Just before Cine Gear 2019, Panasonic has announced a significant price drop for their Super35 cinema camera, the Varicam LT. During the show, we visited Panasonic’s booth and talked with Mitch Gross about the price drop. The camera body is now selling for US$9,995. This price actually gets you a ready-to-shoot package with I/O ports, a battery plate, a Canon EF mount, and a control display. The Panasonic Varicam LT was introduced around 3 and half years ago. With that camera, Panasonic was aiming to provide a lightweight alternative (or companion) to the Varicam 35. For more information about the Varicam LT, check our older articles: Varicam LT announced and Hands-on and exclusive footage. Just before the Cine Gear 2019 show, Panasonic has announced a significant price drop for the camera, valid through the end of September 2019 – from US$16,500 the price dropped to US$9,995. Panasonic Varicam LT Price Drop Explained Mitch Gross from Panasonic told us that the reason to lower the price of the camera is based on market research. He spoke about the psychology of buying a camera body. By reducing the price of the Varicam LT, Panasonic is hoping to attract more customers by being in a different, “10,000-ish” price category. Panasonic Varicam LT With cinema cameras it is often necessary to spend another couple of thousands for accessories in order to be able to film with them, as the camera body often comes without the lens mount, battery plate, I/O ports, etc. Hello, RED? With the Varicam LT, the situation is much better. For less then $10k, customers will basically get a ready-to-shoot Varicam LT package. It consists of the camera body, a Canon EF lens mount, I/O ports, a battery plate, and a control display, which can be used as a monitor. Just add appropriate media, lens and battery, and you can start shooting. Sure, for serious work, you will have to get additional accessories (at least an EVF), but it is nice to see that the camera comes with all the vital parts already. B&H buy link: Panasonic Varicam LT Was: $16,500.00  Now: $9,995.00 (Savings: $6,505.00) CVP (Europe) buy link: Panasonic Varicam LT Was: €14,408.98  Now: €8,914.40 (Savings: €5,494.58) (By shopping at our affiliate partners’ stores you are supporting cinema5D through our buy links, as we get a small affiliate commission when a purchase is completed.) The control display is included with the Varicam LT body. Mitch Gross further assured us that the Varicam LT will keep getting better with future firmware updates, which will be free of charge. Panasonic does not plan on replacing the Varicam LT anytime soon. They believe in this system and they will keep updating it. This is definitely an important statement when considering to invest in the camera system. What do you think of the Varicam LT price drop? Are you considering to invest in the Varicam system now? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

After a successful Kickstarter to fund the 100-C, Hive Lighting is expanding their LED lineup with the 575-C. In terms of output, the light is roughly a 1 to 1 (in terms of watts) equivalent to a 575 watt HMI (or a 2,000 W Incandescent), and is compatible with all C-series accessories. This is welcome news for those who look to the Hive Lighting LED line for quality single point hard color fixtures. Details below:  While RGB panel lights are certainly having their moment, Hive Lighting occupies a unique segment within the LED community of lights. Previously the drawback to these lights was that their output ceiling was the equivalent of a 1K tungsten fixture (with the Hornet 200-C) and that makes lighting large multi-subject scenes tricky.  At 5 ft, Hive Lighting rates the 575-C at a 4,500fc or 51,667 lux — which is a ton of punch and roughly 2.5 times brighter than the 200-C. Even at 575 watts we still don’t have quite the punch needed for placing these lights outside of windows during a daylight scene. For that, you’d want a 1600 or an 1800 watt+ HMI or something in the realm of a 4K or 5K+ tungsten unit. However, the fact that Hive Lighting has continued to push the output envelope while remaining compatible with their full line of accessories is welcome news. Here is a list of technical highlights from the 575-C: 4″ x 11″ and 5.5 lbs. Head 10″ x  9″ x  4″ and 9 lbs. Power Supply 550 Watts 90 – 264 VAC Profoto Mount Compatible (just like other C-Series lights) Hive C-Series Accessories Compatible 0-100% dimming Wired and Wireless DMX (Lumen Radio/CRMX) Bluetooth App for iPhone and Android increased range. Preset Effects Planned Price Point: Somewhere in the realm of $5,000 depending on the retailer. What do you think? Does the increased output make the Hive Lighting range more attractive for your next project? Let us know in the comments below!  

