Freewell has announced a new line of quick-release filters for DSLR and Mirrorless systems. The Magnetic Quick-Swap Filter System offers a variety of filters including Circular Polarizer and Neutral Density that snap on and off in seconds. Freewell is not new to the filter industry, better known for filter systems for pro-consumer drones and action cameras. This is their first venture into more conventional filter sizes suitable for Mirrorless and DSLR cameras. Image credit: Freewell How It Works The Magnetic Quick-Swap Filter System promises lightning-fast filter changes, and the clue to its method is in its own name. Rather than the time-consuming approach of threading filters onto the front of your lens, Freewell Quick-Swaps operate utilizing a magnetic system; filters snap on and off in seconds. It does this by provisionally mounting a UV filter to the front of your lens; the filter has the magnetic front component attached to all other quick-swap filters. Freewell has noted in their YouTube video comments from viewers regarding concerns of always going through a UV filter, however, the company states that the system does not impair image quality. Image credit: Freewell What Filters Are Available Current filters available in the Quick-Swap system: ND64 (6 stops) ND1000 (10 stops) Circular Polarizer (CP) Light Pollution Reduction (NV) End Cap* *The end cap serves as a normal lens cap with the addition of utilizing the same magnetic mounting system as the filters. Image credit: Freewell The current filter line up is set up more intimately for photographers – a full range of neutral density filters, as well as a variable ND, would be useful for videographers. The Magnetic Quick-Snap Filter system is available in 67mm, 72mm 77mm, and 82mm. You can also step up through conventional step up rings, and double stack if you wish to use existing filters, as all Freewell Quick-Swap filters have a threaded front. Image credit: Freewell My Thoughts This is not the first time we have seen magnetic filter systems, and they’re no doubt a concept of high interest for self-shooters that demand fast operation from their kit. (Xume magnetic filter concept by Manfrotto offers a similar solution). As mentioned, Freewell needs to expand its lineup to make this a solid option for video work; a filter-less magnetic mount would be useful also for pure-use with other filter systems. The starting price of $99 a filter is attractive, but to truly benefit from the quick-swap system, multiple purchases to cover your wider lens package is advised.

A large network of Hollywood’s biggest filmmakers and studios are supporting “Filmmaker Mode” – a new TV setting that will enable films to be displayed the way they were intended to be seen. Filmmaker Mode will look to disable all post-processing commonly found in modern televisions, in a hope to simplify how a consumer can view films the way they were supposed to. LG, Panasonic and Vizio are amongst the electronics companies to partner with the UHD Alliance (UHDA) who will look to standardize the new TV setting. We’re looking forward to see this new setting find its way into all their new television sets – and it remains to be seen if all the manufacturers will fulfill their promise to completely disable all their image manipulation settings once the “Filmmaker Mode” is switched on. Prominent Support from Hollywood Veterans & Industry Giants The growth of consumer electronic technology, along with an increased level of home screen viewing has led top names within the industry to make their opinion known. Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Rian Johnson, JJ Abrams, Ryan Coogler amongst many more have endorsed Filmmaker Mode. The list of UHDA members is growing, including the likes of Amazon, Dell, Dolby, Google, Intel, Panasonic, Philips, Paramount, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Warner Brothers. With a roster this large and star-studded endorsements it can only be assumed that things will move pretty wide and fast. Why do we need this? As a consumer it can be very easy to become lost with the caverns of multi-standard consumer electronics. Dynamic contrast, Motion Smoothing, Color Enhancement – all buzzword settings that a regular consumer would naturally seek to enable. Or rather, not disable – in many cases, all those settings are enabled by default in televisions. It is also often not easy to find out which settings actually alters the image and which one doesn’t – Filmmaker Mode was created to make that process easy, switching the look of content to the way it’s “coming into the TV” without any additional alterations. Only the savvy or people within our industry will know that the result is often a lot of unnecessary post-processed colour, brightness and clarity boosting, often with merged frames, odd aspect ratios and pushed contrast levels. “I care deeply about how cinema is experienced at home because that’s where it lives the longest. With Filmmaker Mode, we can collectively help make the consumer experience more like it is in the cinema.”, says Ryan Coogler. Are you suffering like we do when you see a TV which has “motion smoothing” enabled? Have you spent hours explaining to your parents why the settings on their TV are wrong? Let us know in the comments below. 

