Sony's A99 full-frame DSLR is official

According to Digital Photography Review, Sony has officially announced its first full-frame DSLR in four years--the A99. Technically, the A99 isn't a DSLR, because it uses the transparent mirror technology of Sony's other Alpha cameras. Sony claims that its mirror design enables the A99 to be the lightest full-frame DSLR on the market (1.79 lb. including batteries.) Instead of an optical viewfinder, it has a 2.4 Megapixel OLED viewfinder. It's also got a 1.23 Megapixel LCD display with hinges that allow it to be tilted, swiveled and reversed (it also makes great julienne fries.) As with all Alpha cameras, it's got a Sony A lens mount. The A99 has a 24MP sensor with dual phase detection auto-focus systems. It can output 14-bit RAW images with an ISO range of 100-25,600. The A99 can shoot up to 6 frames per second in burst mode, and has a built-in GPS. Storage options are Memory Stick PRO Duo and PRO-HG Duo, and SD, SDHC and SDXC cards.

On the video side, the A99 fully implements AVCHD 2.0, with frame rates up to 1080p60 at 28Mbps and 1080i60 at 24 Mbps. It also outputs uncompressed video over its HDMI interface to an external recorder or monitor. The A99 has microphone inputs and a headphone output, and an optional stereo XLR adapter connects to the camera's intelligent hot shoe. A "silent control dial" next to the lens allows a variety of settings to be changed without bumping the camera during recording.

The A99 will be available in October at approximately $2,800 for body only; the XLR adapter will priced at $800 and will also be available in October. I can certainly understand Sony's decision not to burden the design of the A99 with XLR inputs for customers who only plan to use it for still photography, but $800 for the XLR adapter seems steep to me--that's almost a third of the price of the camera itself.

If you already own an A900 and are looking for a replacement, or you've got a collection of A-mount lenses and want to upgrade to full-frame, the A99 will be your obvious choice. For other buyers, however, side-by-side testing against comparable models from Canon and Nikon over the next few weeks and months will reveal the A99's strengths and weaknesses.

Sony's new NEX-EA50EH: A large-sensor, low-cost ENG camcorder

In the DSLR News Shooter blog, Dan Chung writes about Sony's new NEX-EA50EH, a hybrid of ENG-oriented camcorders and the FS100/FS700 style of interchangeable lens cameras with Super 35 sensors. The EA50 looks like a long, thin ENG camcorder with a FS100-style viewfinder stuck on the handle. It uses the same E-mount as all of Sony's NEX cameras and camcorders, and it accepts E-mount adapters to support Alpha lenses, as well as FD, PL, Canon, Nikon and Leica mounts.

The EA50 comes with a 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 power zoom ENG-style lens with auto focus, continuously variable iris and image stabilization. The camcorder records in 1080 at 60p, 30p, 24p and 60i, and at 50p, 25p and 50i using AVCHD 2.0 (one model handles both 60 and 50 Hz.) It also has stereo XLR inputs, time code and built-in GPS. The EA50 can record to SD cards and Memory Sticks, as well as to an optional docking flash memory unit, but it only outputs to HDMI, not HD-SDI.

Dan Chung notes some negatives for the EA50: It doesn't come with built-in neutral density filters, so the user will have to add them. Its shoulder pad design is similar to Canon's old XL camcorders, so it's likely to be tiring to hold the EA50 for long periods of time. In addition, some sites have written that the EA50 uses the same sensor as the one found in the consumer-oriented NEX-VG20, not the FS100. On the other hand, it has a form factor that doesn't require any additional hardware for field shooting, and the expected price for the EA50, including the lens, will be $4,000 $4,500 U.S. (per B&H). The EA50 is expected to ship in mid-October.

With the EA50, Sony is responding to shooters who like the flexibility and image quality of the FS100 and FS700--or, for that matter, DSLRs--but don't like all the hardware they have to add to the cameras in order to make them usable in "run & gun" situations. It should be possible to take the EA50 out of the box, charge it up and take it into the field immediately, without any additional hardware. Of course, at $4,000 $4,500, there have to be some compromises in the design--the lack of a SDI output is an obvious one, and the quality of the included zoom lens may be another. Nevertheless, even with compromises, the EA50 may be the right camcorder for a good number of users.

Sony's rumored A99 to battle Canon and Nikon at the high end?

In an interview with Bloomberg Business, Sony's new CEO Kaz Hirai said that his company has three core businesses: Digital imaging, games and mobile devices. Sony's been investing heavily in its camera business, and it's now the leader in mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras. However, even though the company has launched a number of new Alpha DSLR models, it doesn't have a camera that can compete with the top of either Canon's or Nikon's lines. According to Sony Alpha Rumors, that's about to change.

The blog writes that Sony is working on a new Alpha model, the A99, that should compete on a fairly equal level with Canon's 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III, as well as Nikon's D800. The A99 is rumored to have a 102-point autofocus system--more detailed that that of the D800 (51 points) or the 5D Mark III (61 points). The A99's video capabilities are supposed to be superior to those of any of Sony's previous still cameras. According to Sony Alpha Rumors, a new flash will provide continuous light for video shooting, and the camera will be designed to equally facilitate still photography and video--a challenge given the very different form-factors of still cameras and camcorders.

