Monitor and recorder manufacturer, Atomos, has entered the world of large scale field and production monitors with their new Neon monitors. The idea spawned out of a set visit by Atomos Founder, Jeromy Young, and we caught up with Jeromy at Cine Gear to chat about the Neon series and what type of user they are aimed at. Details below:  Previously announced (HERE) by my colleague, Nino Leitner, the Atomos Neon series of production monitors are big, very big, and they span 17″, 24″, 31″and 55″ versions. While all nearly identical in terms of features the monitors jump in price as they get larger (as you might expect). Each of the different sized monitors are aimed at a variety of users from focus pullers to DITs and post client facing roles and we cover that in depth in the previously mentioned announcement post, but the banner features here might be that they are true 10-bit displays, include AtomOS App Bluetooth integration and are built to take some punishment. The 55″ Neon is gigantic. Evidence in the photo above. These are expensive displays (starting at $4,000 for the 17″) and they are presented at a price point that we aren’t used to seeing from Atomos, even in the case of the previous flagship Sumo 19 inch. It will be interesting to follow the company as it dives into the high-end professional market with the Neon series. What do you think of the new Atomos Neon series? Let us know in the comments below!

At an NAB filled with color panel lights and LED lighting of all kinds the Cine Reflect Lighting System from “The Light Bridge” does certainly stand out. As the name suggests, the system works by reflecting a hard light around the set using panels that provide more or less diffusion and other unique light qualities depending on which panel you use.  One of the smallest reflector kits available from CRLS, in a tiny bag. Used on films like 2014’s By The Sea the Cine Reflect Lighting System, called CRLS for short, is an impressive low-tech (at first glance) solution that is all about reflecting light on aluminum coated surfaces (available in various sizes). Jakob Ballinger, professional gaffer and a Light Bridge representative, promises minimal light loss of only 3% from a given light without changes in color temp once the beam hits the reflector. He developed the system together with his director of photography, acclaimed Christian Berger AAC. Image credit: The Light Bridge To use the system simply select a reflector panel numbered 1 to 4 with 1 being the least diffuse and 4 being the most and mount the panel using the included “C-Wheel” yoke to another stand with a mafer clamp and 5/8″ pin. Then mount a hard focusable light like a Source 4 Leko with narrow lens, Hive Light with Leko attachment or Dedolight to a C-Stand and point the light directly into one of the four currently available reflector types (two additional reflector types are coming soon). Point your light into the reflector panel and position the panel so that the beam of light hits your intended subject. There are a variety of different sized reflector panels ranging from 15cm x 15cm to 100cm x 100cm available, but the basic starter kit will cost you $595.00 and includes a few 15cm x 15cm and 25cm x 25cm panels. A breakdown of all the panel types are below: Image Credit: The Light Bridge This is one of those products that is a little tricky to translate to video, but in-person on the show floor at NAB you can see an impressive soft light quality using the reflector panels. You can find out more information about the CRLS system on The Light Bridge website HERE. The CRLS system will be available for order on B&H quite soon, we will update the product links below in due time. Bigger reflectors and accessories in a larger kit. What do you think? Will you be giving the Cine Reflect Lighting System a try? Comment below!

A new lens company called Foton, owned by China-based parent company DZO, has a new spherical T2.8 25-300mm S35 12x zoom on display at NAB. We tried the very, very large lens on the show floor and had some thoughts…   Lens manufacturing is tricky and this lens is admittedly not yet in production, but we noticed a few flaws during the show. For one, the lens was displayed on a large format RED Monstro, so the S35 lens would crop at anything over 5K as displayed in the booth.  The build quality is also a little suspect. We tried to set the lens to T2.8 and the lens ring stopped just short of the point marked at T2.8 on the lens body. I also had trouble finding focus in the booth for just a quick test because the min focus distance is 6.5 ft (or 2 meters) and the booth wasn’t quite large enough for focusing on too many different objects. The lens also appeared a little soft in my opinion. While the price point is more affordable to other zooms of this scale there are a few things that need to be worked out before this zoom is ready for primetime in my opinion. It is also a little strange that the parent company of Foton, DZO, is based in China yet all the marketing materials say Foton is made up of engineers and cinematographers based in California. Note the image below: While the attempt is admirable this lens needs additional time in development before it can be seen as a serious contender to other high-end manufacturers with zooms in this range. What do you think? Is there room in the market for a $22,000 S35 cinema zoom that covers 25-300mm like this one? 

