Well, we didn't make it...

[cuervo]

We never want to see a client going into a job expecting to be able to use our device and then being surprised and disappointed when something they were counting on doesn't work out as expected. We try to avoid that as much as possible. So in the end, delay a few days and eliminate what to some might be considered a minor issue but to others a major problem.

Wow. I hope I never to have to go to a gig without having the time to test the expected workflow out, ahead of time. Using a new feature, or product, for the first time, on the job, is scary, if not downright short-sighted. And, it's always daunting and anxiety producing when something unexpected happens that pushes me into a mode I'm not familiar with.For that reason, alone, it's great when a tool stays in my arsenal for years. I get to know the tool, which is a source of confidence.

 

[cinebuddy]

We know and we understand. Our engineers are the most optimistic bunch you'll ever meet. They have this huge can-do attitude that can be inspiring. Unfortunately it also means that they all too often bite off more than they can chew. In the end they get it all done and it is always outstanding, but getting there always takes more time then they think. Even when we try to adjust for that (Was that schedule in Engineer Time or Earth Time?) we seem to miss the target.

Try asking NASA about their track record with meeting schedules. ;-)

I do a little bit of coding....little...bit...I can't even imagine the magic they have to make.

 

[nyvz]

It was considered, but please understand that many of our clients may not be as technically versed as you or simply not paying as much attention to the specifics of our products. We never want to see a client going into a job expecting to be able to use our device and then being surprised and disappointed when something they were counting on doesn't work out as expected. We try to avoid that as much as possible. So in the end, delay a few days and eliminate what to some might be considered a minor issue but to others a major problem.

But it seems like you already do this with other features... 4k only monitored as cropped 16:9? That one tripped me up since I never saw a known issues report stating it. There are still a lot of features in the 7Q that need improvement, and you release them somewhat incomplete and don't call it beta. Why not put a known issues or bugs list in firmware release notes? Frankly I'm not sure a beta firmware would be that different from the release firmwares except people who are paying close attention just have more choices to have features faster if they want them. I guess you're worried about the added load on your support department, but I'd think if you have beta firmwares with a warning people would be more understanding and willing to troubleshoot on their own if they opt for those, worst case downgrade firmware. If anything it creates a portion of your customer base who your support system isn't fully responsible for anymore because they know they are using a firmware that might have some issues. And I for one would be much less bothered by my firmware being buggy or incomplete if I knew it was partly because I had a firmware that gave me the features I wanted earlier. When I run into bugs in the release firmware, especially ones that are known and have existed for many release versions I get very frustrated with CD about how they told me I'd have X Y and Z features months or years ago that never materialized and they still didn't even fix basic bugs from last year. I'd probably be more on CD's side if I got more new features faster even in working beta form.

Maybe it's because I never used one of those beta firmwares and experienced real instability, but it seems a bit like CD is a bit unrealistic about how stable their "stable" release firmwares actually are. I understand wanting to push for stable features, but at a certain point if your customers have been waiting for a feature for over a year and it's pretty usable in the beta and they have been dealing with plenty of other bugs on set daily anyway what's one more buggy feature if it lets some people work better?

 

[Matt Gottshalk]

Sounds like it is well worth the wait.

 

[Zak Forsman]

Did I just read a post that argued: "Guys, your threshold for what you consider to be stable is too low so you should definitely release what you consider unstable"? :grin:

Mitch, thanks again for the update. Greatly anticipating these new features, especially anamorphic desqueeze. The 7Q+ has been one of the best bang for the buck purchase I've made in a long, long time and a lot of that has to do with how responsive and attentive you and the support team are.

 

[seanmc]

Anamorphic desqueeze. Yessssss

Mitch, could you give us a timeline for shipping those little SSD handles? I know the support for the Samsung drives isn't out yet, but it would be nice to get the hardware before.

 

[Mitch Gross]

Anamorphic desqueeze. Yessssss

Mitch, could you give us a timeline for shipping those little SSD handles? I know the support for the Samsung drives isn't out yet, but it would be nice to get the hardware before.

We put it on our latest price list to dealers. You should be able to order them now.

CD-SSD-HANDLE5PK Packs of five individually wrapped handle/screw/glue sets. MSRP $25

 

[dxr]

We put it on our latest price list to dealers. You should be able to order them now.