Sony Alpha Rumors doesn't give any dates for announcement and shipment, and the rumors have been floating around for a while--for example, the one about the 102-point autofocus system dates back to last March. However, it's clear that in order to be fully competitive in cameras, Sony needs a high-end model. Whether it's the A99 or another model, it's likely that Sony's working on a camera that can compete directly with Canon's and Nikon's best.

[Update, August 28, 2012: Photorumors.com has published a fairly complete list of specifications for the A99--but remember, these are still rumors (hence the name.) Here are some of the details:

• 24.3MP full frame CMOS Exmor sensor
• ISO range: 100-25,600
• 14 bit RAW output
• 1/8000 maximum shutter speed
• 10 fps continuous shooting
• 2369k OLED viewfinder
• 3" tiltable 921k LCD display
• Full HD video recording at 1080/60p
• Auto HDR capability
• HDMI output
• Built-in stereo mic
• Two memory card slots--one for Secure Digital, and the other for SD or Memory Sticks

According to Photorumors, the A99 will be announced by Sony on September 12th and will be available in stores in October, for a price of around $2,800. I have my doubts about the announcement date, given that Apple's announcement of the new iPhone is widely rumored to be on that same date, and that would bury coverage of any other product announcements on the same day.]

Will Nikon's Coolpix S800 be the first Android-based camera?

Nikon Rumors reports that Nikon submitted its Coolpix S800 to the Indonesian Communication Agency for approval. According to the blog, the Coolpix S800 is expected to run Android Gingerbread (2.3.X) and will run all Google Play apps that are backward-compatible with Gingerbread. Nikon Rumors writes that the Coolpix S800 could be announced on August 22nd.

The S800 makes no pretense of being a professional camera--it's a point & shoot. Here are a few of the expected specifications:

• 25-250 zoom lens
• 3.5" OLED display
• Built-in GPS and Wi-Fi

What makes the S800 interesting is that it's based on Android. What could app developers do with a real camera, instead of having to make do with the limited functionality of the cameras in today's smartphones? Even more interesting is the possibility of a DSLR or mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that runs Android, and whose functionality can be modified with third-party apps.

Blackmagic Design crashes the cinema camera party

Last year at NAB, when I spoke with Blackmagic Design's CEO Grant Perry and Director of Marketing Americas Terry Frechette about the company's new video production switchers, I noted that they sold just about everything for video except cameras. This year, they corrected that oversight. The new Blackmagic Cinema Camera shown at NAB was a huge surprise--to my knowledge, there were no rumors that Blackmagic was working on a cinema camera, especially one as "out of the box" as this design. It looks like a simplified, trapezoidal DSLR with mounting points on both the top and the bottom of the case. It should work with a variety of cages and mounting systems from companies such as Redrock Micro and Zacuto.

The Blackmagic Cinema Camera has a 2.5K sensor (2432 x 1366) with an active area of 15.6 x 8.8 mm—bigger than Super 16mm but smaller than Micro Four Thirds. The company claims 13 stops of dynamic range. It supports Canon's EF-format lenses, including Canon's autofocus lenses, as well as Zeiss's EF-compatible ZE mount lenses. The camera can output RAW using Adobe's 12-bit open-source Cinema DNG format at full 2432 x 1366 resolution, as well as compressed video in Apple's ProRes and Avid's DNxHD formats, at 1080p/23.98, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 fps. It saves onto a SSD using a built-in recorder and outputs through both 3Gbps HD-SDI and Thunderbolt interfaces. (A 256GB SSD can store 30 minutes of RAW footage or more than two hours of video in ProRes or DNxHD format.)

Virtually all interaction with the camera is through a built-in 5" 800 x 480 touchscreen display that comes with a snap-on hood--there's no separate viewfinder. A handful of buttons are used for recording (buttons on both the front and back of the camera), automatic iris, focus, transport control, bringing up the menu and power. Audio in is via standard stereo mic/line inputs. The camera can run on 12V to 30V DC and has a built-in battery. And, I forgot one important thing: Its list price is $2,995 (U.S.). That's not a misprint--it's priced less than $3,000. The Cinema Camera is scheduled to ship in July.

According to Blackmagic's representatives, the company learned from customer feedback that, while cinematographers love the price and video capabilities of today's DSLRs, they're tired of working with cameras that were designed for still photography first. That includes small LCDs designed more for changing menu settings than for accurately judging image framing and quality, limited recording time, no built-in support for industry-standard video recording formats and HDMI outputs that are useless for live recording.

The Cinema Camera fixes all these problems, drops all the still photography-oriented features, and sells for $2,995. It also comes with a full copy of DaVinci Resolve software for color correction on Windows and OS X PCs, and Ultrascope for monitoring output--the software alone costs $995 when purchased by itself. Of course, the camera's not perfect--it's not 4K, the imager is small, the compressed output is 10-bit 4:2:2, there's no 60p mode, slow motion or ND filters--but it's $2,995, which covers a bunch of complaints.

As I always say when new cameras are released, you'd be smart to hold off on placing an order until good third-party reviews of the Cinema Camera are released, along with sample footage. (Australian John Brawley was the first cinematographer to get his hands on a prototype camera for in-field testing. He's posted footage on Vimeo.) However, I suspect that there are lots of people who aren't going to wait--they want to be among the first to get their hands on it. 

