New ARRI Alexa XR and XT

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Jon Fauer, ASC
www.fdtimes.com
Feb 2013
Issue 52
Art, Technique and Technology in Motion Picture Production Worldwide
New Vantage One T1
Aaton Penelope Delta
French Cinematheque
Transvideo Rainbow HD
Darius Khondji on Marilyn
Reflections on Reflections
Master Anamorphic in Paris
Angenieux 19.5-94 & 28-340
Comparison of 135 mm Primes
The Decisive Moment – Leica M
InEMITable Review of New Gear
Preston Systems on Fujinon Cabrio
Full-Frame Canon 6D and Nikon D600
Daniel Pearl, ASC with 65 mm T1 Vantage One
New ARRI Alexa XR and XT
FDTimes Feb 2013 Issue 52
Art, Technique and Technology
Film and Digital Times is the guide to technique and technology,
tools and how-tos for Cinematographers, Photographers, Directors,
Producers, Studio Chieftains, Camera Assistants, Camera Operators, Grips, Gaffers, Crews, Rental Houses, and Manufacturers.
It’s written, edited, and published by Jon Fauer, ASC, an awardwinning Cinematographer and Director. He is the author of 14
bestselling books—over 120,000 in print—famous for their userfriendly way of explaining things. With inside-the-industry “secretsof the-pros” information, Film and Digital Times is delivered to you
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by Jon Fauer, ASC
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Contents
FDTimes On Paper, Online, and now On iPad ....................................3
The French Cinematheque.................................................................4
The Cooke Look Defined....................................................................6
Vantage One T1................................................................................7
ARRIRAW Inside, Alexa XR Upgrade, New Alexa XT......................... 8-9
The Decisive Moment – Leica M................................................ 10-11
Transvideo Rainbow HD...................................................................12
Angénieux 19.5-94 and 28-340 Optimos.........................................13
Fujinon PL Premier Cabrio Zooms....................................................14
Using Preston FIZ and Microforce with Fujinon Cabrios......................15
135 mm Primes........................................................................ 16-17
Master Anamorphic in Paris....................................................... 18-19
AKS for Sony F5-F55......................................................................20
Nikon D600 Full Frame 24 x 36.......................................................21
Canon 6D Full Frame 24 x 36..........................................................22
Schneider Lenses...........................................................................23
Peter Denz Canon Handgrip System.................................................23
Clairmont Alexa In-Camera Filters & Effects......................................23
iDC Photo Video..............................................................................24
Easyfocus in Madrid........................................................................24
Ros Bot..........................................................................................24
Cinetech Italiana.............................................................................25
Adam Wilt’s Cine Meter...................................................................25
Darius Khondji on Philippe Parreno’s "Marilyn".................................26
Lighting with Paint..........................................................................27
Reflections on Reflections ...................................................... 28-29
InEmitable......................................................................................30
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Issue 52 • Feb 2013
3
The French Cinematheque
What’s a camera designer to do?
Everyone is calling for “lighter, faster, simpler, cheaper.” Producers want cheaper. Directors want faster. Editors want simpler. Cinematographers want lighter.
In school we learned that those who failed to learn the lessons of
history were forced to see history repeated.
4
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
Every contemporary camera designer should be required to revisit the more than one hundred years of camera history that are
preserved in a magical place in Paris, the Cinémathèque Française. The lessons are all here: Edison patents 101, Comparative
Portable Cinematographe versus Immobile Black Maria, Shoulder-Resting or Handheld Fatigue, Big Box or Cat-on-Shoulder,
Camera Ergonomics 1894-Present.
At the Micro Salon last year, Willy Kurant, ASC, AFC came up to
me and said, “There is someone you have to meet: Laurent Mannoni, Scientific Director of the French Cinémathèque. He supervises the most important preservation project of motion picture
camera history in the world, a place that every cinematographer
should see and every camera manufacturer in the world must
visit.” It’s not open to the public.
A few months later, Larry Barton, Howard Preston, and I made
the pilgrimage. The Cinémathèque is in a marvelous Frank Gehry building, with a museum, theaters, research center, archives,
library, and café. It’s in the Bercy section of Paris—where wine
was once off-loaded from barges on the Seine and stored in stone
warehouses.
But, like most museums, there’s not enough room for the entire
collection. The camera collection is maintained in an undisclosed
warehouse location nearby, accessible by invitation only, presided
over by Laurent Mannoni, and assisted by Laure Parchemenko.
The cameras are arranged by manufacturer and chronology­—impeccably restored, beautifully maintained, and most of them still
working.
The historic cycles of wide-screen fascination following the rise
and fall of 3D is amply documented within these halls. Laurent
opened the door of a metal cabinet and took out a box. He removed the lid, revealing the original Chrétien 1927 Hypergonar
lenses. Henri Jacques Chrétien was born in Paris in 1879. He
was an astronomer, professor and inventor. Chrétien developed
the Hypergonar lens for photography and cinematography. The
format didn’t take off until 1952, when Twentieth Century-Fox
bought the rights from Chrétien for their CinemaScope process.
As we gather at La fémis for the 13th annual gathering of the AFC
Micro Salon, remember Mr. McGuire who might have said something like this to Benjamin in The Graduate: “I just want to say
one word to you. Just one word. Lenses.” ☐
I don’t think saying that it is the most complete and well-documented collection in the world is an over-statement. The provenance of almost every item is labeled, catalogued and supported
by literature, instruction manuals, and original patents in acidfree boxes.
Aaton 35mm camera made
for Jean-Luc Godard
Laurent Mannoni with
Chrétien’s 1927 Hypergonar
anamorphic lens
Cinex 35mm camera by A. Bourdereau, Paris
Larry Barton handholding the Cinex, at right
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
5
The Cooke Look Defined
by Jonathan Maxwell
The Academy will honor Cooke Optics with a Sci-Tech Oscar statuette in February 2013 “for advanced camera lenses that have helped
define the look of motion pictures over the last century…producing
what is commonly referred to as the Cooke Look…”
Jonathan Maxwell, lens designer, said, "The design procedures and
adjustment techniques developed by the company have led to an
enviable cinematographic reputation for what has become known
as the Cooke Look. This revered ‘look’ is a sympathetic color depth
in the images, combined with an adjusted coincidence between the
sharpest image and the optimum chromatic focus.”
Jonathan took me on a tour of the Cooke factory in Leicester a couple of years ago. He has worked with Cooke and Taylor Hobson,
taught courses for SPIE, and published two books on optical design. I fired off an email to him: "Please explain optimum chromatic
focus and the Cooke Look.” For a long time, many of us cinematographers have been fumbling with words to try to describe that
look, and it sounded more like wine-tasting than optical aptitude.
We had epithets like roundness, gentle fall-off, smooth and gentle,
cosmetic silky skin tones, and so on. Here is Jon’s illuminating reply.
You asked, “When discussing the Cooke Look, please explain
what you mean by optimum chromatic focus?”
At Cooke we take particular precautions, and a pride, in how
we correct and adjust the aberrations in our lenses, and I’ll talk
technically about that in a moment. But, before I do, I have to
share a secret with you: the fact is that cinematographers, who
obviously appreciate the Cooke Look, wax eloquent about it, but
very often the language is of an artistic nature, and, frankly, we
humble technicians have difficulty in really understanding that
language. Having said this, our chests of course swell with pride
when we read of or hear creative people in our industry talk about
how they love the “look” we manage to achieve, but we think to
ourselves “all we have done” to achieve that look is to follow our
scientifically determined standard procedures.
So what are these procedures? A large part of it is about balancing the focusing of the three different wavelengths, red, green and
blue, which don’t normally fall on the same focal plane simultaneously. Appreciating the details of this situation and how we
design and adjust lenses in the face of it is necessary if one is to
understand where the Cooke Look comes from.
Firstly, all modern lenses are what we call “achromatic” (without
colour) and occasionally “apochromatic” (completely without colour), that is, they are corrected for chromatic aberration. Nearly
all lenses that the cinematographer comes across are achromatic,
rather than completely apochromatic (in spite of some being
called “apo-something”), and this means that there is a residual
difference in focus between the red, green and blue focal planes.
Except in very unusual circumstances, the distribution of these
chromatic focal planes, working from the lens side of the focal
region to beyond the focal region, are as follows: green focuses
first, and then red and blue focus together (making magenta) a
little further away from the lens.
Under normal circumstances, unless special precautions are
taken (as they are at Cooke), the longitudinal distance between
the green focus and the red + blue focus will be approximately
6
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
one thousandth of the focal length of the lens. This separation between the green and the red + blue (magenta) focus is called the
longitudinal secondary spectrum. The reason that longitudinal
secondary spectrum wants to be approximately one thousandth
of the focal length is mainly associated with the types of optical
glass that are available, but it is also influenced by the optical construction of the lens.
So, secondary spectrum wants to vary with focal length? Yes!
And this should immediately ring alarm bells for you, because we
design and make ranges of prime lenses that have focal lengths
that, for 35mm detectors, vary, for example, from 12 mm to 300
mm. The secondary spectrum will (unless special precautions
are taken) vary from 0.012 mm to 0.300 mm, and so the images
at various focal lengths will look chromatically different. This
is unacceptable, and the lens designer’s job is to devise suitable
constructions for each focal length of lens and to use appropriate
types of optical glass in those constructions to hold the secondary
spectrum more or less constant for all focal lengths.
In the case of a zoom lens this issue is particularly problematic because, although the lens construction does vary with focal
length change (in order to zoom the lens), the types of glass in the
zoom lens do not change, so the secondary spectrum will vary
from one end of the focal length range to the other. This is one of
the fundamental limitations of zoom lenses for cinematography.
