News

From independent productions to Hollywood headliners, 51 films debuting at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival used Adobe Premiere Pro CC as their primary digital editing software. Sundance, the preeminent festival for groundbreaking work and emerging talent, will include a total of 175 films made with Premiere Pro CC and other Adobe Creative Cloud tools. From in-competition feature films like “Christine,” “Gleason,” and “Swiss Army Man” to short films and documentaries, like “Richard Linklater - dream is destiny,” Premiere Pro CC usage at Sundance has increased 143 percent since 2015. “With such an ambitious film, we needed the most innovative technology to push creative boundaries,” said Louis Black, co-director of “Richard Linklater - dream is destiny,” which will premiere at Sundance. “Our story relies on combining decades-old archival footage with interviews from the present. We cut the film in Adobe Premiere Pro CC with incredible results.” Recent Premiere Pro converts include the four-time Oscar-winning Coen brothers with “Hail, Caesar!;” director Tim Miller with “Deadpool;” director David Fincher and Oscar-winning editor Kirk Baxter with “Gone Girl;” and director Rhys Thomas and producer Lorne Michaels with “Staten Island Summer.”

Certified SSDs

SSDs which are qualified for Uncompressed 10-bit video capture will also work well for compressed video capture. There are some SSDs which Blackmagic has tested and found to drop frames when capturing Uncompressed 10-bit video. However, they still work well when capturing compressed video.

The following SSDs are recommended for Uncompressed 10-bit or compressed video capture:

ADATA XPG SX900 256 GB (ASX900S3-256GM-C)

Angelbird 240 GB AV Pro

Angelbird 480 GB AV Pro

Digistor 240 GB SSD Professional Video Series (DIG-PVD240S, pre-formatted ExFat)

Digistor 480 GB SSD Professional Video Series (DIG-PVD480S, pre-formatted ExFat)

Digistor 1TB SSD 4K Professional Video Series (DIG-PVD1000, pre-formatted ExFat), not compatible with HyperDeck Shuttle!

Kingston 240 GB HyperX 3K (SH103S3/240G)

Kingston 480 GB HyperX 3K (SH103S3/480G)

Kingston HyperX Savage 120 GB (SHSS37A/120G)

Kingston HyperX Savage 240 GB (SHSS37A/240G)

Kingston HyperX Savage 480 GB (SHSS37A/480G)

Kingston HyperX Savage 960 GB (SHSS37A/960G)

Kingston 240 GB SSD Now KC300 (SKC300S37A/240G)

Kingston 480 GB SSD Now KC300 (SKC300S37A/480G)

Intel 335 Series 240 GB SSD (SSDSC2CT240A4K5)

Intel 520 Series 240 GB SSD (SSDSC2CW240A310)

Intel 520 Series 480 GB SSD (SSDSC2CW480A310)

Intel 530 Series 180 GB SSD (SSDSC2BW180A401)

Intel 530 Series 240 GB SSD (SSDSC2BW240A401)

OWC 120 GB Mercury Extreme Pro 6G (OWCSSD7P6G120)

OWC 240 GB Mercury Extreme Pro 6G (OWCSSD7P6G240)

OWC 480 GB Mercury Extreme Pro 6G (OWCSSD7P6G480)

Samsung 256 GB 850 Pro (MZ-7KE256BW, spacer required)

Samsung 512 GB 850 Pro (MZ-7KE512BW, spacer required)

Samsung 1TB 850 Pro (MZ-1T0BW, spacer required), not compatible with HyperDeck Shuttle!