CD-SSD-HANDLE5PK Packs of five individually wrapped handle/screw/glue sets. MSRP $25

I know the samsungs don't work yet but I just had to try it out. lol! i just use a bunch of gaffer tape as a tab off the end and use it to pull it out. hah

 

[Mitch Gross]

I know the samsungs don't work yet but I just had to try it out. lol! i just use a bunch of gaffer tape as a tab off the end and use it to pull it out. hah

Careful, it's not very secure in there.

 

[Gene Sung]

Hi Mitch,

I saw that you mentioned Anamorphic De-squeeze. So let's take the new Alexa Mini for example. It has a 4:3 sensor that is anamorphic capable. However, they charge you an additional $4000 I believe to activate the de-squeeze. Does that mean that for the extra $4000, all it does is just de-squeeze the anamorphic in the viewfinder?

If that's the case, with the 7Q will we able able to see the proper anamorphic? Correct me if I'm wrong, but cameras just record the anamorphic image un-squeezed, then the EVF or monitor (7Q) squeezes it down to 2:35 aspect ration for display purposes only. Then in the post process, you squeeze the image down. Correct?

Obviously, it would be nice on the Alexa Mini to avoid paying a lot more cash just to de-squeeze an the image if you can do the same thing with the 7Q.

Thanks for any info and Godspeed on the firmware.

 

[Parrot]

Sounds like it is well worth the wait.

I bought my O7Q for shooting Alexa Anamorphic in ARRIRAW 4:3. Put first money down two years ago in June 2013, took delivery with SSDs and accessories as soon as I could get the unit and I'm still waiting to be able to use it to record ARRIRAW 4:3.

Kind of wondering what Sony FS RAW users would say in this forum if you were still waiting on your O7Qs to record something from your cameras? Worth the wait...?

(ARRIRAW 4:3 has always been in the O7Q spec. It was also working in the Gemini long before the Odysseys where announced.)

 

[cinebuddy]

I bought my O7Q for shooting Alexa Anamorphic in ARRIRAW 4:3. Put first money down two years ago in June 2013, took delivery with SSDs and accessories as soon as I could get the unit and I'm still waiting to be able to use it to record ARRIRAW 4:3.

Kind of wondering what Sony FS RAW users would say in this forum if you were still waiting on your O7Qs to record something from your cameras? Worth the wait...?

(ARRIRAW 4:3 has always been in the O7Q spec. It was also working in the Gemini long before the Odysseys where announced.)

We're always waiting on something. I guess it'll never be enough until every bit of useable tech this thing can give us is squeezed out. I'm hoping for 6k But as FS Raw users we're never happy even after a great update.

 

[Mitch Gross]

Hi Mitch,

I saw that you mentioned Anamorphic De-squeeze. So let's take the new Alexa Mini for example. It has a 4:3 sensor that is anamorphic capable. However, they charge you an additional $4000 I believe to activate the de-squeeze. Does that mean that for the extra $4000, all it does is just de-squeeze the anamorphic in the viewfinder?

If that's the case, with the 7Q will we able able to see the proper anamorphic? Correct me if I'm wrong, but cameras just record the anamorphic image un-squeezed, then the EVF or monitor (7Q) squeezes it down to 2:35 aspect ration for display purposes only. Then in the post process, you squeeze the image down. Correct?

Obviously, it would be nice on the Alexa Mini to avoid paying a lot more cash just to de-squeeze an the image if you can do the same thing with the 7Q.

Thanks for any info and Godspeed on the firmware.

I'm not going to speak to what the ALEXA Mini does in this mode as I have not worked with the camera to test such a thing. I can tell you what we will do.

Our current iteration of anamorphic desqueeze (it may change/expand over time) is a monitor only function that we apply to a 16:9 signal. Whatever signal we accept -- RAW, video, HD, 4K, etc. -- we turn it into 16:9 video to display on our OLED screen as well as output over SDI and HDMI in 1080p. With anamorphic desqueeze we take this signal and shrink the vertical height by a factor of 1.33x, 1.5x or 2x to correct for the anamorphic squeeze of the optics. We apply the correction to the OLED and the outputs. The recording is unaffected.

Using the custom Frame Guides, it is easy enough to create a chart and make your own reference frames for determining your post extraction frame.

 

[Mitch Gross]

I bought my O7Q for shooting Alexa Anamorphic in ARRIRAW 4:3. Put first money down two years ago in June 2013, took delivery with SSDs and accessories as soon as I could get the unit and I'm still waiting to be able to use it to record ARRIRAW 4:3.