Next, we have to understand that for any achromatic lens, as we go
through focus, there will be a subtle change in the colour fringing
around the fine detail in the image. When the focus of the lens is
adjusted so that the green image plane is at the detector, then the
red + blue (magenta) image will be slightly out of focus, and there
will be a subtle magenta fringe around the fine detail in the image.
(You can see this when you go through focus on a lens projector–
you see green and then magenta color fringing.) Similarly, when
the lens is adjusted so that the magenta image is at the detector,
there will be a subtle green fringe around the fine detail of the image. Roughly halfway between the green focus and the magenta
focus there is an image plane where the two coloured fringings
(green and magenta) mix to make a colourless black and white
image. This plane is known as the achromatic image plane, and it is
this plane that cinematographers choose when they focus the lens.
So far in this discussion, nothing that is particularly remarkable
has been described. I have just been reviewing what every lens
designer knows about the necessary achromatic correction of any
lens, albeit with some special emphasis on particular points.
But here comes the more specific aspect of this subject that explains the Cooke Look. If the lens is suffering from spherical aberration, the sharpest image plane, that is, the focal plane where
the most fine detail of the image is resolved, will not lie at the
achromatic focal plane. This is the question of adjusting the design and, particularly, the final assembly of the lens, to align the
best resolution focal plane with the achromatic focal plane. That
is what creates the Cooke Look.
There is another stage in this procedure, which is about applying
these criteria to the off-axis correction of each lens. In this case,
rather than adjusting the spherical aberration to get alignment
between the achromatic plane and the best resolution plane, we
adjust astigmatism. ☐
Vantage One T1
The Hawk guys are at Micro Salon in Paris introducing their new
set of spherical Vantage One T1 prime lenses. There will be nine
Vantage One lenses in the set: 17.5, 21, 25, 32, 40, 50, 65, 90 and
120 mm, all T1, and all close-focusing.
Benoît Debie used the 65mm Vantage One recently on an Yves
Saint Laurent commercial directed by Paul Gore at the Jardin des
Plantes in Paris recently. “It was great for skin tones,” he said. “We
were wide open using the Alexa rated at 800 ISO in available light.”
Like the company that builds them, these lenses have multiple
personalities. Vantage Film builds Vantage Ones (spherical lenses) and Hawks (mostly anamorphic lenses). Vantage Film is also a
camera equipment rental company, with offices in Weiden, Paris,
Prague and Berlin.
Vantage One lenses are among the smallest cine lenses available.
They are lightweight, close-focusing and have familiar Vantage
mechanics, witness marks on the same plane as the scales for parallax-free setting, and durable construction.
As lenses with a multiple personality, from T2 to T11, Vantage
Ones have a look similar to most modern lenses. At T1.4, the look
is “more forgiving,” but still extremely good. Wide open, at T1,
Vantage One lenses open up a whole new world of extremely shallow depth of field, with a gentle, subtle, silky creaminess. Maybe
a good way to describe the look is to remember the original Leica
Noctilux 50 mm T1 still lens circa 1976.
Daniel Pearl, ASC said, “In the digital world, most of us are shooting with the same camera(s) as if we all used the same ‘film stock.’
So lenses are becoming more and more important. The glass we
choose separates one cinematographer from another. What's appealing to me is working with very shallow depth of field to create a
unique look with the very selective focus available at T1.”
They are almost telecentric. There’s a long distance from the rear
element to the sensor, so light rays are almost parallel. This results
in less color fringing and extremely even field illumination (no
shading) to the corners of the frame.
Vantage One lenses will come in two versions: with anti-reflective
coatings, and with some optical elements uncoated (marked by
a distinctive red ring on the barrel). Uncoated elements produce
additional flares and lower contrast. ☐
Benoît Debie
Focal
Length
Stop Minimum Object
Distance
Horiz Angle
of View
Weight
Front
Diam
Length
17.5 mm
T1
0.25 m
10”
71.5°
1.9 kg
21 mm
T1
0.25 m
10”
62.2°
1.8 kg
4.2 lb
110 mm
152 mm
4.0 lb
110 mm
142 mm
25 mm
T1
0.25 m
10”
53.6°
1.6 kg
3.5 lb
110 mm
124 mm
32 mm
T1
0.25 m
10”
40 mm
T1
0.34 m
1’2”
43.5°
1.5 kg
3.3 lb
110 mm
126 mm
34.9°
1.5 kg
3.3 lb
110 mm
126 mm
50 mm
T1
0.34 m
65 mm
T1
0.34 m
1’2”
28°
1.6 kg
3.5 lb
110 mm
124 mm
1’2”
21.5°
1.6 kg
3.5 lb
110 mm
124 mm
90 mm
T1
0.5 m
1’8”
17.2°
2.0 kg
4.4 lb
130 mm
142 mm
120 mm
T1
0.75 m
2’6”
11.9°
2.8 kg
6.2 lb
150 mm
174 mm
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
7
ARRIRAW Inside
This image is a rendering.
Production models may have
minor changes.
8
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
eXtRa: Alexas Upgrades
eXTtra: New Alexas
“Extra! Extra! Read all about it!”
But what if you happen to be one of the few people on the planet
without an Alexa, having just returned, let us say, from seven
years in the Pantanal, a grueling expedition on which all your
analog camera equipment was ravaged by man and beast, and
you don’t have any camera, let alone an Alexa to upgrade?
This month’s Stop the Presses call came from Türkenstrasse.
Existing ARRI Alexa cameras can soon be upgraded with internal ARRIRAW.
ARRI and Codex worked together to develop a new XR Module
(Xtended Recording) side cover for ARRIRAW uncompressed
recording right where your SxS PRO card previously went.
It’s as if the five Alexa sisters, as if they weren’t already fit enough,
enrolled in Zumba class for a major workout in a timely move
by their product managers to provide precisely what practitioners have been asking for: ARRIRAW inside. These upgrades
are huge technological leaps that won’t leave owners and rental
houses howling about obsolescence or poverty. Your current Alexa sisters continue to work faithfully.
Any of the five current siblings can be upgraded: Alexa, Alexa
Plus, Alexa Plus 4:3, Alexa Studio, Alexa M.
When you take Alexa to an authorized ARRI service center, the
camera will get new processing hardware to allow for the increased image data and a new camera-left side cover. It adds a
mere 8 mm to the width of the camera when compared with the
current dual-slot SxS PRO card cover.
The new Alexa XR side cover opens to reveal a single slot that accepts a 512 GB XR Capture Drive. ARRI will sell these XR drives
exclusively.
So equipped, Alexas can record ARRIRAW at up to 120 fps. One
XR Capture Drive will record 55 minutes of ARRIRAW at 24 fps
and 11 minutes at 120 fps. Alternatively, it will record 2:12 hours
of ProRes 4444 at 24 fps. DNxHD for Avid will be available at a
later date.
You format the XR Capture Drive either for ARRIRAW or for
ProRes. SxS PRO cards have not been forgotten. An adapter with
a single slot accommodates an SxS PRO card. (SxS-1 and SxS
PRO+ cards are not compatible with Alexa.)
The hardware is made by ARRI, in close cooperation with Codex.
Software and capture drives come from Codex. The drives are special industrial-strength solid state memory. The engineers tell us
that they have confirmed an 860 Megabyte per second data rate
on the XR drives. That is 6,880 Megabits per second—6.7 Gigabits
per second. These could be the fastest drives on the market.
Workflow is navigated 3 ways:
1. Simplest is a single, hockey-puck shaped capture drive reader,
called the Single Dock, that connects to a computer via USB 3.0.
2. The Dual Dock comes in a 19" rack mountable unit with the
Codex Virtual File System and 2 slots that can download and
make clones.
3. Codex Vault has, by now, become a standard of the industry,
with reliable and quick downloading, cloning, copying to shuttle
drive, backing up, and more.
ARRI is enhancing the Alexa camera line with new Alexa XT
(Xtended Technology) models.
The only camera remaining from the original line will be the
original entry-level Alexa (16:9 sensor). There will be four new
XT Cameras: Alexa XT, Alexa Plus XT, Alexa Studio XT, Alexa
M XT.
They all have the XR module and new processing hardware built-in.
They all have a 4:3 sensor (2880 x 2160 for anamorphic 2x).
They will have a new in-camera filter system called IFM (Incamera Filter Module). A line of high-quality ARRI IRND filters
will be introduced. They work like the Clairmont in-camera filter
system; a difference is that the magnets are on the filter frames,
not in the camera.
The cameras will all be equipped with LDS contacts at 12 and 3 o’clock
positions in the PL lens mount. The mount itself is 130 g lighter.
A new cooling fan runs even quieter than the current one. There’s
a new VMB-3 viewfinder bracket that is more stable and uses two
15 mm rods as part of the design. These are in the same position
as the lightweight rods, just above the lens instead of below, and
ideal for attaching lens motors and other accessories.
The new cameras include an anamorphic de-squeeze and 120 fps
high speed license.
XT cameras will be available first in the 2nd quarter of 2013. XR
Module upgrades for existing cameras will be available a few
months later.
Stephan Schenk, ARRI General Manager of the Camera and Digital
Intermediate Systems Business Unit, summarized the imminent
makeover and refresh of ARRI Alexa cameras.
He said, “The cooperation with Codex has been great all along,
starting with Anonymous and continuing through countless
productions, whether HD uncompressed in Life of Pi or Hugo, or
ARRIRAW in Marvel’s The Avengers or Skyfall. Integrating their
recorder into the Alexa has improved the collaboration even further.
The winner is the customer, who benefits from the combination of
Codex’s and ARRI’s tested and proven technologies.”