Sandisk Extreme 240 GB (SDSSDX-240G-G25)

Sandisk Extreme 480 GB (SDSSDX-480G-G25)

Sandisk Extreme Pro 240 GB (SDSSDXPS-240G-G25)

Sandisk Extreme Pro 480 GB (SDSSDXPS-480G-G25)

Sandisk Extreme Pro 960 GB (SDSSDXPS-960G-G25)

PNY Prevail 240 GB (SSD9SC240GCDA-PB)

PNY Prevail 480 GB (SSD9SC480GCDA-PB)

PNY XLR8 480 GB (SSD9SC480GMDA-RB)

Transcend 256 GB SSD720 (TS256GSSD720)

In addition to the above, these SSDs work ONLY for compressed video capture:

Crucial 256 GB M4 (firmware 000F) (CT256M4SSD2)

OCZ Agility 3 240 GB (AGT3-25SAT3-240G)

Sandisk Extreme 120 GB (SDSSDX-120G-G25)

Important Notes About SSD Speed

Some models of SSD can’t save video data at the speed the manufacturer claims. This is due to the disk using hidden data compression to attain higher write speeds. This data compression can only save data at the manufacturer’s claimed speed when storing data such as blank data or simple files. Video data includes video noise and pixels which are more random so compression will not help, therefore revealing the true speed of the disk.

Some SSDs can have up to 50% lower write speed than the manufacturer’s claimed speed. So even though the disk specifications claim an SSD has speeds fast enough to handle video, in reality the disk isn’t fast enough when used to store video data for real time capture. However, this mostly affects HD capture and often these disks can still be used for playback.

Use Blackmagic Disk Speed Test to accurately measure whether your SSD will be able to handle uncompressed video capture and playback. Blackmagic Disk Speed Test uses data to simulate the storage of video so you get results similar to what you’ll see when capturing video to a disk. During Blackmagic testing, we have found newer, larger models of SSD and larger capacity SSDs are generally faster.

Panasonic announced that the AG ROP (Remote Operation Panel) app, which allows remote control of the professional AG-DVX200 4K camera recorder from an iPad, is now available for downloading, free of charge, from the Apple App Store. The new AG ROP app enables wireless remote control of the AG-DVX200's picture quality adjustment, zoom, focus, and REC start/stop from an iPad. This allows easy touch control with an existing iPad, to further expand the mobility of the AG-DVX200 with crane and jib use compatibility. Installation of a wireless module (either AJ-WM30 or ASUS USB-N53, sold separately) is required, as well as a firmware update. The application is compatible with iPad running iOS7.1, iOS8.1, or iOS9. iPhones are not supported.

The control screen of the AG ROP app displays large numerals and provides upper and lower touch keys for easy understanding and use. In addition to a multitude of control functions, such as camera settings, picture quality adjustment, REC start/stop and menu setting, the AG ROP app allows control of the AG-DVX200's internal lens for remote operation of the i.ZOOM, zoom and focus. This provides extra versatility when, for example, the AG-DVX200 is set up on a crane. It also displays a thumbnail view and a preview view, so clips recorded in dual codec 8 Mbps recording mode onto the AG-DVX200's memory card can be displayed as thumbnails and previewed on an iPad. The AG ROP app lets the user check the image while recording.

Controllable Functions: i.ZOOM/ZOOM/FOCUS, KNEE (ON/OFF), TCG (TC/UB display and setting), REC CHK, REC S/S, SHUTTER (OFF/FIX/SS), GAIN, WB (PRST/A/B/AWB/ABB), M.PED, IRIS (AUTO/MANUAL), PAINTING GAIN (R/B), Menu display and setting, USER Button, Switching CAM/BAR Output image, and Character output ON/OFF.

Other Functions: CAM. INFO (display camera recorder info), THUMB (display and playback of camera clip), Remaining media/battery display, LOCK (disable operation on AG ROP app), and WARNING indicator.

Panasonic released a new firmware update for AG-DVX200 cameras. Version 1.40 includes several improvements, including support for ROP application software for iPad (AG ROP App) enablomg remote control via Wi-Fi connection using Panasonic AJ-WM30, or ASUS USB-N53 Wi-Fi modules. The update also improves accuracy of Zoom Tracking (focus controlling during the zoom motion), V-Log L View Assist function (it now starts/stops by ON/OFF switching of USER button instead of holding it down), as well as MODE CHK function that now indicates the states of AWB Ach and Bch (“OK” or “NG”). Download it here.