The cmotion Cinefade VariND system is now available for purchase, a previous hire-only package that utilizes revolutionary technology to wirelessly control neutral density. It was two years ago at CineGear 2017 where we interviewed founder Oliver Janesch Christiansen on the original cmotion Cinefade VariND system. This year they have announced a purchase-friendly package, no longer requiring a specialist technician to operate. The technology is revolutionary – it is one of the few systems to offer mechanical changing neutral density. It does so through two circular polarizing filters – a motorized polarizer and a static polarizer. When worked in conjunction they offer a variable neutral density filter. The system is built around the cmotion focus ecosystem. When paired with cmotion motors and controller you can wirelessly control the level of neutral density. What’s smart about the system is it can slave to your iris motor, making exposure changes seamless. This is a unique effect in itself – being able to control depth of field independently from exposure; blur the background more or less without changing the exposure. The motorized variable ND alone is great for saving time with filter changes or when filter changes are very tricky due to hard-to-reach camera body (steadicam, techocrane etc.). A handy bi-product of the system is a motorized polarizer (just using the single filter). The full-filter system is designed to work with 2-stages on a 4X5 compatible mattebox. The LBUS cable peripherals work with ARRI and cmotion systems. In more compact solutions, it can just require power via LBUS, and you can control ND levels on the motorized polarizer filter itself. The level of neutral density starts at 1.5 stops (approx. ND.4) and can provide up to 8 stops ND, with an optical safe range (reduced color shift) of 5 stops. See below handy graph. CineGear will once again be a platform for checking out the Cinefade system, now in purchase form. Pricing as follows: cmotion Cinefade VariND (motorized and static polarizer with case) €7980/$8885 +tax. cmotion cPRO Motor Kit (cPRO hand unit, cPRO motor & accessories) €7280/$8100+tax cmotion cPRO Camin Kit (cPRO hand unit, cPRO camin & accessories) €5980/$6655+tax What do you think, will this catch on? Can you see yourself using variable ND filters for your productions on a regular basis, when shooting on high-end cinema cameras?

Vocas has announced a new 5-axis diopter holder. Offering up precise positioning control of varied diopter lenses. There is quite the variety of types of diopters now available – standard, split field, strip, letter box, effects vary from simply reducing the focus distance of your lens, to offering specific or split focus within your frame. The Vocas 5-axis diopter holder enables you to have more control over these filters, offering up adjustment for pitch, roll, yaw, vertical and horizontal shift. Each axis can be controlled independently and accurately; you can precise dial in your desired position of your diopter filter. The Vocas 5-axis Diopter Holder has built in 15mm compact rod support, but will ship with a 19mm adaptor also. It also has a thread on the top for mounting accessories. It will work with any 138mm round filter, the industry-standard format for diopter filters. It’s a specialist bit of kit for sure, but one that will find more than one use. Macro DP/photographers will enjoy the refined control you now get with close up lenses. Of course there is the traditional use of split diopters (and now any combination in-between) where foreground and background elements of your frame remain in focus (Spielberg’s Jaws being a classic example). You can also use them in perhaps a less-conventionally-considered way in creating interesting foreground detail elements; utilizing the fact there’s a nice chunk of light refracting glass in front of your lens. If you are heading to CineGear later in the week, the 5-axis Diopter Holder will be will be there for you to check out. We’ll take a look at it in one of our site videos. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below.