Codex Digital Managing Director Marc Dando said, “ARRI has
been a great partner for Codex and we’ve been fortunate enough
to work on some great projects together with the world’s leading
cinematographers, including several Academy Award nominees
this year. This is the next step in our collaboration and it was developed in direct response to the feedback we got from our mutual customers.” ☐
Marc Shipman-Mueller, ARRI Alexa Product Manager, discussed
how all this came about. “Cinematographers were telling us that
they liked shooting in ARRIRAW but wished it were inside the
camera instead of attached as an external magazine. Codex works
extremely well, and most high-end features were using Codex.”
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
9
The Decisive Moment – Leica M
Henri Cartier-Bresson’s apothegm “The Decisive Moment” won
the approbation of the photographic community and ensured his
investiture as the founding father of photo-journalism.
In 1952, Cartier-Bresson published a portfolio of photographs,
with a cover by Matisse, and a title “Images à la Sauvette.” The
English title was “The Decisive Moment,” which is a lot more elegant than the literal translation “Images on the Sly.”
“The decisive moment” first appears in the introduction. “Il n’y a
rien dans ce monde qui n’ait un moment decisif.” (“There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment.”)
Double negative notwithstanding, when Cartier-Bresson bought
the first of a lifetime of Leica cameras in 1932 in Marseilles, he
found the instrument that would allow him to capture those moments on the sly and on the run. Around the same time, he was
inspired by Martin Munkácsi’s photograph “Three Boys at Lake
Tanganyika.” Cartier-Bresson later said, “For me this photograph
was the spark that ignited my enthusiasm. I suddenly realized that,
by capturing the moment, photography was able to achieve eternity. It is the only photograph to have influenced me. This picture
has such intensity, such joie de vivre, such a sense of wonder...”
Still photographers seem to have a knack for decisive mantras.
Martin Munkácsi’s famous quote was “Think while you shoot.”
His younger brother, Tibor Sands, is a retired New York camera
assistant (The Godfather, The Last Waltz, The Front), as legendary for loquacious commentary and pithy advice as his impressive
work on features and documentaries.
The Leica was a documentarian’s still camera dream come true.
Liz Jobey wrote in The Guardian (June 11, 2010), “The small
camera made it easy to capture subjects on the move, but just as
crucially, it made it easy for the photographer to adjust his point
of view. Anybody who has seen film of Cartier-Bresson at work
will understand how important movement was to the making of
10
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
Left: Henri Cartier-Bresson with his Leica. 1955 Photo by Dmitri
Kessel//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
Above: Cartier-Bresson with Beaulieu R16 16mm camera
Photo ca. 1965. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
his pictures. Truman Capote, who went on an assignment with
him in 1946, described him as ‘dancing along the pavement like
an agitated dragonfly, three Leicas swinging from straps around
his neck, a fourth one hugged to his eye: click-click-click (the
camera seems a part of his own body) clicking away with joyous
intensity...’”
Cartier Bresson said, “For me the camera is...an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant. One has to feel
involved in what one frames through the viewfinder.
“To take a photograph is to hold one’s breath when all faculties
converge in a face of fleeing reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.
“To take a photograph means to recognize—simultaneously and
within a fraction of a second—both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning.”
Cartier-Bresson founded a cooperative photo agency in Paris,
Magnum Photos, in 1947 with three fellow photographers: Robert Capa, George Rodger and David “Chim” Seymour.
In Magnum’s own “History of Magnum,” George Rodger recalled
how Robert Capa saw the photographers’ role. “He recognized
the unique quality of miniature cameras, so quick and so quiet to
use. He saw a future for us in this combination of mini cameras
and maxi-minds.”
Cartier-Bresson used Leica 35 mm rangefinder cameras with a 50
mm lens for most of his long career.
Leica M
“M” for “Movie
button
Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Leica Camera Supervisory Board (above) announced a decisively new moment in camera history this September at Photokina 2012. It was the eagerlyawaited successor to Leica’s M9, named not M10, but elegantly,
simply M. “Together with the M Monochrom, I think Leica shows
that the M-concept is again technologically quite advanced and
carries the traditional Leica values,” Dr. Kaufmann said.
The Leica M is due to ship soon. It has an ISO range of 200–6400
and shutter speeds 1/4000–60 seconds. Storage is on SD, SDHC,
or SDXC memory cards. Files for stills are JPEG and/or DNG
RAW. HD Video 1080p (24 or 35 fps) files are motion JPEG
Quicktime MOV.
The Leica M has a new 24 Megapixel, full frame 24 x 36 mm
CMOS image sensor, which enables Live View and HD video.
There are three ways to compose and view the image: with the
traditional rangefinder, with Live View through the really sharp,
small accessory electronic viewfinder EVF2, or with Live View on
the camera’s 3-inch high-resolution rear monitor (920,000 pixels
covered with scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass). Live View
Zoom enables up to 10x magnification for checking focus. Live
View Focus Peaking assesses sharpness by the intensity of edges
shown as red lines.
Using standard M lenses, you can easily adjust focus manually
and continuously, even while shooting HD video. (For anyone
who hasn’t used a rangefinder, its simple: a double image in the
center of the finder merges into a single, sharp image as you come
into focus.) For cinema verité, documentaries, news, and unobtrusive drama, this will be very appealing.
Video couldn’t be easier: set the aperture on the lens, set the shutter speed (or put it on Automatic), and push the “M” for “Movie”
button to the right of the stills shutter release.
Sensors in Germany seem to be named after people. ARRI Alexa
has the Alev sensor and Leica M has Max. Max is a 24 Megapixel, full-frame 24 x 36 mm still format sensor, designed by Leica
(in Solms) and CMOSIS (in Belgium), and fabricated in France.
“This is the first time that a CMOS image sensor for a 35mm
high-end camera was designed and manufactured in Europe for a
European customer,” said Guy Meynants, CTO of CMOSIS, Antwerp, Belgium. “Apart from the ceramic IC package, the Leica
Max 24MP CMOS Sensor is a 100-percent European product.”
“Thanks to the special sensor technology from CMOSIS, we can
now, for the first time, offer a digital camera that is optimized
for use with both M and R lenses,” said Alfred Schopf, Managing
Director of Leica Camera AG.
Since M cameras have a very shallow flange depth of 27.80 mm,
adapters will accommodate most 35mm still lenses in the world.
Many of us eagerly await a PL-to-Leica M adapter for Leica Summilux-C PL-mount cine lenses. I’m also keeping my eye on the Max
sensor, whose 5952 x 3976 photosites could mean more cinematic
K to come (almost 6K x 4K). Just as earlier Leica cameras with
numbers (I, II, III, M3, M2...M9) instigated new styles of unobtrusive photojournalism, the new M-with-no-number could be
the beginning of a new relationship with a new generation of protagonists in search of a new wave of decisive moments. ☐
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
11
Transvideo Rainbow HD
Transvideo Rainbow monitors have been a standard of the motion picture industry since they revolutionized on-board viewing
in 1995.
They were originally designed as on-board mini-monitors for
Panavision Panaflex Platinum cameras, and quickly became essential accessories for almost all cameras with video assist on
most feature, commercial and high-end productions. They were
famous for their superb image, visibility in bright sunlight or
darkest studio, and almost indestructible construction. In fact,
as cameras come and go, most of the original Rainbow and Rainbow II monitors are still in use.
Rainbow Monitors are standard definition. Transvideo's next
generation CineMonitorHD was, like its name says, HD.
Now there's a new family of Transvideo monitors that are lighter,
thinner, and more economical: RainbowHD. They are simpler
to use, about half the weight and almost half the price of a CineMonitorHD.
The screen measures 7 inches diagonal. The regular model is suggested for studios and interiors. The SBL model has a superbright
display (more than 1000 Nits) — for outdoors and in bright light.
RainbowHD monitors use an anti-reflective coating and the
glass is optically bonded to further reduce reflections.
The new RainbowHD design is slim, rugged, has low power consumption, and dual HD-SDI in/out connectors with dual-link
capability. Existing CineMonitor battery brackets and handles
fit, along with a new line of clever carrying options.
Connections:
• 2x HD/SD SDI inputs (1 re-clocked)
• 2x HD/SD SDI outputs (1 re-clocked, 1 processed)
• HDMI input
• HDMI output (re-clocked)
• Composite standard def input (CVBS)
• Composite standard def re-clocked output(CVBS)
Specs
• SuperBright: 1000Nits
• Enhanced SuperBright 1000 Nits + optical system
• Built-in HDMi to SDI converter
• Dimensions: 7.5" w x 1.4" d x 4.1" h
• Screen: 7" diagonal
Models
• RainbowHD eSBL: product number 917TS0103
• RainbowHD SBL: product number 917TS0097
• RainbowHD: product number 917TS0098
Product photos: Francois Gerard.
On-Off Switch
Right
USB connector:
for updates
Audio Output from
SDI to headset
SD Card slot for still
store and loading
refrence frames
Left
Top
Bottom
12
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
Angénieux 19.5-94 and 28-340 Optimos
The new Angénieux Optimo 19.5-94 mm T2.6 and 28-340 mm T3.2
zooms are being presented for the first time at AFC Micro Salon. They
are based on the same design as the venerable Optimo 17-80 mm and
24-290 mm, but have a newly expanded image circle of 31.4 mm. This
will cover Super35 and RED 5K formats.
The 12x Optimo 28-340 mm T3.2 zoom has more than 70 focus
witness marks (available in choice of feet or meters) and a 327° focus
barrel rotation.
Optimo 19.5-94 mm T2.6
The 4.7x Optimo 19.5-94 mm T2.6 zoom has more than
50 calibrated focus witness marks (available in choice of
feet or meters) and a 329° focus barrel rotation.
Both new zooms are available in PL mount (Panavision PV
mount on request) and are compatible with Angénieux’s
1.4x and 2x extenders.
