A year ago not many would have imagined such a situation. But this coming week in Las Vegas, the largest media production show in the world will feature camcorders that record a 4000+ pixel wide image and range from under $10,000 to over $65,000. Interestingly those particular numbers are for two of Sony’s products: the new FS700 and the F65 CineAlta, which was announced at last year’s show. (The F65, now delivering, can deliver 16-bit 8K RAW images, so at the moment it trumps everything else.)

Also on the floor will be Canon’s new C500, which will join the already announced EOS-1D C DSLR. The 1DC (‘C’ for cinema, to separate it from the 1DX stills version of the camera) will record 4K via MJPEG without the need for an external recorder. But that also means it’s recording the 4K at 4:2:2 with 8-bit color. In any case, its compact size and a high ISO rating of up to 25,600 might just make the 1DC an ideal ‘B’ camera for low-light, location shooting.

Canon has two models planned for its C500 pro camcorder: one for EF-mount Canon lenses and a PL-mount version. Both feature uncompressed 12-bit RAW output (i.e. no de-Bayering) that will need external recording via its HD-SDI jacks (it also offers built-in XLRs). The camera will be capable of up to 120fps for slow motion sequences. Expect a list price of around $30K, which makes it competitive with the Arri Alexa and the Sony F65.

Sony NEX FS700

Sony’s NEX FS700 looks very much like the FS100 with added Neutral Density filters. But of course there’s a lot more happening here. The big items of note are a 4K capability via 3G-SDI (coming with a future firmware upgrade) and slow mo capabilities, delivering now. The slow motion offered runs up to 120 frames a second in a 16-second burst, or 240 fps in an 8-second burst. Those are at 1080P; higher speeds like 480fps and 960fps come with a drop in resolution.

Rumors are just rumors, okay, but some think that Arri will be showing a 4K version of the Alexa.

So 4K can be found widely. And it can come in surprisingly low-ball. At this year’s CES, JVC showed its GY-HMQ10, a 4K camcorder which should be in the company’s booth at the show. With a small sensor and consumer-level glass, this $5K camcorder of course might make more sense to an industrial video market. But 4K definitely has a future if it’s already being sold to the general public.

Post? Well, Final Cut Pro X and Avid Media Composer already support 4K editing. Adobe’s Premiere Pro CS6, debuting at the show, will also offer it. All of these are working with some form of compression of course, whether using the ProRes or DNxHD codec.

Red's Red Ray laser projector prototype

Expect to see 4K viewing solutions too. Sony, Panasonic, and Canon will show 4K capable monitors at the show. Red, meanwhile, has been showing a 4K laser projector prototype on its site.

I had some fun shooting in the Madison Square Park dog run with a prototype version of Sony’s FS700 at 240fps. Nothing timeless to be sure, but it’s pretty striking how good this slo mo looks with just a minimal setup. One of the things that I loved doing was to hand hold and move the camera. I accomplished this with a Sony LA-EA2 adaptor and a Sony Zeiss 16-35mm f/2.8 Alpha lens, dutching the shot. I used the phase detect autofocus, which really works!

So NAB 2012 will make this the year of 4K. Hardly anyone is talking about 3D capable gear for the show. HD of course has become so unremarkable that it’s the new SD (standard definition) for most in the business.

This year will not be quiet!

I will be at the show and covering it.

Later.

Mark Forman
Mark Forman Productions
http://screeningroom.com

Attracting interest as Sony’s first AVCHD codec’d camcorder—it’s an upgraded variant of the already successful HDV-based HVR-Z5E, a camcorder that won best of show at IBC 2008—the Sony HXR-NX5U NXCAM turned up at the Sony/Band Pro open house this past week. The relaxed event (okay, not that many folks turned up, which I attribute to minimal outreach) gave me a chance to have a closer look.

Sony’s Juan Martinez at the Band Pro demo

Also helping was the camera demo’r, none other than Sony’s Juan Martinez, who, I understand, had much input as to camcorder’s final design, which offers loads of practical, useful touches. That’s because Martinez, who came over from JVC and is now senior manager of acquisition systems at Sony, not only has plenty of ideas of his own as to what makes a good camcorder, but ferries requests and info between Sony’s engineers in Japan and the many DPs, directors, and others that he listens to here.

There are plenty of good ideas here. Simple ones count, such as the ability to change peaking colors for focusing: a red, white, or blue edge around the subject in the viewfinder, for example, makes it much faster and easier to focus, as a thin edge pops in and out of resolution, while the different colors allow choice of a color that best stands out with the subject’s color.