The SmallHD Cine 7 is a new on-camera monitor supporting advanced camera control via touchscreen display for Arri, RED and Sony. Furthermore, there’s a new 702 touch monitor which is a refined and upgraded model of the popular 702 bright. Another day another SmallHD monitor… There’s a plethora of them out there, but rather than bolstering an existing line, the SmallHD Cine 7 offers something completely new – integrated camera control via touchsreen. SmallHD Cine 7 Monitor Currently compatible with ARRI Alexa Mini and Amira, but future compatibility is also promised for RED and Sony. The Cine 7 is a 1800 nit, daylight viewable display with 100% DCI-P3 coverage. The advanced camera control allows you to change settings such as white balance, shutter angle, exposure index and record start/stop through the 7” touchscreen display. It does so through Ethernet connection; there’s a full size port on the bottom, along with other peripherals like SDI in/out HDMI in/out, 10-34V, 2A DC power via 2 pin Lemo, SD card and 3.5mm headphone jack. Additional power options are available through a removable battery bracket, V lock, Gold Mount and Sony L series are all supported through individual mounts. The removable battery bracket also allows for compatibility with Teradek wireless systems; TX and RX versions will both become available. Like all current SmallHD monitors the Cine 7 supports OS3, meaning on top of the advanced camera control you get all the software tools from SmallHD for exposure and focus aids, overlay features and LUT support. I will update this article with links when they are available, but pricing looks to retail at $1799 with a Gold Mount or V Lock battery mount, wireless options starting from $2749, and the ARRI camera control feature requiring a separate license. SmallHD 702 Touch The new 702 touch monitor is a refined and upgraded version of the popular 702 bright series. It sports 1500nits of brightness, comes in an upgraded chassis and sits just under the new flagship Cine 7 model in terms of functionality. It obviously lacks the camera control features but still offers HDMI and SDI in/out and –as the name suggests– a high resolution touch display. It also offers upgraded DCI-P3 gamut in comparison to the REC 709 of the 702 bright. The whole unit sits in a unibody design and comes with a total of four 1/4-20 mounting which is always nice to have. You can power the 702 touch with either 10-34V DC through its dedicated power input or via the included dual Sony L-series battery mount. That mount can be swapped out with either a Gold Mount or V-mount battery plate, too. All the OS3 software tools are available with this monitor, of course. Links: SmallHD Cine 7 | 702 touch What do you think? Share your comments in the comments section below!

Zacuto has announced the Kameleon, a new Micro EVF featuring higher pixel density, Lemo power input as well as supporting both HDMI and SDI. (This product was previously sold as JTZ Kameleon X01K) EDIT: Zacuto contacted us and gave us the following additional information: The top says it was previously sold as JTZ. That isn’t accurate- it’s not the same product because the Kameleon is redesigned quite a bit and improved over the test preproduction run that was known as the X01K. We made lots of software changes, optic improvements, Zacuto’s anti-fog, eyecup and much more. Zacuto has been in the Electronic View Finder (EVF) game for some years now. Previous to this announcement they had three in their line – The Gratical HD, Gratical X and Gratical Eye. The new Kameleon breaks naming convention, sharing features from both the Gratical Eye and Gratical HD. The Kameleon 1920X1080p display is the highest pixel count yet from Zacuto. With a screen resolution of 3103 PPI/ 6.5 million pixels versus 2687/5.4 to all Gratical models. It still has a contrast ratio of 10,000:1, 60Hz refresh rate and 24-bit RGB color depth. The suggested retail price of $1950 puts it right inline with the current price of the Gratical Eye, the major featuring difference being the additional HDMI port (that accepts 4K). The Kameleon is new in ergonomics, closest in size to the Gratical Eye, mostly down to the fact it does not account for a battery solution (Like the Gratical HD/X), a 4-pin Lemo powers the Kameleon with a voltage range of 7-20V. The inclusion of a HDMI port will likely be the most significant feature – this was removed for the Gratical Eye, but unlike the 4-ports (SDI in/out, HDMI in/out) found on the Gratical HD, the Kameleon features one SDI and one HDMI. Also added is a USB-C port. A joystick plus 4 hot-keys on the top controls the Zacuto menu system, hosting multiple features for exposure & focus assistance, as well as anamorphic squeezes, frame line, custom scaling audio meters and 1D & 3S LUT imports. Other physical features include a diopter ring plus additional drop in diopters, anti-fog lens, auto-closing eyecups and an ARRI rosette on both sides for mounting. To sum this all up, the Zacuto Kameleon comes with an improved pixel density screen, sitting a little under the Gratical HD by losing the battery solution and extra HDMI and SDI ports, but gains HDMI and USC-C on the Gratical Eye whilst maintaining it’s price point. What do you think about the Zacuto Kameleon EVF? Are you in the market for a new viewfinder? What do you think of their Gratical products?