The charts below show how the new zooms compare with
their older siblings. www.angenieux.com
19.5-94 mm
• Zoom Ratio: • Max Aperture: • Close Focus: • Image Coverage: • Weight (approx.): • Length: • Front Diameter: Optimo 17-80 mm T2.2
17-80 mm
• Zoom Ratio: • Max Aperture:
• Close Focus: • Image Coverage: • Weight: • Length: • Front Diameter: Optimo 28-340 mm T3.2
4.7x
T2.2
2 ft / 0.6 m
28 mm diagonal
12.1 lb / 5.5 kg
326 mm (PL mount)
136 mm
28-340 mm
• Zoom Ratio: • Max Aperture: • Close Focus: • Image Coverage: • Weight (approx.): • Length: • Front Diameter: Optimo 24-290 mm T2.8
4.7x
T2.6
2'0.5" / 0.62 m
31.4 mm diagonal
12.3 lb /5.6 kg
335 mm (PL)
330 mm (Panavision)
136 mm
12x
T3.2
4'.5" / 1.23 m
31.4 mm diagonal
24.4 lb / 11.1 kg
454 mm (PL)
449 mm (Panavision)
162 mm
24-290 mm
• Zoom Ratio: • Max Aperture: • Close Focus: • Image Coverage: • Weight (approx.): • Length: • Front Diameter: 12x
T2.8
4 ft / 1.22 m
30 mm diagonal
24.2 lb / 11 kg
440 mm (PL mount)
162 mm
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
13
Fujinon PL Premier Cabrio Zooms
Fujinon’s two new lightweight PL-mount Cabrio Zooms, 19-90
mm and 85-300 mm, both T2.9, are shipping. In the US, these
lenses are called Cabrio—as in cabriolet—convertible.
back off the Cabrio servo's 4 screws and detach the handgrip
system. When you reattach it, the drive is self-centering. Please
follow Fujinon’s instructions regarding this procedure.
The convertible part is the quickly removable zoom handgrip with
servo drive motors inside. Long familiar to ENG and EFP shooters, the handgrips contain built-in lens motors for focus, iris, and
zoom. A rocker controls the zoom.
If you want to use the Cabrio’s internal motors with a wireless
lens control or wired zoom, companies like Preston, cmotion,
Chrosziel, ARRI, and Scorpio have ways to do this with interface
boxes or cables.
If you’re using the Cabrio with a wireless lens control system, you
have two choices. For Preston, ARRI, Hedén, Servicevision, or
cmotion systems using dedicated external lens motors, simply
The Cabrios have /i and LDS contacts in the lens mount. These
contacts power the servo and transfer lens metadata. Cabrio's
LDS information now displays on recent ARRI Alexas.
Fujinon Cabrio
19-90 mm T2.9
Fujinon Cabrio 19-90 mm T2.9 (ZK4.7x19)
• Zoom Ratio
4.7x
• Aperture T2.9
• Close Focus
33.5" / .85 m
• Length: 8.8" / 223 mm
• Front Diameter
114 mm / 4.5"
• Weight w/ servo handgrip: 6 lb / 2.7 kg
• 31.5 mm Image Circle.
• LDS and /i lens data capable through electric contacts in the mount
• Adjustable Back Focus, No Shims
• Macro Focus
Fujinon Cabrio 85-300 mm T2.9 (ZK3.5x85)
• Zoom Ratio
• Aperture
• Close Focus
• Length: • Front Diameter
• Weightw/ servo handgrip:
• Wgt w/out servo handgrip:
3.5x
T2.9 from 85-220 mm
ramps to T4 from 220-300 mm
47.2" / 1.2 m
9.8" / 249 mm
114 mm / 4.5''
3 kg / 6.6 lb
2.5 kg / 5.5 lb
Fujinon Cabrio
85-300 mm T2.9-4.0
14
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
Detachable Servos for 19-90 mm and 85-300 mm
Using Preston FIZ and Microforce with Fujinon Cabrios
The new Fujinon Cabrio zoom lenses
come with a detachable servo handgrip
that has 3 internal lens servo motors. The
focus, iris and zoom servo motors can be
controlled with a Preston wireless FIZ by
connecting a Preston-Fujinon Interface
between the MDR (Motor Driver) and
the Cabrio’s 20-pin Hirose connector.
For wired zoom control, a digital or analog
Microforce can be plugged into the Cabrio’s 12-pin Hirose connector using the
same Interface box and a different cable.
Caution:
Analog Microforce controls prior to V+F3 and Digital
Microforce controls prior to Digital Microforce2 must
be (or have been) updated to prevent the possibility of
damage to the lens servo electronics.
Dip switches
under rubber flap
12-pin Hirose (for wired
Microforce zoom control)
EXT 20-pin Hirose
(for wireless FIZ control)
All video cables used with the Microforce should have a
green band identifier, indicating that a protection transistor has been installed. See the document: “Required
Updates for Microforce Controls” on the Downloads
page, Service Bulletins, of the Preston Cinema website:
www.prestoncinema.com/downloads.html
Neither Fujifilm / Fujinon nor Preston Cinema Systems
nor Film and Digital Times are responsible for any
damage to Cabrio lenses or Preston Cinema Systems
devices by following the advice here or using one
product with the other.
Cable with green band for Microforce:
plugs into Cabrio’s 12-pin connector
Cable with Interface Box for wireless FIZ:
connects MDR to Cabrio’s 20-pin connector
If your camera cannot power the Cabrio through the lens mount, you need an additional cable from Fujinon:
Cable
Description
Camera
SA-206M-1R2
20 Pin Lens to 12 Pin Camera
SONY F65, F35
SA-206K-1R2
20 Pin Lens to 4P XLR Power
Red One, Red Epic, Canon C300, Early Alexa
SA-206K-1R2P
20 Pin Lens to D-Tap
Red One, Red Epic, Canon C300, Early Alexa
SA-206R-R60-US
Y Cable: 20 Pin Lens to 20 Pin Preston FIZ Cable and 4 Pin XLR Power
Red One, Red Epic, Canon C300, Early Alexa
Proper operation of the lens with a Microforce requires that version “H” firmware (or later) is installed. The firmware version is
indicated by a label next to the Zoom Manual/Servo switch.
A dip switch on the lens is provided for changing the amount of
zoom “dead zone,” which corresponds to the amount of force that
must be applied to the control before the lens begins to respond.
If the firmware label is not present or is previous to the “H”
version, contact your nearest Fujinon service center to arrange a
firmware update. In the US, the locations are at:
tinyurl.com/cabrio-usa
There are two groups of switches as shown in this picture: switch
3 should be in the OFF position for minimum dead zone.
Firmware Label
Switch 3 should be in the OFF position
for use with a Microforce Zoom
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
15
135 mm Primes
Leica Summilux-C
The 135 mm T2.1 is the newest member in the set of 12 Leica Summilux-C lenses: 16,
18, 21, 25, 29, 35, 40, 50, 65, 75, 100, and 135 mm. Gerhard Baier will hand-carry
the latest pre-production Leica lens from the factory directly to Micro Salon in Paris.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aperture Iris blades
Front diameter
Length / Weight
Close Focus / Mount
Image Diagonal
T 1.4 - 16
16 (and single leaf for full closure)
115 mm / 4.53"
205.5 mm / 8.1''
around 3 kg / 6.6 lb
1.2 m / 4' PL mount
33.5 mm
ZEISS Compact Prime CP.2
The 135mm T2.1 lens is one of the newer members of the ZEISS Compact Prime CP.2
family: 15, 18, 21, 25, 28, 35, 50, 85, 100, and 135 mm. They come with a choice of 5
interchangeable mounts: PL, Canon EF, Nikon F, Micro 4/3 (MFT) and Sony E mount.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aperture Iris blades
Front diameter
Length / Weight
Close Focus / Mount
Image Diagonal
T 2.1 - 22
14
114 mm / 4.5 in
149 mm / 5.9''
1.6 kg / 3.5 lb
1 m / 3'3''
PL, EF, F, MFT, E Mount
43 mm (full 35mm still format – 24 x 36 mm)
Canon Cinema Prime
Canon's CN-E135mm T2.2 L F joins the set of 5 Cinema Primes: 14 mm T3.1, 24 mm
T1.5, 50 mm T1.3, 85 mm T1.3, and 135 mm T2.2. Canon EF-mount only.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aperture
Iris blades
Front diameter
Length / Weight
Close Focus / Mount
Image Diagonal
T 2.2 - 22
11
114 mm
118.4 mm / 4.7" 1.4 kg / 3.1 lb
1 m / 3'3" EF Mount
43 mm (full 35mm still format ­– 24 x 36 mm)
Sony CineAlta Prime
Sony’s 135 mm T2.0 is one of 6 second generation primes introduced in February 2013.
The set consists of 20, 25, 35, 50, 85, and 135 mm lenses.
•
•
•
•
•
Aperture Iris blades
Front diameter
Length / Weight
Close Focus / Mount
T 2.1 - 22
9
114 mm / 4.5 in (Max barrel diameter 118 mm)
145 mm / 5.7''
2.4 kg / 5.3 lb
.85 m / 33.4''
PL mount
ARRI/ZEISS Ultra Prime
ARRI/ZEISS Ultra Prime lenses were originally introduced in 1998, followed by LDS
Ultra Primes. The 135 mm UP is still one of the smallest and lightest weight of the 135
mm collection.
