HD and HDV/DV, respectively. In the next month or so, they’re announcing at NAB, CitiDisk HD will get a new firmware update that will allow the unit to record video as MXF , which is key to full support for the HVX200.

On a related front, the company is planning to introduce an analog-to-digital converter by the end of the year. This will be designed with legacy Betacam camcorders in mind, and it’ll take the analog signal and convert it so that it can be recorded by a CitiDisk recorder as DV50 or DV25. The recorders typically add a QuickTime wrapper or record as AVI so that there’s direct support from most editing systems.

If you haven’t felt sympathy for lens manufacturers lately, then clearly you weren’t at Canon‘s dinner last night.

Larry Thorpe gave a stunning PowerPoint presentation (I should copyright that phrase, as it’s never been used before) about lens technology, aiming to explain why HD lenses haven’t come down in price in line with HD camcorders. Larry’s short explanation: Moore’s law doesn’t apply to glass. more

Sunday morning started with a magic bus ride. Rolling down city streets, through underpasses, along Interstate 15 at 70 mph, and finally pulling into an underground casino parking lot, a handful of journalists including yours truly got a preview from Samsung of a proposed enhancement to ATSC that enables perfect mobile reception of digital TV, particularly to handheld devices.

What‘s the big deal? In a word, YouTube. Even the most benighted of computer illiterati grew acquainted with the pleasures of Flash files over the past year. (Thanks in large part to Paris Hilton, but that‘s another story.) The idea that it‘s fun to watch videos in a small window a few inches from your nose instead of from across the living room floor has now entered the public‘s consciousness. Apple‘s video iPod is another manifestation of this shift in TV viewing habits, as will be the larger, sharper iPhone when it debuts in June. more

At its press conference this afternoon, Panasonic unveiled nothing too surprising. Of course, that can be seen as a testament to the prudence of its current direction — namely, nonlinear acquisition via solid-state media in the form of P2 cards. (Not to mention the fact that Panasonic previewed its most prominent NAB product announcements in February.) (Read the press release at The Briefing Room: 2007 NAB Newslink) Indeed, Panasonic’s most oft-repeated announcement during its NAB press conference was the new five-year warranty that will be standard for all full-size P2 camcorders and related field equipment.

So what were the specifics? Well, our editors covered two of the big announcements before the show: the HPX500, a full-size 2/3in. 3CCD P2 HD camcorder with interchangeable lenses (for an agressive $14K) and the tiny HSC1U, a 1.1lb. camcorder that shoots long-GOP AVCHD to SD Store memory (not P2; $2,099). more

New Additions to XDCAM Family Include High-performance HD 4:2:2 Capable Models and Flash Memory Recording in a “Handy” Camcorder

LAS VEGAS, NAB Booth# SU906, April 15, 2007 – Sony is continuing the evolution of its XDCAM® line of tapeless acquisition by unveiling new technologies at NAB. These include recording to ExpressCard high-speed flash media, as well as 50 Mbps 4:2:2 optical disc recording. Read on at The Briefing Room: 2007 NAB Newslink