Lindsey Optics has announced an update to their super speedy Brilliant² Tray Mount Close-Up lens. The +1 Diopter now has the profile of just a single tray. In July last year we highlighted the Tray Mount Diopter Set – a product that combines a 138mm diopter filter with conventional 4X6.65” tray mount. Combining the filter and tray saves time on set; switching between diopter stages can be quite a time consuming task for camera assistants. Lindsey Optics has now refined the +1 diopter into a single stage, meaning it now aligns with the lesser +1/4 and +1/2 increments: +¼ / +½ +1 – Thickness of 1 stage +2 – Thickness of 2 stages +3 – Thickness of 3 stages It’s fairly significant as many matteboxes are 2-3 stages. Conventional diopter trays are 2 stages, meaning only one is left for other filtration. Magnifications up to +1 are generally the more popular choice with diopters, +2 or more is generally considered for more specific purposes. So with the Lindsey Optics Diopter set you’re now mostly using just a single stage for diopters, leaving one for ND and one spare for creative (Black Pro Mist etc). Freeing up a bit of time and a mattebox tray stage are nice little on-set wins; they all add up on the day. Links below for full set kits as well as single +1 stage. Are you using diopters or are you looking into it? Let us know in the comments below!

Samyang recently announced their first venture into the Canon RF world. The Samyang MF 14mm F/2.8 RF and Samyang MF 85mm f/1.4 RF will be the first in line for native compatibility with the Canon EOS R Mirrorless cameras. The new mirrorless line from Canon brought a new mount – RF mount is much more compact due to not needing to account for a large mirrorbox found on DSLRs. The result is a much shorter flange distance than Canon EF. Canon themselves announced an EF to RF mount alongside the first Canon EOS R camera, but that won’t stop third party manufactures making more practical native-compatible lenses. The first offerings from Samyang are two manual focus, wide aperture primes – the MF 14mm f/2.8 RF and the MF 85mm f/1.4 RF. Looking at the design and specification of these lenses, they use the structure of existing Samyang lenses, just with the longer back end to account for the shorted flange distance. Samyang MF 14mm F2.8 RF Specification Aperture range : 2.8-22 Construction 14 elements in 10 groups Coating UMC Min Focus Distance 0.28m (0.92ft) Mag. Ratio x 0.08 Aperture Blades 6 Angle of View 115.7˚ Weight 800g Samyang MF 85mm F2.8 RF Specification Aperture range : 1.4-22 Construction 9 elements in 7 groups Coating UMC Min Focus Distance 1m (3.3ft) Mag. Ratio x 0.09 Aperture Blades 8 Angle of View 28.3˚ Weight 730g Both are naturally compatible with the full frame sensor format, and are weather sealed “from light rain and snow”, the rubber gasket on the rear also helps with lens-body stability. Expect many more from Samyang here, they have a wealth of manual focus primes that I’m sure will receive the same rehoused treatment to allow native compatibility for Canon RF Mount. Article will be updated with pricing, but current similar Samyang lenses in other mounts are both sub $300. In other Samyang news, the lens we saw back at Photokina 2018 that the Korean company bill “the world’s widest no-distortion full frame lens” has been officially announced. The XP 10mm f/3.5 covers up to 130° angle of view, is constructed from 18 elements in 11 groups, will be available in the Spring (Canon mount first, then Nikon) and cost around €1099. What do you think of the new lenses? Let us know in the comments below.