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3 standouts at NAB ’07 – XDCAM EX, new Vegas and Magic Bullet
1. I never expected to see “Cine Alta” on the side of an $8,000 camera and I wasn’t expecting memory cards. With half inch sensors, recording at 1080/50i/30P/25P/24P and 720/50P, the new Sony XDCAM EX comes high on my list. There isn’t a lot of info yet but it holds 2 SxS (non-proprietary) of 16gb each for a couple of hours of HD recording. The price of cards isn’t established but I was told by a rep that “an 8gb card runs about $500 now” so we might guess around $900 for the 16.
2. Vegas going 64bit was a big one for me since I’m already running 64 and handle HDV files. I could use the increased cpu use in preview and render time. I expect it to follow Vegas 8 in the fall.
3. Magic Bullet has a GREAT new interface and controls. Stu Maschuwitz demonstrated it at the Red Giant booth. The new interface follows his approach to creating the right “film look” first in the shot, then the camera, then filters, gradient and post. You can create just about anything with the new setup and if you want to exclude a certain area there is an excellent masking tool. The product is still being tweaked but is expected to ship this summer – probably by July.
He gave away several copies of “The DV Rebel’s Guide.” Anyone interested in action movies, HD footage workflow or color correction should have this book. He doesn’t just tell you what to do but why you should and after his years at Industrial Light & Magic, the Orphanage, and inventing Magic Bullet he knows. He was at the Adobe booth later demonstrating how he did shots in Superman – like bouncing a bullet off Superman’s eye.
There was other good stuff but those stuck out for me.
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3 Replies
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Jerry –
Thank you for posting your comments. I have been trying to find information about NAB but about the most I can find is stuff related to the parties, RED, and best hotels, etc. :-}.
Grasshopper
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Thanks. I know only a few may be interested in the same things I am but everyone doesn’t get the chance to go to NAB.
Red is a great step in HD but when you see that adding all the accessories to make it work can run the price up to around $42k and then you see a low-end Cine Alta is $8k from Sony, one must wonder what are all the cameras that will come from Sony between the 8k and the high end Cine Alta? We already know Sony is coming out with a 2/3 inch sensor camera next year. What will it cost? Will it have interchangeable lenses? At some point they will and if the demand is for 4k?
Vegas 8 will be here in the fall. I think it will mark a new era – 64 bit and what else?
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I wish BlackMagic or AJA would come out with a box like this for Vegas – perhaps converting to the Cineform codec
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