Old Fast Glass talks about finding inspiration from vintage glass, how to identify a good quality lens and most importantly look after it. Old Fast Glass is dedicated to sourcing vintage and rare lenses and making them usable for cinematographers that are after a specific look and feel to the images. The popularity of using vintage lenses continues to grow, with so many different brands, models and looks being sought after. This is definitely thanks to manual 35mm stills lenses that cover the full frame image circle, and widely available mount adapters. Buying A Vintage Lens? What To Look For Focus Shift – as you turn from minimum focus to infinity, you shouldn’t see the whole image shift or move Haze or Fog – shine a torch or flash light through the lens and look out for a hazy sheen or fungus over the elements. This will result in a very low contrast image, but this might be what you’re after. Lens coatings and scratches are easy to look out for, in which you should probably look for an alternative copy of that lens. If you are looking to build a set of lenses, checking these features or characteristics is important for keeping the image consistent between lenses. What About Maintaining Your Vintage Glass? Servicing vintage lenses is a key factor to ensuring they are performing to the best optical quality. There are plenty of dedicated lens servicing companies out there that can do this (maybe don’t try taking your favourite lens apart at home). They can ensure that there is enough grease on the focus mechanisms to checking element alignment. Key aspects of lens maintenance so they perform to their best. Thinking of Cine-Modding? Once you have your favourite vintage lens or lenses, cine-modding lenses is the next step to bring a stills lens into the cinema world. Companies like Duclos Lenses and TLS (UK) can rehouse that glass into a cine lens body; with a longer, marked focus throw with gears, alternate mounts such as PL, and a de-clicked aperture. “Capturing A Romanticied Version of the World” Mark from Old Fast Glass summed using old lenses for cinematography up perfectly with that statement. The unique aspects of each vintage lens changes the perspective of what is captured, from contrast to sharpness, some would say the ‘filmic look’. Vintage lens users know the images captured won’t be perfect, as it’s the age, defects and uniqueness that result in the image character. For beginners, using old ‘vintage’ glass is an accessible and cheap way of building up a collection of lenses. For creatives and cinematographers, the unique character and feel of the lens makes all the difference; look at the popularity of the Helios 44-2 with it’s swirly bokeh for example. What is wonderful, is that as long as the glass is looked after and in some case cine-modded, they will be around forever. Do you shoot with vintage lenses? What is your favourite old lens or lenses to use and why? Let us know in the comments?

The ALPA XO exoskeleton is a cage designed for the newly announced FUJIFILM GFX 100 medium format camera. This cage will have a 15mm rods support, a top handle and a PL-mount adapter. ALPA is planning to introduce more accessories for the GFX 100 in the future, under the ALPA XO brand. ALPA XO Exoskeleton – Cage for FUJIFILM GFX 100 ALPA is a Swiss camera manufacturer with a long history. The company has been recently specializing in premium accessories for medium format cameras. You might have seen their products on cinema5D in form of the custom housing for the Hasselblad H6D-100C medium format digital back. As you probably already know, FUJIFILM have recently announced their new flagship medium format camera – the GFX 100 (our hands-on article is available here). ALPA reacted quickly and launched the ALPA XO, which is planned to be a line of accessories for that camera. ALPA XO – GFX 100 Exoskeleton According to ALPA, the ALPA XO will be a line of accessories, all dedicated to the FUJIFILM GFX 100. The company did not yet disclose all of their planned accessories, but it seems like the first one is going to be a cage for the GFX 100 – or as ALPA calls it: “exoskeleton”. ALPA XO Exoskeleton – Cage for FUJIFILM GFX 100 Unfortunately, there is not a lot of information about the cage yet, apart from a few images. It looks like the ALPA XO cage will have a support for 15mm rods on the bottom and a top handle. A lot of 1/4-inch and a few 3/8-inch threads are a sure thing. The cage leaves the GFX 100 grip on the right side uncovered. As the camera itself is already quite bulky, I think it is a good decision to leave the grip uncovered for better handling, also with smaller hands. What caught my interest as well is the mount. It seems like ALPA will offer a custom PL mount lens adapter with the ALPA XO. There are no specifications yet about the adapter either. ALPA XO Exoskeleton – Cage for FUJIFILM GFX 100 At the moment, there is no information about the price or availability of the exoskeleton cage, but you can subscribe to the ALPA newsletter and stay updated. What do you think of the FUJIFILM GFX 100 and the ALPA XO cage? Are you planning to explore medium format cinematography once the camera gets released? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