The basic images the camcorder turns out look improved over comparable HDV offerings anyway, as it’s using the high quality Z5 lens and front end along with the more up-to-date AVCHD codec. No matter how good the Carl Zeiss zoom lens used in the earlier comparable Sony camcorders might be in the abstract, by developing its G Series zoom in-house Sony has been able to optimize the optics and mechanics of the lens for the sensors. The wide angle of view available with the bottom of the zoom–29.5mm—is great for filming in-doors and other tight spots.

Another useful new feature, SteadyShot Active Mode, uses the built-in accelerometer and other technology to reduce the impact of camera shake and movement. If you can hold the camcorder and walk without too much movement, this allows you to turn out a convincing tracking shot without relying on a bulky, expensive stabilization rig.

Here’s a list of some of the more useful pages I’ve found on the NXCAM:

DV User editor Nigel Cooper, who had early access to a prototype NXCAM, offers his take here.

If you don’t care to read, here’s a short video of Cooper’s overview.

Find Adam Wilt’s first review, which I mentioned earlier, as posted on the ProVideo Coalition website here.

D.W. Leitner’s first take on the millimeter site is here.

Here’s a little back and forth on DVInfo.net discussing the merits of the Z5 versus Nexcam.

Nothing especially enlightening here as yet, but Creative Cow usually runs good forum pages, so wait until this heats up.

Not exactly sure why this would be useful or interesting before the camera has shipped (too little footage available), or after it’s hit the market en masse (too much footage), but here’s a Vimeo page devoted to footage from anyone shooting with the NXCAM.

Finally, here’s the pre-order page at B&H where they quote a $3999 price that will supposedly be lower if you make the now time-honored Web sales move to “add it to your cart”. I could never exactly figure the logic of that ploy, although I suppose it’s similar to the enticement a spider might use on its own web site to urge its target to take a step that’s just a little further into its clutches…

My colleague at millimeter magazine, Jan Ozer, has posted an in-depth look at Canon’s EOS 7D at his blog, which you can find here. With its maximum record time of about 14 minutes and primitive audio capabilities, Jan advises, the 7D isn’t the optimal first or only camcorder you should consider, though he calls it “easily the most capable” digital SLR that he has worked with.

Priced around $1700 with a kit lens, with its introduction this past September the EOS 7D offered an alternative to the pricier top of Canon’s HDSLR line, the 5D Mark II. I use the past tense, since Canon delivered a mid-January price cut on the 5D, bringing it closer to the 7D by knocking the retail price to $2499 (sans lens) with a mail-in rebate (B&H pricing here).

The price drop in mid-January serves a strategic purpose: the rumor going around is that Nikon is readying a number of new cameras for introduction within a few weeks, with new HDSLR-capable models sure to be among them. Canon obviously hopes to sweep up any wavering potential buyers it can before its rival’s launches.

Mo Better Video on the iPhone

Vimeo’s video distribution service has gained a rep in the indie production communities and among bloggers as a favorite video-sharing and embedding site, with its clean, simple interface and good quality Flash encoding. Now, the New York-based company has added the ability to distribute to iPhone/iPod Touch and Google Android devices.

This past Wednesday Vimeo announced that its staff picks and HD video showcase, two of the most popular parts of the site, had been re-encoded to H.264. The next step, says Vimeo’s director of community Blake Whitman, is to extend iPhone support to all Plus members over the next few weeks.

Avid users include many pro types such as HDSLR pioneer Philip Bloom. The attraction? Rather than the free-for-all mix of high and low, rube and pro of a YouTube, Vimeo feels more like a self-selected club of supportive enthusiasts. This is especially the case among those who buy the Plus membership (the basic site is free). At $60 a year, perks include unlimited HD uploading and the ability to embed videos elsewhere in HD, while users self-police to make sure everyone sticks by rules such as postings uploaded only by actual content creators—no reposted TV episodes here.

Vimeo, part of Barry Diller’s IAC empire, will soon relocate to Frank Gehry’s iconic West Chelsea “sailboat” building. While the site faces competition from YouTube (which already re-encodes all uploaded video for smartphones), Vimeo prides itself on listening to its pro-oriented users closely. Expect the Plus site—which is already finding use as a dailies delivery system—to add future products that more closely address the needs of production professionals, says Whitman.