News

The new 2.6 firmware update for the popular Panasonic GH4 4K camera resolves an issue with the Battery Grip, where an error message pops up if the remaining power of the battery in the Battery Grip is low. Also resolved is an issue with a Panasonic H-RS100400 lens (LEICA DG VARIO-ELMAR 100-400mm / F4.0-6.3 ASPH. / POWER O.I.S.) or some Olympus interchangeable lenses, where the monitor blacks out while the user tries consecutive shooting in manual mode in AFC setting.

Chaos Group announced a major new release of its versatile, all-in-one fluid dynamics plug-in, Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max. Frequently used to simulate realistic water, fire, and other fluid effects for multiple television series such as Game of Thrones and The Flash, Phoenix FD has been significantly upgraded for fast-paced productions. With its new FLIP liquid solver and improved smoke and fire solver, Phoenix FD is now more powerful and able to bring more realism to visual effects projects.

Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max has been given a full makeover, with new intuitive controls, presets and GPU-accelerated previews, making it a fast and easy way to tackle tight deadlines. The new Phoenix FD integrates seamlessly into Autodesk 3ds Max and renders with V-Ray, Chaos Group's industry-standard lighting and rendering solution.

Phoenix FD 3.0 is available now for Autodesk 3ds Max and is a free upgrade for all Phoenix FD 2.x customers. A Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max Workstation license is 600EUR and includes one floating user license and one floating simulation license. Additional simulation licenses are available for 150EUR ex. VAT.

Highlights of Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max:

Ocean simulations

Infinite ocean – Create infinite ocean waves that never repeat.

Ocean & beach waves – Seamlessly transition from procedural ocean waves to simulated beach waves.

Advanced simulations and controls

FLIP solver – Enables faster, more realistic liquid simulations for splashes, sprays, foam, mist and waves.

Improved fire and smoke solver – Realistic smoke and fire with natural rolling motion and fine details can be created without increasing resolution.

Cascade simulations – Create a series of simulations that trigger and interact with each other.

Refine existing simulations – Add detail and increase resolution without changing simulation shape or behavior.

Simulation retiming – Speed up or slow down simulation playback, perfect for slow motion effects.

Custom emission sources – Use a wide range of emission sources including animated meshes, texture maps, particles and more.

New forces – Influence simulations with forces like wind, spline follow, and mesh attraction.

Pipeline and compatibility

Compatibility – Compatible with top industry tools such as Alembic, Krakatoa, Stoke MX and OpenVDB.

Blackmagic Design's new Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder, a high resolution 7” studio viewfinder with variable tension mounting points, tally, external controls and more, will soon be available. The monitor turns Blackmagic URSA Mini into a true professional studio camera! The Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder features a large 7” high resolution screen and is perfect for camera operators working on live events at which they need to stand behind the camera and capture the action for hours on end. The all metal design is durable and features the highest quality variable tension mounting points available, as well as an articulated arm so the viewfinder can be raised, lowered, moved forward and backward. These mounting points can be set for the perfect amount of resistance so that customers can pan and tilt the viewfinder to whatever position they need. When attached to URSA Mini, the camera sends information via the SDI connection to the viewfinder so customers can see the critical information they need such as recording status, camera settings, battery life and more while shooting. The design of the Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder makes it familiar and easy to use for anyone that’s worked with other traditional studio cameras before, as the layout of the controls follows a familiar industry layout!



Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder Features

• Super bright 7” high resolution viewfinder with detachable sunshade.
• Large handles and variable tension articulated pivot points to adjust viewfinder position.
• Tactile physical dials, knobs and customizable function buttons for quickly adjusting settings.
• Large RGB LED tally indicator with clip on perspex camera numbers for easy camera identification.
• Integrated V-Lock mounting plate for quick setup and attaching to the URSA Mini top handle.
• Connects to SDI input and power from camera, so no extra cables or power supplies needed.
• Compatible with Blackmagic Video Device Embedded Control Protocol for full control of camera functions such as talkback, tally, color correction, image detail, gains, all lens functions and much more.

Sony is expanding its FS Series Super 35mm professional family with the addition of the new FS7 II camcorder. The new model builds on the original FS7’s strengths by adding advanced features including Electronic Variable ND technology, a lever lock type E-mount, and a new mechanical design for faster and easier set-up.

Since its introduction in 2014, the FS7 has become one of the most widely used cameras in a range of production applications, and the original model remains in the Sony line-up. The new FS7 II now gives creative professionals a broader range of creative tools, with new features all based on end user feedback.

The new FS7 II camcorder is designed for long-form shooting and production applications, especially for documentaries and independent filmmaking. Amongst the many enhancements outlined below, the FS7 II can also record in BT2020 colour space, hence making it ideal for today’s 4K broadcast productions.

Electronic Variable ND Technology

The camcorder’s Electronic Variable ND Filter system, combined with its large sensor, delivers greater exposure control, with the option of preset or variable operation modes. Variable ND mode (clear + 2~7 stop range, in seamless transition steps up to 1/128) allows the user to vary the density of the ND filter during shooting and to transition seamlessly between steps. This also ensures an optimum motion delivery by maintaining desired shutter speed.