Nikon's D800 DSLR: A serious digital cinematography option

For DSLR digital cinematography fans, Nikon has been a continual source of frustration: Their DSLRs are superb still cameras, but video has always been an afterthought for the company--more an item on a marketing checklist than a well-implemented feature. However, Nikon's new D800 might change that. EOSHD reports on one of the first D800 video samples, footage shot at a temple in Taiwan. The video is gorgeous--far better than video shot on Nikon's D4, and with much more detail than video from Canon's new 5D Mark III, which has been roundly criticized for the softness of its images.

For its part, DxO Labs tested the D800 and said that its imager is the best that it's ever tested, with a rating of 95 out of 100. It had extremely accurate color rendition, the best dynamic range they've ever measured (14.4 stops) and excellent low-light performance (the ability to go to 2853 ISO without compromising image quality). They said that the D800's imager is about as close as you can get to medium-format performance in a DSLR imager. This performance is especially impressive given the 36.3 MP resolution of the D800's imager. In general, for a given imager size (such as APS-C), the higher an imager's resolution, the worse its low-light performance will be. Nikon has managed to combine excellent low-light performance with very high resolution.

DxO didn't test the D800 in video mode, but the video found by EOSHD suggests that the quality of the D800 is very good. However, Nikon still hasn't figured out a way to do 60P in 1920 x 1280. 60P is only supported at 1280 x 720 resolution; 1920 x 1280 supports 30P and 24P. Also, the D800's very high resolution could result in rolling shutter and moire problems; much more testing of the camera's video mode is needed. In short, I wouldn't rush out and place an order for a D800 yet, but the camera is shaping up to be a serious option for digital cinematography.

Sony's new A57 brings high-end features to low-end DSLRs

Sony's new Alpha SLT-A57 is Sony's most important entry-level DSLR (yes, it's actually an EVIL design, but in a DSLR-like body) to date. Here's some of the new camera's features:

• A 1.44 megapixel LCD viewfinder
• 10 fps continuous shooting mode with autofocus
• Autofocus built into the body rather than the lenses
• 1920 x 1080 video at 60P or 24P (50P and 25P in Europe), with AVCHD 2.0 compression
• A bigger battery, the same as the A65 and A77

The A57, with a kit 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 lens, will have a suggested list price of $799. The body alone will cost $699. As Digital Photography Review points out, the A57 is a slightly feature-reduced version of the A65 with a 16 MP imager instead of the 24.3 MP imager in the A65, for $300 less. It's going to be a serious alternative to Canon's T3i and Nikon's D5100, especially for videographers. It's also a better value for the money than Sony's own NEX cameras, although it's considerably larger.

Digital Photography Review has a site where you can compare images from the A57 with those from a variety of other cameras side-by-side. Click here to visit their site.

Nikon unveils Nikon 1 EVIL cameras

Nikon finally entered the small-form-factor interchangeable lens camera (sometimes called EVIL) market with a new system, called Nikon 1. The first two members of the Nikon 1 family are the J1 and V1. Both models use a new 1" 10MP CX sensor developed by Nikon (hence the "Nikon 1" name). Both the size and the resolution of the sensor are substantially smaller than the sensors used by Panasonic and Olympus in their Micro Four-Thirds cameras, or by Sony in its NEX-series cameras. The smaller sensor gives the Nikon cameras a larger crop factor (2.7x) than its competition (for example, a 100mm lens on a Nikon 1 camera would be comparable to 270mm.)

The J1 is the entry-level model in the Nikon 1 line. It has an electronic shutter that limits sync speed to 1/60th of a second, but that operates at up to 1/16,000th of a second. It's got a 73-point autofocus system that switches between phase- and contrast-detection to get the best focus under current lighting conditions, and a 3", 460,000 pixel resolution LCD. Its burst rate with adaptive autofocus is 10 fps, and a blazing 60 fps when focus is locked. In video mode, it can record at 1080i60 and 1080p30. It's got lower-resolution slo-mo modes at 400 and 1,200 fps, as well as a somewhat confusing Motion Snapshot mode that records brief clips at 1080p60 but plays them back at 1080p24 for a slow-motion effect. The J1 will ship in the U.S. on October 20th with a 10-30mm lens for $649.95.

The V1 is the "enthusiast" Nikon 1 model. It's positioned by Nikon as the world's smallest camera with both an .47', 1.44MP resolution electronic viewfinder and interchangeable lenses. It has both an electronic and mechanical shutter; the electronic shutter is the same as in the J1, and the mechanical shutter supports sync speeds of up to 1/250th of a second and can operate up to 1/4000th of a second. The V1 also has connections for stereo microphones and a "multi-accessory" port for attaching a speedlight or GPS module. Other than these features, the V1 is functionally identical to the J1. The V1 will also ship in the U.S. on October 20th with a 10-30mm lens for $899.95.

Nikon also announced a range of lenses for the Nikon 1 cameras: The 10-30mm zoom included with the two new cameras, a 30-110mm f3.5/5.6 zoom lens, a 10-100mm f4.5/5.6 power zoom for movies, and a 10mm f2.8 pancake lens. Nikon will also offer the FT-1 F-mount adapter for using conventional Nikkor lenses with Nikon 1 cameras. Prices and availability have not yet been announced.

