Gear

Apparently Blackmagic has been busy this past year, as not only have we seen the URSA at NAB, but also they just announced the Studio Camera. Inside its magnesium alloy body you get a massive 10” viewfinder, 4 hour battery, talkback, tally indicators, phantom powered microphone connections and built in optical fiber and SDI connections that let you connect to your switcher with a single cable.

Blackmagic has announced a new camera, the URSA. It has multiple accessories built in, including a massive 10 inch fold out on set monitor, large user upgradable Super 35 global shutter 4K image sensor and internal dual RAW and Apple ProRes recorders. It also has a swappable sensor, so you can choose EF or PL lens mounts, or even a broadcast video sensor with B4 mount, or even upgrade the camera in the future.

After working with lightweight, compact jib options for DSLR sized cameras, I decided to check out a more affordable and durable option. In this review I’ll show you a sample of the footage from the Taurus Jr. Heavy Duty Jib, and point out where it rocks and where it could be better.

Today Tokina released two new ultra wide zooms into their ATX Cinema line of lenses, a 11-16mm T3.0 and a 12-28mm T3.0 (both are modified versions of their popular 11-16mm f/2.8 and 16-28mm f/2.8). Both lenses have click-less aperture rings as well as 0.8 pitch gears on focus, aperture, and zoom rings.

Sony's newly announced a7S is shaping up to be a video behemoth. Yes, this video really impressed me. With its light weight and quality sensor, if they hit the right price point Sony could have the camera I would be tempted to leave Canon for. "Features newly developed, wide dynamic range sensor with awe-inspiring sensitivity.

For quite some time now Samsung has seemed content to sell their SD card tech unbranded and basically unknown to the public. You might be unaware you're using a Samsung SD or Micro SD right now, either locked away in your phone or branded under a different name. But starting today, Samsung has decided to change that, offering three new levels from consumer to pro, with the pro 64 GB card showing impressive specs for a first-time seller.

Sony impressed everyone late last year with the announcement of the Sony A7/A7R, mirrorless full frame cameras packed with plenty of features. Well today, in wake of NAB, Sony gave a press conference to show their update to their mirrorless line with the A7s - a full frame mirrorless camera sporting 4K video and plenty of other features with video in mind.

Have you ever wanted to be invisible? That's the question Thomas Hurst, creator of COVR Photo, is asking. COVR Photo is an iPhone case with a sliding prism that, when slid into position, allows the photographer to take photos without being obvious.

A new product is hoping to make its way into the market in the near future, New55 Film. This product has been making waves, and is supported by those who still shoot film. New55 Film was founded by Bob Crowley and is managed by Sam Hiser, project CEO.

A little over a year ago, we showed you the original SOLOSHOT, a fantastic idea that made it so you could make video footage that followed you based on your location without a cameraman, via a small tracking device you strap to yourself. It's a brilliant concept, and SOLOSHOT is releasing a version 2 with some great new features.

Today the guys over at Canon Rumors confirmed an issue that may affect the Canon EOS-1DX and Canon EOS-1DC, Canon's flagship DSLR bodies. Turns out they might not auto focus in the cold. This issue first started popping up in the forums nearly a year ago (April 20, 2013) and have largely been unconfirmed until now.

I am a bit of a Kickstarter junkie. I love learning about companies trying to take new products to the market, tossing some money behind them and then watching them succeed. This latest project that I just backed, Fractal Filters, has incredible potential. This is definitely worth checking out! But do it quick, it's funding period ends in less than 24 hours!

Most are already familiar with LensBaby and their brand of creative lenses for photographers. We have featured them a number of times here on Fstoppers (like here, here and here.) Today they announced a whole different type of lens they are adding to their repertoire. This 'tiny' lens will particularly get iPhone users excited.

This week at NAB, Adobe Premiere and After Effects are getting some new features, including Live Text Templates (After Effects text effects can be directly edited in Premiere), and keying effects in After Effects to provide better keying results with compressed footage among a host of other improvements.

I an effort to bring more professionals into the S system, Leica Camera has gotten aggressive with a new S-System Trade Up discount program. Launched as a component of their "100 Years of Leica Photography" centennial, Leica Camera is granting a $5000 credit towards the purchase of a new Leica S (Typ 006) digital medium format camera for customers trading in any SLR camera or medium format camera (film or digital).

It's no secret that you can hack Canon cameras firmware with 3rd party hackers like Magic Lantern to push higher dynamic range and bitrate. Nikonhacker is looking to bring the same performance to their ecosystem. Their new set of hacks (for 11 cameras) allows you to push 1,080 video at up to 64mbps.

