NAB 2015: Wild and Wacky Edition

Now this is a real man's car mount. Must get one of these.

Here is an expansion chassis with 16 - yes 16 - nVidia video cards installed. Why would you want 16 video cards attached to your computer? Because you can.

Saw this in the Fashion Mall. Interesting marketing - aiming Las Vegas real estate at Canadians. Didn't think that many Canadians were buying real estate in Vegas, but I guess they are. Pricing is certainly better than here in Toronto.

And the person with the most degrading job at NAB 2015 would be Shark Guy, who had to sit in this little booth, wearing a shark outfit, begging people to tweet about him and the company he was working for. If you tweeted you could win a prize. What did he do wrong in a previous life to deserve such a fate?

That's it for DV Dude's NAB 2015 Wrap Up!

NAB 2015: Lighting Edition

F&V was showing off the R720 LED Ring Light, essentially a bigger version of their very popular R300 Ring Light. Coming this summer. Starting at around US$499.

 The crazy Esotian company KinoTehnik was showing off a prototype LED Fresnel light that was quite powerful. And it also can be controlled from your smartphone. Planning to ship this summer for US$699.  

I still remember the NAB that Litepanels made their debut - quite the sensation. And over time, their market dominance slipped as cheaper (and arguably just as good) competing LEDs came to the market. Then the competitors really started to shine, and Litepanels seemed to be asleep at the wheel, suffering from Avid disease - that is, we're the best, why would you buy anything else, go to hell if you don't buy our product. But Litepanels is back with new products, and they are being quite aggressive on pricing.

This little guy, the Caliber, caught my eye - a little fresnel that runs off AC or 6 AA batteries, is focusable and dimmable. It comes in a three light kit, with 3 Gorilla Pods, one light stand, and a carrying case. The price? US$999.

Also, their new line of 1x1 panels, the Astra E and EP, are also priced very aggressively, starting at US$699. Very interesting...  
 

Cyborg Shooter!

Newsshooter at NAB 2015: Tilta Armor-Man from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

NAB 2015: New Cameras

 

Panasonic is trying to come back into the camera game in 2015, launching the new Varicam to good reviews, and now announcing the new DVX200. Yes, it is the successor to the extremely popular DVX100, which we sold tons of. Now with 4K, and a M43 sensor (an updated GH4 sensor). But with a fixed lens. But that lens is a Leica 13x zoom f/2.8-4.5 zoom and the camera features auto focus, power zoom, ND filters, 12 stops of latitude, V-log, 4k 60p, and records to SD cards. And 120 fps in HD. Coming in December for "under US$5000." Pretty sleek looking.

It wouldn't be NAB if Blackmagic didn't make a ton of announcements, and this is one of them. The Ursa Mini. Probably the camera that the Ursa should have been in the first place. Much much lighter than the Ursa, but the Mini still has some weight to it, being heavier than a C100 or a F5. Comes in around 7 - 8 pounds. EVF looks nice. We're already getting pre-orders, so it looks like this will do well. In theory shipping this summer, but we all know how Blackmagic is about making ship dates. 

Not as much buzz about this little guy, but like the Pocket Camera, what an achievement. Fits in the palm of your hand. Again - in theory, shipping this summer. I think this camera will get more attention as it ships. Think of it as a Pro Go Pro camera. Except it doesn't record internally.

We've already talked about in this blog about the C300 Mark II, so no need to get into detail again in this post.

What Everyone's Asking Us About This Week

People started calling DV Shop about the Blackmagic Ursa Mini within minutes of the announcement.

NAB 2015: Day One Report

DV Dude started in the North Hall, which is the quietest of the 4 halls NAB is in, as a way to ease himself into the maelstrom. For at least the 3rd year, NHK was showing off their 8K monitors and cameras. Here is the smallest 8K camera, the cube 8K.

NHK also showed off the world's smallest 8K monitor - a 13" OLED monitor.

This was a cool little item - a 360 degree rig using Go Pros from the company 360Heros.

Moving into the Central Hall, the DJI booth was packed. DJI announced the baby Ronin. Aimed at DSLRs. Shipping soonish for under US$2000.

Sennheiser showed off a new wireless mic system that will be more expensive than the current EW112P line. Offering a digital signal, auto-scanning, and auto-gain, it will ship by June for under $1000.

Sennheiser also showed off a iPhone-ready ME2 omni lav mic, with a lightning connector. It will ship in late May for around $200.

NAB 2015: Terminator

NAB 2015: And So It Begins...

DV Dude has safely arrived at NAB 2015, where it is sunny and a balmy 30 degrees.

NAB 2015 Rumours? WALLEY POS-86