Day three had me going all over Central Hall, where a couple of interesting subjects came up in several of the meetings. First was attendance. The residents of Central Hall (mostly cameras, lighting, camera support and audio) spoke of there being a lot of elbow room in Central Hall. I agreed, but South Hall which was mostly post-production (and Blackmagic Design) was packed, even today — which is rare. It was so packed that, for my meeting with Adobe, we had to sit on a bench out by the taxis.
The next subject that came up in three different meetings (Audio-Technica, Marshall Electronics, and Atomos) was “esports,” otherwise known as video games. I didn’t realize that more was being spent on video games than film production. Those three companies are now aiming some of their products at that market.
Sennheiser G4 Wireless System
Marc Franklin
Sennheiser G4 Wireless System. The Sennheiser G4 series is the latest in the company’s analog series of wireless UHF microphones. Improvements include a more rugged case and longer range, with 50 milliwatts of power. One of the most important new features is the availability of phantom power on the plug-on transmitter, allowing for the use of a host of new microphones, including shotgun mics. The components are available on their own, or in sets featuring different component options. MSRP: G4 System 100 – $599 / G4 System 500 – $899
Rotolight Anova Pro 2
Marc Franklin
Rotolight Anova Pro 2. The Anova Pro 2 is one of the brightest LED lights ever available in its class, delivering 10,700 lux at three feet. The light is also one of the most energy efficient, with 72W power consumption, and reduces operating costs for TV studios while providing excellent battery performance. Using a Skyport remote or a DMX system you can control up to 48 Anova Pro 2 lights, one master light and 47 slaves. MSRP $1700
Atomos Ninja V. A new compact 5.2-inch 1000-nit high-bright HDR monitor/recorder with advanced features. It has a sleek modern design and weighs just over 11 oz (320g). The Ninja V gives you all the critical monitoring tools you need, including histogram, false color, peaking, movable 1:1 and 2:1 pixel magnification, waveform, RGB parade, vectorscope, and eight-channel audio level meters. It records up to 4K 60p 10-bit video over HDMI 2.0 in edit-ready Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHR direct to SSD drives. Will ship Q3 2018. MSRP $695
Nikon D850 Filmmakers Kit
Marc Franklin
Nikon D850 Filmmakers Kit. This is a kit put together by Nikon that includes the full-frame 45.7-megapixel sensor D850 SLR that is capable of recording 1080 60p on board, 4K and 8K in timelapse mode, and can output 4K UHD over an HDMI cable to the included Atomos Ninja Flame recording monitor. The kit also includes three prime Nikkor lenses, the AF-S Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G ED, AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G and AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G lenses. The kit also contains an additional battery, the Nikon ME-1 stereo microphone and the Nikon ME-W1 wireless microphone. MSRP $5499.95
Marshall CV502 WP. This tiny POV camera is used in things like NFL pylon cam positions and other hard-to-mount places. This miniature POV camera features a 2.5 Megapixel HD sensor, easily changeable lenses (comes with 3.7mm), 3G/HD-SDI & CVBS (composite) outputs, resolutions: 1920x1080p, 1920x1080i, 1280x720p, remote adjust and match via RS485. Using paintbox-like controls it can be matched to full-size pro cameras. MSRP $700.
Manfrotto Pro Light Cinematic Expand
Marc Franklin
Manfrotto Pro Light Cinematic Expand. How often have you had to pull your camera rig out of its bag, shoot, then stick it back in to go to another location — but were too lazy to break it down, leaving it sticking half out of the bag? We’ve all done it. Manfrotto solves this problem by making an expanding bag. It is compact when the rig is broken down to fit in an airline overhead compartment. But when you want to drive from one location to another, the top can unzip and pop up, giving you enough room to put your rig in without taking it apart. It’s kind of like the pop-up camping trailers that are only 4′ (1.25 m) for traveling, but expand upward when you get to the campsite so you can walk into it.
