The campaingn’s founder, Ryan Stout, claims that Arsenal is an intelligent camera assistant. The DSLR add-on helps you capture the perfect shot every time with the help of image analysis and machine learning. With the accompanying app for your smartphone you end up with an actual smart DSLR. Let’s have a look! Meet Arsenal There is a new gadget in town. Well, almost – but if you happen to be brave enough for another Kickstarter campaign, the Arsenal might be worth a closer look. The so-far very successful campaign is about to hit the home stretch and the product itself looks very promising: a tiny device which is connected 1) to your DSLR via USB and 2) to your smartphone wirelessly. The unit is programmed with thousands of images which are then compared to the current framing of your DSLR. It adjusts several settings accordingly in order to get the perfect shot, so all you have to do is frame your picture and the Arsenal will take care of the (technical) rest – just like an actual camera assistant. Too good to be true, right? Different Modes The Arsenal is capable of several shooting modes: HDR stacking, long exposures, focus stacking, you name it. The good thing is, you don’t have to think about it. All you have to do is let your creativity flow while Arsenal takes care of the technical execution. Here is a list of things the Arsenal algorithms process while striving for that perfect shot: Compares current scene with thousands of past images using a convolutional deep neural network (the same algorithm used in self driving cars) Optimizes settings based on 18 different factors Avoids settings that produce weak images on your specific camera and lens Uses image recognition to identify subject-specific needs (e.g. fast shutter for birds) Shows safe ranges for each setting based on situational constraints (e.g. vibration) Gives you the ability to change the settings you care about most Controlling the Arsenal is easy: just download the android or iOS app and you’re good to go. All the settings can be accessed and changed via the app, and you’ll get a live preview from your DSLR and a convenient viewer for the pictures you’ve already taken. And since we’re living in a social-media world, you can upload your hero shots straight from the app, of course. The most interesting feature for me personally is the ability to create fully-automated timelapses. Even the so-called holy grail (transition from day to night or vice versa) is supported. I’m very curious how well the Arsenal handles that tricky type of timelapse! Specifications, Pricing and Availability The Arsenal supports a whole range of DSLRs. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, they are all aboard. Check out this webpage and search for your DSLR make and model. The campaign is live until Thursday, June 22th 2017 4PM CEST. While writing this, the “Get Arsenal – Kickstarter Exclusive” tier is still available. That one will set you back $150. The estimated delivery date is January 2018. Just a word of warning: This is still a Kickstarter campaign, not a retail offer, so naturally there are risks. I had a few disappointing Kickstarter experiences myself, so be advised! If you love the thrill, go get one. If you want to play it safe, wait until the actual product is ready and check if it still pleases your needs. If so, go and get one for a slightly higher price. links: Kickstarter campaign | Website What do you think? Does this look like the gadget you were waiting for? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The new Atomos Sumo was introduced right at the start of NAB 2017, so we couldn’t wait to head over to their booth to talk to them about this 19″ High-Dynamic Range Monitor-Recorder packed with incredible features. NAB 2017 saw an incredible amount of great innovative technologies and Atomos, the renowned company for on-board monitor-recorders, has sure left filmmakers drooling. As the name would state, the Atomos Sumo is an upsized new monitor of a staggering 19″ packed with all the great features from all previous Atomos monitor-recorders. Atomos recognized that, while most current cameras are already able to film high-dynamic range in Log or RAW, it is the viewing panels that still needed to accommodate it. To create an HDR end-to-end workflow, they took a step toward the film industry, bringing out an incredibly affordable monitor-recorder. In a previous announcement article I listed some of the great features that can be found in the Atomos Sumo. Atomos Sumo Tech Specs The Atomos Sumo has a 19” 1920×1080 10-bit LCD panel with 1200nit brightness. It is based on the same architecture as the Atomos Inferno, with 4K60fps, Quadlink and HDMI 2.0, but more is built under the hood. The AtomHDR engine “maps the Log/PQ/HLG from popular cameras, game consoles or TV makers to perfectly resolve 10+ stops of HDR in real time”. The calibration on the Sumo lets you use the i1DisplayPro from X-Rite to always ensure accurate HDR and Rec709 monitoring. It features a VESA mount and an included stand for a variety of mounting configurations, and an optional mounting plate allows you to connect either two V-Lock or Anton Bauer batteries. The Sumo also features a continuous power system that allows for hot-swapping batteries on the go without any power interruption. The two 12v 4-pin connectors are a nice touch to make the Sumo an all-rounder on set. Recording The Sumo can capture 12-bit 4K30p as CDNG or 