Silicon Imaging SI-1920HDVR Camera

Ari, if your overall product and service is up to the footage we've seen recently, I can't see you not impacting the market. Unless you run out of cash?

I'll be surprised if I don't end up owning the cam within the year. As far as I can see there's nothing within double the price that can match this cam, and the workflow seems no more difficult than what mini dv owners are used to. $20k is a little rich for my blood, so I'll be looking at the $12.5k package with lappy. Red with lens and recording looks like coming in at close to double this, so it's just not an option for me.

As for the lens, you bundle 2 with the cam, no? Where can I find more info about these?

Oh, and do you think having a design for the housing will help cement this product in people's minds? When I think Red I think clean lines, futuristic design and ready to go (and it's not out yet!). When I think SI I think cables hanging loosely, DIY and concept cam. No disrepect intended, and maybe it's just me.

Steve
 
Steve,

When we first launched the Mini, we thought it was going to be used primarily as a POV camera and were going to offer some c-mount lenses just to get started. However, it seems that the prefence has resulted in the demand to have one of the professional mounts F, PL or B4 (and rent the Cinema optics). For professional shooting, we are thinking to offer an HD zoom (~$10-12K) for those who can afford it. What optics would you use?

The DVR camera design is progressing well and it WILL be alot different from the prototype unit. We may start releasing 3-D model concepts in the next 3-4 weeks to get some user feedback. We just need to finalize a few more silver bullets for all to enjoy.

In the meantime, we want to design the rig for the MINIs



Here are a few of the photos for ideas:
_MG_9555.jpg


_MG_1210.jpg


_MG_0720.jpg


What requests do you have for you ap. I had started a thread for the rigs here...
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=573465#post573465
 
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Forrest Schultz said:
Ari, if Jared would be so kind, He can make a section just for Silicon Imaging. I dont see why not? isnt this what the indie filmakers have been asking all along? i mean its here and its real, yet the Silcon Imagin threads are thrown under the same section as a the FX1.

I have no problem with RED, but i beleive there is no reason to be biased towards RED, unless there is some serious butt-smoochin going on.

Im with Emanual, filmmaker1977, and Fugutive. I also think Dan has same spirit burning inside too. hes just very polite.
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Forrest,

My comments were intended as a broad market statement and inquiry for suggestions to better communicate to the market via a grass roots effort.

For example, as you can see from the thread here:
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=68444

"That footage is nothing short of amazing. How come you guys have been so silent about this camera? Never heard about it before."

We obviously need to do a better job communicating we are here!!

The fact is that, until recently, Silicon Imaging may not have been considered of "primary" interest on these boards, based on the intial amount of activity and/or interest levels. When I intially spoke to Jarred, he assured me that when the interest level rises, he would consider repositioning us at the same level as others. Maybe that time has come???

:) .....


PS. This thread has now gone over the 5000 count.

Keep spreading the words...

Shoot your next project with SILICON!












http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=68444
 
Ari Presler said:
Steve,

When we first launched the Mini, we thought it was going to be used primarily as a POV camera and were going to offer some c-mount lenses just to get started. However, it seems that the prefence has resulted in the demand to have one of the professional mounts F, PL or B4 (and rent the Cinema optics). For professional shooting, we are thinking to offer an HD zoom (~$10-12K) for those who can afford it. What optics would you use?[/URL]
Click to expand...

Ari,

Much learning ahead for me - my understanding of pro optics is not strong. I currently own an xl2, and thought I'd step past the current crop of 1/3" hd cams. I'll likely still do this, though obviously there's a bit involved. It makes sense that the move to 2/3" hd requires quality glass to take advantage.

At this stage in my development I'll get more value owning than renting. Until I rent should I look at a cheaper c-mount zoom lens ($3-4k would be my budget) or a couple of primes? How little ($wise) is too cheap for primes?

And thanks for the link - I'm just starting to realise what I'm getting myself into - and wouldn't have it any other way :)
 
Ari the best thing would be to get tha cam in a big movie production. The XL1s did get some good PR for 28dl.

