First Look: Panasonic AG HMC150 AVCCAM camcorder By John Virata
Back in 2005, my aunt asked me to videotape her wedding. Now I am not a professional videographer, but rather, over the years I've enjoyed shooting video with all types of cameras, be it via my digital camera, my Flip video camera, to a variety of miniDV cameras. So I agreed to tape her wedding.
...Read More »
Apple Final Cut Pro 7 By Heath McKnight
A little more than two years after Final Cut Pro 6 introduced the ProRes codec, Background Processes, Smooth Cam, and many other functions, Apple debuts Final Cut Pro 7 (FCP), part of the third version of Final Cut Studio. There are more ProRes options, export settings that can be done in the background without Compressor 3.5 open, iChat Theater support (an excellent collaboration tool), and much more. FCP is 10 years old this year, and they've been listening to us, the editors! Let's just dive in and take a look at all the new stuff.
...Read More »
Canon 5D MkII DSLR By Robert Jensen
In case you haven't heard the news - a few months ago Canon introduced its new 5D Mark II digital SLR camera and it hit the market like the proverbial 600 pound gorilla. Everyone, and I mean everyone, sat up and took notice when they heard the specs. It wasn't just the 21 megapixel sensor it was packing that had everyone drooling at the mouth to get their hands on the camera.
...Read More »
Lenovo W700ds mobile workstation By John Virata
Lenovo has long been known for innovative notebook computers harking back to the days when it (IBM) came out with the ThinkPad notebook computer. This machine served notice that it was at the top of the heap when it came to design and functionality. The current crop of ThinkPad workstations maintain that innovation as well as some features that could be called obscure, such as the one with the W700ds that I'm reviewing here.
...Read More »
G-Technology's G-Drive mini SSD 120GB By John Virata
When I first reviewed an 8MB flash based USB thumb drive from M-Systems and IBM back in 2001, I was astounded at its durability. I dropped the device, went surf fishing with it and got it wet, and basically abused it until the plastic casing came off and all that was left was the memory module and the USB arm. It still works today, but at 8MB, it has since been replaced by several drives at varying capacities.
...Read More »
Cineform Neo4k for the Mac part 2 By Mike Jones
The second part of Cineform Neo4k and NeoHD is what's known as ReMaster; a software utility for batch-process transcoding of media files into the various Cineform formats. But along with batch-processing, ReMaster also provides a variety of functions that extend beyond just encoding into the Cineform wavelet codec. ReMaster has tools for resizing files on encode so it becomes a perfect tool for HD online intermediate workflows from 2k or 4k acquisition sources.
...Read More »
Cineform Neo4K for the Mac part 1 By Mike Jones
After an established history of developing lossless compression technology predominantly for the Windows platform - and particular Adobe's Premiere Pro NLE - Cineform has at last brought its lossless intermediate, high performance codec system to the Mac.
...Read More »
The Sony HDR-CX100 By Douglas Spotted Eagle
AVCHD has exploded on the consumer and pro-sumer scene like a new star at the Oscars, and the CX100 is the newest "actor" in the AVCHD lineup from Sony.
...Read More »
The solid-state missing link: Sony's XDCAMEX Browser 2.0 By Mike Jones
Once you've had the joys of solid state shooting and production, with formats such as P2 and XDCAMEX, its hard to imagine ever going back to tape. This is not to say that solid state doesn't come without its drawbacks: no shelfable master, re-wrapping processes, short record times are all tangible workflow concerns. But the advantages -- speed, efficiency, on-set clip review - for the most part outweigh the drawbacks.
...Read More »
Roxio Toast 10 Titanium By Kevin Schmitt
In what has become something of a Macworld tradition, Roxio once again used the annual gathering of Apple faithful as the backdrop for the unveiling of version 10 of its stalwart Toast Titanium media management product. As in past years, more features have been added and the upgrade price is still terrible, but this year there's a new wrinkle. Let's dive in to see what's changed this time around.
...Read More »
HP EliteBook 8730W By John Virata
Hewlett Packard has been known for years for its solid workstations. The company has been an innovator when it comes to content creation machines, even supplying its own designed graphics adapters in the late 1990s to power its visual systems. When the company decides to enter the market, it does so with a lot of thought, offering systems that are unique from what is currently available from its competitors, yet still remaining price competitive. The company's latest mobile offering is such a system.
...Read More »
Why You Need Magic Bullet Looks By Kevin McAuliffe
If you've been checking out the DMN website over the last couple of weeks, you would probably know that Mike Jones did a great series of articles on do-it-yourself color grading. Keeping on that idea, for me, there is only one plug-in (program) I use when I want to do any of my color grading work, and that's Magic Bullet's Looks. Looks is a powerful, fast and more importantly, simple plug-in to use. For this article, I'm going to give you four great reasons why you need to add this plug-in to your arsenal.
...Read More »
Sony PMW-EX1 Training DVD Reviews: VASST and Call Box By Heath McKnight
Two new excellent training DVDs from VASST and Call Box have come out covering all aspects of the amazing Sony PMW-EX1 professional XDCAM EX HD camera. Both are great, but each has a unique aspect to it.
