NAB 2023

[Zack Birlew]

Hi, everybody, so I started a similar thread on DVXUser but it's getting to be that time again for NAB, so what is everybody looking forward to, wishing and hoping for, and does anybody have any interesting rumors to share?

 

[Zack Birlew]

Pretty sure Blackmagic has a legal responsibility to release a Pocket 8k/12k.

Lol! I know right!? I can't wait to see if announcement signs get put up on the front of the convention center at NAB, that would be quite the conversation on the walk to registration to pick up our badges.

 

[Zack Birlew]

Well, after attending, it turns out to be a “nothing” year. Blackmagic Design leaves the show with the best camera once again and at least there was a couple of updates, the URSA 12K OLPF, the new OLPF serving as a major knock to the nitpicking about aliasing and moire in certain particular “every now and then” shots (as well as being a slight pixel softener for virtual productions with high density pixel screens) and the biggest update to it was the Netflix approval!

Anybody we asked about 8K gave the same excuse we’ve heard for years since RED and Blackmagic started doing 6K and 8K+, “it’s just a lot of data for customers”. For goodness sake, it’s not like there aren’t lower resolution options on these cameras from 4K to HD so lower end customers can build up to maximizing their equipment. Don’t stall progress and hamper an entire industry for no reason!

One of the strangest conversations was at Sony about night vision. They said they knew it just wasn’t around as an option much anymore and that “if we wanted that look we can crank up the ISO and throw a green look filter over it.” I look at various auction sites for all kinds of stuff and the one thing I notice is that people pay BIG money for night vision equipment, even if it’s older models, there is clearly a market for more night vision products and high ISO video is not infrared night vision.

The key word we kept hearing around the convention was “niche”. 8K+ was “niche”, medium format was “niche”, even full frame is apparently “niche”. Now, since the lockdowns of 2020, there may have been a chip shortage for a few months and maybe there was a situation with overseas shipping a bit too along the way but this is 2023, more than enough time in three years to get a new model out or even if products could be announced for Fall availability, but to say anything beyond what is currently available is “niche” is just insulting. My cell phone has 8K video, my next TV is going to be 8K, my next computer monitor and grading monitor are going to be 8K, videogames and graphics cards are embracing 8K, and various graphics and stock footage for video and VFX are being made for 8K now. Where are the next gen 8K cameras?

As far as lighting and other things go, there were some nice new additions, the coolest being the new Zhiyun Molus X100, all kinds of uses for that kind of light, also there were lots of interesting tube light and mini tube lights, most RGB, and I can see that lighting is definitely seeing some great innovation and it hurts my wallet to think about what a light kit will look like in the coming years.

Other than that, I just didn’t see much new of anything, just firmware updates and maybe a slightly revised model of one thing or another. If anything, this show was really great for lenses and seeing them in person, Laowa has some winners with their Proteus 2x anamorphics which were on display with a Sony F65 as the test camera, very tasteful choice, and such lovely flares! Also nice for RED was that Komodo was seemingly the demo camera of choice around the show.

All I can say is that next year’s NAB has to have some major developments as this year was a stretch too far, a lot of what was on display felt and actually was O-L-D and the lack of progress is astoundingly boring. Until then, what is great today is going to be great tomorrow, we have 8K+ solutions like the Canon R5C, Nikon Z9, and the URSA 12K which came out on top this year in a big way and RED still has their 6K and 8K options. The Sony Venice 2 looked really strong but with the URSA 12K having the OLPF and now Netflix approval, it’s making a much more compelling option as a filmmaker, especially if paired with a smaller R5C or Z9 to go with it as a gimbal or action camera. In my case there’s still time for something new, my first feature is almost done with post so the next movie is at least a year or so away so we’ll see what’s available then.

 

[Brian Timmons]

Well, after attending, it turns out to be a “nothing” year. Blackmagic Design leaves the show with the best camera once again and at least there was a couple of updates, the URSA 12K OLPF, the new OLPF serving as a major knock to the nitpicking about aliasing and moire in certain particular “every now and then” shots (as well as being a slight pixel softener for virtual productions with high density pixel screens) and the biggest update to it was the Netflix approval!

