5Oct/110

Nikon D800 36MP Camera Announced. Canon 6D of 5D MKIII to follow as a response?


Nikon Rumors is reporting a 36mp D800 coming in the next 30-60 days at a 99% probability. As Canonrumors pointed out, this can be a great thing for Canon users: New full frame sensor cameras, as well as a 5D MKIII or a 6D could be possible. Well, we are desperately waiting, currently equipped with two Panasonic GH2 Cameras that are hacked to the extreme. See an example Video on Vimeo (66Mbps Hack). If there is no alternative coming out soon, lots of people will stick to their GH2s, as they are currently the best there is, especially when using the Atomos Ninja (see a great Example on the Atomos Ninja with the Panasonic GH2).

[UPDATE] Nikonrumors posted More Nikon D800 bits and pieces: 100% Viewfinder coverage, improved AF with face recognition, SD+CF dual memory card slots as well as a USB 3.0 possibility. The question remains, why not CFAST? On another post, the ISO range is said to be 100 – 6400, ISO LO @ 50 and ISO HI-2 @ 25600. We can only wait and see...

19Aug/110

RAW Video for DSLR with Magic Lantern and Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle (vs. Atomos Ninja): 5D MKII, 550D, Rebels

SLR Film making got even more exciting: with the availability of HDMI recorders, RAW Video footage can be recorded to get the maximum out of your Canon 5D MKII or other camera compatible with Magic Lantern. Standard Firmware does not output a "clean" HDMI signal, at least not for Canon cameras; the Panasonic GH2 produces a clean HDMI output, as noted by Philip Bloom (!).

What are currently recommended HDMI field recorders?

1. Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle (RAW Video)

Black Magic Design Hyperdeck Shuttle

* Product information page/ manufacturer: Black Magic Design
* Discussion on the Magic Lantern User Group: hyperdeck shuttle

Pro:

  • Very Cheap: ($339.99 in the USA, 299€ in Europe
  • Records UNCOMPRESSED (!) RAW Footage from HDMI Out.
  • Cons:

  • Expensive in usage: 15 minutes uncompressed (1.6 GB/s) = 180GB
  • SSD drives NOT included, so you might need to calculate in some OCZ Vertex 3 SSDs in your budget
  • No Video Monitoring on the device itself. You might need to buy an external monitor, such as the Liliput external HDMI monitor (starting at $169 in the USA and 186€ in Europe)



    2. Atomos Ninja - Portable HDMI Recorder (ProRes)
    Atomos Ninja HDMI Recorder for almost RAW Video (Apple ProRes)

    Pro:

  • Smaller files, since it is no real RAW footage but Apple ProRes: 6 hours ProRes 422 (HQ) (220 MB/s) (16.5 Hours with 750GB Disks)

  • Monitoring included! 4.3” diagonal, 480x270 resolution
  • Cheap usage, since Hard Drives can be used! (though, the initial price is higher:
  • Less storage space needed
  • Supports two Hard Drives or SSD-Disks.
  • Firewire 800, USB-2 and USB-3
  • Continous Battery: two power cells to guarantee uninterrupted usage

    Cons:

  • Apple ProRes and no real RAW footage (this can be a good thing, as you are saving tons of money and storage space)
  • No ProRes for Windows users yet; Apple users might need to get Final Cut, since Apple ProRes is included in FCP Studio


  • Conclusion:
    Unless you are super-rich and have tons of money to spend for Solid State Drives and a RAID Array, you should get the Atomos Ninja. Besides the actual device, you also get a monitoring solution and have a true portable device, that creates files usable with normal hard drives. Overall cost is much lower and there should not be a really visible difference from ProRes to RAW footage. If you are into Bokeh Porn, you might want to spend your money in the Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle.

    Keep in mind, there are currently some issues with HDMI out an Magic Lantern: there is a video on the 5D MKII's 1080i out and also some discussions going on in the Magic Lantern Forums, because some processing needs to be done to get actual usable files. Actual resolutionis 12-19% less (depending how you do it) but still the results are awesome - especially in low light situations. Maybe we will get real clean HDMI out with the Canon EOS 5D MKIII.