...Read More »
Avid Media Composer 3.0 By Kevin McAuliffe
Nothing gets me more excited than sitting down in front of a new editing application, or one that has recently been updated. As I have said in previous articles, no one makes a better editing application than Avid, and it is back with its new line of post production products, and leading the way is Media Composer version 3.0. Why should everyone care about this? Keep reading, and you'll find out!
...Read More »
Lenovo D10 ThinkStation workstation By John Virata
The Lenovo D10 is the big brother to the ThinkStation S10, and as such sports dual Intel XEON CPUs for a combined four processor cores, 12MB L2 cache and a 1333MHz front side bus. Housed in a tower configuration, the D10 system is wider than the S10, and can accommodate more internal drive space, with support for five 3.5-inch hard drives as opposed to three for the S10, two PCIe x4 slots, two PCI X slots, and a single PCI slot.
...Read More »
Apple's 2.8Ghz dual Intel Xeon Quad-Core Mac Pro By Heath McKnight
Apple's 2.8Ghz dual Intel Xeon Quad-Core (8-cores total!) Mac Pro is one of Apple's fastest computers yet. With the capability to run with 32GB RAM, an excellent graphics card (or two), and terabytes of storage, no job is too big for this beast to handle.
...Read More »
Celtx 1.0 and the reshaping of creative software culture Part 2 By Mike Jones
Creating a highly competent and complex piece of software is not difficult; creating one that is highly competent and complex and yet is accessible and fluid to use is the challenge. And truly this is where Celtx shines. For all its relational database foundations, its depth of annotation and markup, and its diverse array of forms and features that are unrivalled by any other system of its kind on the market, Celtx is a software tool that delivers to the creative producer a very large degree of transparency.
...Read More »
Celtx 1.0 and the reshaping of creative software culture By Mike Jones
The contemporary world of cinema and moving image media production is currently in a state of change that is unprecedented. And yet the presented indicators of the revolution, the much referenced point makers of these radical changes, are often mis-aligned. The introduction of DV was sported as a 'Revolution' but whist it did provide a platform of accessible quality and efficiency it was, in truth, just an obvious next incremental step from previous steps in image quality and accessibility.
...Read More »
Western Digital`s MyBook Studio II By David Basulto
It s funny how things work themselves out. As I have been shooting more and more in high definition I kept finding myself running out of storage space. I filled the MacPro with as much hard drive space as it would hold but that still wouldn t suffice the hunger my media had.
...Read More »
First Look: Panasonic AG HMC150 AVCCAM camcorder
Back in 2005, my aunt asked me to videotape her wedding. Now I am not a professional videographer, but rather, over the years I've enjoyed shooting video with all types of cameras, be it via my digital camera, my Flip video camera, to a variety of miniDV cameras. So I agreed to tape her wedding.
...Read More »
Apple Final Cut Pro 7
A little more than two years after Final Cut Pro 6 introduced the ProRes codec, Background Processes, Smooth Cam, and many other functions, Apple debuts Final Cut Pro 7 (FCP), part of the third version of Final Cut Studio. There are more ProRes options, export settings that can be done in the background without Compressor 3.5 open, iChat Theater support (an excellent collaboration tool), and much more. FCP is 10 years old this year, and they've been listening to us, the editors! Let's just dive in and take a look at all the new stuff.
...Read More »
Canon 5D MkII DSLR
In case you haven't heard the news - a few months ago Canon introduced its new 5D Mark II digital SLR camera and it hit the market like the proverbial 600 pound gorilla. Everyone, and I mean everyone, sat up and took notice when they heard the specs. It wasn't just the 21 megapixel sensor it was packing that had everyone drooling at the mouth to get their hands on the camera.
...Read More »
Lenovo W700ds mobile workstation
Lenovo has long been known for innovative notebook computers harking back to the days when it (IBM) came out with the ThinkPad notebook computer. This machine served notice that it was at the top of the heap when it came to design and functionality. The current crop of ThinkPad workstations maintain that innovation as well as some features that could be called obscure, such as the one with the W700ds that I'm reviewing here.
...Read More »
G-Technology's G-Drive mini SSD 120GB
When I first reviewed an 8MB flash based USB thumb drive from M-Systems and IBM back in 2001, I was astounded at its durability. I dropped the device, went surf fishing with it and got it wet, and basically abused it until the plastic casing came off and all that was left was the memory module and the USB arm. It still works today, but at 8MB, it has since been replaced by several drives at varying capacities.
...Read More »
Cineform Neo4k for the Mac part 2
The second part of Cineform Neo4k and NeoHD is what's known as ReMaster; a software utility for batch-process transcoding of media files into the various Cineform formats. But along with batch-processing, ReMaster also provides a variety of functions that extend beyond just encoding into the Cineform wavelet codec. ReMaster has tools for resizing files on encode so it becomes a perfect tool for HD online intermediate workflows from 2k or 4k acquisition sources.