If you find yourself in need of a weekend photo project this might be just the one for you. In this tutorial made by Franscesco Spighi, you can turn an ordinary Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AIS lens into a selective focus "freelens." This mod will allow you to selectively blur and focus your lens like a tilt-shift or Lensbaby. Here's how:

35mm film shooters will be happy to hear that German imaging company, Reflecta, has announced a new almost-pocket-sized slide film scanner that can scan up to 10,000 DPI. The ProScan 10T is advertised to have a DR of 3.9 DMax. Here’s the kicker - it comes in at a surprisingly low € 469 (just under $650).

One week from today I’ll be on the other side of the world, shooting a personal project that’s been years in the making. On the one hand, I have to be prepared for all kinds of situations. On the other, I can’t bring a suitcase. What do I bring… what do I leave behind… and can I get away with only one shirt?

Yesterday, the people at Lowepro released a set of new cases for GoPro users. The Dashpoint Action Video Case (now available) comes in two sizes, a small AVC 1 and a larger AVC 2. Both cases are semi-hard shell plastic cases with a soft, customizable interior and are available in two colors: black or blue. Anyone who's used a GoPro knows how difficult it is to keep all the little parts organized in your bag, this might just be the solution.

WD, of the Western Digital family, has announced the new My Passport Pro, the first portable, Thunderbolt-powered dual-drive solution for you hard drive discerning folks. Designed For Mac systems, My Passport Pro has user-selectable RAID functionality, doesn't need power adapters or extra cables, and clocks in at up to an impressive 233 MB/s.

Schneider (no relation) is up there with Zeiss when it comes to recognized high-quality lenses. This year at NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters tradeshow in Las Vegas), Schneider is adding the 18mm, 25mm and 100mm lenses to its popular Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon FF-Prime family that already includes the 35mm, 50mm and 75mm focal lengths. They are purpose built for digital cinematography with cameras including RED Dragon, Canon C100/C300/C500, Arri Alexa, Sony F5/F55 and HDSLR cameras.

Early this morning Canon announced a new CPS level for Cinema shooters. To join, you have to own at least one Cinema Zoom lens or one of the following Cinema EOS cameras: the EOS C300, EOS C500, or EOS-1D C. The membership has an annual cost of $1000.

This just in: Panasonic announced a new 15mm f/1.7 high speed Leica Summilux lens. This new optic will give about a 30mm full frame equivalent at a cool $599. As of today, this lens is available for preorder through B&H. If the rumors are true, we can expect the new 15mm f/1.7 to be bundled with the DMC-GM1 (pictured below) as early as June.

Camera cranes and jibs are becoming more commonplace in the DSLR video maker's arsenal due to more, light weight options and falling prices. ProAm calls their Orion DVC210 the "first camera crane built specifically for DSLR cameras" and it extends to eight feet tall for a surprisingly affordable $300. Sounds great on paper, but how does it function in practice?

Canon Japan left us all scratching our heads with the announcement of the M15P-CL - A 15MP monochromatic industrial camera. Designed for the high accuracy of the manufacturing industry, the M15P-CL is not a camera shape or size you're familiar with, as it's designed for the Camera Link system. Whats weird about this? Perhaps the fact that it sports a Nikon F Mount.

First reported on planet 5D, then picked up by our friends at PetaPixel, earlier this week producer and videographer, Forest Gibson's $4k+ Blackmagic Cinema Camera kit caught fire after filming. This a video he shot of the aftermath.

Samyang announced the release of their new 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS Lens for Canon today and it is now available for pre-order on B&H with a price tag of $529.00. Orders of this lens are scheduled to ship on March 25. It seems like it will be a manual focus lens with no word on the autofocus capability that was spinning the rumor mill.

I've been there, standing in the middle of a field on a hot day with a scorching sun, mulling back and forth on how to capture a quality shot. In the back of my mind, I'm wishing for some cloud cover or an overcast sky to magically move in. A commercial client or art director doesn't care what time it is, they just want the right image. It’s up to you to capture that image with the weather Mother Nature has dealt.

Tamron has decided to take their brand to the streets and will launch a Tailgate Tour Spring 2014. The stops will be parking lots of large brick and mortar camera stores around the country, with the first stop being in Syosset, New York. The tour includes over 100 stops around the United States with learning opportunities and product testing.

You heard correct. The famous Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens is on sale now at B&H! Usually priced at $2299, it is now only $1799 after the B&H discount and mail in rebate. If you are one of those people that sits and waits on deals to come out or is even just searching for some new glass, this is your perfect moment to make a purchase.

We all know that it's not the gear that takes the photo, but rather the photographer, however when we get a chance to peek into Chase Jarvis' bag, I can't help but get excited. Jarvis is probably the photographer with the most successful social media presence out there. Between his blog and Creative Live, Jarvis' reach is enormous. It doesn't hurt that he's an incredibly talented photographer as well. Now you can see what's in his camera bag!

Let me begin by saying that it's March and not April 1st, because what I'm about to reveal is not a joke. After 75 years of business, Calumet Photographic is closing their U.S. stores. This morning they announced through Facebook their "immediate closing in the United States".

