Sony’s PMW-F3K (PMF-F3L) Specifications and high resolution images

PRELIMINARY PRODUCT INFORMATION FOR THE SONY PMW-F3

Here is preliminary information on the PMW-F3K’s features.

This information is subject to change.
More information will be made available soon.

Click on any image for a VERY high resolution photo.

Canon XF300 on the way for review. Questions? Tests? [UPDATE] It’s here.

Canon says that the Canon XF300 Professional Camcorder is on it’s way to me for test & review. This camera features 50Mbps MPEG-2 4:2:2 recording to Compact Flash (CF) Cards. This high data rate should push aside all issue with compression, even though it does use the older MPEG-2 codec as opposed to the newer MPEG-4 / H.264 / AVCHD codec that a lot of newer camcorders and cameras use. The advantage to MPEG-2 is that, with a lot less compression, today’s even faster computer should handle it with ease, as opposed to the much more difficult time today’s systems have with AVCHD footage.

Sony accepts orders for NEX-VG10: the large sensor camcorder gets REAL!

Sony is clearly sprinting to the large sensor HD camcorder finish line!

Looks like the race is over. Sony and Panasonic announced large sensor camcorders back at NAB but now Sony is showing off the goods. They are taking pre-orders starting today.

The goods Sony is offering look real good! As with many of the last consumer/prosumer models, you can expect the VG10 to come out in a prosumer model, with XLR inputs, and probably more video settings than the consumer model offers. But probably no different lenses.

The Alpha lenses from the digital still lineup are already designed to resolve far, far beyond the 2 Megapixels of 1080i60 HD video. So you probably won’t see different lenses than will be available in the consumer lineup, but it does open the door to the entire Minolta Maxxum line of SLR lenses, which are the basis for the Sony’s Alpha.

OLED Screens will Replace LCD for Production Monitors. Here’s why.

I remember reading about OLED screens in some tiny nook of the web, a research arm of Kodak working with Cambridge University if I recall correctly, and they showed this little 3″ screen which was the total fruit of their labors at the time. It used a tenth the power of LCD, it needed no backlight, it was as thin as a dime, and it was viewable in sunlight. I really looked forward to seeing these screens used in production.

Well, Kodak sold off their OLED research to LG in the end of 1999, but that hasn’t stopped the rest of the electronics world from licensing technology and starting to build new, exciting products, Sony’s PVM-740 is set to replace all those crappy (even if expensive) LCD location monitors and I’ll tell you why.

Sony gears up for Blu-ray 3D mastering and production in Japan

I spoke recently for the DFW-Professional Videographer’s Association and during the Dallas Producer’s Association’s “Production Roundup” about the critical importance of using video scopes while shooting, and in editing. It can be said many different ways but simply, if you understand the importance of using an audio meter to know the difference between audio that is too hot or too quiet, then a waveform monitor is the same thing for video– just as essential.

The headphone volume knob can be adjusted any number of ways, the meter is the only objective measurement. So, too, a video monitor can be adjusted any number of ways, and a scope is the only objective way to measure and calibrate your video.

Apple lays off 40 from FCP team, before NAB?

Apple laying off 40 people from the Final Cut Pro software team has been noted on Twitter, but not corroborated anywhere else as I can find.

But if the layoffs are actually true, it begs us to wonder what Apple’s long term dedication is to high-end computers, and professional apps— especially considering that the vast majority of profits come from: iPods, iPhones, iApps, iMacs, iBookstore, iTunes music & TV shows, laptops and soon- iPad.

Apple, Video Pros & the future.

It’s pretty clear that Apple dropping “computer” from their name was not just to use less ink. They’ve been behind the curve with the hardware for many years. Case in point: after PCs have had a SD card slot for many years, Apple finally decides to integrate this functionality into their laptops (but not desktops.)

But, in so doing, they ditch the ExpressCard slot from the 15″ MacBook “Pro” and specifically make the SD card slot not compatible with I/O devices so it can’t be used to expand the computer. wtf?

So now, the 17″ MacBook Pro is the only expandable laptop from Apple- for a starting price of $2500.
If I’m going to spend that much, I’ll buy a Lenovo 17″ (starting at $1,900) that offers me the capability of a quad-core chip, dual internal LCD displays, integrated Wacom tablet, Pantone color calibration of the displays, fingerprint reader for mobile security, internal Blu-ray, integrated cellular broadband, and more.

There were times, back when Apple didn’t have today’s market share, that they produced computers that were affordable, and wildly expandable. They strong to be what the other guys weren’t. They thought differently. That gave us the G3, the G4 towers. It gave us the G3 series PowerBooks with dual media bays, in addition to the PC card slot. That emphasis on providing users with innovative solutions ahead of the pack is gone.

AJA io -or- PMW-EX30 dilemma.

Do I buy:

  A 17″ laptop ($3,000), eSATA ExpressCard adaptor ($100),
external hard drives ($400), and an AJA ioHD ($2,800) to record
a live switch 1920x1080i60 SDI feed to ProRes 422…

or

A Sony PMW-EX30 XDCAM EX deck ($4,000) to record
a 30 Mbps 1920x1080i60 VBR stream to flash media?

Switching from Mac to PC. How?

As regular readers know, I use a Mac. But the lack of a midrange model really has me fuming and I need a machine that does the job, at a price that doesn’t kick the buyer in the face.

I received a brochure for Dell the other day which showed off a nice little quad-core machine for pittance compared to a quad core Mac Pro. I could upgrade the dual internal drives to 1 TB drives, drop in a Blu-ray burner and, with Adobe CS4, I could be editing and burning HD video with aplomb, compared to standing around with my thumb up my Mac ass waiting for Steve Jobs to get past his “bag of hurt” feelings and make Blu-ray authoring on the Mac a reality.

But what sort of machine should I get?

The Next HD Hurdle: Live Video Mixers

While HDV and the move to HD have produced some truly amazing cameras— even in the consumer arena— compared to what was available for many tens of thousands of dollars just 10 years ago, those of us who regularly produce live shows are facing a new hurdle: expensive HD switchers.