With the success of Hitachi's new hybrid DVD/HDD camcorders in the Japanese market, they have decided to bring the cameras to the US market for an early 2007 release. The cameras unique hybrid technology pairs an internal hard drive with an on board DVD recorder allowing for immediate disk creation without the us of a PC. Hitachi will be releasing two new models with the stats found below.
Barry Green, one of the original guru's from over at DVXuser.com has put together an informative article that tackles the frequently seen by rarely understood subject of color sampling. Simply put, color sampling is used as a way to compress the image through the blending of individual pixels. Can't pull a decent key from your MiniDV footage, well color sampling is the culprit. The article makes use of some clever illustrations to break down each different form of the compression. If you haven't been put off by all the tech jargon and would like a simple explanation of a fairly complex subject head over to DVXuser for the full story.
Looks like that break-in has done little to slow the progress of the Red camera, just a few weeks after the full 4K footage was displayed at IBC the first bit of officially released footage has gone up on the Red website. The first clip released weighs in at about 100MB's and is 1k in resolution. The clip features a pair of Oakley sunglass's, not a big surprise there, but according to Jim Jannard we should be seeing a steady flow of clips hit the web over the next few weeks eventually working all the way up to full 4k resolution streams. The server is currently getting hammered but if you don't mind the wait, the footage is there for the taking.
The South by Southwest Film Festival is quickly becoming one of the top festivals to run in the US. The festival has received an increasing amount of exposure in recent years and is now open for submissions for the March 2007 event. The festival is accepting both shorts and feature length films in multiple categories. Submission fees vary from $25 to $45 and you only have till December 8th before the final deadline. If you have a work in progress or finished film which you are looking to get some serious exposure for SXSW is a must on the festival scene.
Digital Heaven has announce two additions to their line of Final Cut Pro/Express plug-ins. DH_RetroTV the first plug-in adds the old school TV look to your footage and transitions. The second plug-in DH_Dream works with transitions and adds a ripple and blur effect which can often be found at the beginning of a dream or flashback sequence. Both plug-ins are fully customizable and include royalty free sound effects to complete the effect.
Also released by Digital Heaven today is an update to their handy OSX Widget VideoSpace which automatically calculates the disk space needed for a certain duration of media. The new version now supports the IMX & XDCAMHD codecs and can perform calculations for up to 1000 hours of footage.
Panasonic is set to role out two new flash memory based camcorders the SDR-S200 and SDR-S150. The cameras will feature a similar compact design found in their predecessor the SDR-S100. Notable upgrades include support for the new Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) card format as well as enhanced optics. The cameras will ship with 2GB SD cards which will hold just over one and a half hours of MPEG-2 footage. Look for the SDR-S200 to hit store shelves in Japan by July 8th, though no word on availability or pricing for both cameras here in the US.
Steve Martin over at kenstone.net has put together an in-depth guide that tackles the process of multi-camera editing in Apple's Final Cut Pro. The guide covers the basics of syncing up your cameras with the help of a time code generator or clapboard. Also covered is the process of capturing and setting up your footage for easy editing inside FCP. The guide covers a number of other common issues that come along with multi-cam editing and is a must read for anyone new to the process.
The SC-X210L is the second attempt from Samsung to attract the active sports crowd with a rugged and compact camcorder ready for the elements. The camera has a few unique features including an external lens and weatherproof body. The problem is that the camera is plagued by the same major flaw as its predecessor, very poor image quality all around. The camera's MPEG4 encoded video was beat out in all categories by its MiniDV competitors with even poorer results coming from the cameras external lens. With a $600 price tag you would be much better off staying away from this camera and picking up a compact MiniDV or a flash based camera with better image capabilities.
Serious Effects & Compositing is a new Adobe After Effects training DVD from VideoCopilot.net which breaks down and explains many of the visual effects found in todays big-budget Hollywood films. The DVD has 10 video tutorials which cover subjects such as muzzle flashes, keying and 3D tracking. The tutorials are aimed at beginner to intermediate AE users and can be picked up for $49. If you want to get an idea of the content on the disk check out the free tutorial section on the site which has a number of free tutorials and other AE related resources.