•
•
•
•
•
16
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
Aperture Iris blades
Front diameter
Length / Weight
Close Focus / Mount
T 1.9 - 22
10
95 mm / 3.7"
119 mm / 4.7"
1.5 m / 5' 1.6 kg / 3.5 lb
PL mount
135 mm Primes
Cooke 5/i
The 135 mm T1.4 Cooke 5/i has an illuminated focus scale, and /i data contacts in
the PL lens mount and a /i 4-pin connector on the barrel.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aperture Iris blades
Front diameter
Length / Weight
Close Focus / Mount
Image Diagonal
T 1.4 - 22
7
136 mm / 5.4"
219 mm / 8.6''
.80 m / 31.5''
30 mm
5.1 kg / 11.2 lb
PL mount
Cooke S4/i
The 135 mm T2.0 Cooke S4/i has /i data contacts in the PL lens mount and a /i 4-pin
connector on the barrel.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aperture Iris blades
Front diameter
Length / Weight
Close Focus / Mount
Image Diagonal
T 2 - 22
8
110 mm / 4.3"
184 mm / 7.3''
.85 m / 33''
30 mm
2.25 kg / 5 lb
PL mount
Cooke Mini S4/i
The stars formerly known as Panchros are now called Mini S4/i. The 135 mm T2.8
has built-in /i lens metadata via contacts in the PL mount.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aperture Iris blades
Front diameter
Length / Weight
Close Focus / Mount
Image Diagonal
T 2.8 - 22
8
87 mm / 3.4"
157.8 mm / 6.2''
.79 m / 31''
33.5 mm
1.8 kg / 4 lb
PL mount
ARRI/ZEISS Master Prime
The maximum barrel diameter of the 135 mm is 128 mm / 5".
LDS Lens Data System contact in the PL mount.
•
•
•
•
•
Aperture Iris blades
Front diameter
Length / Weight
Close Focus / Mount
T 1.3 - 22
11
114 mm / 4.5 in
224 mm / 8.8"
.95 m / 37" 2.8 kg / 6.2 lb
PL mount
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
17
Master Anamorphic in Paris
Left to right: Roberto De Angelis, Cyrille Dufaut,
Fanny Coustenoble and Christian Abomnes.
Photo: Simon Noizat
By Natacha V and Natasza C, ImageWorks
monuments as souvenirs.
This story began at Camerimage 2012. Michel Abramowicz,
AFC and Stephan Schenk, ARRI General Manager Business Unit
Camera & Digital Intermediate Systems, discussed ideas for Micro
Salon. They both agreed to present the first images shot with the
first Anamorphic ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic lens in the
Micro Salon screening room.
FDTimes: What do you think of anamorphic?
In early January 2013, ARRI entrusted a single 50 mm ARRI/ZEISS
Master anamorphic lens to Roberto De Angelis, accompanied by
Michel Abramowicz, AFC. The shoot took place in Paris for three
days and reunited a great team of professionals.
These images were shot with an ARRI Alexa Plus and Studio 4:3,
recorded on a Codex Onboard S, and downloaded and cloned with
a Codex Vault. Most of the exterior and interior shots were filmed
on location with a Steadicam. Running shots in Paris, day and
night, were done with a Scorpio Arm from Next Shot.
The story of the film “A Trip to Remember” takes us into Paris with
two young tourists who enjoy going out and partying. They forget
the classic tours of the city and its monuments. A few hours before
their departure they make up for lost time and take pictures of the
Michel Abramowicz, AFC
Photo: Simon Noizat
18
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
Roberto De Angelis: For me, Anamorphic “scope” is Cinema. I’ve
done comparisons with Super35 in the past and anamorphic has
a depth that spherical does not have. The anamorphic perspective
reminds me a little of 3D. Also with anamorphic, focus becomes
an important narrative element because you can tell two stories
in the same frame. At night, the quality of out-of-focus highlights
and points of light in the background (bokehs) bring us additional
artistic possibilities. When shooting with digital cameras,
anamorphic brings us closer to the look of the film.
I was amazed by the lack of distortion with the Master Anamorphic
50 mm lens and that we could do the entire film with this lens. Also,
it is beautiful wide open, and it has the great advantage of being
very light and compact.
FDTimes: Michael, can you describe the characteristics that you
found with this lens?
Michel Abramowicz: At the moment I have not yet seen the images
projected on a large screen and I still can not make definitive
conclusions as the entire process is not finished. But at first glance
Master Anamorphic (cont’d)
Camera Car and Scorpio
Arm from Next Shot.
Photo: Simon Noizat
the ARRI/ZEISS anamorphic is very beautiful, it is made with
great care. We used it at full aperture. I was surprised that it was
difficult to have flares. The lens is very well made, giving it both
advantages and disadvantages because the image is structured and
without distortion. The scope format is very interesting, out-offocus blurring is more pronounced.
Today digital is what it is, but with a Codex (ARRIRAW recording)
and an anamorphic lens, we come back to a cinematic image. It is a
pleasure to meet Cinemascope again.
FDTimes: Etienne Bertrand, you worked on this production as
DIT. What was your workflow?
Etienne Bertrand: On this job, we had a Vault—which is a device
made by Codex that allows us to upload and/or clone the recorded
images. The Vault has different modules that can be added or
removed as needed. There is an internal memory module of 8 TB.
You can also add an LTO module for archiving. I find this modular
configuration interesting because you can set up a Vault according
to different requirements of a production.
For my part, working on this production with a lab in Germany, I
received the Capture Drives from the Codex Onboard S. I inserted
these into the Vault to make a first copy onto the internal hard
drive of the Vault. I also used the Capture Drive to make a copy
of the .ARI files onto an external RAID5 array. This was done in a
single operation, which is handy, as the Vault is programmable to
chain such operations. The transfer time is fast.
You can also make a copy of the Capture Drive onto a Transfer
Drive which will go to the laboratory where it is unloaded and
checked. The lab gives us a green light on location so we can erase
and reuse the Capture Drive. The lab returns the Transfer Drive to
us; it is like a shuttle disk.
I think a tool like the Vault is essential when we shoot far from
the laboratory. It lets us make copies in native format and/or store
images internally or even on LTO. The fact that it can receive
different types of media allows a single device to copy and transfer
from different sources to different deliverables. Currently, the
Codex Vault accepts Data Packs from OnBoard M, Capture Drives
from Onboad S, and soon, SxS cards. ☐
Photo: Anastasia Durand
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
19
AKS for Sony F5-F55
ARRI Pro Camera Accessories
ARRI’s Pro Camera Accessories for Sony’s new F5 and F55 are
compatible with ARRI and industry-standard mattebox and follow focus systems. The baseplate includes a built-in “Touch and
Go 35” plate and accepts studio bridge plates such as ARRI’s BP-8
or BP-9. Rosettes on each side provide mounting points for handgrips and extensions.
The shoulder pad mounts directly to the bottom of Sony F5 and
F55 cameras with a hand screw and can be used independently of
the baseplate. When used with an ARRI’s base plate, the shoulder
pad can remain attached.
ARRI’s top plate for Sony F5-F55 has multiple mounting points
for accessories. It can also be used as a Steadicam low mode plate.
The handle attaches at 3 different positions for choice of balance.
An optional 15 mm lightweight support rod holder attaches to the
front of the top plate, optically centered to the camera.
ARRI’s Viewfinder Adapter VFA-1 lets you mount Sony viewfinders to the handle in any position where there’s a 3/8-16 thread.
FDTimes’ updated booklet on Sony F5-F55 has more details and
can be downloaded at: tinyurl.com/SonyF55
ARRI Pro Camera Accessories
Element Technica Accessories
Element Technica and their new top handle lets you mount the
viewfinder in all kinds of positions: up front for handheld, at the
rear for operating on a geared head or dolly. Plus mounting by
cold-shoe, rosette or Sony EVF dovetail. Below, right: F55 with
Element Technica Micron base-plate system, Angenieux Optimo
DP 16-42 mm zoom, ARRI mattebox, OConnor 1030D fluid head.
Element Technica Accessories
20
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
Nikon D600 Full Frame 24 x 36
Above: Nikon
D600 with its F
bayonet mount
Right: FX format
sensor 24.0 mm x
35.9 mm
The D600 can record 1080p HD at 1080p 24, 25, or 30 fps, among
other resoltions and frame rates. It has manual exposure control,
onboard microphone, external stereo audio input, and headphone jack.
Audio levels can be displayed on the LCD with peaking.
The image can be displayed on the LCD screen while simultaneously
shown on another monitor via the HDMI output, which also can provide
uncompressed video via the HDMI connection to a digital recorder.
Soothsayers prowling the halls this fall at IBC, Cinec, Photokina,
and PhotoPlus prognosticated predictable picture product trends:
we’re moving toward a world of “scalable” 24 x 36 mm full frame
still format sensors not only for stills, but also for motion pictures.
Nikon announced their 24.3-megapixel D600 in September. The
F-mount of the D600 (and the D800, and all the other Nikon FX
DSLRs) accepts lenses with different image circles. You can use
both FX (full frame, 35.9 mm x 24.0 mm) and DX (APS-C size,
23.6mm x 15.6mm) formats. The camera knows which size is being used. When the camera menu’s “Auto DX Crop” is turned on,
images from DX lenses, which normally would vignette because
of their smaller image circle, are cropped to their native APS-C
size and then “blown up” to fill the frame.
If you’re shooting video with a DX lens, it won’t look like shooting through a keyhole. And, even though your lens covers a 1.5x
smaller area within the D600’s 24.3 million pixels, it’s an area with
the same remarkable pixel count as your DX-sensor D7000 (16.2
million pixels).
NIKKOR lenses use an internal IC chip that communicates the
type of lens, whether FX or DX, to the camera. Nikon Senior
Technical Manager Steve Heiner says, “As far as I know we are
the only major manufacturer doing this…and we’ve done it with
every FX DSLR we’ve made.
“And don’t forget the additional crop option in the D4 that gives
you a third cropping option—the 1920 x 1080 (2.7x) crop mode
for movie mode only. This crops the FX format sensor all the way
down to exactly 1920 X 1080 pixels for a very clean, pixel-forpixel recording mode. It is great for long lens shooting, although
a little more challenging for wide angle given the 2.7x crop factor.
But it’s a great option that I have used quite a bit for concert photography where I didn’t have a lens longer than 200 mm. With the
2.7x crop, that makes my 200 mm a 540 mm f/2.8.”
