DP David Tattersall works the Panavised Sony CineAlta on Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.

With the economy officially falling into recession by late last year, tight budgets will prevent many folks from investing in the latest gear no matter how seductive the marketing. But for those who really need to buy or upgrade, technical innovations over the past year can deliver even better investment value.

Take HD. Last year Panasonic delivered its variable frame rate, 720p HD camcorder, answering a plea: Why can't I undercrank or overcrank in HD as I can with a film camera? While the 60fps slo-mo of the AJ-HDC27V still can't match film cameras running at 150fps and higher, shooters can still grab in-camera effects never before available in HD.

Innovation in lens design also kept pace. Two significant, totally new HD prime series will make an impact: Canon's EC Series debuted late in the year, and Zeiss announced its plans to launch a new HD prime lens series at the IBC. Both companies plan to take on the highest-quality digital cinema lenses out there: Panavision's.

With the market for high-end HD production gear heating up, as well as significant new SD and DV cameras and lenses, Millimeter looks at some of the most interesting introductions over the past year, with an emphasis on some novel innovations you might not know about.

A-Minima Accessories

There's a lot to like about Aaton's remarkable A-Minima. Weighing about 5 lbs. without a lens, the 16mm/S 16 camera has great technology refined from years of development by Jean-Pierre Beauviala and team.

Recently released lens, power, and sound products make this camera an even more capable offering. Fujinon's compact new Super16 zoom lens matches the size and price point of the A-Minima. Designed specifically with the A-Minima in mind, the 10/40 T3.95 zoom is lightweight (.8 lbs), small (5.4 inches long), and cost conscious ($8,200).

Also new, an onboard rechargeable battery system replaces the disposable lithium batteries. This lightweight power source runs the A-Minima at all speeds, with ample power to operate the video assist and accessories.

Finally, there's a new A-Minima sound barney created by cinematographer/seamstress extraordinaire Carolyn McCartney. It fits to include all the usual accessories including video assist, Aaton onboard battery, and new Oppenheimer handle/battery system.

The Arricam Studio with LDS lens system.

Interactive Arri

Working closely with its Moviecam subsidiary, Arri debuted the long anticipated Arricam system this past year. This modular 35mm camera system — available in Arricam Studio and Arricam Lite — combines Moviecam's ultra-quiet operation and innovative design with Arri's vaunted precision and reliability.

One innovation stands out: LDS, the Lens Data System. For the first time on a pro film camera, an integrated lens control system interactively reads lens data and makes it instantly available during setup and shooting.

The new LDS Ultra Prime lenses, developed for the Arricam and 435 Advanced, include an electronic interface with sensors transmitting focus, zoom, and iris values to the camera. Arri also introduced two new LDS primes, a 12mm and 180mm.

An LCD screen, attached to the side of the camera, shows the camera assistant each of the values as they change in realtime. One of the best touches is a depth of field readout, which instantly shows the exact range of objects in focus.

Data Developments

Panavision, which presented its “Panavised” Sony HDW-F900 CineAlta at NAB, displayed its own version of a lens data system. While not as elaborate as that in the Arricam, SmartLens tracks the settings of any Primo or Primo Digital lens via a reader attached to the lens. Also shown: a wireless “Panatape” focus-measuring device, and the fully expanded Digital Primo line of six zooms and five primes.

Lesser Known Virtues

Panasonic engineers received deserved kudos for delivering the first ever variable frame rate HD camcorder, the DVCPRO HD AJ-HDC27V, this past year. But beyond its over- and under speed capabilities, some other unique advances may have been overlooked.

Take its time-lapse recording capability. Or the advanced color-correction scheme that utilizes a 12-pole color matrix, allowing very specific colors to be adjusted without affecting the overall color imagery. There's the capability of changing frame rates on the fly in realtime.

But two other Panasonic camcorder introductions also sport unique capabilities. The AG-DVC200 comes as an easy-to-handle full-size DV camcorder, without the cramped feel of the standard, small DV camcorders. It too offers time-lapse recording, as well as an extensive menu for improved control of color, detail, and gamma.

Finally, Panasonic calls its AJ-D910WA 2/3-inch DVCPRO50 a “four-in-one” camcorder because it records at 50Mbps or 25Mbps and in 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios.

