Blackmagic Design has introduced two new attention-getting cameras at NAB 2024 in Las Vegas. The flagship URSA Cine 12K LF (large format) has a new full-frame sensor with 16-stop dynamic range, comes with 8TB of built-in storage, and starts at $14,995. It ships with a Canon EF mount, but also accommodates ARRI PL. Blackmagic will also make the URSA available with a 17K sensor, but has yet to share pricing (though it is expected to cost from $20,000 to $25,000). The $2,995 PYXIS 6K cinema box-style camera offers a choice of three lens attachments: EF, PL or L-mount. Continue reading NAB: Blackmagic Unveils Two New Full-Frame Cine Cameras

Canon is gearing up to begin shipping its new nanoimprint lithography chipmaking machines, possibly this year. The equipment — which uses a stamping process Canon says will be cheaper and more energy-efficient than ASML’s light-based extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology — could be a disruptor in a market dominated by the Dutch company. Such machines, essential in manufacturing semiconductors, imprint circuitry onto silicon wafers in patterns that can be thousands of times thinner than the width of a human hair. Foundries TSMC, Samsung Semiconductor and Intel rely on ASML’s EUV machines in the manufacture of high-end chips. Continue reading Canon Could Begin Shipping Chip Stamping Machine in 2024

Canon has made a breakthrough it says can help manufacture the world’s most advanced semiconductors. The company’s latest nanoimprint lithography (NIL) system challenges Dutch firm ASML, to date the leader in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology. ASML creates tech used in TSMC’s chips made for Apple iPhones. Canon says its FPA-1200NZ2C nanoimprint semiconductor manufacturing equipment can produce chips equivalent to a 5-nanometer process, the current state of the art, and with further improvement expects to enable circuit patterning corresponds to 2nm nodes. The new equipment is also energy efficient, Canon says. Continue reading Canon Litho Breakthrough May Advance Global Chipmaking

Canon USA is preparing to launch a curated photography marketplace for NFTs called Cadabra that is expected to go live in the U.S. later this year and expand globally thereafter. Canon previewed Cadabra at the annual NFT.NYC show, revealing few details other than it will mint its NFT transactions on the Ethereum blockchain and allow participating photographers to offer physical prints along with their NFT drops, which Canon will fulfill. Although some NFT marketplaces require customers to make purchases with specific cryptocurrencies, Canon says Cadabra will support credit and debit cards along with cryptocurrency wallets. Continue reading Canon Will Launch Ethereum-Based NFT Art Market Cadabra

Netflix has the largest global audience of any paid streaming service and produces the most original content, optimum position to recommend camera specs and photographic best practices. Netflix requires that at least 90 percent of a program’s content be captured using hardware from its “approved camera list,” which currently includes 51 models from seven manufacturers. There are some exceptions, mainly for documentaries. But the care the company takes in vetting the list — with input from creatives, camera manufacturers and global experts — makes the five-year-old tradition respected guidance for video professionals. Continue reading Netflix-Approved Camera List Has Expanded to 51 Models

Connection, collaboration, and cooperation are three words that underscore almost everything we saw during four days at CES 2023. We anticipated this would not be a show of breakthrough innovations. Instead, we expected innovative ways to use recent advances. In broad categories, AR, haptics, and AI were much in evidence. Interesting light field displays and curved screens caught our eye. There were fewer cars but way more commercial vehicles and components driving “software-defined mobility.” TVs were secondary to connected ecosystems in Samsung and LG’s displays, while creators took center stage for Sony, Canon, and Nikon. Clear across the show, innovation may come from startups but to scale it takes giants. Continue reading CES: Show Floor Reveals the Ups and Downs of Tech Trends

Canon went all-in on VR at CES, demonstrating how the technology can be applied beyond games. As part of a partnership with director M. Night Shyamalan and his upcoming Universal Pictures thriller “Knock at the Cabin,” Canon invited attendees to don a VR headset and interact with characters from the film using the company’s Kokomo software for 3D VR video calls. The camera-maker’s goal is “to bring people closer together by revealing endless opportunities for creators,” Canon USA president and CEO Kazuto Ogawa said, invoking the theme “Limitless is More.” The company demonstrated solutions spanning entertainment, sports, communication and more. Continue reading CES: Canon Demos VR for Movies, Sports, Video Calls, More