Camera designers are benefitting from ever increasing pixel densities on the sensor. Soon, one sensor will be able to work with
FX, DX, PL, 16mm and 2/3" formats—all at very high resolutions
offering scalable formats, a plethora of aspect ratios, and limitless
looks.
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
21
Canon 6D Full Frame 24 x 36
A star of September in Cologne was Canon’s EOS 6D Digital
SLR Camera. It has a newly-designed 20.2-megapixel full-frame
CMOS sensor, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS. In the great ascent to the
lofty heights of Canon full-frame cameras, the 6D is the advanced
entry-level model that has most features, if not more than the
EOS 5D Mark II, the camera that started all this fuss over HDSLRs. Climbing further, you can choose Canon’s 5D Mark III, and
reach the summit with EOS 1D X and 1D C. If your itchy finger is
OK with 100,000 shutter cycles (that’s a lot of pictures), then the
6D will satisfy and leave sufficient funds to purchase many of the
lenses you will desire.
The EOS 6D is the entrance into the world of full-frame 24 x 36
mm imaging (actual size is 23.9 x 35.8 mm).
Canon excels at low light. The EOS 6D has an ISO range of 10025,600. A low setting takes us down to Kodachrome levels of 50
ISO. There are two high settings, H1: 51,200 and H2: 102,400 ISO.
Taking some of its cues from the other members of Canon’s EOS
5D series, the EOS 6D offers full manual control of exposure and
audio levels while shooting video. The camera has NTSC and
PAL video modes at multiple frame rates, recording 1080p at 30
(29.97), 24 (23.976) and 25 fps, 720p at 60 (59.94) and 50 fps and
standard def at 30 (29.97) and 25 fps.
Video files are MOV (H.264). The camera shoots up to 29 minutes
and 59 seconds of continuous recording (with 4 GB automatic file
partitioning) in selectable “All i-frame” or IPB compression with
embedded timecode.
22
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
Canon’s EOS 6D has a built-in wireless transmitter to send images
and video to smartphones, tablets, clouds, and social networks.
The free Canon EOS Remote app is available for iPhones, iPads,
and Android smartphones or wireless tablets to remotely connect, control and operate the EOS 6D. The expression “phoning
in a job” takes on new meaning.
Schneider Lenses
Schneider-Kreuznach showed three pre-production lenses called
Video Xenons: 25 mm T2.1, 50 mm T2.1, and 75 mm T2.1. They
cover full-frame still format, with Canon EOS (EF) and Nikon
F mounts. The irises have 14 blades. Aperture range is T2.1 -22.
Schneider’s Cine-Xenar III primes are available now. They come
in PL mount and cover an image circle of 31.5 mm. There are currently six in the set: 18 mm T2.2, 25 mm T2.2, 35 mm, T2.0, 50
mm T2.0, 75 mm T2.0, 95 mm T2.0. Minimum Aperture is T16.
Peter Denz Canon Handgrip System
Canon EOS C100, C300, and C500 cameras have a proprietary
handgrip mounting point on the camera right side. This must
have horrified Peter Denz, whose Präzisions-Entwicklung DENZ
Fertigungs GmbH is one of the leading suppliers of CNC machined industry-standard Hirth tooth rosettes.
Mr. Denz came up with this elegant accessory to mount the original Canon handgrip wherever you like.
A Canon mount to Hirth tooth rosette adapter lets you attach
the handgrip on a Denz Universal Handle System or any other
system. The handgrip can also be mounted on 15 mm rods with
a Denz adapter. A coiled cable plugs into the Canon camera for
start/stop and lens control.
Clairmont Alexa In-Camera Filters & Effects
Designed by Clairmont’s very own Andree
Martin, these In-Camera Net Holders and InCamera Blue Streak Effects are available to rent
with Clairmont Camera’s ARRI Alexas. The
In-Camera Filter System will be available for
purchase from Schneider in the near future.
Like the net holders, the Blue Streak Effect
“Filter” is held in place magnetically, and can
be used as a stand-alone effect or piggybacked
on any filter placed in the filter carrier.
Unlike streak filters used in a mattebox, no
glass is used in the filter ring. Therefore, there
is no focus shift or possibility of unwanted reflections caused by the filter being placed in the
optical path. The filter ring can be rotated to
any position desired during installation. This
creative option allows the resulting streaks to
be vertical, horizontal or anywhere in between
on the photographed image.
The light reflects off the filament rather than
illuminating the length of it—so if you want
horizontal streaks, insert the blue streak effect
filter with the filaments aligned vertically into
your Alexa.
Above: Clairmont Blue Streak Effect Filter on Cooke
S4/i 100 mm lens.
Left: Blue Streak Effect filaments in ARRI Alexa.
Right: Clairmont
In-Camera Blue Streak
Effect filter with magnetic
holder for ARRI Alexa and
insertion tool
More info: http://tinyurl.com/clairmont-streaks
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
23
iDC Photo Video
New from iDC Photo Video:
At left, their clever XL Monitor (and Viewfinder) Focusing Plate puts follow focus accessories in front of the
camera, and viewing devices behind.
iDC has done something that will send most machinists out of the room or into heavy overtime. Beveling the
end of a gear at a 45 degree angle is not a simple task.
The benefit, when done right (as iDC has done) is an
elegant design with fewer moving parts. Direct Geared
Drive is helpful on stiff lenses or when the temperature
drops below 0 and barrel grease thickens.
www.idcphotovideo.com
Two ways to drive your lenses:
Direct Geared Follow
Focus. No Gear Box
Friction Follow
Focus
Easyfocus in Madrid
Easyfocus is a distance measurement tool for focus-pullers.
Invented by Fritz Gabriel Bauer, AAC, who designed the Moviecam and Arricam, Easyfocus combines an extremely precise
reader with a touchscreen. Easyfocus Systems now support cmotion, Preston Cinema Systems and ARRI.
Easyfocus recently worked 5 nights on location in Madrid for
2013 Mercedes E-Class commercials. A Filmotechnic Russian
Arm SUV was equipped with an Alcicam ARRI Alexa (shooting
at 120 fps), Preston FI+Z, Angenieux Optimo 17-80 mm, seven
Master Prime lenses (18, 25, 35, 50, 75, 100, 150 mm) and the
remote Easyfocus System.
Erik Schwarz, 1st AC, said, “Night-shooting, no rehearsals, low
light, 100 km/h, Rock & Roll style—using the Russian Arm and
lenses like the Master Prime 150 mm at T1.3—only with the
Easyfocus was it possible to get and keep these pictures in perfect focus. Easyfocus is truly a focus pullers’ best friend.”
Ros Bot
The superb “Bot Trilogy” by Philippe Ros, AFC explores
workflow with Sony F65 and Leica Summilux-C lenses. The films
were produced by Martin Kreitl (MKM productions), Nicolas
Pollacchi, (HD Systems) and Ben Elia, who also was Director
(Exoplanet Films). Olivier Garcia (HD Systems) revisited the
F65’s Debayering, LUTs, and Gamma curves.
Love Bot Crew. Photo: Markus Schmidle.
24
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
The three short films, first on nature, second by night with 350
W lighting equipment in extremely dark conditions, and the
third exploring skin tones of two generations of women were
graded by Laurent Desbrueres, senior colorist. Production was
made possible by Sony Europe, Leica, FGV Schmidle, EMIT
France, K5600 lighting, ACC&LED, and Vantage Film. Digimage
Cinema was the post-production facility.
Cinetech Italiana
Adam Wilt’s Cine Meter
by Jacques Lipkau-Goyard
Romans know a thing or two about moving vehicles: chariots, Fiats, Ferraris, Maseratis, and Lamborghinis. So it’s no surprise that
there is a superbly crafted line of motion picture camera dollies
made in Rome by Cinetech Italiana.
Cinetech Italiana has been located near the famous Cinecittà
Studios for over 25 years. The dollies are designed by founder
and CEO, Armando Grottesi. Mr. Grottesi has a background in
mechanical engineering and 40 years of experience in the film
equipment manufacturing business. Cinetech Dollies are stable,
versatile, extremely smooth and provide precise arm movement
even with heavy camera loads. They use the latest technology and
structural materials.
The new Electronic/Hydraulic Dollies provide a hybrid of benefits from the newly engineered hydraulic system along with the
precision of memorized start, stop, and intermediate positions.
Cinetech sells dollies to the customer. They don’t rent. Cinetech
leaves rental to rental houses in 35 countries that include: ARRI
(Germany), Cinecittà Studios (Italy), Panalight (Italy), China
Film Group (Beijing), Bogdan i Brigada (Russia), X-Ray (Russia),
Gamma Engineering (UAE and Lebanon), Movie People (Italy
and Malta), AMG Universal Cine (Italy), Harrison and Watkins
(New Zealand), Proaction Media Services (Dubai), and Camaras
y Luces (Argentina).
Jonas Pagazaurtundua of Camaras y Luces said, “Cinetech Italiana products filled a need for scissor dollies that we couldn’t meet
before in Argentina. Doing business with Armando was always
pleasant. We had the opportunity to visit his company in Italy and
found out that it was mainly a family business like our own. He is
a man of hard work and understands customers’ needs. The dollies were consistent and easy to use. Cinetech is now one of our
principal suppliers. Exchanging parts has been easy and customer
service has been perfect. Currently we have 10 Super Falcon II
and 4 Super Hawk II dollies.”
A new Dolly, the ALBATROS, will be presented this May at Cine Gear Expo 2013 in Los
Angeles. Meanwhile, Cinetech Dollies
will be on display at the CINESYL
booth during the AFC Micro
Salon in Paris this February.
www.cinetech.it
If you’ve been dragging your feet about getting the new largerscreen iPhone 5, Adam Wilt’s new Cine Meter app is reason
enough. It uses the iPhone’s camera as a reflected light meter,
RGB monitor, white balance checker, color temperature matcher,
and contrast viewer (false color picture mode).