10-bit Apple ProRes / Avid DNxHR up to 4K60p / 2K240p Raw using the SDI outputs from the Sony FS5/FS7/FS700, Canon C300MKII/C500 or Panasonic Varicam LT. As with previous models, Atomos are sticking with the widely available 2.5″ SSDs that provide an affordable solution for long recording times if you are shooting 4K. If you are shooting HD, a regular 2.5″ hard drive will do. Atomos has partnered with companies such as G-Technology to bring out an off-the-shelf solution called the Angelbird Drive. Live-Switching The Atomos Sumo will be able to incorporate live-switching, a nice feature found in the Convergent Design Apollo. You will be able to switch and mix a live record up to four HD ISO recordings using the QuadLink SDI connections, as well as switch between feeds on screen with cueing, cross fade and hard cuts from the locked sources, or tag and adjust final edits with advanced metadata tagging preserving ISO feeds. This means that the final result is still editable afterwards too. Please note that this feature will become available with a future firmware update. Sumo Connections The 3G QuadLink/6G/12G SDI connections on the Atomos Sumo allow you to connect cameras with multiple 1.5 or 3G SDI outputs without the need for converters, while its HDMI 2.0 connectors support up to 4K60p input/output along with the open protocol that supports HDR automation, including importing of camera settings. There is also support for Genlock and LTC timecode. Balanced XLR Monitor with 48V Phantom Power Now this is pretty cool. Sumo has full-size XLR connections to connect external microphones, and includes 48V phantom power to supply to them. Dedicated meters and adjustments for frame delay and gain, as well as a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack and built-in speakers, complete the package for a true all-in-one recorder. We have been told that the 19” Atomos Sumo will launch in the third quarter of 2017 for approximately US$2,500. Are you excited about the new Atomos Sumo? Please let us know in the comments below.

Atomos has just revealed the Atomos Sumo, a 19″ HDR Monitor-Recorder that can handle 4K 12-bit Raw, 10-bit ProRes/DNxHR, as well as 1080/60p live switching and recording. Atomos Sumo Calibrated Monitor The Atomos Sumo has a 19” 1920×1080 10-bit LCD panel with 1200nit brightness. It is driven by the AtomHDR engine, which “maps the Log/PQ/HLG from popular cameras, game consoles or TV makers to perfectly resolve 10+ stops of HDR in real time”. The calibration on the Sumo lets you use the i1DisplayPro from X-Rite to always ensure accurate HDR and Rec709 monitoring. If you are in need of an HDR monitor for your editing and grading station, Sumo might also prove to be an affordable option. It features a VESA mount and an included stand for a variety of mounting configurations, and an optional mounting plate allows you to connect either two V-Lock or Anton Bauer batteries. The Sumo also features a continuous power system that allows for hot-swapping batteries on the go without any power interruption. Recording The Sumo can capture 12-bit 4K30p as CDNG or 10-bit Apple ProRes / Avid DNxHR up to 4K60p / 2K240p Raw using the SDI outputs of the Sony FS5/FS7/FS700, Canon C300MKII/C500 or Panasonic Varicam LT. As with previous models, Atomos are sticking with widely available 2.5″ SSDs that provide an affordable solution for long recording times. Live-Switching The Atomos Sumo also incorporates live-switching, a nice feature found in the Convergent Design Apollo. Sumo allows you to switch and mix a live record, and stream or record four HD ISO recordings using the QuadLink SDI connections. You are able to switch between feeds on screen with cueing, cross fade and hard cuts from the locked sources, or tag and adjust final edits with advanced metadata tagging preserving ISO feeds. This means that the final result is still editable afterwards too. Sumo Connections Sumo has HDMI 2.0 & 3G QuadLink/6G/12G SDI connections. Quad SDI inputs connect cameras with multiple 1.5 or 3G SDI outputs without the need for converters, while HDMI 2.0 supports up to 4K60p input/output along with the open protocol that supports HDR automation including importing of camera settings. There is also support for Genlock and LTC timecode. Balanced XRL Monitor with 48V Phantom Power Now this is pretty cool. Sumo has full-size XLR connections to connect external microphones, and includes 48V phantom power to supply to them. Dedicated meters and adjustments for frame delay and gain, as well as a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack and built-in speakers, complete the package for a true all-in-one recorder. Alongside Convergent Design, Atomos is at the forefront of Monitor/Recorder technology. The Shogun was a less expensive alternative to the Odyssey 7Q+, and with updates that kept on flooding in, it became an extremely robust and reliable monitor and recorder. Atomos have embraced High Dynamic Range technology in their Atomos Sumo, offering an incredibly affordable new product. Watch out DITs and VT operators, this one is for you! We have been told that the 19” Atomos Sumo will launch in the third quarter of 2017 for approximately US$2,500. Obviously, we have only just gotten word of this new product, and haven’t seen it in person. Our team on the ground at NAB will take a closer look at the Sumo, with an in-depth interview with Atomos for all the details. Stay tuned for more!

