DV Dude's Favourite Debbie Reynold's Movie

RIP George Michael and Carrie Fisher

It's been a tough week...

FRIDAY FOOTAGE: ICELAND DRONE FOOTAGE

It's been a while since we've posted any cool aerial footage, so to make up for it, here's some wild footage of Iceland.

Shot on the DJI Inspire 1 over a period of two years in the remote Icelandic Highlands. Thanks to Evosia Studios for some spectacular eye candy!

Iceland has been on DV Dude's Bucket List since the 1980s, long before it became a hot destination spot. One day he'll get there! One day...

Panasonic's New AG-AC30 HD Camcorder: Good Things Come In Small Packages

Learn more here.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G85: A New 4K Mirrorless

There's a new Panasonic 4K camera in town! Learn more here.

Flying Under The Radar: Canon XC15

The Canon XC15 arrived without a lot of fanfare but there are a few interesting upgrades from the XC10.

Learn more here.

New!! The Trippler From Polar Pro

Well we haven't seen DV Dude get this excited about a new video hand grip in a long time. 

The Trippler is the perfect compact tripod / grip / pole combo that compacts down small enough to carry with you anywhere. The Trippler allows users to set up the perfect shot every time without having to hold a selfie stick or asking someone else to get the shot. Included with each Trippler are mounts compatible with cell phones (up to iPhone 6/6s w/case), GoPro cameras and standard tripod mount cameras.

The Trippler extends from 7.5-inches to 28-inches both in the tripod and extension pole state. Constructed out of aluminum, glass filled nylon and rubber; the Trippler is one of the most solid compact tripods on the market. Take a Trippler with you on your next adventure and capture the best content possible.

What's In The Box:

• Trippler
• Mobile phone mount (fits up to an iPhone 6)
• GoPro mount
• Tripod mount

Gear in Action: DJI Osmo+

Footage shot on the DJI Osmo Plus courtesy of Marlon Villelas.

Learn more about the DJI Omo+ here.

DJI Osmo Mobile

iPhone 7 Plus + DJI Osmo Mobile Cinematic Footage 4k Video courtesy of Yantastic.

Learn more about the Osmo Mobile here

We're Testing New LED Studio Bulbs!

Tired of those gigantic flo bulbs and hot photofloods? Finally you can get LED studio bulbs. We have one on display that we're testing out in our lighting section. So far the response has been pretty positive.

New From G-Tech!! G-Drive USB 3.0

Have a newer computer with USB3? Then G-Tech's new USB 3.0 desktop drives fit the bill. Same G-Tech quality, 7200 RPM drives, and all-aluminum enclosure. Pre-formatted for Mac, can be easily re-formatted for Windows. Transfer speeds up to 240 MB/s. Comes with one USB3 cable. Warranty - 3 Years.

Learn more here.

Introducing the Video Features of the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Rare Sighting of White 8K Red Camera

We at The DV Shop had the privilege of seeing a very rare beast in person today - a Red Helium 8K camera.

There are only 20 of these in the world, and Canada has 2 of them (one in Toronto, one in Vancouver).

Cool!

Gear in Action: Sony a6300 120 FPS Slow-Mo with 18-55mm Kit Lens

Gear in Action: Sony FDR-AX33B

DV Shop 15th Anniversary Throwback Thursday

The DV Shop celebrated its 15th Anniversary in May, and just to give some perspective on how much things have changed in those 15 years, here's some comparative pricing.

Hard Drives
In 2001, the biggest hard drive you could get was 75GB, and a LaCie Firewire 75GB cost over $500.
In 2006, the biggest external hard drive was 600GB, and the LaCie Firewire 600GB cost $529.
In 2016, the LaCie Firewire 5TB costs $419.

Memory Cards
In 2006, the SanDisk Ultra 8GB Compact Flash card cost $1199.
In 2016, that same card costs $30.

DVD Burners
In 2001, the internal Pioneer A03 DVD Burner cost $1499.
In 2016, the internal Pioneer BluRay Burner sets you back $99.

What are we going to be saying in 2026?

Video Devices Pix E Series Firmware Update

Newly released PIX-E Firmware Version 3.00 adds the H.264 codec, as well as the option to simultaneously record both ProRes and H.264.