I have to admit that I'm underwhelmed by the Nikon 1 cameras and lenses, based at least on their specifications. The 1" CX sensor is both substantially smaller and lower-resolution than either the Micro Four-Thirds or APS-C sensors. Nikon compensates to a degree with the camera's hybrid autofocus system and very fast burst rate (up to 60 fps with focus locked), but I doubt that's going to be enough to save these cameras. Nikon says that it's pursuing consumers who want better cameras than point & shoot models, and who want interchangeable lenses without the complexity of DSLRs. The problem is that the new Nikon models don't appear to be significantly smaller, cheaper or easier to use than competitive cameras that take better pictures and are more flexible (although the new hybrid autofocus system is a significant advance). In addition, the big plus of the Nikon 1s, their fast burst rate, is of most use in applications such as sports photography, where image quality is a paramount consideration.

Nikon's new lenses are also fairly slow, especially the power zoom, which negates some of the cameras' depth-of-field advantages. On paper, at least, there's not much about the Nikons that would cause anyone other than a devoted Nikon customer to buy them, rather than buying a Sony, Panasonic or Olympus model.

Sony: Getting its act together (at least with cameras and camcorders)

I've pointed out over the last several years the many times that Panasonic has eaten Sony's lunch in the camcorder and camera businesses:

• Panasonic's P2 and SD memory cards were the start of the solid-state, file-based camcorder revolution, while Sony's XDCAM optical disc has largely been a dead-end format.
• Panasonic and Olympus pioneered the big-sensor, small-camera interchangeable lens format with Micro Four-Thirds, while it took Sony several years to get on board with its NEX series of cameras.
• Panasonic and Canon introduced professional-level video to their DSLRs several years ago, while Sony's A77, just released a few weeks ago, is the company's first DSLR with professional-level video.
• It took Sony more than a year to respond to Panasonic's AF100 Micro Four-Thirds-based camcorder, with the F3 and FS100.

Finally, Sony is back in the game in a big way, in three different product lines:

• The new A77 DSLR is a first-rate still camera that can compete with Canon and Panasonic on video as well. It has a 24 megapixel sensor, a 2.4 megapixel OLED electronic viewfinder that's actually much higher resolution than its 920,000 pixel pull-out LCD display, and a 12 fps burst rate. It can record video at 1080p60 (1080p50 in Europe) using AVCHD 2.0 (Panasonic refers to it as AVCHD Progressive), which supports a maximum bit rate of 28mbps, versus 24mbps for previous AVCHD implementations. It also supports live autofocus in video mode. U.S. body-only pruce is $1,399.
• The NEX-7 is Sony's new top-of-the-line EVIL (electronic viewfinder, interchangeable lens) camera that competes with Micro Four-Thirds models. It has the same sensor and OLED electronic viewfinder as the A77, in a pocket-sized package. It also records video at 1080p60 using AVCHD 2.0, with the same live autofocus as the A77. Expected U.S. body-only price will be $1,199.
• The NEX-5n replaces the former top-of-the-line NEX-5 EVIL camera. It uses a 16.1 megapixel sensor and doesn't come with an electronic viewfinder; the optional FDA-EV1S viewfinder, which is connected to the top of the camera, has the same OLED display as the NEX-7 and A77. It records video at 1080p60/50 using AVCHD 2.0, and has live autofocus. U.S. body-only price is $699.
• The LA-EA2 adapter allows Alpha-mount lenses to be used with the NEX-series E mount. The adapter supports autofocus on the Alpha lenses. The LA-EA2 is almost as big as the NEX cameras themselves, and it costs $399, but it could be valuable for those NEX-family camera users who want to use Alpha lenses without losing autofocus capabilities.
• The F3 is Sony's lowest-cost digital cinematography camcorder. It uses a Super 35 Exmor CMOS sensor and PL mount for supporting film lenses. It records in 4:2:2 1080p59.94/50, and optionally in 4:4:4 1080p59.94/50, on SxS media. Its U.S. list price is $16,800 without lens.
• Sony's NEX-FS100 is Sony's answer to Panasonic's AF100, with a unique, squared-off form factor and top-mounted electronic viewfinder. It uses the same E-mount lenses as Sony's NEX-family of still cameras, and comes with an 18-200mm zoom lens. The FS100 uses the same Super 35 Exmor sensor as the F3. Like the new NEX cameras, it records video at 1080p60/50 using AVCHD 2.0. The FS100 records on SDHC/SDXC and Sony Memory stick cards, and the optional HXR-FM128 records onto 128GB of flash memory. U.S. list price with lens is $6,550.

For all of Sony's new competitiveness, the company still sometimes makes questionable decisions about product features. For example, the FS100 has dual XLR audio inputs, but only outputs video via HDMI rather than HD-SDI. HDMI connections, which don't lock, are notorious for becoming disconnected at the worst possible time. By comparison, the less-expensive Panasonic AF100 has both HDMI and HD-SDI outputs. Also, the AF100 has built-in neutral density filters, but the FS100 doesn't.

Also, Sony believes that, as a matter of principle, its products are worth more than the competition, even if they're objectively no better. Going back to the FS100-AF100 comparison, Sony's FS100 is about $1,000 more than Panasonic's AF100, even though the AF100 arguably has more professional features than the FS100.

Even given those caveats, however, Sony has clearly gotten back into the game with both still cameras and camcorders. It's good to see the company competing for business instead of resting on its laurels.

NAB 2011 Part 1: Cameras, Recorders and Lighting

The overarching theme of NAB 2011, at least for me, was "Price is no longer an obstacle". Other people might focus on 3D, which was everywhere in its headache-inducing splendor, but for me, the story was that you can do more for less money than ever before. In the next few posts, I'll deal with some of the most interesting trends and products I saw at the show.