HDR is the future, the future is now. Find out why 10-bit color and higher bit-rates will come to consumer and professional imaging devices. The highlight of the new Panasonic GH5 has to be its internal 10-bit 4:2:2 video specs. Despite some issues, Panasonic is the first camera manufacturer to bring 10-bit 4:2:2 4K video to a consumer device, and will soon up the bit-rate to a respectable 400Mbps. It’s really about time, and I hope and predict that this signifies a base-level shift in the minimum accepted (and expected) video standards for other manufacturers moving forward. A move to enable and encourage video acquisition in wider color gamuts with higher dynamic range is a necessary evolutionary step. What is 10-bit color? Whenever you hear a reference to 10-bit color depth, it is referring to video which has 10-bits of luminance information, or 1024 total steps per pixel, per channel. Those can be R, G, B or in most cases Y, Cr, Cb. Chroma subsampling is something different, but also very important. If you want to know more about chroma subsampling (Y, Cr, Cb 4:2:0, 4:2:2, etc) check out my article Getting to Grips with Chroma Subsampling. To be honest, 10-bit color, and even HDR (High Dynamic Range) is nothing new. It has been considered the minimum requirement for color and finishing since the first DPX film scans. Color bit-depth has to do with the number of steps that can be assigned to levels that make up the image in each color channel. A bit has one of two states, on, or off, a binary 1 or 0, white or black. 1-bit: 1 value (0 – 1) 2-bit: 4 values (0 – 3) 4-bit: 16 values (0 – 15) 8-bit: 256 values (0 – 255) For example, a binary word made up of 8-bits offers 256 possible combinations of those eight ones or zeros, and therefore can represent any value between 0 and 255. In terms of luminance information, this translates to a maximum of 256 steps (0 to 255 counting 0 as a value) between black (0%) and white (100%). I went into this a bit further in the context of non-linear gamma encoding in my last article about the new flat / log gamma profile in the latest FiLMiC Pro beta. Actual black point however is usually not 0 but 16, and white point is 235, not 255 for rec709 legal video levels. I haven’t represented an image of a 10-bit gradient above because you wouldn’t be able to see the difference on the device that you are using to read this. It would look identical to the 8-bit gradient above because your device screen and GUI graphics pipeline is probably only capable of displaying 8-bit color depth, as most devices are still 8-bit. The differences to the end viewer between 8-bit and 10-bit color depth are minimal to unnoticeable when viewing a traditional rec709 gamut on 99% of our various screen types and devices. However, when expanding dynamic range, not only at acquisition, but at the end-user display – whether a TV, a smartphone, laptop or in cinema – the bit-depth of the original camera files, post workflow and the final deliverables for playback become very important. When you grab the white end of that gradient shown above and stretch it further to an even brighter white value (extending dynamic range), the steps obviously also get stretched out, so you want more steps to keep it smooth. Keep in mind that just as non-linear gamma encoding in camera means we assign more of these steps to the lows and mids and fewer to the highlights, but then reverse this curve when color grading it back to rec709, the same principle applies to HDR, only that it stays more stretched out since rec2020 covers a much greater range. Beyond Rec709 Up until now, within the fairly limited color gamut and range of the rec709 standard set for HDTV, 8-bit has been the norm particularly for delivery, but also for acquisition at a consumer and prosumer level. We’ve even pushed the limits further by implementing log or “flat” non-linear gamma profiles in camera, which assign more of these values to the shadows and mid-tones and fewer values into the highlights of the image. However, 256 values between 0% and 100% luminance is not nearly enough when expanding the total dynamic range of luminance – or brightness – that we want to faithfully record, or even deliver in the end to a HDR-capable display. By adding an additional two bits of data to each channel, we quadruple the total number of values per channel to 1024, which means we can now assign levels 0 – 1023. This results in the ability to record a higher overall range of luminance values, or contrast ratio (dynamic range), and a wider color gamut. A Consumer Shift What makes this different from the last major shift from SD to HD is that it’s being led far more aggressively and quickly by