Video Devices announces that Firmware Version 3.00 for its popular PIX-E Series of 4K-compatible recording monitors – previewed at the 2016 NAB Show – is now available. With this latest firmware update, the PIX-E Series adds the H.264 codec as well as the ability to simultaneously record a high-quality, edit-ready Apple® ProRes .mov file and a much smaller H.264 .mp4 file. These features are now available as a free download for PIX-E owners.

These features are now available as a free download for PIX-E owners.

Universally supported for viewing on PCs, Macs, and browsers, the H.264 codec offers a balance between compression and quality, resulting in low data rates and small file sizes. As such, it is commonly used for web streaming and long duration recording. The codec also makes for faster file uploads and easier emailing of recorded files.

Simultaneous ProRes and H.264 recording provides more flexible and efficient file delivery options. PIX-E users now have the ability to give their clients an H.264 file for content review, shot-listing, or web-streaming, while the high-resolution 4K ProRes file is used for mastering.


“After previewing H.264 at this year’s NAB show, we are excited to announce that it’s now available to PIX-E owners everywhere,” says Paul Isaacs, Director of Product Management and Design, Sound Devices, LLC. “The addition of H.264, and simultaneous ProRes and H.264 recording, provide our customers with greater file delivery options. For instance at the end of a shoot, quickly handing off a low-cost SD card containing the H.264 content to a producer or director streamlines the process; now they have something quick and easy to review on a computer or tablet, at their convenience.”

With the addition of H.264, an applied LUT is baked into the H.264 .mp4 file and saved via SD card. The master ProRes 4K file is saved to the Video Devices’ SpeedDrive™ without an applied LUT. This is ideal for users who want to simultaneously record a full dynamic range, log-encoded ProRes master file for the edit suite and a REC709 H.264 file suitable for client viewing.

While recording 4K in ProRes, the PIX-E will automatically scale the 4K to 1080p for recording H.264, thereby reducing its file size even further. Both recordings also include audio—up to eight channels with ProRes and two channels with H.264.

The update also adds the 1 TB Samsung 850 EVO mSATA solid-state drive to the approved media list.

Download the new firmware here: PIX-E Firmware v3.00 

 

Small HD Production Monitors

At NAB 2016, Small HD debuted their new line of production monitors, which are now shipping. 

This video showcases how their new 1703HDR compares to competing Panasonic and Sony video monitors. 

We have demos of the 17" and 24" monitors in the store if you wish to see them for yourself. 

Get more info here.

PHILIP BLOOM, INFRARED AND LAS VEGAS

Philip Bloom has posted a terrific new video, shot in Las Vegas, with a modified Sony RX100 IV camera, with the infrared blocking filter removed. And he shot it at 250 fps!

Watch and enjoy.

In Memoriam: Luminous Landscape's Michael Reichmann

A sad day in photography, as Michael Reichmann has passed away at the age of 71, after a long battle with cancer.

Michael founded the terrific photography web site Luminous Landscape, and it was a joy to read his equipment reviews and commentary. I found his analysis excellent and accurate. I could trust his reviews. His commentary was perceptive and insightful, delivered without pretense.

And, he was a good photographer to boot.

On a personal note, Michael was an occasional customer of The DV Shop, last here in November to buy a variable ND filter for his Sony AX100 he bought from us. He was pleasant in person, and in November 2015, looked quite healthy. I know from an article he wrote a while ago he was battling cancer, so it was a relief to see him looking good. Sadly, he health declined in recent months, and he passed away on May 18th.

He will be missed, but it can be said he made his mark on the world.

NAB 2016: Wild and Wacky Edition

NAB 2016 was certainly not a banner year for new, insane, got-to-have-this-right-now products, but as always, there are things that grab your attention.

This green screen set-up was in the Avid Booth, and was demonstrating motion tracking for computer-generated motion backgrounds. Since the background is completely computer generated, and the camera is moving, those backgrounds have to duplicate the move of the camera. Hence the funny sticks coming out on top of the cameras - they are 3D mapping the angle, and sending the information to the main graphics computer, who decodes that information and changes the angle of the CGI background. Cool!

Admit it - you want one of these. 

 Ran into IO Camera in the Central Hall, and hey - they are from London, Ontario! Who knew we had a camera company in London? Has a global shutter to boot!

Now this is a real man's gimbal, not those little girly gimbals that everyone is so ga-ga over.  