DSLRs, Interchangeable-Lens Camcorders and Accessories

The DSLR trend was very much alive and well at NAB, but individual vendors dealt with it in different ways. For the first time, Canon gave over large portions of its booth to its DSLRs, even though it didn't make any new announcements. You could shoot video of models using 7Ds, 5D Mark IIs and 1D Mark IVs on tripods with cinema heads, alongside Canon's camcorders.

On the other hand, you'd be hard-pressed to know that Sony or Panasonic even makes DSLRs (or EVILs, or whatever acronym you want to use) from what they showed in their booths. However, Sony extensively featured its new F3 and FS100 camcorders that use the E-mount lenses designed for its NEX family of still cameras, as did Panasonic with its AF100 camcorders that use its Micro Four-Thirds sensor and lenses. Sony is clearly trying to make up for lost time against Panasonic; FS100s could be found in booths all over the show floor, even though it isn't officially shipping.

I sat in on a presentation by Gale Tattersall, the Director of Photography for Fox's "House", on Monday as he showed some of the footage shot using Canon 5D Mark IIs for last season's final episode. He stressed that price had absolutely no consideration in his or the producers' decision to go with the Canon DSLRs--it was the quality of the images and the flexibility that the cameras' small size gave for getting shots in extremely cramped locations. Tattersall was back in the booth on Tuesday shooting video with a Canon DSLR and handheld rig.

Every major lens manufacturer was showing prime lenses (and in some cases, zoom lenses as well) for DSLRs: Zeiss, ARRI, Thales Angenieux, Schneider, Cooke and Leica were all well-represented. The words "bargain" and "lens" usually don't go together, although Zeiss was recommending that DSLR users who find its CP.2 line of video prime lenses too expensive should consider using its still prime lenses for video work.

Anyone interested in DSLR rigs could find them in abundance on the show floor. Zacuto, Redrock Micro, Ikan, Cinevate, Genus, D|Focus, Jag35 and Shape were exhibiting, and most of their booths were jammed when I visited. Competition for rigs, follow focuses and viewfinders is intense, driving prices down and product variety up.

In fact, that last sentence could be a summary of the entire market for DSLRs and related products. You can start with a body, such as a Canon T3i or Panasonic GH2 for under $1,000 (U.S.) and add components as you need them. Lenses can be rented as needed and purchased over time. In fact, you're probably better off not buying the top-of-the-line in any component (with the exception of lenses), because prices are falling and capabilities are being added so fast that what's "top-of-the-line" today will be significantly less expensive a year from now.

On-Camera Recorders

Companies such as Vitec's Focus Enhancements and AJA Video have made on-camera recorders for a number of years that are designed to supplement or replace tape and flash memory, enabling longer record times and more reliability. Record times are a particular problem with some DSLRs that permit as little as seven to 14 minutes of recording at a time onto flash memory cards.

At NAB, we saw the next wave: Low-cost, high-resolution recorders that do double (or triple) duty: They also serve as viewfinders and, in some cases, compressors for immediate ingest into editing systems. Here are a few examples:

• Atomos' Ninja can convert 8- or 10-bit HDMI video and audio, compress it on the fly using Apple's ProRes codec, and store it on any 2.5" SATA hard drive or SSD. It's also got 480 x 270 display that can be used for monitoring or playback. U.S. list price is $995.
• Atomos' Samurai has the same basic design and capabilities, but it has a HD-SDI interface instead of HDMI, an 800 x 480 display, and improved audio monitoring capabilities. U.S. list price is $1,495.
• Fast Forward Video's SideKick comes with both HDMI and HD-SDI interfaces, can capture uncompressed 8- or 10-bit 4:2:2 video at up to 220Mbps, can compress on the fly to Apple's ProRes codec, and has a 480 x 272 display. It uses the same 2.5" SATA SSDs as Atomos (it doesn't support hard drives), but unlike Atomos, FFV ships the SideKick with a 128GB SSD, so it's immediately usable right out of the box. U.S. list price is $2,495.00.
• Convergent Design's Gemini 4:4:4 has both HDMI and HD-SDI interfaces, and records 8- or 10-bit 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 video at up to 280Mbps onto one or two (hence the name Gemini) 1.8" SATA SSDs. Video and audio can be recorded on both drives simultaneously (for safety) or can span the two drives for longer recording times. The Gemini also has some sophisticated processing capabilities, including over- and under-cranking and the ability to apply 1D user-definable LUTs. It has a 800 x 480 display. U.S. list price is $5,995.00.

One final option: If you don't want a built-in display or compression, Blackmagic Design introduced the HyperDeck Shuttle, which has both HDMI and HD-SDI interfaces and stores uncompressed 8- or 10-bit 4:2:2 video onto a 2.5" SATA SSD. The SSDs slide into and out of the HyperDeck easily, so they can be swapped in the field. Recorded SSDs can be plugged into any external eSATA or USB dock, leaving the Shuttle mounted on the camera. Best of all, the price of the HyperDeck Shuttle is only $345. (Blackmagic Design introduced so many new products that I'll be covering their announcements in a separate post.)

Lighting

If there was any question that LED lighting has gone mainstream, this year's NAB settled it. Every lighting manufacturer I saw on the floor had LED models. Vitec's Litepanels remains the model for most of the industry, although no one has yet cloned their Sola LED Fresnels. "Clone" is a good word for a lot of the LED lights, especially knock-offs of more-expensive designs built by Chinese manufacturers. There were a number of clones on the floor that are variations of the tunable color temperature designs pioneered by Zylight and Litepanels.