The light meter shows stops as whole numbers and decimals or
fractions (like f/4.0 ⅔). You can calibrate Cine Meter to match
your other meters to a tenth of a stop.
This single device will let you multi-task on set with style: ensuring correct exposure while ensuring future employment with frequent calls to your agent. But first, use your iPhone to download
the app immediately: www.adamwilt.com/cinemeter
Adam Wilt writes:
“Cine Meter sprang from a Cinematography Mailing List discussion about using an iPhone as a color meter. I was between gigs,
so I took this on as a challenge.
“iPhone cameras don’t let you preset white balance, only lock or
unlock it, and they don’t say what the resulting color balance is.
But they do report brightness. That let me implement a simple
light meter, with matrix and 10° spot modes courtesy of the camera’s capabilities. Big deal: there are dozens of light meter apps.
What else could I do?
“Being an engineer, I added a waveform monitor. Even though
an iPhone’s camera isn’t quite up to Alexa standards, I thought a
handheld WFM might be useful: a meter just gives you a number,
while a WFM shows how the light falls across an area. I also put
in a false-color mode for use as a contrast checker.
“The WFM has an RGB mode, so you can see relative proportions
of red, green, and blue. It’s handy for comparing light sources,
seeing how an instrument’s color shifts as it’s dimmed, how pure
a greenscreen is. It may not be a color meter but it’s as close as I
could get, and in many cases it turns out to be good enough for
practical set work.
DP Art Adams, one of Cine Meter’s beta testers, says:
“Cine Meter is a great app for checking the evenness of green
screens and white limbo backgrounds, things that I often prelight before the camera arrives. Traditionally I’d use a spot meter
or waveform monitor for this, but Cine Meter shows me brightness levels across the entire frame all at once so I don’t have to
take several dozen 1° spot readings or wait for the camera to be
set up.”
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
25
Darius Khondji on Philippe Parreno’s "Marilyn"
by Darius Khondji, AFC, ASC
We used the Louma 2 for an interesting sequence on one of
Philippe Parreno’s latest works, “Marilyn.”
The rain is artificial and the Manhattan skyline is a a backdrop,
but we do not stop there.
Philippe Parreno is one of the greatest French artists with whom I
have worked. We previously collaborated on “Zidane, a 21st Century Portrait” and 3 other projects. Philippe's point of view and
ideas on images are very unique. He is the artist I can experiment
with the most.
We continue the pull out until we pass through the actual doors of
the studio into the exterior street of Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Philippe wanted the camera to act as Marilyn’s ghost point of
view, while a specially designed robot had been trained to reproduce Monroe’s handwriting and another to recreate her voice
“… almost like a dead corpse being brought back to life…” said
Philippe.
The Louma 2 shot started inside Marilyn’s suite at the Waldorf
Astoria Hotel, looking through a window at the Manhattan skyline. It is raining, and we see the beads of water running down the
window glass… then we start a slow pull out, revealing the first
room of Marilyn’s suite. As we are continuously moving, we hear
her voice and we see the robot that is reproducing accurately one
of the letters she wrote.
We continue the long track back into a second room, seeing the
beautiful furniture.
Very slowly, we start to realize that we are in fact in the middle of
a set on a movie stage, with the lights, the crew, etc.
26
photo by Rob Kassabian. Atelier Philippe Parreno.
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
Finally, the camera rises above the stage roof to discover the real
Manhattan skyline. End of shot.
For this shot, we had the Louma 2 on 120' of track. We used an
ARRI Alexa in RAW with old anamorphic Cooke Taylor Hobson
lenses.
We set the Louma 2 remote head in over-slung mode in order to
get a little more height and perspective above the stage roof.
The smooth telescope move was needed to start out over the set,
so that the initial illusion was there without seeing the track. The
Louma’s telescoping ability also was needed at the end of the shot
to avoid power lines while rising up above the studio.
Our Louma 2 technician was Paul McKenna. Tommy Prate was our
Key Grip, and they both did a fabulous job orchestrating this shot.
I also had a great camera assistant, Bob Ragozzine and a great
Gaffer, John Raugalis.
I want to thank CSC New York for their camera support and
Panavision New York for their support with the Louma 2.
Lighting with Paint
Marie-Denise Villers
(1774-1821)
Young Woman Drawing
1801. Oil on Canvas
63 1/2 x 50 5/8 in.
(161.3 x 128.6 cm)
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York City
by Jon Fauer, ASC
Marie-Denise Villers was a student of Girodet. This painting, exhibited in the 1801 Salon, may be a self portrait. It was attributed
to Jacques-Louis David for a long time. It now hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in the front gallery at the
top of the main stairway. Viller’s delight in backlight is remarkable
for its treatment of luminous bounce-fill whose source is in the
frame. I wanted to learn more. What was she drawing?
I jumped into the FDTimes Time Machine and joined the two
characters standing outside the window. The gentleman was none
other than Jacques-Louis David, the famous artist, who had volunteered to be gaffer on this day. The fashionably well-dressed
lady was chef machiniste (key grip). I borrowed David’s pocket
telescope to see what Viller’s was drawing. She was not drawing.
She was writing:
“We lost the natural morning light because the director kept asking for changes in my wardrobe and hair style. The sun had departed its promised position—promised, that is, to the producer
who had budgeted this scene for available light. David came to
what I thought was the rescue by offering a 12K from his truck at
no charge to production, in return for Executive Producer credit.
“The 12K was positioned on the parapet outside the window, out
of view, and aimed onto my golden hair. I realized that a slight
amount of fill light would be needed. I had heard of some funny
Austrians who used mirrors and things to bounce light all over
the place. But with no Austrians or mirrors at hand, I decided to
use my sketch pad to bounce the backlight back onto my visage.
I confide with pride that it took the skill of a seasoned billiards
player to catch the light just so, without spilling any of it onto the
beautifully dark wall behind me.”
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
27
Reflections on Reflections
Giulio Parigi: Archimedes’ Mirror. 1600
Fresco in the Uffizi Gallery, Stanzino delle
Matematiche, Florence, Italy
By Frédéric-Gérard Kaczek, AAC
Almost everything is related to light. We have two ways to perceive light: direct or indirect. The “direct way” can hurt the eyes:
looking at the sun, a fire, or a bright artificial light source. The
“indirect way” to see light needs something intermediate: a transparent (photographic slide, colored gel), translucent (diffuser), or
reflective surface (solid and fluid objects, people, plants, and animals, skin, fluids and dust suspended in the air).
As early as 4500 years ago, the ancient Egyptians used natural
sunlight and strategically placed mirrors to reflect it. There are
legends of Archimedes using mirrors that focused sunlight to
burn holes in enemy Roman ships during the siege of Syracuse in
214-212 BC. Giulio Parigi painted a fresco of Archimedes' technique in 1600.
Fire also attracted Georges de la Tour. From about 1624 to 1650,
the subjects of his paintings were mostly lit by a single candle.
Sometimes he showed the flame, sometimes he hid it, but he always depicted the reflections created by this single light source.
In the 1660s, the beauty of reflected daylight was captured in Jan
Vermeer’s paintings, among them a geographer and an astronomer standing next to a window.
Another astronomer and scientist was working with windows,
“flagging” the sunlight into a narrow beam of daylight that would
shine on a glass object. His name was Isaac Newton. “White”
daylight was refracted with a prism and resolved into its components. The light rays created reflections of red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, and violet on a white board. Newton, who published
the fundamentals of our modern understanding of light and color
in 1672, also used the power of curved mirrors while building his
telescope.
More recently, other painters have shown a particular interest
in painting light itself or showing the beauty of light reflections:
among them Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916), Edward Hopper (1882–1967), and René Magritte (1898–1967).
In 1929, Louis-Georges Masquelier received a patent for his “new
procedure of lighting an interior.” In fact, he suggested placing reflecting domes on top of light sources mounted on walls or located in the corners of a room in order to reflect light to the center.
Since the mid-1950s, many cinematographers worldwide have
28
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
Vilhelm Hammershøi.
Interior with Young Man Reading. 1898
64.4 × 51.8 cm Oil on Canvas.
Hirschsprung Collection, Copenhagen.
been experimenting with bounce light using different materials
and surfaces. Walter Lassally, BSC used this technique often. One
of the best examples is A Taste of Honey. At the same time, French
cinematographer Raoul Coutard used this method of bouncing
lights off the ceiling, especially while lighting A bout de souffle
(Breathless) in 1959 and Pierrot le fou in 1965. He pointed photoflood bulbs towards ceilings and walls in order to create even,
natural, soft illumination with reflected light. And Nestor Almendros, ASC used bounce light while filming Ma nuit chez Maud
(My Night at Maud’s) in 1968.
Sometimes Raoul Coutard would increase the intensity of the reflections by taping aluminum foil to the ceiling. This method increased the exposure level and also allowed him to shoot virtually
any angle in the room.
No Hollywood production was complete without a set of silver
and gold, bright and dull shiny boards, large reflectors usually
made of plywood covered with aluminum and metal foils of various textures.
Aluminum is also a favorite reflecting material used by the Tyrolean (Austria) engineer, scientist, and architectural lighting designer
Prof. Dr. h.c. Ing. Christian Bartenbach. One of his LichtLabor activities is the development of special reflective surfaces as well as
spherical and aspherical designs to be used in combination with
searchlight-type lamps for architectural illumination worldwide.