Details for the new Nikon 1 V3 mirrorless camera have been announced early and they are looking good! One of the largest talked about features are the huge improvements in the video recording from the camera. Plus, it is only priced at $1,196.95 for a kit.

If you shoot video, you know that sliders make all the difference. I personally love the cinematic production value you can get out of a slider; the kind of shots you can produce are those that really elevate the end product. However, sliders can be large and obtrusive, not to mention difficult to travel with. When I saw that Edelkrone's SliderPlus promised to deliver that quality I was looking for but remain compact, I couldn't wait to try it out.

ONA, makes of some pretty fine bags, are celebrating 100 years of Leica photography with a new bag called the Berlin. It is a limited-edition ONA bag designed for the Leica M-System. The signature Leica red interior is fully customizable, padded with premium closed-cell foam, and can accommodate one Leica M-System camera, two to three lenses, an iPad and small personal items.

The guys at no film school have done it again. In a recent guest post by the awesome director, Rubidium Wu they show you how to make a cheap DIY multi-camera video rig. The cool thing about this setup is that you can shoot multiple focal lengths in one take giving a similar ascetic to Tommy Wiseau’s in his 2005 film, The Room.

You may have read my previous post previewing the first modern CMOS-based medium format back to hit the world market by Phase One. Soon after my post, Phase One HQ sent me one of the first IQ250 backs to arrive in the US to review for this site. I had a solid 2 weeks to try it out and see what this system was capable of doing.

Panasonic has been really quiet on when the new Lumix GH4 would be formally released to the public, and for what price point. Boasting 4K video at 24p, videographers everywhere hope to see this little mirrorless system be the next workhorse in the budget videography world. Good news came late tonight, as B&H finally decided to give us a price, and a link for preorder on this exciting new camera.

Talk to a photographer long enough and the question of screen calibration will be brought up. Often many will say it's an incredibly important tool in your post production workflow, and often many more disregard it all together. So what is screen calibration? Is it still a viable issue within photography today, or is it becoming more and more obsolete, like sync cables and light meters? I'm here to explain it to you.

You heard right! The Canon EOS 6D is now on sale at B&H for only $1999 and it comes with the Canon 24-105mm f/4.0L IS lens. If you are one of those people that puts off buying a new camera until a deal comes out then now is your time to buy.

Though WPPI is over, we're still going over all the cool stuff we saw. Today, we look at Pocketwizard integration within Bowens' new lights, an incredibly versatile video slider from Pro Media Gear and a bunch of great little upgrades to your GoPro camera system from Fotodiox.

It was a fascinating experience comparing the reactions to the Comodo Orbit online to those who saw the rig in person at WPPI Las Vegas this year. Almost 100% of the comments online were negative, non-believing dismissals of the product, while nearly 100% of the comments in person about the product were an excited thumbs up. It was easily the most popular product at the show. So what did we think of it?

Months of planning, 567 images stitched into a single panorama and a 14.6 gigabyte image results in a breathtaking view of New York City from the top of the Freedom Tower. Deemed as one the tallest skyscrapers in the US, the new Freedom Tower is about one year out from completion.

The Sony A7 and A7R were two of the most important cameras released in 2013. They pack a full-frame sensor into a compact mirrorless body with high resolutions of 24 and 36 MP respectively. We reviewed the Sony A7R here. While the A7(R) is an amazing camera (and the first of its kind), recently there have been reports of light leaks. Here's a quick fix via übergizmo.

As of today at 3pm, WPPI was concluded - and while the trade show itself is done, we're all still left with the excitement lingering from the last couple days. Today, we highlight a look at Sigma, who was able to show us their newly announced camera system as well as the much-anticipated Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art Lens. We also stop by Epson, to look at their rich new metallic prints available for ordering soon.

Stephen Yanni, Orlando photographer started a GoFundMe campaign on Saturday to raise money to buy a Nikon D4s. Jared Polin of Fro Knows Photo made a YouTube video this evening talking about this unusual move. The video also has phone interview between Jared and the photographer. [Update: Yanni's GoFundMe was removed 03/05/2014].

WPPI is upon us, and Fstoppers is here to give you an inside look at all the exciting new products on display and/or announced during this three day event in Vegas. Yesterday, we were able to get an inside look at Animoto, the Nikon D4s, and pricing and info for the Panasonic Lumix GH4.

There were few new products on the show floor that garnered as much attention as the Comodo Orbit. It's eye catching, but mostly because people are just fascinated with the design. We spoke to Comodo regarding the new product, and show you a little more about how it works. We even show you how quickly you can adjust the gimbal to accept any new camera.

Tom Guilmette and Jon Connor got together at Kessler HQ to have some fun with a FasTec High Speed Camera mounted to a Kessler CineDrive. The CineDrive is able to perform programmable camera moves at high speed, and in this behind the scenes video Tom shows us their setups for various shots, which revolve around food.