SmallHD’s 13RX and 17RX monitors with integrated wireless transmission were revealed at Cine Gear 2019, enabling bright, flexible focus pulling and video monitoring with zero-delay. The two popular monitors now have integrated Teradek Sidekick wireless receivers, while the design of which has not increased the weight or size of the units. The 13RX and 17RX are compatible with many Teradek Bolt devices (Bolt 500, 1000 and 3000), and the 13RX is compatible with Teradek RT lens data, which can be overlaid on the screen. Best of all: zero-delay monitoring. Perfect for accurate focus pulling and monitoring critical moments of action. Daylight Viewing and Colour Gamuts There are minor differences between the SmallHD 13RX model and the 17RX model, which show where the monitors could fit into an existing production or pipeline. Both monitors display in 1920×1080 resolution, with the 13RX model rated at 1500 nits (ideal for daylight viewing), whereas the 17RX is rated at 1000 nits. Both models are usable in bright, outdoor shooting scenarios. The colour gamut differs between both models, where the 13RX displays 93% NTSC. The 17RX displays DCI-P3 100% gamut of the 17RX, which is leaning towards video village use for on set dailies and DIT grading previews. Trusted OS3 Software Both, the SmallHD 13RX and 17RX have the OS3 software installed, which includes the trusted monitoring features like customizable frame guides, customizable scopes and pages, and of course 3D LUT overlays. The monitor updates are simple, but effective in terms of reducing the setup time, cabling and power. Any updates that reduce that time or the amount of kit required for a shoot is a benefit to productions, rentals and studios. Does the SmallHD 13RX or 17RX integrate into your current setup? Can you see yourself using the production monitors on your future shoots? Let us know in the comments.

Accessories manufacturer Wooden Camera has had several iterations of their popular directors monitor cage over the years and they just debuted their third version of the cage at Cine Gear 2019. We had a chance to give the new cage a try with the help of Wooden Camera President, Ryan Schorman. Details below:  With manufactures like SmallHD adding handles to many of their Focus and Bolt lines of monitors, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that many companies (notably Convergent Design and Atomos) still need suitable rigging to make their monitors easy to handle. The new Director’s Monitor Cage v3 works with any monitor up-to 9 inches (measured diagonally) and also leaves room for several wireless video receivers behind a handy swing away back battery panel. Wooden Camera has moved away from the wooden handles of the v2 and towards a more maneuverable carbon fiber handle design (image below) with the v3. Perhaps a name change to Carbon Fiber Camera is in the works? Either way, the new handles are a welcome change, though perhaps less stylish than their predecessors. The single monitor version of the cage includes a wide variety of accessories such as: Offset Adapters Lots of 1/4-20 Mounting Points Sunshade (easily attached with a snap button system) Gold Mount/V-Mount Screws Neck Strap Convergent Design Mounting Screws The Director’s Monitor Cage v3 also comes in a dual monitor configuration, but that is slightly more expensive ($599) versus the single monitor version ($299). This obviously isn’t a full field review, but at first glance, this seems like a solid option for those with older SmallHD monitors that don’t include handles and an integrated video receiver or for those using monitors that require a bit of rigging. What do you think? Will the Director’s Monitor Cage v3 find a space in your kit? Is it worth upgrading from the v3? Comment below!

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!