A well adjusted studio monitor is a priceless asset for any editor who wants to assure accurate playback of their content. Isaac over at Outside-Hollywood has put together a few helpful tips to help you get your monitor in check. The tips cover setting up your monitor for accurate playback of NTSC content by tweaking brightness, color and saturation settings with the help of the always useful color bars.
Anyone who has ever worked with audio out in the field knows how sensitive unprotected microphones are to even a light breeze. This is why microphone windscreens and blimps are used to shield a microphone from the wind. Though professional windscreens are very effective they can also be expensive, so if you are on a tight budget and will be shooting outside a studio you may want to take a look at this DIY windscreen which can be put together for around $40. The design incorporates many of the same features found in a professional windscreen such as a hard-shell and "shock mount" though on the cheap. You can check out the full guide on Instructables.com as well as a bunch of other film related DIY projects.
The company behind the $30 CVS disposable camcorder Pure
Digital, has released a new standalone model of the camera. The new camera is priced at $130 and packs most of the
same technical specs found in the original, though the camera has a few new unique features including a USB port for
interfacing with a PC and a TV connection for watching movies directly off the camera itself. The camera has also
increased its storage capabilities and will hold up to 30 minutes of video. Don't expect too much in the way of quality
looking footage and if you want to save the extra $100 you could always just hack up one of the old CVS cameras.
Panasonic made a number of announcements
today concerning their line of professional camcorders along with some news on their P2 storage cards.
They
announced an update to their AJ-SDX900 camcorder with the new AJ-HDX900
camera which gets the bump up to DVCPRO HD and will record at 1080i, 1080p and 720p in varying frame rates including 24
and 60p. List price will be cool $26,500 when it is released in July. Also announced was the AK-HC1500G
which also features 3 2/3" inch CCD's and will shoot both 1080i and 720p. Should be available soon at a list price
of $19,950.
The P2 card which is Panasonics solid state recording platform now
has the ability to record using the h.264 codec. The h.264 codec should give the cards nearly double the recording
time at almost the same quality. This should please all the P2 users out there who have been struggling with the
limited recording times of the cards.
Thanks to a post over at the dvinfo forums we can get a glimpse of the new pro HDV camera which JVC
should be set to announce at next week's NAB conference. According the the scanned ad, the camera called the GY-HD250U
will have a body style nearly identical to the GY-HD100 but with a number of ad ons to the rear. The camera will pack a
number of new studio related options including HD-SDI with embedded audio ports and a new 60P recording option. No word
on if the 60P capabilities will only be available through HD-SDI or if they will also be available for direct to tape
recording. At this time no information as far as a price or release date has surfaced so check back here sometime next
week when the camera is expected to get the official introduction.
If you have seen all the recent press around the Manfrotto "Fig
Rig" and thought there has to be a cheaper solution than dropping nearly $300 on the specialized rig, well
than this DIY solution may be the perfect solution. The DIY version uses PVC piping and a couple nuts and bolts, with
the total cost coming in at only $10. Be sure to check out the Flickr gallery which has a breakdown of all the pieces
you will need to build your own. This one definitely looks like one of the better DIY stabilizers around and should go
together quite easily once you have all the parts.
With the success of Hitachi's new hybrid DVD/HDD camcorders in the Japanese market, they have decided to bring the cameras to the US market for an early 2007 release. The cameras unique hybrid technology pairs an internal hard drive with an on board DVD recorder allowing for immediate disk creation without the us of a PC. Hitachi will be releasing two new models with the stats found below. 
Barry Green, one of the original guru's from over at 
Looks like 
The 
Panasonic is set to role out two new flash memory based camcorders the 
Steve Martin over at 
The 
A well adjusted studio monitor is a priceless asset for any editor who wants to assure accurate playback of their content. Isaac over at 
Anyone who has ever worked with audio out in the field knows how sensitive unprotected microphones are to even a light breeze. This is why microphone windscreens and blimps are used to shield a microphone from the wind. Though professional windscreens are very effective they can also be expensive, so if you are on a tight budget and will be shooting outside a studio you may want to take a look at this DIY windscreen which can be put together for around $40. The design incorporates many of the same features found in a professional windscreen such as a hard-shell and "shock mount" though on the cheap. You can check out the full guide on 
The company behind the $30 CVS disposable camcorder 
Thanks to a post over at the 
If you have seen all the recent press around the 