Lots of hard drives at NAB (too many in fact), with lots of speed benchmarks, but this liitle Fusion from Sonnet can do about 2100 MB/s when connected through Thunderbolt 3. Considering that the new LaCie 12 Big can only do 2600 MB/s, that's pretty darn-tootin' impressive. It is a SSD based system - the only drawback - it doesn't have a very large capacity - 500GB or 1TB.  

Live switching just keeps getting easier and easier, and Teradek was showing off live switching off an iPad, but what blew me away was their free app that can also live switch on your iPhone! Geez Louise, what is the world coming to? 
  

NAB 2016: 8K Edition

While everyone is starting to get comfortable with 4K, NAB is always showcasing the future, and this year is no exception. There is always a lot of eye candy at NAB, but this 8K Video Wall from Leyard caught my eye.

We expected Canon to announce an 8K camera at NAB, but instead Canon showed an 8K prototype camera. This beast has 4 Odyssey Recorders on the back. Perhaps Canon will make an announcement later this year?

And finally, those forward thinking folks at NHK just had to continue to show off. For at least the past 3 years they have been showing 8K cameras, screens, etc. And this year, just to prove they are ahead of the curve, they were demonstrating 8K HDR footage. The photo above does not do justice to the quality of the image - for that you have to see it in person.

Sony AX53 Test Footage: Day And Night 4K

This test footage is courtesy of Cars and Cameras and since these are two passions of DV Dude, it's the prefect test footage to show.

Learn more about the Sony AX53 camera here.

Better Late Than Never….

Our first batch of Blackmagic Micro Cinema Cameras has already come and gone. We’re working through our waiting list getting cameras out as quickly as we can.

The first camera is already out in the wild.

Learn more about this camera here.

Gear in Action - DJI Phantom 4

This user video showing the new DJI Phantom 4 Camera Drone in action is actually quite hilarious and probably quite indicative of what happens when someone gets their hands on a cool new toy.

Learn more about the Phantom 4 here

Throwback Thursday - DV Shop Style

While doing some spring cleaning here at the shop we came across an old Macintosh Classic. For fun, we decided to power it up to see if it still worked.

To our complete surprise, it powered up first shot. We were convinced that after sitting for over 10 years that it would be a brick but no, it powered up no problem.

The saying “They don’t make stuff like they used too…” this is a testament to that statement.

So far it’s survived Y2K, solar flares and a location move. Who knows what other perils this thing will persevere.

Follow DV Shop on FaceBook and Twitter

We don't have much time for social media, we're just too busy in the store but if you'd like to follow us on FaceBook and Twitter, we do have a little fun and you can find the links here.

NAB 2016 Unleashed

Cinevate Modo: Timelapse, Canadian Style

Those crazy Canucks at Cinevate have come up with an innovative time-lapse controller for their new Duzi 3 slider. Dennis, the founder of Cinevate, explains how the new Modo works in the video above.

A nice, simple design at the right price. Learn more here

Black Rapid RS-7 Camera Strap

Illustrating the "Show, Don't Tell" style of product reviews, a visual review of the Black Rapid RS-7 camera strap. Learn more here.

Hands On Review Of The Sony a6300 At NYC - Gary Fong

Learn more here.

Gear in Action: Sevenoak SKW03 Stabilizer

Learn more here.

Steadicam Smoothee For Your Smartphone

Learn more here.

Miscellaneous Random Phrases, Part I

DV Dude saw this on a window in San Diego recently at "The Top of the Hyatt" lounge. If you are ever in San Diego, this is a great place to get a drink and see a killer view of the city. And the windows all through the place have various sayings on them.

 DV Dude saw these buttons while getting his passport picture taken.

Great New Slider From iKan

Ikan Carbon Fiber Slider (SLD-31)
A good, economical slider. Adjustable legs for leveling on un-even surfaces. Carriage has a bubble level, and a brake to lock it in place. Carriage also has a 3/8" screw for mounting a tripod head. 3/8" mounting screws for support on each end of the slider, and in the middle has both 3/8" and 1/4" holes for mounting. Not as nicely made or as smooth as a Cinevate Duzi, but is cheaper. Comes with a carrying case. Made in China. Length - 31"/ Max Load Capacity - 18 lbs/Unit Weight - 1.5 lbs.