Not sure how big Spoon production is, but if it comes out as a filmout that can really start a hype.
 
Silicon Flyer

Silicon Flyer

Here you can see the benefits of having the worlds smallest and lightest weight Digital Cinema Camera!

Shoulder%20and%20Handle%20cam.0.jpg



Anyone have some suggestions for the Mini Rig design? Handle bars, mounting options, rod configurations, battery mounts, LCD supports, interchangable parts, assembly, etc...
 
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Well, like so many others (and as Ari has mentioned), "just stumbled upon this camera" and it truly looks amazing. Did see some mini-rumblings about it from NAB, but this really looks like a great product. The mini/remote head would be great when going to remote locations where not only a second camera is important, but a back-up camera or two would be vital (and in this case, cost effective). Good work!
 
Yes. At $12.5K and a modern notebook you can be shooting Silicon footage :-) !

I would still like to see the Silicon Imaging forum brought up to the top menu level (or at least an honorable mention). I need to ask Jarred.
 
I'm sure it will get a top level menu soon.

Question though, where could I get more information on this 12-15mb/s data rate/compression and how it compares to other compressed and uncompressed HD footage? Please forgive my ignorance, but my brain just doesn't seem to compute such a low rate as having the quality needed for some of my upcoming HD broadcast demands let alone 2k.

Also, saw the video clip where you describe some of the camera's capabilities - you mentioned timelapse and long exposers. What kind of exposure lengths could one get? 10 to 20 seconds?

Thanks for any info.
 
RAW bayer data is already 1/3 the data-rate of a normal RGB video stream. The reason being because a bayer sensor only sees black and white (single channel) . . . the color is then interpolated from the bayer mask on the sensor (each individual pixel has a R, G, and B mask in front of the pixel, so that's how you "see" color). When the bayer data is demosaiced, you get full RGB data-rates (3x the data).

Now if the data-rate is 1/3 that of an RGB stream, then for 10-bit data, you're now talking around 62MB/s for a 1920x1080 stream at 24fps.

Now if we compress that RAW data (not do a demosaic before compression, but just compress the RAW bayer data) at a very mild 4:1 or 5:1 ratio, you get 12-15MB/s.

Cineform RAW is a very clever and high-quality way of transporting the RAW bayer data stream.
 
Behind the Scenes II

Behind the Scenes II

Here are some more clips from behind the scenes from the Spoon Blog.




This clip will give you a good look at what the camera looks like. This is NOT the full body version, which is a bit bigger with the drives attached. Still, we are using this head on wire for almost all our filming. You can see in the second part of the clip with Grant just how nice and light the camera is. He is easily holding it up and able to move it around smooth and effortlessly.




We posted a picture of these bungee rigs previously, now take a look at them. The rigs, built by Alfie gave a nice handheld feel to the shots. The last part of the clip is a rig we built for a slow high angle 'track' to close-up on the car window, it worked great.​






This is one of our out-door shooting days, luckily we had nice weather. Here you can see why it's so nice to have just the head of the camera's: it's light-weight, and it's a lot smaller. Thus enabling us to put both heads on this one dolly and covering a wide and close shot in one take.




A little stunt we did at the power station. Can't give away WHY he is moving through the air. In the second part of the clip we strapped Shaheen into the same harness and pulled him back to get a POV shot of the action.


Any requests????

​
 
Green Screen Footage

Green Screen Footage

We have some greenscreen footage for download:

greenscreen.jpg




You can get it here:

http://www.siliconimaging.com/Digita...y_footage.html

Download and have fun!

P.S. We've been getting great results from Keylight which comes with After Effects 6.5, 7.0, and Shake.

Also note the the shot was a moving jib-arm shot, so it's not the "sharpest" shot you could get from the camera . . . but it shows what can happen with a decent green-screen from the camera.
 
Ari Presler said:
the shot was a moving jib-arm shot, so it's not the "sharpest" shot you could get from the camera . . .
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It will get sharper soon even @1.2.. (regardless the jib, steadicam or dolly). Bin there, hehehe.
 
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