The camera’s expanded ND operations enables fine exposure adjustment by relegating iris to set depth of field, prevents soft focus caused by diffraction, and prevents colour shift caused by stacking multiple external ND filters.

The camera can compensate for exposure fluctuation caused by iris control while adjusting the depth of field. Users can adjust exposure while keeping the same bokeh in changing shooting or lighting environments.

Preset mode lets users assign three ND settings to the filter turret, useful in selecting the most appropriate filtration range for changing light conditions, for example. Auto ND mode is also available allowing exposure to stay at a fixed level while adjusting the depth of field with iris control.

E-mount (Lever Lock type) for professional shooting

The FS7 II revisited E-mount (lever lock type) gives users the ability to change lenses by rotating the locking collar rather than the lens itself, which means that in most cases lens support rigs don't need to be removed, saving time during a production. The new E-Mount has been designed for demanding applications in the professional environment and will fit any existing E-mount lenses in the market and other mount lenses with an adapter. The new FS7 II camcorder also supports Sony ? Mount System, which includes more than 70 lenses.

Mechanical Design Enhancements

Like its counterparts in the FS Series family – the FS7 and FS5 models – the new FS7 II features several design and ergonomic updates for comfortable and functional use in the field. These new features are based customer feedback around the FS7.

The FS7 II “tool-less” mechanical design lets users make on-the-fly changes to the camera’s set-up and operation. For example, no tools are required to adjust the Smart Grip or viewfinder positions.

The detachable viewfinder eyepiece, which comes with a pop-up hood, provides a third stabilizing contact point when shooting handheld. Durable square section rods and lever-clamps on the LCD and camera body provide simple and precise front-to-back VF adjustment while retaining level positioning.

New Sony 18-110mm Sony G lens

Sony also introduced a new E-mount, Super 35mm lens specifically designed for documentary and motion picture production.

The new lens, model E PZ 18-110mm F4 G OSS, covers Super35mm and APS-C sensors. Compact and lightweight -- 2.4 lbs (1.1Kg) -- with an 18 to 110 focal range (6x zoom) it uses a new fully mechanical/servo zoom switchable system, capable of snap zooms and entirely devoid of lag. The focal range is optimised for Super 35 and APS-C sensors.

The lens is compatible with Sony ? Mount System cameras, including the ?7 series interchangeable-lens cameras and professional Super 35mm 4K camcorders like the FS7 or FS5. Although perfectly suited for still image taking, filmmakers will fully appreciate the lens’ extended creative capabilities for shooting motion images.

The lens benefits Smooth Motion Optics (SMO) design from Sony, which is developed to optimise performance during motion image capture. This lens design eliminates undesirable characteristics and artifacts that do not affect still image taking, but can severely limit a lens’ usefulness for motion shooting, such as:

Ramping: F stop gradually diminishes when zooming tight

Not holding focus while zooming

Breathing (angle of view variation while focusing)

Optical axis shift (image moves in the frame while zooming)

Due to a change in the SELP18110G specifications it is no longer compatible with the SEL14TC and SEL20TC teleconverters.

XQD Cards

The FS7 II supports the XQD memory card format, designed for capturing and transferring high-bandwidth, high resolution files. The newest XQD card from Sony, QD-G256E-- with an industry first 256 GB capacity -- enables recording time of approximately 45 minutes at 4K 60P and 3.5 hours at 2K 30P. Combined with a read speed of 440MB/s and write speed 400MB/s, users can shoot for longer without needing to change media cards.

Red Giant PluraEyes 4.1.2 is a free update for current users, and includes:

• Support Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2017
• Support for MAGIX Vegas Pro 14
• Support for RED WEAPON and RED RAVEN .R3D media
• Better support for multi-channel media (previously if the first channel was silent, PE4 would show a silent clip)
• New Track-level Sync Options – Two new options have been added to the the track context menu to provide better manual control of sync behaviour when needed: “Allow Sync to Change Clip Order” and “Allow Sync to Split Tracks.” By default they are set automatically based on PluralEyes’ analysis of the files, but the user can override the automatic setting.
• Better support for audio recording file naming, which can include a suffix that specifies the audio source e.g. The ZOOM H4N will add an “I” or “M” character to each file when recording in 4 channel mode, to indicate which of the two stereo inputs the file comes from. PluralEyes 4.1.2 now detects such cases during the sync, and splits them onto separate tracks.
• Better support for audio recorders that place each audio clip in a separate folder (e.g. Roland R26, ZOOM H5, ZOOM H6). Previously PE4 would incorrectly split these into separate tracks, with one clip per track.
• BUG FIX: Fixed an issue where PE4 shows a grey screen upon launch

How to Update PluralEyes 4.1.2
This update is free to current users. Download and run the latest installer here.