consumer television manufacturers. Prices of UHD HDR capable televisions have dropped and will soon be available to fit almost every budget. UHD HDR televisions are already in many living rooms and home theatres, despite the fact that content creators, broadcasters and technical delivery standards are trailing far behind consumer adoption. Consumer television sales and the associated marketing of UHD and HDR as the next major leap in the home entertainment experience are driving demand ahead of the entertainment industry at large. It could be that we see an adoption of HDR-capable imaging and display in consumer devices such as tablets and smartphones enabling home user generated HDR content on a consumer scale before many professional content creators, their tools, workflow and delivery channels have caught up. Challenges and Solutions Many digital cinema cameras have been shooting files and formats that meet and surpass the requirements for UHD and HDR finishing and delivery for many years. However, the champions of the “DSLR” video revolution, and subsequently mirrorless cameras, as well as prosumer-level video cameras and camcorders have been left behind in an 8-bit H.264 limbo. The challenges facing camera manufacturers are multi-faceted: some are commercial in nature, some technical. Many manufacturers are reluctant to bring what they consider more advanced, professional imaging capabilities to entry or mid-level products that could threaten a higher range, more expensive line of cameras. It is no surprise that Panasonic are the first with the GH5, as they have nothing to lose, no other products to protect. However, all the other big names in our industry will soon have no choice if they want to remain competitive in the market. Some challenges are technical. More image information, whether it is in the form of resolution, color depth, frame rate, or any possible combination of factors means nothing if it is not recorded and reproduced faithfully. This extra information has to be processed, requiring more powerful processing in camera. It must also be recorded, and whether spatial and/or temporal compression is involved or not (raw recording for instance), recorded bit rates must be higher, and recorded files larger. This requires higher bandwidth (faster), and higher capacity recording media. All of this often results in more heat that must be dissipated from the camera, and higher power consumption. Inevitable Compromises Sony have just announced their update to expand HDR production capabilities to existing products implementing HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma). This update also brings the HLG picture profile to the FS5 and Z150 camcorders, though still at only 8-bit color depth with 4:2:0 chroma sub sampling in XAVC at 4K internally. This is the only thing they could do within the internal recording limitations of these cameras, but it’s a compromised transitional solution at best. Using an external recorder will be the best way to take advantage of this HLG workflow. What manufacturers need to do is adopt 10-bit 4:2:2 all-intra encoding at suitably higher bit rates as a minimum for video in all new camera platforms from consumer mirrorless cameras and all camcorders up the entire product range. Keep Your Eyes on Smartphones FiLMiC Pro v6 LOG curve option As unlikely as it may sound, it’s worth keeping your eyes on new camera technology and video features being developed for smartphones. With absolutely nothing to lose, and everything to gain, smartphone manufacturers are fighting harder and more aggressively than ever for a greater share of the mass consumer market. This is already resulting in capabilities matching many dedicated professional video cameras. I would not be surprised if we see more robust 10-bit, high bit-rate, HDR-ready codecs come to mobile devices before some of the big traditional players bite the bullet and increase the internal recording abilities of their camcorders. High-end digital cinema camera manufacturers aside (a different market), the entry-level and mid-level professional large sensor camera manufacturers may lose out by responding too slowly – or not at all – to increasing market demands for even higher resolutions, higher frame rates, advanced high bit-rate codecs, high color bit-depth, and HDR capabilities at consumer friendly prices. If the established players we know and love (or love to hate at times) don’t shift their thinking and act quickly, it’s not impossible to imagine the consumer and prosumer video camera going the way of the digital compact camera, victim to the Darwinian evolutionary dominance of the multi-camera, computational imaging-equipped smartphone.