Inspired by indirect lighting methods, some Austrian cinematographers, among them my AAC colleagues Christian Berger,
Reflections on Reflections (cont’d)
Moritz Gieselmann, Walter Kindler and Stephan Mussil started
shooting with handmade aluminum reflector-boards placed in
the beams of industrial lamps. Cinematographers worldwide had
been bouncing their lights off all kinds of surfaces: bedsheets,
bleached and unbleached muslins, beadboard, foamcore, showcards, Griffolyn, umbrellas, and enough other products to keep
companies like Pat Caputo’s The Rag Place very busy. The method
of indirect lighting is widespread among almost all cinematographers, but the choice of different reflective surfaces remains
rather limited.
In 2005, I established my company to create, among other things,
suitable indirect lighting tools for image acquisition. Based on my
own experience, and following suggestions by colleagues, I built
a wide palette of lighting tools called K-Flector. Users can choose
from an assortment of 17 reflecting surfaces, each of them with
a precisely defined reflection. Gaffers and cinematographers can
modulate their reflector boards as key light sources. Our K-Beam
luminaires are powerful, making it quite easy to use just one, or
very few, and divide this light energy among several K-Flectors.
By the way, creating several precise light sources using just one
lamp offers a number of advantages: less consumption of electrical energy, less cabling, easy rigging, less heat on set, hopefully saving time and money. We called our system Kflect-Reflect
Lighting System (Kflect-RLS) to emphasize that our products are
dedicated to most kinds of lighting challenges and not limited to
cinematography only, since we have several renowned photographers and lighting designers as clients.
Since 2009, my partners and I developed a series of improvements. We appreciate and always try to implement clients’ feedback. With the close cooperation of several gaffers, electricians,
grips, photographers and cinematographers, Kaczek Visuals designed easy-going accessories called K-Grip, which are compatible with grip tools from other manufacturers. Time-consuming
tinkering finally is a thing of the past.
For example, the Kflect-RLS set of lightweight magnetic holders
(Magneck and Magbone) enable fast and secure mounting of KFlectors without running the risk of damaging the sensitive reflecting layers. Our Magball is a patented lightweight holder that
enables fast and precise adjustment of a K-Flector. Other popular
designs include our K-Holder, K-Board and Vacuflect.
We offer 2 parallel light-emitting luminaires. The one with a 40
cm lens diameter is the K-Beam-40. The 70 cm lens diameter
unit is the K-Beam-70. These fixtures can be equipped with HMI
bulbs from 575 W to 1800 W and with ballasts (standard and high
speed) from several manufacturers.
Our custom K-Bags are lightweight and durable. They offer fast
handling, good protection and easy transportation of all our
Kflect-RLS components. For “learning by doing,” we introduced
two sets of Kflect-RLS Starter-Kits: the smaller K-Bag DoP and
the K-Bag XL Starter-Kit. All components of our Kflect-RLS are
built in Europe and assembled in Austria with particular care to
ecology and sustainability.
Reflecting on the long history of reflected light, Kaczek Visuals
is developing helpful lighting tools. Please discover its creative
potential and the beauty of reflected light. www.kflect.com ☐
Frédéric-Gérard Kaczek, AAC was born in Brussels. After film studies at INRACI in Brussels and at Barrandov Studios in Prague, he
began working in 1971 as a camera assistant in Vienna. He became
a cinematographer in 1986, and also worked for ARRI, cmotion,
Moviecam and P+S Technik. He wrote user guides for Moviecam
cameras and the Arricam System. In 1996, he was appointed IMAGO General Secretary and Manager of its book project “Making
Pictures – a Century of European Cinematography.” In 2005, Frédéric established Kaczek Visuals for R&D, manufacturing, and
sales of his specialized products. The Kflect-RLS system was introduced to the world market in 2012. A second project is in development and testing; it consists of a patented camera support system
named UBECAM.
Issue 52 • Feb 2013
29
InEmitable
by Andrew and Benjamin Steele
Andrew Steele is Président Directeur Technique & Commercial
of Emit. His brother Benjamin Steele is Directeur Général,
Admnistratif & Financier. They are the smart sons of legendary
Trevor Steele, founder of Emit, a motion picture equipment sales
and distribution company in Paris. Like my friends at Lewis
Marine who sell everything for your boat except the engine, Emit
sells almost everything except the camera. “It’s all about lenses
and accessories,” says Trevor, an Englishman whose French
is quite good despite having lived in France most of his career.
Andrew is the technical guy scouring the earth for the latest
devices. Ben is the administrative and financial brains. Here is
their report from Paris on the state of affairs in cinema.
For the past 13 years, the AFC Micro Salon has become a mustvisit event in Paris, a rendezvous in the old Pathé Film Studios
(now la Fémis Film School) for the entire French cinema
industry. At this event, the Emit booth becomes a rallying point
for major international manufacturers impatient to present
their latest innovations to a key market—not only because
France is the 3rd biggest film producer in the world but also
perhaps for a “taste” of Paris. Once again, Emit will present a
concentré of new products that we represent in France. Here is
an avant goût of what is waiting at this InEmitable stand.
The Flexi Grip Dolly from Panther fits in a case of 62 x 20 x 50
cm, and includes a Bazooka Base (3-12 legs), a Rigging System,
a Tracking Dolly (36 + 62 cm gauge), Table Dolly (linear or
freestyle), and a LowBoy/HiHat.
Betz Tools has all kinds of ways to fly your camera, including the
RIG HD and the universal shoulder support “Eagle” system.
Chrosziel Aladin Mk II LCS is a wireless lens control system consisting of a modular hand unit and a small receiver that can handle
up to 8 motors. The new OLED displays on the Receiver Box and
the Remote give complete access to the set up menu. An RF spectrum analyzer can help identify sources of wireless interference
and pick the best transmission channel at any particular location.
And you can easily switch to cable using the BNC connector and
a standard Video-BNC line. The Aladin MKII can handle up to 8
motors with an additional Extention Base. It can also control internal lens motors like the ones in the servo handgrip of the New
Fujinon Cabrio Lens. (Neither Fujifilm nor Film and Digital Times
is responsible for this.)
Ronford-Baker has added a set of 2 adjustable magnetic
end stops to its Sliders. The 3-axis Atlas 7 Head is modular,
lightweight and rugged.
Tiffen has a new range of Combined InfraRed filters: IR Pola, IR
Grade, IR Glimmer Glass and more to come.
PAG has developed a new way of powering with the Paglink
system that allows you longer run-times from linked V-Mount
Li-Ion batteries. Designed for all camera set-ups, whether you
need 1 battery (96Wh 8A) or 3 (288Wh 12A). Linking batteries
for charging will let you charge up to 16 batteries simultaneously
on one charger. The Paglink Power Hub provides four D-Tap
outputs that are interchangeable with Hirose or PP90 plug-in
connectors. The Paglink Battery Reader gives you access to
data stored by the battery’s microprocessor such as state of
charge as a percentage, available capacity in ampere-hours, cell
temperature, number of charge/discharge cycles, voltage, full
capacity in ampere-hours, date of birth (manufacture), and
software version.
Floatcam offers a Heavy Duty version of the Dolly Crane for
cameras up to 32 kg. The DC HD will give you 2 meters of
horizontal movement, up to 90° verticality, 360° rotation, and a
jib arm. You can attach an optional Motion Control system for
Time Lapse. We hope to see the Wifi Remote version in action.
30
Feb 2013 • Issue 52
The cvolution knob solo basic from cmotion is an affordable
hard-wired follow focus controller knob that is compatible with
all cvolution systems and ARRI Alexa Plus cameras.
Hard-wire it to the camin or Alexa Plus and attach it to an
adjustable cmotion fastening bracket on the lens support rods, panbar for camera operator control, or almost anywhere else. Cvolution
knob solo basic can also be switched between focus, iris and zoom
functions. You can set digital lens limits where the full rotation of
the knob can control a user-defined range on the lens.
Cmotion’s knob solo basic can also control one hard-wired cforce
motor directly, without the camin. You only need a power supply
to the motor. An advanced version, cvolution knob advanced,
adds additional features: mechanical stops, torque control, and an
illuminated ring. ☐
www.fdtimes.com
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Media Partners
filmtools.com
gitzo.com
ibe-optics.com
kinoflo.com
litepanels.com
loumasystems.biz
maniosdigital.com
nila.tv
panalight.it
prg.com
ronfordbaker.co.uk
shapewlb.com
visionresearch.com
vocas.com
woodencamera.com
Rental House &
Production Partners
airstar.com
arricsc.com
birnsandsawyer.com
dedoweigertfilm.de
fgv-rental.de
kodak.com/go/motion
musitelli.com
oppcam.com
tcsfilm.com
Media Partners
afcinema.com
bscexpo.com
cinegearexpo.com
cinec.de
ccwexpo.com
createasphere.com
ibc.org
nabshow.com
© 2013 Film and Digital Times, Inc.
Webmaster: Jon Stout. Foreign correspondent: Oli Laperal, Jr.
Rome bureau chief: Jacques Lipkau Goyard
Contributing authors: Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC, David Heuring, Danys
Bruyère, Howard Preston, Jim Pfeiffer, George Duffield, Daniel Ferguson,
Bill Bennett, ASC, Seth Emmons
Foreign Translations: Pierre Souchar, Nina Liberman
Contributing photographers: Arturo Jacoby, Jacques Lipkau Goyard, Mark
Forman, Dorian Weber, Yousef Linjawi, J.A. Tadena, Sid Madezaro
June 2012 • Issue 49
31
Sponsors and Educational Partners
Titans of the Industry
Moguls
PRESTON
CINEMA
SYSTEMS
Executive Producers
Greyscale
Pantone 283
C50 M10
Producers
®
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Co-Producers
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PHOTO
creative digital effects v2.0
VIDEO
TECHNOLOGY THAT COMPLEMENTS YOUR IMAGINATION
Associate Producers
ADORAMA RENTAL CO
32
Eckerl GmbH
June 2012 • Issue 49
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