New F3 Toys and NAB 2011 Observations (Part 1)

[powervideo]

This my first NAB and it was a daunting but ultimately rewarding experience. I concentrated on F3-related products and I've listed a few here. I was also very impressed with the Panasonic HPX3100 and feel it will be a great utility camera where the F3 doesn't fit. I was also told it is most likely the last Panasonic 3-CCD camera ever to be produced.

Here is the Zacuto EVF. I felt the PQ was very acceptable for general focus and color monitoring while shooting. It can't be easily moved/adjusted like a 2.3" VF. The torque screws have to be moved to adjust even the tiniest moves. but I feel it is much more practical then the prototype Sony VF accessory as it can be easily moved out of position.



Abelcine had a prototype of a new handle that replaces the Sony handle and EFV. It looks quite cool and had lots of mount points. Abel is talking to Sony about installation of the new plate not voiding Sony's warranty. The blue colour is only on the prototype. The final colour will almost certainly be black.

They also show a new baseplate that can mount standard Arri-fit handles. Both items were rumoured at a $500 price point but this was not confirmed.

This is the new prototype Sony VF Bracket for the F3. It definitely kept the on-board LCD in position and safe from getting knocked forward and broken, but the mount looked difficult to remove quickly if using the camera with a narrow carrying case. There were mount brackets on the top of the camera that held it in place. Release is sometime this year.



More to follow including the new Sony F3 base plate...

 

[Nate Weaver]

When I prodded, they said about $1000 for the ET baseplate to me. That's in line with everything else they sell...$500 is a bit low if you know ET's typical pricing.

That said, I can't decide if I could justify $1k to fix that particular problem on the F3. $500-$600 however would be a no brainer.

Keep in mind that there are lots of handles to put on that ET top/cheeseplate. That one they have on there is a bit overkill.

 

[powervideo]

Part Two.

Yeah I may have misheard that pricing. But it's competitive so gear can't be priced too high.

Here is the new Sony baseplate for the F3. No pricing available and the prototype was locked under glass.



The hot accessory was the 10-bit uncompressed Blackmagic HyperDeck Shuttle at $345. It doesn't have any mounting options which is weird (not even a screw hole) but if it fires by TC it will be serious competition to the other SSD recorders.



Here is an unrelated F3 setup (The GH2!) but I like the configuration with the Ki Pro Mini mount.



Abel also shows a new 2/3" to PL adaptor for the F3 (and others). It's pricey at $5,600 but does allow full of view shooting with a standard EFP lens and according to Abel, no PQ loss. It magnifies the image 2.5x. It's available in May.

 

[Nate Weaver]

Part Two.

Yeah I may have misheard that pricing. But it's competitive so gear can't be priced too high.

Kinda. ET doesn't view their competition as Zacuto and Red Rock, and I'd agree. It's much better though out and designed, in general, for high end users at high end rental houses. I don't know if you noticed, but the 2 F3s Element Technica had on display had Panavision SN#s engraved on them.

 

[tom.wong]

hyper deck shuttle... velcro is gonna be your best friend.

 

[Nate Weaver]

I was staring at it at the booth, trying to figure out how on earth I'm going to atatch it to the camera

 

[G.P.]

my bet is, they will come up with an accessory "dock" where it slips in and has a ton of mounting options. Though I think velcro would actually be a great idea, I wouldn't mind that, at all.

 

[EIREHotspur]

my bet is, they will come up with an accessory "dock" where it slips in and has a ton of mounting options. Though I think velcro would actually be a great idea, I wouldn't mind that, at all.

Well I hope you are right and if you are, their marketing department must have all been out enjoying the local bars and forgot to mention it at launch time.
A huge oversight on their part.

 

[Cinesin]

That deck has a lot of issues in real world use. It needs to display info but I dont see a screen of any kind. Playback might be a big issue too since you will need a monitor for sure. Might be a little scary to count on without more confirmation of what you got.

 

[Fohdeesha]

something that was brought up in the other thread...how in the world do you have any idea how much recording time you have left!?!?

 

[tom.wong]

i assume it has display read outs with the "display button" on the shuttle. so you just hook up the sdi out to ur on board monitor and press display to see all your status, including media.

or it would be pretty fun if you had to calculate your time as your shooting through the day, like keeping count of how many feet you've shot off on film

it's 345 dollars, I honestly can't complain about it as long as it works. it does suck that there's no threading on it though, so you'll probably have to velcro the unit somewhere. but it's so freakin cheap.

side note, the ET top plate/handle for f3, is mucho badass. only thing that sucks is that you lose the headphone jack, but everything else you gain from it is gonna rock hard. honestly the existing top handle i think is too low, and it's difficult to get a good grip on everything when you have tons of stuff hanging from the threading that can only be in certain places. cheese plates FTW.

 

[G.P.]

I second that, the display button seems to be what you would use to show info, hence the hdmi out or sdi out to a monitor... lets face it, if you're shooting with the f3 at 10bit 422, youre most likely using an on camera monitor as well. They eliminated a lot of expenses by keeping it simple. Most if not all DPs I know own an external onboard monitor, so why build one in if they already can use their own? All the interfaces and extras of other recording devices make them expensive. This is a 1 stop item. Its got one setting, and simple to use. I like. Soon as I see some footage out of this thing I'm on a pre-order list