...Read More »
Cineform Neo4K for the Mac part 1
After an established history of developing lossless compression technology predominantly for the Windows platform - and particular Adobe's Premiere Pro NLE - Cineform has at last brought its lossless intermediate, high performance codec system to the Mac.
...Read More »
The Sony HDR-CX100
AVCHD has exploded on the consumer and pro-sumer scene like a new star at the Oscars, and the CX100 is the newest "actor" in the AVCHD lineup from Sony.
...Read More »
The solid-state missing link: Sony's XDCAMEX Browser 2.0
Once you've had the joys of solid state shooting and production, with formats such as P2 and XDCAMEX, its hard to imagine ever going back to tape. This is not to say that solid state doesn't come without its drawbacks: no shelfable master, re-wrapping processes, short record times are all tangible workflow concerns. But the advantages -- speed, efficiency, on-set clip review - for the most part outweigh the drawbacks.
...Read More »
Roxio Toast 10 Titanium
In what has become something of a Macworld tradition, Roxio once again used the annual gathering of Apple faithful as the backdrop for the unveiling of version 10 of its stalwart Toast Titanium media management product. As in past years, more features have been added and the upgrade price is still terrible, but this year there's a new wrinkle. Let's dive in to see what's changed this time around.
...Read More »
HP EliteBook 8730W
Hewlett Packard has been known for years for its solid workstations. The company has been an innovator when it comes to content creation machines, even supplying its own designed graphics adapters in the late 1990s to power its visual systems. When the company decides to enter the market, it does so with a lot of thought, offering systems that are unique from what is currently available from its competitors, yet still remaining price competitive. The company's latest mobile offering is such a system.
...Read More »
Why You Need Magic Bullet Looks
If you've been checking out the DMN website over the last couple of weeks, you would probably know that Mike Jones did a great series of articles on do-it-yourself color grading. Keeping on that idea, for me, there is only one plug-in (program) I use when I want to do any of my color grading work, and that's Magic Bullet's Looks. Looks is a powerful, fast and more importantly, simple plug-in to use. For this article, I'm going to give you four great reasons why you need to add this plug-in to your arsenal.
...Read More »
Sony PMW-EX1 Training DVD Reviews: VASST and Call Box
Two new excellent training DVDs from VASST and Call Box have come out covering all aspects of the amazing Sony PMW-EX1 professional XDCAM EX HD camera. Both are great, but each has a unique aspect to it.
...Read More »
Avid Media Composer 3.0
Nothing gets me more excited than sitting down in front of a new editing application, or one that has recently been updated. As I have said in previous articles, no one makes a better editing application than Avid, and it is back with its new line of post production products, and leading the way is Media Composer version 3.0. Why should everyone care about this? Keep reading, and you'll find out!
...Read More »
Lenovo D10 ThinkStation workstation
The Lenovo D10 is the big brother to the ThinkStation S10, and as such sports dual Intel XEON CPUs for a combined four processor cores, 12MB L2 cache and a 1333MHz front side bus. Housed in a tower configuration, the D10 system is wider than the S10, and can accommodate more internal drive space, with support for five 3.5-inch hard drives as opposed to three for the S10, two PCIe x4 slots, two PCI X slots, and a single PCI slot.
...Read More »
Apple's 2.8Ghz dual Intel Xeon Quad-Core Mac Pro
Apple's 2.8Ghz dual Intel Xeon Quad-Core (8-cores total!) Mac Pro is one of Apple's fastest computers yet. With the capability to run with 32GB RAM, an excellent graphics card (or two), and terabytes of storage, no job is too big for this beast to handle.
...Read More »
Get Hypoxic HYPEYE D PRO Remote Camcorder Indication and Control System
I received my HYPEYE D PRO controller and expansion in the mail today; I was overjoyed. I knew it would be a good product, as I already owned two HYPEYE MINI camera indicators.
...Read More »
Celtx 1.0 and the reshaping of creative software culture Part 2
Creating a highly competent and complex piece of software is not difficult; creating one that is highly competent and complex and yet is accessible and fluid to use is the challenge. And truly this is where Celtx shines. For all its relational database foundations, its depth of annotation and markup, and its diverse array of forms and features that are unrivalled by any other system of its kind on the market, Celtx is a software tool that delivers to the creative producer a very large degree of transparency.
...Read More »
Celtx 1.0 and the reshaping of creative software culture
The contemporary world of cinema and moving image media production is currently in a state of change that is unprecedented. And yet the presented indicators of the revolution, the much referenced point makers of these radical changes, are often mis-aligned. The introduction of DV was sported as a 'Revolution' but whist it did provide a platform of accessible quality and efficiency it was, in truth, just an obvious next incremental step from previous steps in image quality and accessibility.
...Read More »
Western Digital`s MyBook Studio II
It s funny how things work themselves out. As I have been shooting more and more in high definition I kept finding myself running out of storage space. I filled the MacPro with as much hard drive space as it would hold but that still wouldn t suffice the hunger my media had.
...Read More »
Vegas Pro 10 Available Now