Anybody we asked about 8K gave the same excuse we’ve heard for years since RED and Blackmagic started doing 6K and 8K+, “it’s just a lot of data for customers”. For goodness sake, it’s not like there aren’t lower resolution options on these cameras from 4K to HD so lower end customers can build up to maximizing their equipment. Don’t stall progress and hamper an entire industry for no reason!

One of the strangest conversations was at Sony about night vision. They said they knew it just wasn’t around as an option much anymore and that “if we wanted that look we can crank up the ISO and throw a green look filter over it.” I look at various auction sites for all kinds of stuff and the one thing I notice is that people pay BIG money for night vision equipment, even if it’s older models, there is clearly a market for more night vision products and high ISO video is not infrared night vision.

The key word we kept hearing around the convention was “niche”. 8K+ was “niche”, medium format was “niche”, even full frame is apparently “niche”. Now, since the lockdowns of 2020, there may have been a chip shortage for a few months and maybe there was a situation with overseas shipping a bit too along the way but this is 2023, more than enough time in three years to get a new model out or even if products could be announced for Fall availability, but to say anything beyond what is currently available is “niche” is just insulting. My cell phone has 8K video, my next TV is going to be 8K, my next computer monitor and grading monitor are going to be 8K, videogames and graphics cards are embracing 8K, and various graphics and stock footage for video and VFX are being made for 8K now. Where are the next gen 8K cameras?

As far as lighting and other things go, there were some nice new additions, the coolest being the new Zhiyun Molus X100, all kinds of uses for that kind of light, also there were lots of interesting tube light and mini tube lights, most RGB, and I can see that lighting is definitely seeing some great innovation and it hurts my wallet to think about what a light kit will look like in the coming years.

Other than that, I just didn’t see much new of anything, just firmware updates and maybe a slightly revised model of one thing or another. If anything, this show was really great for lenses and seeing them in person, Laowa has some winners with their Proteus 2x anamorphics which were on display with a Sony F65 as the test camera, very tasteful choice, and such lovely flares! Also nice for RED was that Komodo was seemingly the demo camera of choice around the show.

All I can say is that next year’s NAB has to have some major developments as this year was a stretch too far, a lot of what was on display felt and actually was O-L-D and the lack of progress is astoundingly boring. Until then, what is great today is going to be great tomorrow, we have 8K+ solutions like the Canon R5C, Nikon Z9, and the URSA 12K which came out on top this year in a big way and RED still has their 6K and 8K options. The Sony Venice 2 looked really strong but with the URSA 12K having the OLPF and now Netflix approval, it’s making a much more compelling option as a filmmaker, especially if paired with a smaller R5C or Z9 to go with it as a gimbal or action camera. In my case there’s still time for something new, my first feature is almost done with post so the next movie is at least a year or so away so we’ll see what’s available then.

I'm not at NAB and am just reading the press releases and headlines as they are published.

My impression is with a potentially worse recession on the horizon most companies are generally playing it safe and conservative with
R&D spending and with new product releases this year.

Simply put money is getting tighter, costs are higher, and sales are generally slowing. These are not the market conditions companies want to push their latest and greatest in. There will likely still be new releases but I wouldn't be surprised if it's slower
and more incremental compared to previous years.

The only exception it seems are some of the Chinese manufacturers but they ultimately exist in the same economic realities
as the rest of the world.

Regarding the 12K Ursa, I think the novel sensor design is pretty interesting but I do wonder if BMD took a bit of a hit
with the slow sales on that camera leading to a slow down with development. I wouldn't count them or the camera out but I do think given
the physical size, weight, price, and average DR the camera does not hit the expectations at that price range (which leans towards smaller, lighter cameras) and did not address the expectations of the high end (with emphasis more complete I/O options for accessories and on set support among others).
At this point in time 12K is looked at as a burden for many (particularly in post) more than a selling point.

Perhaps when people think about super high resolution cameras they think of something with a larger frame size (FF, VV, and beyond).
There were some design choices where I ask who was this camera made for?