What is RED RAVEN?

RED Raven is the newest member of the RED digital cinema cameras that feature the Dragon Sensor Technology. Here's a link to the official RED RAVEN page at RED.COM:

http://www.red.com/red-raven

What can RAVEN do?

- Has a maximum motion and still resolution of 4.5K (4608x2160)
- Sensor size 23.04mm x 10.8mm

- Shoot at 24fps at 4.5K with a REDCODE RAW Compression Ratio of 3:1

- Shoot up to 120fps at 4.5K

- Lens Mount - Fixed Canon EF

- OLPF - Fixed Dragon Standard OLPF

- Shoots Apple ProRes 422 HQ 2K up to 60fps

- Uses the same accessories as RED WEAPON cameras and is a DSMC? style camera Brain.

- Has Wireless Connectivity built in (Wi-Fi)

How big is RAVEN's Dragon Sensor?

- RAVEN's sensor size is 20.48x10.8mm with an image circle of 23.2mm.

- RAVEN's format size is larger than Micro Four Thirds in width and just a hair narrower than Academy 35mm and APS-C.

What Lenses can be used on RAVEN?

RAVEN features a fixed Canon EF Mount. Which means any of the large family of lenses that feature the native Canon EF mount can be used on RAVEN, and if supported, iris and focus can be controlled through the camera interface. Additionaly, since so many lenses can be adapter to the Canon EF Mount through simple adapters lenses like Leica-R, Olympus-OM, Nikon-F, and many others are possible to adapt and use on the camera.

What is DSMC??

DSMC stands for "Digital Stills and Motion Camera", something RED started a long while ago as their cameras can shoot high enough resolution images to use for print. However, DSMC also refers to the camera body (also known as the Camera Brain) type. DSMC? is the newest style of Camera Brain that was introduced with RED WEAPON in 2015. It not only describes the general form factor of the camera body itself, but also how various modules can be added to the camera system to "expand" it's capabilities. As such, camera modules for WEAPON and RAVEN bodies are often referred to as Expanders, which attach directly to the rear of the camera body while adding functionality to your camera rig.

For instance, the Base I/O Expander adds HDMI out, SDI out, DC in, SYNC, CTRL, and two audio ports. You can also attach something like the WEAPON REDVOLT XL Module to the back of the Base I/O Expander to use REDVOLT XL style batteries on RAVEN. Additionally, there is a connection point on the right side of the RAVEN and WEAPON cameras that can accept camera control accessories like the SIDEKICK or upcoming Side Handle.

What kind of Media Cards does RAVEN record to?

RAVEN uses RED MINI-MAG SSD Cards. These are currently available in 120GB, 240GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities.

What ports are on the RAVEN camera body?

RAVEN features 2X LCD/EVF "Cableless Connectors" to use with the RED WEAPON 7.0" LCD Touch and the RED WEAPON 4.7" LCD Touch. These both can be bolted directly to those ports. Through using the WEAPON LEMO Adapter A you can attach a LEMO cable port to the camera body and use other RED LCD/EVFs such as the 9.0", 7.0", and 5.0" LCD Touch. Through using the WEAPON LEMO Adapter B you can even use a LEMO connector to position one of the bolt on "Cableless" displays away from the camera body.

Additionally there is another port on top of RED RAVEN that is reserved for camera control. For instance, the WEAPON Top Handle can trigger Record Start/Stop when attached to that port.

When is RAVEN being released?

You can pre-order RED RAVEN today. It's expected shipping date/release date is March 2016.

How much does RAVEN weigh?

3.5lbs (approx 1.5 kgs).

Does RAVEN have HDRx?

Yes.

Does RAVEN have built in 3D LUT Support like WEAPON?

No, it does not.