Whether it's fixed color or bi-color, with or without dimming, competition is driving LED prices down into the range of fluorescent lights, and fluorescent prices have dropped into the incandescent range. The color quality of fluorescent bulbs continues to improve--especially compact fluorescents that can replace incandescent bulbs in existing fixtures with much less heat and power consumption. In fact, fluorescents are the best price/performance compromise for a lot of applications--similar power consumption and heat output as LEDs and a much lower price.

In Part 2, I'll review some new products from Blackmagic Design that will redefine customer expectations about what video technology can do, and more importantly, how it should be priced.

Canon T3i/600D Announced

Earlier today, Canon announced its new T3i/600D DSLR. It will fit into Canon's product line between the T2i/550D, which will remain in production (at least for now) and the 60D. Engadget reports that the T3i will ship in the U.S. at the beginning of March at a list price of $799.99 or $899.99 with a new cost-reduced 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens.

According to Digital Photography Review, which has had a chance to preview the new camera, the primary difference between the T3i and T2i is that the T3i has an articulated LCD, which means that some of the controls on the back of the camera had to be repositioned, and the camera is slightly deeper and heavier than the T2i.

The T3i uses the same sensor and processor as the T2i, so its ISO range and video performance are identical to the T2i. However, EOSHD.com reports that the T3i has a 3X and 10X crop mode; the 3X mode is the most interesting, because it crops the image to 1920x1080, which should decrease the imager's rolling shutter problems. (Update: Commenters to EOSHD.com are suggesting that the 3X and 10X modes are actually digital zooms, not crop modes, which would result in a much lower-quality image.) The other primary functional changes to the T3i are "beginner-friendly" new features, including:

• Basic+, which simplifies adjustments to exposure and scene mode parameters.
• Scene Intelligent Auto mode, which automatically selects exposure and scene mode, and adjusts color balance, based on whatever the camera is pointed at.
• Video Snapshot mode, which allows a sequence of 2, 4 or 8 second long video clips to be strong together without requiring video editing.

For videographers, the most compelling advantage of the T3i is its articulated LCD, at a price very similar to that of the T2i when it was originally launched.

Episode 2 of The Feldman File Videoblog

The second episode of The Feldman File's videoblog is ready for viewing! In this week's episode:

• Panasonic announces its new GF2 Micro Four Thirds camera with Full HD video
• A reader of EOSHD.com discovers a mode in Panasonic's new GH2 DSLR that could dramatically decrease rolling shutter effects
  
• A team at MIT, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Michigan are working on a way to put a team of human editors into Microsoft Word
• An editor at Cooks Source Magazine is reprinting content without permission and wants to be thanked for it
• FilmOn.com, an over-the-top Internet video service, is having a hard time figuring out the difference between broadcast television stations and cable networks

Panasonic's new GF2: Full HD in a compact camera

Panasonic's long-rumored GF2 has finally been announced, and Digital Photography Review has had a few days to test a pre-production model. Panasonic will ship the GF2 in the U.S. in January, and will release U.S. pricing in December.

The GF2 is slightly smaller and lighter than its predecessor, the GF1. (It's still slightly bigger overall than Sony's NEX-5, but when using its pancake lens, it's a bit thinner.) It uses the same 12.1 Megapixel imager as the previous model. In order to reduce its size, Panasonic had to remove some of the physical controls that were on the GF1 and replace them with menu options.

Perhaps the biggest change in the GF2 is that it now has Full HD video, rather than the AVCHD Lite in the GF1. That means that the GF2 has 1080/60i and 720/60p video (the 60i mode reads the image data off the sensor in 30p mode).  However, the GF2's AVCHD bitrate maxes out at 17Mbps, not the 24Mbps maximum that Panasonic's GH2 and some other DSLRs can achieve. ISO sensitivity has been increased to 6400 from the 3200 maximum of the GF1. The GF2 also has a built-in stereo microphone, but as with most DSLRs, you'll be better off capturing audio with an external recorder. It fully supports Panasonic's new 3D lens, which will turn it into a tiny, albeit limited, 3D camera.

Digital Photography Review didn't do image and video quality testing, so that will have to wait for another review. The fact that the GF2 only goes to 17Mbps AVCHD means that its video output almost certainly won't stand up to that of the GH2. There's no word about whether the GF2 provides a live output on its HDMI interface while recording, what the resolution of the live output is, and what (if anything) is superimposed on it by the camera.

The GF2 is clearly a consumer-oriented camera, a step up from point-and-shoots rather than a smaller replacement for a DSLR. It's unlikely to have many cinematography applications, especially if it's priced only a few hundred dollars less than the GH2.

Panasonic's AG-AF100: A long answer to a short question

Panasonic showed a "70% complete" version of its new AG-AF100 Micro Four Thirds camcorder at DV Expo last week. The AG-AF100 will ship in late December at a price of $4,995 (U.S.). Dan Chung of DSLR News Shooter interviewed Panasonic's product manager for the camcorder, Jan Crittenden Livingston, and asked her why a DSLR user should switch to the AG-AF100. She went into a long rundown of all the features that the new camcorder has that a DSLR doesn't.