At CES this year, Canon and Sony both showcased multi-camera capture technologies with an eye towards attracting a younger generation of viewers. Canon’s Free Viewpoint video system (using an AI-powered ring of high-resolution cameras in a stadium or arena) and Sony’s combined tools from its Hawk-Eye vision processing company and recently-acquired AI-based data visualization firm Beyond Sports can create low-latency virtual reproductions of live sports. The capture from multiple angles enables the virtual reproduction to offer interaction that a simple video stream does not, though each technology is distinct in what it offers. Continue reading CES: Canon and Sony Tools Provide a Virtual Take on Sports

Panasonic has unveiled two new hybrid full-frame mirrorless cameras — the Lumix S5II and S5IIX — that use a new autofocus system that will potentially make them competitive with similar offerings from Canon, Nikon and Sony. Coming in the spring and winter, these updated models feature a new 24.2-megapixel sensor with 779 phase-detect AF and 315 contrast points. The new chip also has Dual Native ISO with an ISO range of 100-51200 (50-204800 expanded). The models are powered by Panasonic’s new L2 Engine, said to process at twice the speed of its predecessor, improving overall performance and reducing rolling shutter distortion. Continue reading CES: Panasonic’s First Hybrid Autofocus Mirrorless Cameras

Netflix has updated details for approved camera systems as part of its content delivery requirements. “While capturing at a higher resolution is certainly important to image quality, we know it’s not everything,” Netflix camera systems specialist Kris Prygrocki shared, emphasizing that other attributes include dynamic range, color accuracy, noise performance, sensor readout speed, compression, chrome subsampling and bit depth. Other considerations are post-production software support for the recorded file format, proper color management and metadata options, Prygrocki said. Netflix has had camera standards since 2019. Continue reading Netflix Explains Its Camera Requirements and Best Practices

Dimenco’s new stereoscopic 3D display has been called “breathtaking” and the future of screen viewing. The Netherlands-based company’s Simulated Reality Pro gives the impression of images coming out of the screen without special eyewear. Dimenco defines Simulated Reality (SR) as immersive technology somewhere between augmented reality and virtual reality. Dimenco’s display tech relies on visual parallax and perspective-shifting to provide its SR experience. The viewer’s eyes are tracked by an in-unit sensor that serves discrete left- and right-eye views rapidly enough to read as a single image, allowing you to “look around” the picture elements. Continue reading Dimenco’s Glasses-Free 3D Display a Hint of Things to Come

During CES, Canon introduced two new software-based collaborative tools it has in development: AMLOS, a video meeting platform based on gestures, and the VR platform Kokomo, a social VR platform for immersive video calls. Under the theme “Together Next,” Canon enlisted actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt and his online collaborative media platform HitRecord to demonstrate using the new hybrid collaboration technology in a virtual, real-time writers’ room. In addition to operation through gesture control and connectivity with Microsoft Teams and other collaboration apps, AMLOS will allow a single camera to capture multiple angles when it debuts later this year. Continue reading CES: Canon Solutions for New Reality of Virtual Work and Life

Inspired by two years of challenging remote work environments due to COVID-19, Canon announced it is developing AMLOS (Activate My Line of Sight), a hybrid meeting software solution enabled by its image processing technology. The company has also teamed with actor and producer Joseph Gordon-Levitt and his company HitRecord to show how this technology can help create a virtual, real-time writers’ room. At CES 2022 in Las Vegas, Canon defined its offerings under the rubric “TogetherNext,” to demonstrate how interactive digital experiences connect people and cultures. Continue reading CES: Canon Intros Hybrid Meeting Software and VR Solution

Due to a global semiconductor shortage, the United States, European Union countries and Japan are planning to spend billions of dollars to build chip fabrication plants (“fabs”). These countries also face the fact that more than two-thirds of the world’s chips are made in Taiwan. China is offering subsidies to its domestic chip industry, as industry-leaders Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics plan to build U.S.-based fabs, potentially aided by significant U.S. government subsidies. Continue reading Countries Plan to Invest in New Chip Manufacturing Facilities

That’s what ROAM Consulting president Pete Putman asked in his HPA Tech Retreat discussion of the apparently out-of-nowhere rise of 8K. But the presentation’s title — “8K: Whoa! How’d We Get There So Quickly?” — was actually misdirection, as Putman showed in great detail how the development, research and plans for 8K go as far back as the 1990s. His advice for those considering a 4K television is that they won’t have to wait long to buy an affordable 8K one. (Although many in the audience preferred the purchase of a 4K TV with HDR.) “CES 2019 was full of 8K TV models,” he noted. Continue reading HPA Tech Retreat: How Did 8K Media Get Here So Quickly?