JVC's CineLine DV camcorder, the GY-DV700WUCL.

High and Low Cinema

JVC also puts the emphasis on cine-style products, including the DY-90WUCL camcorder and GY-DV700WUCL CineLine DV camcorder. The DY-90WUCL camcorder utilizes the D9 4:2:2 recording format, which delivers ½-inch digital component recording, an ideal signal for up-rezing.

Meanwhile, the GY-DV700WUCL DV camcorder brings considerable chops to the DV marketplace. The new DV camcorder duplicates many of the capabilities of its CineLine D9 sibling, including low noise recording, wide dynamic range, dual-pipeline 14-bit Cine-DSP, and a film-style gamma profile. While it also offers SMPTE time code I/O, the camera adds IEEE 1394 I/0.

P+S Technik's Mini 35 Digital Adapter for the Canon XL-1 and XL-1S camera from ZGC, Inc.

The End of Bluescreen?

Just this past November, JVC announced a marketing agreement with Israel-based 3DV Systems to sell its ZCam, one of the first realtime, depth-capturing camera systems. Although the product has shown in various versions at previous NABs, it's only over the past year that the rig, which fits around the camera, reached lightweight, portable status.

ZCam technology, with its simultaneous capture of depth information during a shoot, basically replicates the results of a blue or green screen shoot.

The Newest XL1

Canon's highly anticipated update to its pioneering XL1, the XL1S, added a host of new features, making this miniDV camcorder an even more capable image taker.

DV Control, for example, allows the control of external 1394 devices through the DV cable, for direct video transfer to DV-compatible computers or other Canon DV camcorders. The S/N ratio, improved by 4dB, yields improved resolution and better low-light performance.

The 4:3 viewfinder now has 16:9 electronic guides overlaid. There's interval (time-lapse) recording; shooting a computer screen is possible with Clear Scan, and you can burn data (time, date) into the video.

XL1 Extras

Long time film and video industry supplier Birns & Sawyer shows it knows how to outfit a DV camcorder. The Hollywood-based company introduced a range of accessories for the Canon XL-1, delivering ease-of-use functions just like the higher-end rigs. Accessories for the XL-1/XL-1S include the CooLzoom “L” zoom control, Image 2000 shoulder support, a 7-inch onboard directors monitor, the Mosquito Mattebox (for manual lens use), French Flag, and the Mini Rod Plate and Mini Follow Focus from Cinetech. While the effect is easy to overdo, fisheyes can be fun if used selectively. Extreme sports, music videos, and dramatic action sequences come to mind.

Ikegami Innovations

With the introduction of Editcam2 last NAB, Ikegami demonstrated that it still wants to be a leader in the move to tapeless, nonlinear disk camcorders. The second-generation ENG camcorder upgrades the original Editcam, co-developed with Avid more than six years ago.

The smaller and lighter DNS-21W and DNS-201W camcorder systems record directly on a compact, 6GB or 20GB FieldPak hard-disk drive, eliminating digitizing and offering a straight path to nonlinear posting. One intriguing feature, RetroLoop, allows users to record a randomly timed loop, which saves tape for shooters who are, for example, waiting for a whale to surface.

Editcam2 records directly to the FieldPak in an Avid AVR format. Jiff file handling and DV compression were recently added. A recent software upgrade allows the Editcam2 to record in Sony format D10/IMX (50Mb MPEG I-frame) files. IMX editing systems will be able to read files directly from the FieldPaks.

Sony's DSR-370L DV camcorder with studio setup.

Ikegami also introduced four HD camera systems at NAB. The HDK-790E (studio) and HDK-79E (field) feature 2.2 megapixel CCDs and multi-standard/simulcast broadcasting capabilities. Next-generation ASICs deliver more of Ikie's vaunted color control via 12-bit A/D conversion and 38-bit internal digital processing.

One unique innovation: Custom Color, new color control circuitry built into all the HD cameras. Controlling hue and saturation has been done for years with studio cameras. Now, however, Ikegami's automatic hue-detection circuitry can control specific colors with pinpoint accuracy. For example, a client's product might include a certain color that must be replicated accurately. Using Custom Color, the camera operator puts a window on the target color, gaining much more latitude to change that color, and that color alone. Most other camera systems simply divide the color spectrum into different ranges, so the camera operator can only hope to match the right color.