Hot off the heels of a successful Kickstarter campaign last year, the backup storage device dubbed the Gnarbox 2.0 is ready and shipping soon. For photographers and shooters in the field, the Gnarbox promises to be a safe and reliable alternative to putting a pile of media in your pocket to offload later at night at the hotel. The Gnarbox 2.0 will come in three flavors based primarily around their internal storage capacity. 256, 512, 1TB versions will all be available – and each one features an SD card slot for offloading cards, as well as a USB C port and a removable battery. Obviously, for users not shooting with SD cards, you’ll need to attach the applicable reader to the device to offload footage. We checked out the device at NAB 2019 and there is a lot to like here. For users shooting raw images or HD footage then 1TB is plenty for a full day of shooting. Once you get into high resolution footage from RED and other 4K+  resolution raw-capable cameras, then this may not be the right device for you. When you touch the Gnarbox 2.0, it is clear that it is built to take an impact. For those rare moments where your footage make take a tumble into an adjacent swimming pool, you’ll have peace of mind knowing the Gnarbox is IP67 Waterproof up to 3.3′ for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes you have a problem. Four buttons drive all the main features of the Gnarbox for up-to 6-hours of continuous backups and you can jump into the advanced menu to dump footage to specific folders. Each folder might be named things like “Camera A, Camera B” and so on. Simply dump all the footage to your master drive later and the Gnarbox will maintain that designated folder structure. The Gnarbox comes with one battery, but you can purchase additional batteries and accessories such as a dual charger, international power options and eventually a Gnarbox branded card reader. Like any media storage device, much will depend on how the Gnarbox 2.0 holds up to heavy use in the field. We’ll reserve judgement until we’re able to complete a full review. Pricing:  Gnarbox 2.0 SSD 256gb – $499.00 Gnarbox 2.0 SSD 526gb – $599.00 Gnarbox 2.0 SSD 1TB – $899.99 Kickstarter backers can expect to get their Gnarbox 2.0 first before other orders. What do you think? Is the Gnarbox 2.0 SSD worth purchasing for the peace of mind that your footage is safe in the field? Let us know in the comments below!   

The Zacuto Kameleon Micro-OLED EVF was first announced in March to a little confusion from us and readers. On the body of the EVF you can see the words “Powered by JTZ.” The previous announcement post was edited to reflect that Zacuto did in fact put a good deal of work in to separate this EVF from the JTZ Kameleon X01K model. Still, we had a few questions about that partnership and where this particular EVF fits within the Zacuto EVF line. Check out the article and the video below for more on what we found. When we posted in March it was quickly noted that the EVF was built on hardware built by JTZ and is very similar to the JTZ Kameleon X01K. After some questions popped up Zacuto VP of Sales & Marketing, Mandy Rogers, issued the following statement: “It is not a secret that we partnered with JTZ to bring the Kameleon to market… Kameleon EVF ‘Powered by JTZ’ but this is not just a JTZ X01K rebranded Zacuto. We partnered with them and worked on many changes including software features, optic improvements, anti-fog, and much more to the unit. We are now the exclusive worldwide distributor of the Kameleon EVF.” – Mandy Rogers, VP of Sales & Marketing at Zacuto This statement does do much to clear up the confusion about which company handled which part of the development of this product. We didn’t have time to test the full functionality of the unit on the show floor, but at first glance there are a few welcome additions to the EVF that we don’t see in the Gratical Eye EVF. Virge Castillo, Sales Manager from Zacuto, made the point that we shouldn’t think of the Kameleon as the next generation of the Gratical and we should think of it as another EVF that provides a different tool set for users. For one, the Kameleon EVF provides both HDMI & SDI inputs so you have a bit of additional flexibility there and the inclusion of 3D lut support is another feature that separates it from the Gratical Eye. It should also be noted that the 1920X1080p Kameleon display is the highest pixel count to date from Zacuto (3103 PPI/ 6.5 million pixels). For an additional specc breakdown please visit our original post HERE. Are these additions enough for people who already own the Gratical Eye to consider purchasing a Kameleon? I don’t believe so. But, for those in the market for an EVF with the flexible of both HDMI and SDI inputs then this may be a good choice for them. What do you think? Will you be giving the Kameleon a try? Are you a Gratical owner that sees an advantage to switching to the Kameleon EVF? Let us know in the comments below!    

After a move into OLED technology last year TVLogic is returning to their LCD roots with two new monitors: the 7″ inch 3600nit F-7H mk2 and the 500nit F-5A 5.5″ monitor. We caught up with Jin from TVLogic to break down the specs on both and find out why they’ve moved away from OLED for this new generation of field monitors. We also asked TVLogic if they have any plans to introduce recording into their monitors. F-7H mk2 LCD Monitor At a brightness of 3600 nits TVLogic is making it easier to shoot outside and have confidence your shot is in focus. The F-7H mk2 boasts a 1920×1080 IPS display and features a toolset that includes timecode display, focus assist, vectorscope, custom 3D LUT Import, Anamorphic Desqueeze and audio metering. The monitor will also auto flip depending on position and can be used in a horizontal or vertical configuration. The F-7H mk2 will accept either HDMI or SDI input connections and will cross convert them as well for output if needed. Both 2K and HD inputs can be accepted. TVLogic expects the F-7H mk2 to begin shipping in May with a price around $2,295. F-5A LCD Monitor The little brother of the F-7H mk 2, the F-5A monitor is significantly less bright at 500 nits, but it also features full HD resolution and includes a variety of the same software based tools. It is also significantly cheaper at $850.00. TVLogic also expects this monitor to be available in May. For additional spec information you can read the announcement article HERE. What do you think? Will you be giving the F-5A or the F-7H mk2 a try? Let us know in the comments below!  