Having spent most of my career as a product manager, I sympathize with Jan's situation, but at the end of the day, the right answer is to focus on use cases rather than "speeds and feeds". If you're primarily a still photographer and want to capture a little bit of video as well, go with a DSLR. Any good DSLR from Panasonic, Canon, Nikon or Sony will do a far better job of shooting stills than the AG-AF100.

However, if your primary interest is shooting video, you'll have to add at least $1,000 of equipment to any DSLR in order to fix its inherent problems with video. You'll need to add a mounting system to make it handle more like a video camera, a viewfinder (either a magnifier/loupe attached to the LCD or a separate electronic viewfinder) and an external audio recorder. Even after that, you still won't get all the features that you'll get in a camcorder purpose-built for video, such as HD-SDI video out, timecode sync in/out and long record times on internal media (in the AG-AF100's case, up to 12 hours of continuous shooting on two 64GB SDXC cards).

If your primary interest is still photography or your budget is extremely strapped, buy a DSLR and the cheapest add-on hardware you can find, but if you can afford it, the AG-AF100 and future camcorders like it will be a better solution for full-time video use.

Canon's rumored EIS mirrorless DSLR

EOSHD.com has broken preliminary details of Canon's answer to Panasonic's and Olympus' Four-Thirds and Sony's NEX series: The mirrorless EIS (Electronic Image System). The first model, the EIS 60, is rumored to be scheduled to ship in calendar Q2 2011. The EIS 60 is said to have a 22 megapixel imager, which should immediately be a cause for concern for a couple of reasons:

• More pixels means less surface area (and thus less light sensitivity) per pixel.
• The rolling shutter problem that DSLRs have in video mode is due to the process that they use to get the resolution of the image data coming off of the sensor down to 1920 x 1080. In most cases, manufacturers simply throw most of the lines of image data away, but the result is the "jello effect" when either moving the camera or shooting fast motion. Tossing lines away also results in image softness and moire patterns, especially when shooting objects with close horizontal or vertical lines, such as brick buildings and striped clothing.

To get around both problems, Canon has reportedly developed a technique called "Pixel Fusion" that merges a matrix of pixels together to form a single pixel. In still mode, 4 pixels (2 x 2) are merged into a single pixel, for a net resolution of 5.5 megapixels. In video mode, 9 pixels (3 x 3) are merged into a single pixel, for 1920 x 1080P resolution. The result is that the EIS 60 can achieve better speed in still mode (up to 20 fps) with excellent low-light performance (in "Pixel Fusion" mode, the extended maximum ISO of the EIS 60 will be 25,600,) and can read the data off the imager much faster in video mode in order to avoid the rolling shutter effect.

EOSHD.com reports that the new EIS format will use a new lens mount, but Canon will also offer a EF-to-EIS adapter. The lenses under development for the new format (some of which won't be available at launch) include:

• 12-75mm F2.8-4 IS Macro
• 70-300mm F3.5-5.6 IS
• 5mm F4 fisheye
• 8-25mm F4 wide-angle zoom
• 14mm F2 pancake
• 25mm F1.2 pancake
• 45mm F1.5 pancake
• 65mm F2.0 Macro (1:1, 2:1 is equivalent to full-size)

Obviously, all of this should be taken with a grain of salt until Canon makes an official statement. If this camera is actually under development and the timing is correct, it's unlikely that Canon will announce anything about it at Photokina later this month to avoid hurting sales of its cameras for this holiday season. I don't expect any confirmation from Canon until January at the earliest, but we may also hear about a true camcorder using the same imaging system at NAB next April.

Check list marketing, or why vendors put useless features into their products

Yesterday, I wrote a post about Pentax's new K-r DSLR. Like all new DSLRs, it has a video mode, but the K-r's is fixed at 720P at 25 fps. Fine for Europe, but completely useless in the U.S. Pentax isn't the only offender, of course; it's virtually impossible to find a DSLR from anyone that has usable audio, which is why the Zoom H4n audio recorder is so popular.

Why do manufacturers add features to their products that don't work or are useless? It's usually due to "check list marketing." You've probably seen the comparison lists that show how the features and functions of various products compare. The lists are almost always put together by a vendor to show how much better their products are than the competition's. No one wants to look bad on one of these check lists, so the sales team or product managers will push the engineering team to add features. The engineering team will usually resist, but sales and product management will insist that engineering implement the features in some way, so that they can add them to their check lists.

That's probably how the K-r got its video mode. The website and data sheet for the camera boast that it has HD video. Yes, at the lowest resolution that can be called HD, with a frame rate that's useless in North America. They don't say that in the headline, of course; you have to read down to the specifications to find out the bad news. The check list only says "HD video". Canon? Check. Panasonic? Check. Nikon? Check. Sony? Check. Pentax? Check. It didn't say "HD video that you can actually use," or "HD video that you can edit," or "HD video that won't make you throw your camera through a plate glass window." There would be some checks missing on that list, and not just for Pentax.

I'd rather see companies implement features the right way, and have the courage to leave out features that can't be done well, rather than implement useless features simply to fill out a check list. If Pentax's engineers didn't have to implement video mode, could they have used that time and those resources to make the still features of the camera even better? There are many photographers who buy DSLRs for their ability to shoot stills and couldn't care less about video. It would have been a retro step by Pentax, but in this case, it would have been the right thing to do.