Here's another innovation that solves some particular production problems. Ikegami's TSA-790 Fiber to Triax adapter allows the use of already installed triax cable that might be, say, installed throughout an arena. The HD cameras can still use fiber for I/O, but by going into TSA-790 boxes there's no need to tear out all that triax.

HD to DV

For the first time on a lower cost HDCAM, Sony offers a built-in downconverter to output HD to either SDI or composite SD. (It's an $8,000 option on its predecessor, the HDW-700A.) Now shooters can use a standard monitor to check 4:3 framing during their HD shoots.

Another new product line, the HDC-950/900 studio camera and companion portable, can switch between 1080i and 24P/25P. One unusual capability is that the CCD block and lens assembly can be removed and remotely placed for hard-to-reach shots. Sony designed this camera family for multi-cam HD shoots because they match up much better than a mix of HDCAMs.

Sony broadened its HD lineup by introducing three cameras and camcorders this past year. The third-generation HDW-750 1080i camcorder fits in the same compact chassis as the Betacam and IMX camcorders while introducing improvements like the 1 stop brighter CCDs. The $60,000 list on the HDW-750 currently matches that of a Digital Betacam rig, so expect to see DigiBeta prices drop.

Finally, the DSR-370L EFP/ENG camcorder shows how important professional DVCAM camcorders are becoming for Sony. For the first time, Sony offers a capability to turn a DVCAM into a full studio camera system, with the addition of the CCU-M5A camera control unit. There's also an intercom adaptor that mounts on the back of the camcorder.

Flesh Tones and Resolution

Hitachi released the Z-3000W, which now has D1 output along with 850 TV lines of resolution. The camera switches between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios at the push of a button. A new single-chip DSP improves color reproduction accuracy and is said to deliver sharper, cleaner images with improved low-light sensitivity.

Hitachi added Flesh Tone Masking to its SK-555 and SK-777 cameras, allowing users to manipulate flesh tones to take away the high-contrast, “edgy” look. The company's first HD graphics camera, the DK-H3, includes a 2.2 million pixel IT CCD with 1100 TV lines of resolution, six-vector color correction, adjustable frequency detail, and flesh-tone detail.

Fast Lenses: The Prime Directive

To shoot HD, cinematographers wanted the prime lenses and the manual zoom lenses they've used for years with film. But until the last few years, they couldn't find them, save for those Panavised Sony HDCAMs.

In 2000, Canon was among the first major lens makers to introduce a line of prime lenses for HD. This first-generation FJ series, built upon its SD lens technology, delivered easy-to-read focus markings on both sides of the barrel, a traditional film focusing mechanism, and other cine-style offerings.

But soon after their release, Canon wanted another shot at the design, setting its sights even higher. By December 2001, the FJ line was repositioned for HD broadcast and ENG, while Canon introduced its new flagship EC (Electronic Cinematography) series.

Instead of relying on SD glass and materials, the EC line was designed from the ground up, according to Gordon Tubbs, assistant director, broadcast and camera division, Canon USA. Digital cinematography, says Tubbs, is the fastest-growing area of high-definition production, as HD for broadcast is still slow in ramping up.

Canon's EC series prime lenses for HD.

The new EC series, says Tubbs, delivers the fastest HD zoom lens available with a T2.1 rating. The EC primes (FJ5mm T1.7, FJ9mm T1.5, FJ14mm T1.5, FJ24mm T1.5, FJ35mm T 1.5) are no slouches either and match the speed of Fujinon's HD primes.

Another telling touch, while not flashy, shows the level of detail in the EC series: The lenses use an eight-blade iris, rather than the six blades of standard video lenses, subtly improving the control of light (film lenses use a 12-bladed iris).

One more cine-style approach includes the marking of distances from lens to subject measuring from the CCD's image plane, not from the front of lens as with standard video lenses. (Film cameras measure distances from the film plane marking on the camera.)

Finally, the entire EC series features a large focus angle of rotation, important when pulling focus. A longer throw to the focusing mechanism enables more nuanced focus measurements. For example, rather than a nudge of the barrel jumping the focus from 10 feet to 20 feet as with video lens markings, the EC lenses subdivide that range down to the half foot.

Fujinon's 5mm HAF5B-10 HD prime.

