Get Ready to Geek Out at Cine Gear Expo 2014

The exhibits at Cine Gear Expo, an expansive annual showcase for the best in production gear and accessories, open at 5 p.m. PT this afternoon at The Studios at Paramount in Hollywood and continue tomorrow (Saturday). If you're going, you should know that there will be no entrance to the expo from the front gate on Melrose — instead, park in one of the Paramount Parking Structures on Gower, Van Ness and Lemon Grove. (Parking is limited, so carpool if you can!) Visit the event's official web site for more info on getting there and getting in.

 

There will be plenty of tech to take in at the show, especially if you happen to have skipped NAB, where a lot of the cool stuff first appeared. GeekHere's a sample of the new gear you'll be able to see and hear about at the event.

 

Advantage Video Systems

 

 

Advantage Video Systems will have a shipping version of 4Kase, a Mac Pro-based mobile editorial system that was at NAB in prototype form. 4Kase is designed to handle input and output of 4K data and process dailies, back up media, and manage color from a system that fits in the trunk of a car. A monitor is built in, along with up to 16 TB of storage, two LTO-6 tape drives, an SAS RAID-5, Thunderbolt expansion slots, and more, packed into a checkable luggage case from SKB Corporation. www.advantagevideosystems.com

 

Anton/Bauer

 

 

Anton/Bauer is launching the new V-Mount option for its Digital Battery series at Cine Gear, making them available in three sizes (90 Whm 150 Wh, and 190 Wh) for use with any camera and accessory, the company said. The Digital Battery series, introduced at NAB, has a new design with a more legible fuel gauge and a "digital filter" designed to increase run time and life cycle. www.antonbauer.com

 

Atomos

 

 

 

Atomos will demo its new 4K Shogun (pictured) and Ninja Star camera-mounted recorders that debuted at NAB. The Ninja Star is an external HDMI device that records edit-ready ProRes files. The Shogun is described as a 12G SDI and 4K HDMI monitor/recorder/deck with a 1920×1200 seven-inch touchscreen. It features waveform and other monitor assist tools and can record 10-bit 4:2:2 footage in 24p, 25p or 30p — or up to 120p HD. It's being positioned as a 4K recording option for the Sony A7s, Panasonic GH4 and Canon C500. www.atomos.com

 

Cinedeck

 

 

 

Cinedeck will be showing "hassle-free" 4K workflow with its Cinedeck MX record/ingest/transcode platform. For more info on the demo, download the company's brochure. www.cinedeck.com

 

Cineo Lighting

 

 

 

Cineo is exhibiting the Matchstix, a series of cold-shoe mounted remote phosphor light sources (in three-, six- and 12-inch lengths) developed with Litegear and matched to the company's other TruColor fixtures. www.cineolighting.com

 

Codex

 

 

Codex is showing an end-to-end ARRI Alexa XT workflow using Codex Capture Drives to record ARRIRAW footrage. Also on display will be Codex Vault 4K workflow for Sony, Red, and Canon 4K cameras, including a Codex Cart with Vault Review (pictured) for playback of HD, 2K and 4K material for on-set QC, review, and color-grading. Codex will also have its Action Cam POV camera, which is designed for use as a companion camera or witness camera for VFX applications, as well as a camera tracking system from Ncam that provides real-time camera data — including position, rotation, iris, focal length, and focus — to an Ncam tracking server. Codex is also showing its integration between the Codex Vault and Baselight, allowing on-set grading performed using the Baselight Flip image processor to be reviewed and rendered as dailies using the Vault. Finally, Codex will have a Dolby Vision prototype monitor in the booth, showing integration with the Alexa XT, FilmLight Flip, and Codex Vault for extended dynamic range Dolby Vision workflow. www.codexdigital.com

 

G-Technology

 

 

G-Technology will be out in force with a slew of storage options, including the G-Drive ev 220 2 TB USB 3.0 drive; the G-RAID enclosure with removable drives and USB 3.0, eSATA, and FireWire connectivity; and the new Thunderbolt 2-enabled Studio line, which includes the G-Speed Studio (pictured), a four-bay hardware RAID enclosure, and the G-RAID Studio, a two-disk version. www.g-technology.com

 

Gamma and Density

 

 

 

Color-management specialist Gamma & Density is promoting its new Log Chart System, specifically designed for use with camera systems capturing log gamma and raw files. It's meant to simplify conversions between log gamma and Rec. 709 using using a variety of magnetic "log strips" designed for specific cameras, starting with the ARRI Alexa/Amira, Canon C100/C300/C500, Red Epic/Scarlet, Sony F65, and Sony F5/F55. G&D color charts are at 30% off through June 9. 3cp.gammadensity.com

 

Litepanels

 

 

 

Litepanels is introducing its next-generation Astra 1×1 bi-color (daylight and tungsten) panel, a new tunable-color model with the company's usual one-square-foot form factor. The company says its light output is up to four times that of the original 1×1 bi-color fixture. Passive cooling offers silent operation, while a selectable active-cooling mode spins up0 a low-noise fan but allows double the light output. It's expected to ship this summer worldwide, with additional units slated to debut later in the year. 

 

MTI Film

 

 

MTI Film is demonstrating the Cortex CarryOn, as seen at NAB — and already in use on the A&E series Longmire. www.mtifilm.com

 

Radiant Images

 

Radiant Images has a new handheld underwater housing (pictured) for its 3.2 ounce Novo camera, featuring wireless video and monitoring, internal and external power, remote stop and start, and a rear viewing window. Back on dry land, the Novo Stabilized, a fully outfitted three-axis motion-stabilizing rig that the company says uses magnetic fields and no mechanical parts, weighs four pounds including the camera. Other stuff at the Radiant booth will include the Phantom Flex 4K, Red Carbon Dragon, and custom DIT stations including the Codex Vault and Ovide Smart Assist. www.radiantimages.com

 

Schneider Optics

 

 

Schneider Optics is highlighting its Xenon FF full-frame lenses, offering full coverage for cinema cameras including the Red Dragon and DSLRs. Also on display will be Chrosziel's MagNum wireless dual-axis lens-control system. Schneider is also showing the Cine-Xenar III cinema lenses mounted on the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K, its MPTV filters including Hollywood Black Magic, Tru-Streak, and Platinum IRND, and iPro lens sets for iPhones, Samsung Galaxy S4, and iPads. Finally, there's a new wide-angle adapter that makes the Fujinon Cabrio 19×90 lens about 30 percent wider that's slated to become available this summer. www.schneideroptics.com

 

SIM Digital

 

On display at SIM Digital's CineGear booth will be the ARRI Alexa XT, the Phantom Flex 4K, and an array of data carts for film and TV production. Reps will be on hand from the SIM Group's Bling Digital and PS Production Services divisions. www.simdigital.com

 

Teradek

 

 

Teradek is showing the new Bolt Pro series of zero-delay wireless video transmitters, including the Bolt Pro 2000 (pictured) with a 2000-foot operating range, along with the Serv and Cube Pro encoders for real-time HD monitoring on iOS and Android devices.

 

YoYotta 

 

 

YoYotta will be showing its YoYottaID LTFS archiving software with hardware partners 1 Beyond and mLogic. 1 Beyond will provide its new ThunderMAX Thunderbolt Mac expansion chassis (pictured), which connects to a Mac Pro (for example) with up to three Thunderbolt 2 cables for potential throughput of up to 60 Gbps. It holds three to six PCIe slots for dedicated camera card readers, LTO drives for back-up, internal RAID storage, etc. And MLogic makes the mTape drive, which it says is the first LTO-6 tape drive with Thunderbolt connectivity. .