I sometimes work with the Ursa mini 4.6 for a client and the lack of OLPFs affecting video walls is definitely an issue.
They really need to make the OLPF option available for their other cameras though I do know of some of the 3rd party solutions that exist.

Perhaps there may be some bigger film oriented announcements going into Cine Gear.

Brian Timmons
BRITIM/MEDIA

 

[Zack Birlew]

I sometimes work with the Ursa mini 4.6 for a client and the lack of OLPFs affecting video walls is definitely an issue.
They really need to make the OLPF option available for their other cameras though I do know of some of the 3rd party solutions that exist.

Perhaps there may be some bigger film oriented announcements going into Cine Gear.

Brian Timmons
BRITIM/MEDIA

My brother and I figured this might be the case too, just as a hair of hope if anything for Cinegear being when big things get announced. Also, the OLPF for other cameras was a thought as well, surely Blackmagic wouldn't leave the 12K OLPF as the sole virtual production choice for too long. I do agree that the economic aspect does loom over everything but I think this may have been a little too reserved this year and would have rather had at least some new exciting products now knowing that they may be the only thing for a long while rather than what's available already, which is nice but still leaves some aspects to be desired. Oh well, there's still time yet, we'll have to see how everything goes.

 

[Brian Timmons]

My brother and I figured this might be the case too, just as a hair of hope if anything for Cinegear being when big things get announced. Also, the OLPF for other cameras was a thought as well, surely Blackmagic wouldn't leave the 12K OLPF as the sole virtual production choice for too long. I do agree that the economic aspect does loom over everything but I think this may have been a little too reserved this year and would have rather had at least some new exciting products now knowing that they may be the only thing for a long while rather than what's available already, which is nice but still leaves some aspects to be desired. Oh well, there's still time yet, we'll have to see how everything goes.

There's already cameras being used for virtual production. BMD 12K is just another option.

New announcements are exciting but there already exist a long line of decent and affordable cameras that
can achieve a great deal of some of the highest of filmmaking needs.
Granted things are always getting better but unless one has highly niche needs that are not currently addressed
what is there to wait for if you can effectively use what's already available?

Brian Timmons
BRITIM/MEDIA

 

[Zack Birlew]

Okay, so I went back to NAB yesterday just to double check things and cover any places I didn't have time to see on Sunday.

For those that didn't attend, the convention was shifted over to the Central and North Halls as well as the new section of the convention center which is very nice on its own! The new section had more streaming, radio, and broadcast workflow solutions much like the upper South Hall used to have. As a filmmaker, I didn't miss much in that section unless I needed to see AJA for anything and there were a lot of booth meetings in that section as well. For future reference, it was a bit of a walk to get over to the new section, you're literally walking across the street by building bridge way, but admittedly they had some more food options on that side in case you want something different from the North/Center cafe area offerings.

As far as products, I mostly got to take a look at new lens options up close as well as double check on some technical questions I thought of from Sunday's visit.

Nero 1.5x Anamorphic 52mm thread adapter - I saw the Nero 1.5x on a table with Great Joy anamorphic lenses, I only had my phone and tried it on there, seemed pretty nice and definitely a major step above smaller anamorphic adapters like my old Century Optics 1.33x adapter but, as we've seen with SLR Magic's anamorphic solutions, being 52mm filter thread sized makes it seem like it's designed for Micro Four Thirds or even old camcorders. I can imagine using small SLR primes could be the solution for S35 and up but that remains to be tested for coverage as I had experienced with the SLR Magic 65 which, despite it's 82mm threads, was optically geared towards Micro Four Thirds and just barely S35 so coverage was lost when switching to Full Frame. Honestly, I would love to get one, definitely would be a much classier solution for a phone anamorphic at the least compared to Beastgrip who just came out with the Mark 2 of their 1.55x phone anamorphic. However, at $899 show special and $999 MSRP, I would have to have a need for this anamorphic to warrant that purchase as, for the money, I would much rather put $1K towards a full on anamorphic lens or at least another SLR Magic 2X adapter (since the 2X is SLR Magic's best adapter). Still, it's good to know that there is now a very nice small 1.5x adapter on the market should the need arise!