HD Primes and Zoom

At last year's NAB, Fujinon completed its current HD Cine Style lens series with the addition of three new primes and one zoom. The HAF16B-10 (16mm), HAF34B-10 (34mm), and HAF54B (54mm) primes join the rest of the lineup, which includes 5mm, 8mm, 12mm, 20mm, and 40mm primes. The HA17X7.8B-10 intermediate zoom lens joins a wide-angle and telephoto zoom. All lenses in this series, which originally debuted at NAB 2000, feature markings for zoom, focus, as well as iris- and cine-compatible gearing for interfacing with existing cine controls and matte boxes.

Zeiss Goes HD

At IBC 2001, Carl Zeiss and Band Pro Film/Video signed a marketing distribution contract for the highly anticipated move of the famed German lens maker into HD. Burbank-based Band Pro will supply and support the Zeiss' DigiPrime lenses, set to release around NAB. Further details were not available at press time.

Optimo 35mm

At NAB, Angenieux released the 35mm film version of Optimo. This newly developed 24 × 290 telephoto lens features the latest in optical design along with the next generation of high-resolution glass, according to the company. While a “long” telephoto design, Optimo still comes in at a remarkable T 2.8. The company says the lens is free of ramping or breathing, an ever-present problem with complex lens designs.

France-based Angenieux has a long heritage and solid reputation in film lens design, but is now targeting HD. Recently released, the 12X9.7 HD version of the Optimo is even faster, at f/1.4. Who does Angenieux want the Optimo's quality to be measured against? Panavision.

Fujinon's OS-TECH.

Fisheye for DV

In 2001, Century Precision Optics redesigned its Mark II .3X Fisheye for DV cameras with bayonet and screw in mounts. The .3X Ultra Fisheye Adapter offers an extreme fisheye effect and a high degree of barrel distortion. On the Sony DCR VX-2000, the .3X Ultra Fisheye Adapter yields a horizontal viewing angle of 130 degrees.

Century Precision's .3X Fisheye.

Rock Steady

Fujinon's OS-TECH solves a problem: What if you've got a long lens for the truck, but now find it too unstable when covering fast-moving sports? Previously, buying another lens with built-in stabilization was the only solution. But since big lenses can run up into the $100,000 range, buying a new one for that single added capability made for a pricey decision. For Fujinon users, OS-TECH, pricing around $20,000, offers a less costly solution. While the technology is available as an internal option on the XA87X series field lenses, it can also function as a standalone device for most other Fujinon field lenses, even older ones. The OS-TECH mounts between the lens and camera. It's compact — only 48mm in length — with the added benefit of increasing the focal length of the lens by 25%.

Rental Innovations

Clairmont Camera constantly develops lenses and camera accessories found nowhere else. The InfinFX K2 Long Distance Macro Lens is the latest example. The InfinFX creates a macro image even while the camera and lens sit at a much greater distance from the subject than has been previously possible. That's important when you want to light subjects properly or operate the camera because macro lenses generally force camera placement so close to the subject that lights get obscured. According to Denny Clairmont, “most of the time you'll be 30 inches to 48 inches away from the subject”. The specs on the lens seem counterproductive at first, with the maximum aperture at T22 and the minimum at T77. But these deep stops are necessary to get a reasonable depth of field at 5x or 10x magnification.

Clairmont also introduced a 35mm zoom lens designed and built for the North Hollywood rental house by Germany's ISCO. The 140-240mm zoom opens to T2.7 and features lightweight construction with liberal use of magnesium and carbon fiber. That still doesn't mean it's light; the lens tips the scales at about 44 lbs.

Another rental house with a considerable reputation for innovating, Plus8 Video, recently released Cinesmart, its own brand of HD lenses. Available in a wide-angle prime and 18×7.5 zoom, Cinesmart lenses expand both the focus gearing and focus markers, making it easier for the focus puller. For example, a typical HD zoom lens (though not the new cine-style) might have very general focusing marks. The lens might show only markings of 4 feet to 15 feet and then jump from 15 feet to infinity, according to Keith McGuire, chief engineer at the Burbank-based rental facility.

Another Plus8 innovation replaces the witness cam, a lipstick-style camera that's used to point to lenses' focus markings. That focus information, transmitted to a small monitor, enables focus checking during a shot. To replace that convoluted approach, Plus8 Video first came up with a method to measure focus electronically. Then, by adapting Fujinon's follow focus mechanism to take in that data, those turns of the focus barrel now yields a digital readout of the focus. It works with both Canon and Fujinon lenses.