I reviewed the Velvet Light 2 late last year and found lots to love about that particular soft bi-color high output LED panel. At NAB this year, we caught up with the Velvet Light (formerly called “The Light”) team to check in on a new 2×1 prototype, Velvet Light EVO, and find out what their new color panel lights have to offer gaffers and cinematographers.  Velvet Light, based in Spain, showed off their 1×1 EVO, 2×1 EVO and 2×2 EVO at NAB this year and even displayed their 2×1 EVO in a fish tank. While not fully submerged, the point was made: these sturdy IP54 grade lights seem built to take some punishment in the field. We don’t have detailed specs available yet for the EVO 2×2 or 1×1 – so we’ll dive into a bit more detail on the EVO 2×1 in this article. Velvet EVO The 95 CRI 200W Velvet Light 2×1 has a beam angle of 115 degrees and the color temp is continuously adjustable from 2500K to 9,999K. Velvet Light estimates the full life of the light being in the realm of 50,000 hours. At a weight of 16.7lbs, the 2×1 EVO is quite a bit lighter than the ARRI Skypanel S30, which weighs in at 31lbs. A bunch of color control modes are available, including CCT, HSI, GEL, RGB+W+CW and you also get an Effects mode with a variety of programmable effects for those rare flashing cop car or fire light moments in a scene. Beyond that, the light output is fully dimmable from 0 to 999. You can control the light through a color display directly on the body of the light or through 5-pin DMX-RDM, mini-USB, ArtNet, Lumen Radio wireless DMX or a free App called: Goya. Available on iOS or Android, you can use color picking tools (taken from photo or video) and use a 360 color wheel to really fine tune the color being emitted from the panel. Of course, minusgreen and plusgreen tuning is also available in the light. The 2×1 Velvet Light EVO doesn’t contain a fan and is cooled passively, making it friendly to the audio mixer crowd out there. Given the construction and long estimated lifetime, this seems like a light that might be useful for both, owner operators and rental houses. We’ll reserve judgement until we get our hands on a Velvet Light EVO for a review, but this seems like a very promising color panel option. 

In late March we first announced that PortKeys, based in China, was taking the leap into the EVF world with their new OEYE-3G. cinema5D caught up with PortKeys team at NAB 2019 for an inside look into the new 0.7″ 1080P OLED display Electronic Viewfinder. All the details are below including pricing and availability. SDI, HDMI and USB inputs are all available on the OEYE-3G as well as both SDI and HDMI outputs. You can send 4K DCI signals at 24 frames per second through the HDMI or 4K UHD at 24/25/30 fps, but the SDI input port is only able to accept 1080P signals at up to 60 fps. The HDMI and SDI ports allow for cross conversion as well. (Unfortunately, we were told that this information which the manufacturer gave at the show initially, is unfortunately incorrect. The EVF cannot cross convert between HDMI and SDI, it can only output the signal via SDI if it receives an SDI signal, and the same is true for HDMI.) The EVF is built with all aluminum construction and the OEYE-3G EVF weighs in at a very manageable 400 grams. Three custom user buttons are available and you can mount the EVF using the ARRI Rosette or two provided 1/4″ holes. There is also a headphone port on the back for monitoring audio. You are limited to a single 7-24V Lemo port for power and some may miss having a battery option. After a quick run-through the menu/UI seems especially intuitive and the peaking seemed great. The OEYE-3G EVF is upgradable through a USB port and includes many free software features right out of the gate such as: 3D LUT Peaking False Color Zebra Waveform Audio Meters Pixel To Pixel zoom Brightness/Contrast
/Chroma/Sharpness
/Tint/
Color Temperature/Backlight adjustments Display/OSD flip H/V Delay Guides, grids, and crosshair Beyond the listed tools you can also add up-to 30 selectable LUTs into the EVF. Finding more information about PortKeys as a company is a little tricky as we haven’t been able to locate much information on the web about them, but the EVF does look promising at first glance. Pricing and Availability: The price for the OEYE-3G EVF is $1,199.00 and the device is expected to ship in early May.