Spirit Lab 40-100mm Anamorphic Zoom - This was a fantastic 2x anamorphic zoom! It's a big lens, definitely a long cine zoom that typically sits on a rod support rather than being your run and gun action lens. The flares were just right and as they said at the booth, they aimed for it to be very neutral in color to easily match other lenses in case you're using other anamorphic primes and they also made sure to have no distortion when zooming and focusing. Toying with it at the booth, I couldn't tell any noticeable breathing or squeeze ratio changes when focusing and zooming back and forth so this seems like a definite winner if you need an all in one 2x anamorphic zoom!

BOXX PC AMD Epyc System - I stopped by BOXX and saw that they have a new dual AMD Epyc system with the capacity for 5 GPUs. It's a bummer that my current 64-core AMD Threadripper rig is limited to 256GB of RAM and Threadripper Pro and Epyc can use terabytes of RAM by comparison. In tech it often doesn't pay to be a first adopter in the long run but like many of those that do become first adopters, we needed it at the time. BOXX makes great systems and even though the Epyc platform is often limited to rack enclosure cases, this one at least has the capacity for GPUs and larger add-in cards now so that's a platform worth getting into once upgrade time comes around, even if it has to sit under the desk in a PC/footstool configuration.

DZO Optics 28-300 Zoom - I didn't get to see this lens in action, it was on the mantel in the booth with other zoom lenses and primes. From what I understand there is a patent issue with it but once that clears they'll have it available. I remember seeing the Foton 25-300 and that was a pricey lens but even with my SLR zooms, I do enjoy having a super zoom ready to go when I need it and this one being made with cine precision is a real treat worth keeping an eye on.

Gecko-Cam G65 Lenses - From what I understand, these are lenses designed for the medium format look and not only cover 65mm image circle, like Alexa 65, but also can be tuned and adjusted for even more vintage vibes and all within the lenses themselves. I've heard of cinematographers purposely "tuning" lenses and doing things like removing coatings and such but these lenses apparently have several adjustment options to make them clean and modern or vintage and funky so this is a cine set for people going after the medium format look, like me, with vintage looks as an option.

Atomos Camera Sensor - I asked about the Atomos sensor and while there's no plans for their own camera, there could be interest from other brands and startups should their sensor be to their liking. No word on a revised SUMO monitor for 8K but I was told the hardware was more complicated to incorporate and adjust than the smaller Ninja recorders which are completely different hardware setups so I guess we have to give it time and see how things go.

LIlliput 8K monitors - Lilliput had some compact 8K HDR monitors on display, more along the 23"+ and 30"+ size if I remember correctly, not really anything you'd normally see on top of cameras but the option is there with VESA mount spots. Most of their new monitors are 4K now so it shows display tech is advancing more and more but no true 8K on-camera monitors as of yet for the focus pullers, we're not there yet.

Schneider Optics ISCO4ALL Set - I saw the ISCO4ALL set in person, very compact compared to what I imagined, altogether the 1.5x Iscorama on one of their lenses looks to be about as big as one of my Rokinon Cine DS lenses. It's still all too soon and too new to determine if they'll offer to break up the set and offer the lenses and adapter individually. We did discuss the possibility of scaling the adapter up for larger lenses but that would require a lot of customer demand to make it happen as they're just using the Iscorama design and upgrading it as it is so reinventing the optics for larger lenses is a big ask. If we can get a petition going we may have a chance but the best thing is for the ISCO4ALL set to become really popular and show the interest that way. I guess we'll just have to see how things go on this one but the ISCO4ALL set looks like a really solid cine lens set and being able to experiment with an updated Iscorama adapter after the fact would almost be worth the price of admission, even though it's just 1.5x, it's a great anamorphic image!

So, while there wasn't much new at NAB this year, at least there's indications that the companies are listening to what people want and I even heard some things slip out at the show that might need NDA clearance to mention but it sounds like things are in the works and not in as much of a standstill as the slow NAB year might indicate. Like many things in the world right now, I suppose we'll just have to wait a little longer and see how things turn out.