Pentax announces its K-arrgh DSLR

When I learned photography many years ago, my second SLR was a Pentax, so I've always had a soft spot for their cameras. They've just announced a new DSLR, the K-r, and it looks like a very good still camera for the price ($849.95 in the U.S. with an 18-55mm lens.) Unfortunately, its video mode is crippled: 720P at 25fps. Given that it's priced about the same as Canon's T2i/550 and significantly more than Nikon's D3100, it's not competitive on the basis of its video mode. I can't see why anyone would opt for the K-r, even if their only interest is still photography.

Sony introduces its first DSLRs with 1080p/i video

Sony has just introduced four new cameras, two DSLRs (A560 and A580), and two quasi-DSLRs (A33 and A55). Their video specifications are very similar; all four cameras can do 1920 x 1080 1080i at 50/60fps with AVCHD compression (at 17Mbps average), and 1440 x 1080 1080p using MPEG-4 compression (at 12 Mbps average). So what, you ask, is a quasi-DSLR? Sony's new design uses a permanent, highly light-transmissive fixed mirror than enables continuous autofocus and live mode for both still shots and video. This means that the cameras have electronic, not optical, viewfinders, although they have a largely conventional DSLR body and can use Sony's conventional Alpha-range lenses. The A560 and A580 are conventional DSLRs and can't do continuous video autofocusing.

Digital Photography Review has published a review of the first production version of the A55. There are some unusual "features" that it found in its video tests:

• The camera can record approximately 29 minutes of video in AVCHD mode, but it can only record 9 minutes if SteadyShot is turned on. The review is unclear as to why image stabilization affects storage capacity so much, but it may be due to the fact that the camera does digital image stabilization inside the camera rather than using lenses with optical image stabilization.
• Even though MP4 uses a lower bitrate and should allow a storage card to save more video, storage of MP4 files is limited to 2GB at a time, which limits the maximum duration of a shot to around three minutes. AVCHD doesn't have this limitation and can span multiple files in a single shot.
• DP Review found that the A55's autofocus feature was often less than helpful in video mode, as the camera sometimes lost track of the object that it was focusing on and went out of focus. This problem was especially pronounced with fast-moving sports events.
• They found that the A55 has a fairly pronounced rolling shutter "jello" problem, about the same as many other DSLRs, but more severe than some competitors.
• The review states that the A55's average AVCHD bitrate is 17Mbps, but it's unclear if that's the camera's maximum bitrate. Some other DSLRs and camcorders can support 24 to 30 Mbps.

DP Review was very impressed with the A55 as a still camera, and in fact gave it a Gold Award, so it's important to recognize that it's a very good camera. However, as with many DSLRs, the video functionality of the A55 isn't as well implemented as the still image features. In the U.S., the A55 will ship in October at a list price of $750 (body only) and $850 (with an 18-55mm lens). The A33, which has essentially the same video specifications as the A55, will ship in September priced $100 lower than the A55.

Nikon's D3100 takes on the Canon Rebel T2i

Nikon has introduced the D3100, a replacement for the D3000 and a direct competitor for Canon's Rebel T2i. Most importantly for readers of this blog, the D3100 is the first Nikon DSLR that can do full 1080P video, albeit only at 24fps (faster frame rates require 720P.) It's also got continuous autofocus in video mode, which only the Panasonic GH1 and G2 have been able to do.

Update, August 25, 2010: The first expert feedback is coming in, and according to EOSHD.com, Nikon Germany has stated that the D3100 has no manual controls in video mode. While this makes it easier for first-time users and is useful for some applications, it makes the video mode almost useless for more serious production work.

In Zacuto's DSLR shootout, Nikon's D3S had the best low-light performance but took a backseat in most of the other tests due to being limited to 720P. The Nikon D3000 has nowhere near the extended ISO exposure range of the D3S, but it's an indicator that a professional-level 1080P DSLR is coming from Nikon.

One of the most impressive features of the D3100 is its price: With an 18-55mm zoom lens, its list price in the U.S. is $699.95, almost exactly $200 less than the T2i with a comparable 18-55mm lens. For those photographers who already own Nikons and have an investment in Nikon lenses, the D3100 means that they can move into video without losing their investment.

Before you go rush out and buy a D3100, you should wait until experts such as Philip Bloom and Nino Leitner and blogs like Digital Photography Review have a chance to test it. Resolution is just one of the many factors affecting video quality and performance, and we don't yet know what compromises Nikon made in order to get to the D3100's low price. Nevertheless, the D3100 is proof that Nikon is taking video seriously and intends to keep up with Canon.

Redrock Micro introduces lower-cost DSLR rigs

Not long ago, I wrote a post comparing the price of Sony's new NEX-VG10 interchangeable lens camcorder with the cost of purchasing a NEX-5 DSLR and adding components to make it handle like a camcorder. When I did that comparison, I looked at prices from Zacuto, Redrock Micro and others. I was surprised to find that despite Zacuto's reputation for higher prices, they were actually less expensive than Redrock Micro for entry-level rigs.

Redrock has now launched a new line of low-cost DSLR rigs that are more in line with the prices of new DSLRs, especially models like Canon's Rebel T2i. The new Nano Rigs are priced from just over $100 to just over $600 (U.S.), and the highest-priced Nano is less expensive than the lowest-priced models in Redrock's DSLR 2.0 line of rigs. Other companies are likely to follow Redrock Micro with their own "prosumer-priced" lines of DSLR accessories, which will keep pricing pressure on the camcorder manufacturers.