Kind of wondering what Sony FS RAW users would say in this forum if you were still waiting on your O7Qs to record something from your cameras? Worth the wait...?

(ARRIRAW 4:3 has always been in the O7Q spec. It was also working in the Gemini long before the Odysseys where announced.)

At NAB in April we had a meeting with ARRI to discuss ARRIRAW 4:3 support and other functionality.

 

[Zak Forsman]

I'm not going to speak to what the ALEXA Mini does in this mode as I have not worked with the camera to test such a thing. I can tell you what we will do.

Our current iteration of anamorphic desqueeze (it may change/expand over time) is a monitor only function that we apply to a 16:9 signal. Whatever signal we accept -- RAW, video, HD, 4K, etc. -- we turn it into 16:9 video to display on our OLED screen as well as output over SDI and HDMI in 1080p. With anamorphic desqueeze we take this signal and shrink the vertical height by a factor of 1.33x, 1.5x or 2x to correct for the anamorphic squeeze of the optics. We apply the correction to the OLED and the outputs. The recording is unaffected.

Using the custom Frame Guides, it is easy enough to create a chart and make your own reference frames for determining your post extraction frame.

I have a question about using this with the GH4's 4:3 anamorphic mode. The GH4 places the 4:3 active image area within a 3180x2160 frame like this...

But from what you say, to monitor 2x, the Odyssey will likely display it like this? (pardon the rough mock-up)

Is there any way to bring it to full frame? 1:1 Zoom pushes in too far. Perhaps with some custom scaling settings maybe? Or maybe as part of the zoom/focus assist? I really hope Panasonic's addition of a 4:3 anamorphic mode has been taken into consideration for this feature. Even if most 2x shooters are doing so in 16x9 mode, I would assume that those who plan for a 2.39:1 extraction greatly outnumber the ones that would take 3.55:1 to finish.

And not to get ahead of myself, but if this is the case, I would humbly request CD look into revising the Odyssey's 2x desqueeze mode so filmmakers like myself don't need to turn to a second monitor with custom scaling to help hit critical focus. We'll love you for it.

 

[Billybuzzz]

Convergent Design is hands down the best company I have ever worked with when it comes to support and standing up to their word. I was on a commercial shoot last friday, couldnt figure out a setting on my FS700 - Q7+ setup, it started pouring rain so we had to take a delay. I called CD from my truck, explained my issue, and within 5 minutes problem solved. All this on a Friday afternoon. You tell me how many companies that you buy top end gear from that provide you that much support, and all with a smile and thank you. Great support = happy customers.

 

[seanmc]

There's this button on the Odyssey...called "zoom" . Should help you with your focus

 

[Zak Forsman]

yeah, I'm aware. And that would be 100% fine for setting focus between takes. But when you're pulling focus on the fly in the middle of a shot with actors who don't always hit their marks, 1:1 zoom will push in too far to see the entire frame. but even with that, you would sacrifice zoom functionality because 2:1 only doubles pixels which doesn't help much for judging focus. I do have a SmallHD 502 with custom scaling that I could use. But I prefer the Odyssey for obvious reasons.

I know this seems like a dumb, minor thing that only a handful of people will use, but for me, I'd be using it 12 hours a day on back-to-back features this summer. I need a solid desqueeze solution and I hope the Odyssey will be it.

 

[Mitch Gross]

I have a question about using this with the GH4's 4:3 anamorphic mode. The GH4 places the 4:3 active image area within a 3180x2160 frame like this...

But from what you say, to monitor 2x, the Odyssey will likely display it like this? (pardon the rough mock-up)

Is there any way to bring it to full frame? 1:1 Zoom pushes in too far. Perhaps with some custom scaling settings maybe? Or maybe as part of the zoom/focus assist? I really hope Panasonic's addition of a 4:3 anamorphic mode has been taken into consideration for this feature. Even if most 2x shooters are doing so in 16x9 mode, I would assume that those who plan for a 2.39:1 extraction greatly outnumber the ones that would take 3.55:1 to finish.

And not to get ahead of myself, but if this is the case, I would humbly request CD look into revising the Odyssey's 2x desqueeze mode so filmmakers like myself don't need to turn to a second monitor with custom scaling to help hit critical focus. We'll love you for it.

We have a plan for addressing this specifically, and in fact we showed a prototype version of it on a GH4 at NAB. For this release it will not be there, but we do plan to address this quite specifically in the near future.

 

[rheinturmblau]

Keeping my fingers crossed for this Tuesday, Mitch.
Any news?