Learn more here

Nothing Can Prepare You For "The Chickening"

This is one heck of a Kubrick parody acid trip.

Nikon D500 4K

DV Dude got to hold one of these bad boys at CES.

Coming in March.

CES 2016: Freemont Street at 6:50 a.m.

While at CES, DV Dude stayed in old downtown at the Golden Nugget, and being the early bird that he is, got up at sunrise to take these pictures. Downtown Vegas is pretty quiet at 6:30 in the morning, except for the homeless people, of which there were plenty.

While I was taking this picture, an older woman, who just had been dropped off by a cab, came up to me and asked me what I was taking a picture of. When I said the sign, she wanted to know why anyone would want to take a picture of a sign... She also wanted to know what I was going to do with the photo. For personal use, I told her ... That totally bewildered her - you just take photos for yourself? We ended up having a nice conversation. Turns out, she is the longest serving employee of the El Cortez casino - been there 45 years. The only person who was there longer was the owner, but he's dead now.

 
Downtown Las Vegas has all these cool murals on the side of buildings, and this is just one of them.  

CES 2016: This and That

CES has come to another close, and for photography news, it was not much of a show. The exception was Nikon, who introduced the D500, D5 and a sports action camera. The D500 was bigger than I expected, but apparently it just a hair bigger than the D300s. The D5 felt like an absolute tank, a camera that was carved out of solid granite. You could break out of prison with a D5, using it as a hammer. The viewfinder was absolutely gorgeous as well. The big news for DV Shop readers is the D500 and D5 can record 4K footage. The D500 will be the more practical of the two, as the D5 can only record 4K footage for a few minutes, where the D500 can do the 29 minute clip. Take that Canon. 

I expected to see a lot more 4K BluRay players being annouced this CES, but only saw a few. Here is the Panasonic one, expected this spring for about $499. There will be about 100 titles available by years end in 4K.  

This caught my eye as I walked aimlessly in the South Hall looking for something of interest. Use your iPhone 6 as a walkie talkie. Why not use the iPhone to um, make calls or text? This is for when you have no cell phone coverage.  

CES always has an over-abundance of speakers - big speakers, little speakers, speakers in shapes that defy justification, but this speaker, from HiVi, was the most interesting looking speaker I saw this year. 

 

And finally, a sign of the times. Saw this at the Starbucks at the Golden Nugget.

DV Dude signing out of CES.  

CES 2016: Mr. Robot Edition

CES always has a a lot of robots, and here are some of them. The first one is called Megabeam, and was the biggest robot I saw this year.

 

This was the cutest robot I saw.

And what would this year be without a Darth Vader customer service robot? I'm sure the number of complaints goes down.  

 

CES 2016: TV Porn Edition

CES is the best place in the world to look at TVs, both for the new models coming this spring, and the prototypes that being worked on in the lab. Samsung has always delivered great eye candy at CES since I started attending, and this year was no different.

The winner of "TV Most Likely To Justify A Move To a Bigger House" is Samsung, with this absolutely stunning 170" TV. Pictures cannot do this beauty justice. People would just stand there and watch - mesmerized.

There were a lot of these type of demos all through-out CES, but Sony's was probably the most accurate. It is showing the difference between the current standards, and the new HDR standard, with higher dynamic range. You are going to hear a lot about HDR this spring from TV companies.

And finally, I believe it is LG who decided to show off this little beauty (so many TVs, so little memory). Excited about 4K? Just wait a few years...
 

CES 2016: Woofer Porn

CES in the North Hall is full of audio companies trying to out-do each other with their outrageous displays. My favourite this year comes from Orion, who put this 33,000 watt unit together. No wonder their motto is "Proud to be Loud."

I thought this looked cool. And yes, the colours change. 

 

CES 2016: Concept Car Porn

One of the most popular booths in the North Hall was for the new car company Faraday.

 As you can see here, it was hard to get in and take a picture.

Once you got to the front of the crowd, you were rewarded with what is obviously a concept car, with no hope of ever going into production.  

This is the Faraday FFZERO1 concept car. Not coming to a dealership near you - ever. And I have no idea who these Faraday dudes are, but they certainly got peoples attention. 

And one final concept car, this one from Mercedes. 

 

CES 2016: Toyota Concept Cars

CES is full of concept cars this year, but the most out-of-this world concepts were from Toyota.