Following the announcement of the Panasonic LUMIX S1H, Panasonic has also announced the release of a firmware update for the LUMIX S1 to expand its video capabilities. Part of the announcement are also 1.4x and 2x teleconverters for LUMIX S telephoto zoom lenses. Finally, for Micro-Four-Thirds shooters, there is a new LEICA DG VARIO-SUMMILUX 10-25mm F/1.7 ASPH lens. Panasonic Firmware Update for LUMIX S1 We have already reported about the Panasonic LUMIX S1 paid firmware update and the wait is over. Screen grab from Panasonic’s press event @ Cine Gear 2019. The upgrade software key (codename: DMW-SFU2) unlocks following features: V-Log recording with up to 14+ stops of Dynamic Range. V-Log and V-Gamut are compatible with Cinema VariCam Look 4:2:2 10-bit 4K MOV up to 30 frames per second internal video recording 4:2:2 10-bit 4K up to 60 frames per second via HDMI output In-camera LUT application enabling playback of V-Log while or after recording (LUT Display with Custom Function) A Waveform Monitor to help you judge your exposure High-res 48-kHz/24-bit or 96-kHz/24-bit sound can be recorded in MOV using the XLR Microphone Adaptor DMW-XLR1 The DMW-SFU2 upgrade software key will be available in July 2019 and will cost $199. New Teleconverters for LUMIX S Telephoto Zoom Lenses Panasonic has also introduced a 1.4x teleconverter (codename: DMW-STC14) and 2x teleconverter (codename: DMW-STC20). Both are compatible with S series telephoto lenses and especially the LUMIX S PRO 70-200 F/4.0 OIS. Indeed, they are also compatible with the 70-200mm F/2.8 S series lens that should come out later this year. Screen grab from Panasonic’s press event @ Cine Gear 2019. The new 1.4x teleconverter transforms your 70-200mm lens into a 98-280mm, while the 2x version converts it to a 140-400mm glass. The teleconverters are dust/splash-resistant and the autofocus continues to work even with the teleconverter. Like every teleconverter, a light loss of 1 stop or more is to be expected, but we don’t have more information on that. LEICA DG VARIO-SUMMILUX 10-25mm F/1.7 ASPH Last but not least, Panasonic doesn’t forget Micro Four Third shooters. The new 10-25mm is a standard zoom lens with a constant F/1.7 aperture (35mm camera equivalent to a 20-50mm). See our initial report here. Screen grab from Panasonic’s press event @ Cine Gear 2019. Could this lens become the new standard zoom lens, instead of the LUMIX X 12-35mm F/2.8 ASPH? Except for the price – the LUMIX 12-35mm currently costs around $990.00, and the LEICA 10-25mm will be way above that, see details below. The LEICA DG VARIO-SUMMILUX 10-25mm F/1.7 ASPH is a premium lens, perfectly suitable for day to day shooting situations and run-and-gun scenarios. The lens features 17 elements in 12 groups, with three aspherical lenses and four extra-low dispersion lenses to reduce axial, spherical and chromatic aberrations. The autofocus mechanism is internal; it should be quick and accurate. By pulling the focus ring towards you, you can switch to manual focus quickly. Note that the manual focus ring is not electronic like with the 12-35mm, and there is a manual focus clutch. Also, Panasonic claims that there is a “mechanism that suppresses focus breathing” inside the lens. For filmmakers, the aperture ring is step-less for precise adjustments, and the 9 aperture blades should provide pleasing, round bokeh. The filter diameter is 77mm. The lens is dust/splash-resistant and you can even use it in cold environments, at up to -10 degrees Celsius. The first zoom lens in that range that comes to my mind is the famous Sigma 18-35mm F/1.8 (or F/1.4 with a Metabones Speedbooster on a Micro Four Thirds camera). Pricing and performance cannot be compared of course, but this new LEICA DG VARIO-SUMMILUX 10-25mm F/1.7 ASPH seems impressive. In terms of price and availability, the 10-25mm F/1.7 ASPH will retail for around $1.800 and will be available mid-July this year. What do you think of these new announcements from Panasonic? Do you consider upgrading your S1? Do you think you’ll get the 10-25mm as your standard zoom lens? Let us know in the comments down below!