Why is a fast lens so important?

Basically, a fast lens offers better control over focus. For a cinematographer, one important factor in “painting” with light is the ability to control focus. Since faster lenses set at their largest aperture (lowest f/stop) have a short focusing plane or depth-of-field, the director gains a great way to emphasize or de-emphasize the subject. A shorter DOF creates the familiar effect of our eyes following the one person or object that appears in focus within a frame, while a near-by object stays out of focus, out of our attention.

One reason why seasoned cinematographers remain leery of HD? Until recently, the available video lenses couldn't open up wide enough as film lenses. (The one exception, Panavision, does make very fast lenses, but their only available with the Panavised Sony systems.) Saddled with higher f/stops, early-generation HD lenses keep everything in sharp focus. Okay for sitcoms, but not too useful for a telling close-up.

Sidebar

See Around Corners
by Cynthia Wisehart

In one of the most unusual lens innovations of recent memory, OpTex develops what it calls the “world's first modular periscope/probe system for HDTV and film.” Five years in development, this multi-format device is configured to work on 2/3" HDTV/SDTV or film with interchangeable format modules that support 35mm silent aperture, anamorphic, and Super 16 with Vistavision and 65mm modules to come. The OpTex Excellence, as it is called, comes with four super compact lenses with angles of view from 60 to 120 degrees. The entire system is color matched so whether it is used as a periscope or probe, and whichever lens is used, color remains constant. According to OpTex, users can mix HDTV and film and retain the same depth-of-field at comparable apertures. Lens mounts are available for all popular cameras.

Sidebar

Improving Digital Camcorders — A New Top Ten Wish List
by D. W. Leitner

In the October 1989 issue of Millimeter I surveyed the use of camcorders designed for what was then called ENG/EFP (Newsbreak: Reports from the Field — An ENG/EFP Update). Featured was a sidebar with my wish list of needed camcorder improvements:

• Cine-quality, high-aperture “prime” lenses, especially wide angle.
• Mass-produced, i.e., inexpensive, bellows-type matte boxes for flair control.
• Extendable viewfinders for tripod and dolly work.
• Superimposed safe action and safe title guidelines as switchable options in all cameras!
• A red “record” indicator lamp hard against, even superimposed on, the viewfinder image. This critical indicator is usually located far above the image in the viewfinder. In the excitement of a powerful moment, it's possible for a cameraperson to frame and focus while forgetting to trigger the record mode.

When the eye isn't pressed against the eyecup for any reason — glasses, for instance — the limited diameter of the viewfinder's exit pupil can eclipse a view of the record lamp. Sometimes the camcorder's off-status goes unnoticed until tragically too late. This never happens in film because the viewfinder flickers while the camera rolls.

Well, a dozen years later we can cross off the first four. The need for a “record” indicator, I'm happy to report, has been ameliorated in a number of ways. In prosumer camcorders with color viewfinders, a red “REC” is often found in the corner of the viewfinder image. In the case of black & white viewfinders, oceans of information, including recording status and incrementing timecode, now pour forth from menus and other superimposed characters and icons.

So, here's my fresh wish list for the new millennium:

1. Color viewfinders. I know all arguments on both sides of this issue, and I don't care. Black & white viewfinders are a vestige of the dawn of television. Simply put, black & white is sensory deprivation; even artists who pursue the fine art of black & white photography use color viewfinders.
   Sony's Betacam line has offered a BVF-VC10W hi-res CRT color viewfinder for years, but you wouldn't know it unless you scrutinize the back of Betacam product brochures. In 1997 alone, Ikegami introduced a hi-res CRT color viewfinder (LCV-150), and Hitachi offered an innovative modular color LCD viewfinder (GM-L1N), which fit its entire product line. On the whole, however, these have proven expensive, plus manufacturers have shown timidity in not promoting them. All manufacturer reps repeat the mantra that “real pros” don't wish them. It's 2001: Every consumer camcorder has a color viewfinder and most prosumer camcorders too. Rumor has it that Sony's 24p CineAlta will soon be graced by one. Maybe a dozen years from now this complaint will seem quaint too. (Don't forget peaking controls.)
2. Eliminate overscan in “consumer” viewfinders. Let's be done once and for all with this legacy of early NTSC unreliability. Consumers now project DV on digital projectors or stream it on the Internet — and are mystified to find extra, sometimes unwanted, detail along the edges of their images. Ditto for Avid or Final Cut Pro editors who view images on a computer display. Ditto for filmmakers who transfer DV images to film.
3. Bring back focus confidence indication in the viewfinder. Sony's breakthrough VX-1000 introduced a stunning but under-appreciated innovation, inexplicably missing from successor VX-2000 and PD-I50 products. When a VX-1000 is put in manual focus, the autofocus sensing circuit remains active and informs the user via a little pointing indicator in viewfinder's upper left whether the camcorder agrees with the user's focus — and in which direction the user should adjust focus if not in agreement.
   Like all DV camcorders, the VX-1000's autofocusing is based on instantaneous analysis of fine detail, specifically contrast — the greater the contrast, the sharper the image. Sure, it's center-weighted and not perfect in low-contrast situations, but given the focusing drawbacks of video viewfinders in general, what a godsend! Why can't this superb focusing feedback be adopted universally, most especially in the case of HD camcorders renown for focusing difficulties?
4. Waveform display in viewfinder or viewing screen. At least one professional analog camera boasted this feature years ago — let's bring it back! Seasoned videographers know how critical a good waveform monitor is: It's the most comprehensive light meter ever created. Well, we have audio level indicators in the viewfinder of our sophisticated digital signal processing camcorders, why not video? Superimposed or discrete waveform displays, I'd welcome either in a heartbeat.
5. True SMPTE color bars from all camcorders, whether consumer or pro. In other words, featuring PLuGE (Picture Lineup Generating Equipment) bars at the bottom right for adjusting brightness. A tip of the hat to Canon for recently adding them to the XL-1s. Note to other camera manufacturers: Don't presume to know how we use your gear. Consumers also need to know how to properly adjust NTSC sets (Never Twice the Same Color) now that Apple's iMovie brings video editing to the masses.
6. Native 16:9 chips in 1/3-inch CCD camcorders like Canon's XL-1s or Sony's PD-150. Again, it's 2001. ATSC is our legal broadcasting standard, and virtually all ATSC formats are 16:9. Any DV or film producer who's recently had to agonize over whether to achieve 16:9 by in-camera interpolation, letter-boxing, or use of an imperfect optical adaptor will appreciate the relevance of this.
7. FireWire outputs on all camcorders or portable downconverters. There isn't an HDCAM user on the planet who wouldn't treasure this. Imagine, instant standard-definition downconversions with timecode for offline evaluation or location editing in your Titanium Powerbook or Pentium laptop and captured into a DVCAM clamshell for 60i or 50i or pocket FireWire drive for 24p. There would be at least a thousand other great uses for this too.
8. Flip-out screens on all camcorders, including HDCAMs. The protean utility of these little screens is obvious. They needn't be native or HD resolution.
9. At-a-glance display of camera setup in flip-out screen. A flip-out screen folded back against a camcorder could constantly display pertinent data during camera operation, including frame rate, timebase, interlace/progressive mode, shutter speed, gain, etc. This would immeasurably aid assistant camerapersons and others.
   Included as well might be a display of lens data from intelligent lenses: aperture, focal length, and dynamic graphic depictions of depth-of-field, as demonstrated by Arri and Panavision last April at NAB. Like any computer graphic user interface, such a display would be configurable by the user. Certainly it could also help alleviate present-day clutter in the viewfinder.
10. Total control and display of all parameters and functions via remote laptop. Hint: FireWire or USB. Cooler hint: Bluetooth or IR. Mac and Windows, perhaps Palm OS, and Windows CE too. But total remote control. And since, in truth, despite proprietary circuits and trademarked features, the realm of camcorder functions is quite finite, perhaps also a universally standardized interface (Java anyone?) and SMPTE camcorder data protocol (hey, a new three-letter acronym!) that could control most common functions. Maybe even an open-standards effort that outsiders could contribute to; many professional camcorder devotees have advanced programming skills. I know I'm dreaming and this is a wish list. But remember, folks, camcorders are merely image computers. They can potentially do anything computers can do.