The new 34-foot HDR LED cinema display from Samsung aims to offer impressive performance for a new age of the cinema viewing experience. Samsung’s latest unveiling in cinema technology has clearly been designed for the new age of viewing experience. The 34-foot LED screen design follows the latest trend of High Dynamic Range, a hot topic that many manufacturers have been chasing after in recent times (check out THIS article for a recent example). Its 146fL (foot-Lamberts) make it over 10 times brighter than regular movie projectors, while offering “ultra-contrast and low tone grayscale settings” for contrast ratio of almost infinity:1. Of course, it also features Cinema 4K resolution of 4,096 x 2,160, one of the features which make it DCI-compliant. As a direct-lit display, this LED cinema screen can also offer high performance at ambient-light levels, meaning that its uses are not restricted to the dim environments of a movie viewing. This is why Samsung envisions cinemas utilising its display for other occasions as well, such as sporting events or concerts, to satisfy the needs of an audience with ever increasing demands now that televisions for home use are offering similar fetures. “As the popularity of advanced at-home entertainment systems and streaming platforms increases, theaters must reposition themselves as a destination for an incomparable viewing experience that consumers simply cannot encounter anywhere else,” said Sang Kim, Vice President of Samsung Electronics America. The Samsung LED cinema display was announced to coincide with CinemaCon 2017, and is currently undergoing the DCI certification process. You can find out more about it HERE. Looking forward to watching the next summer blockbuster in HDR? Or is it a passing fad? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Sony has announced various HDR upgrades designed to enhance a wide range of their products to facilitate the creation of High Dynamic Range content. The HDR updates across a wide range of Sony products will aim to improve the workflow in key areas of the live broadcast HDR infrastructure. In addition, some enhancements will also become available for some of their camcorders, namely the Sony PXW-FS5 and Sony PXW-Z150. Sony HDR Upgrades – New Picture Profile for FS5 and Z150 In the case of the camcorders in particular, a firmware update will unlock a couple of new features. One of them is the HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) Picture Profile. The HLG standard was developed by the BBC and NHK, and combines two types of gamma curves (using a log curve for the higher end of the signal thus expanding dynamic range). The Hybrid Log-Gamma curve vs the Standard Dynamic Range curve. Source: Wikipedia. Using the HLG Picture Profile will also allow you to select the BT.2020 color space, the standard recommended for HDR recording and which is capable of a wider color reproduction than Rec.709. Please note that the recording capabilities of both cameras will remain at Full HD 10-bit 4:2:2 and 4K 8-bit 4:2:0. Note the wider color gamut of BT.2020 (right) vs Rec.709 (left). Source: Wikipedia. These two additions will allow for the easier capture, editing and viewing of HDR content, making it ideal for faster workflows. An update to their Catalyst Browse will reflect these newer features also. For more information regarding the Sony enhancements across their product range, you can check out their press release HERE. If the Raw recording and MPEG2 updates for the FS5 are anything to go by, we could expect that this will be a paid upgrade. It will become available in July 2017.   Will you be updating your Sony camera? Are you already producing HDR content? Tell us about your workflow in the comments section below!

Atomos has just unveiled their latest addition to their line-up of field recorders. The new Atomos Ninja Inferno features HDR ProRes recording of 10-bit 4:2:2 video in 4K60p and 120p in HD, and is being released to match the availability of its ideal companion, the Panasonic GH5. This newest member in their line of HDMI field monitors and recorders, the Atomos Ninja Inferno features a 7” 1920×1200 10-bit HDR touch screen LCD with 1500nits of brightness, making it perfect for viewing it under direct day light without the need of a sun hood. The body is constructed from ABS Polycarbonate, featuring built-in armour protection for added ruggedness. It also has a double NP battery bay as seen in other Atomos recorders, allowing for hot swapping without losing power. The unit also includes a travel case, a caddy for a Solid States Drive and an AC adapter. In terms of recording capabilities, the Atomos Ninja Inferno offers recordings in the edit-friendly Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHR codecs in up to 4K60p (120p in HD) 4:2:2 10-bit. This would make it an ideal option to match the potential of the Panasonic GH5, whose release is matched by this new Atomos product.  Atomos also provides tools and aids in the form of Luma waveform, vector scope, and 1:1 and 2:1 (4K) focus zoom assist. The Atomos Ninja Inferno also features LUT support, and lays claim to being ”the world’s first HDMI monitor-recorder to accept 4K DCI signals”. Additionally, the new Ninja Inferno offers an XLR input and 48V phantom power for added audio flexibility, as well as a headphone jack to monitor audio. This would also make it an ideal candidate to solve the audio monitoring shortcomings of the Sony a6300/Sony a6500. The Atomos Ninja Inferno is already available for pre-order from the links below, with an expected shipping date of March 31st. But that’s not all! Atomos have communicated in their press release that they are also slashing the prices of their Shogun Flame and Ninja Flame to $995 and $795 respectively. Will you be pairing your new Panasonic GH5 with the Atomos Ninja Inferno? Let us know in the comments below!

Back in September, Canon announced two new professional 4K, HDR, reference monitors – the Canon DP-V2420 (shipping now) and the DP-V1710 (shipping February 2017). I managed to get some hands-on time with the top-of-the-range DP-V2420 this week. Read on to see my thoughts on how the Canon DP-V2420 HDR Monitor performed. Features With a hefty £25k price tag, you’d expect the Canon DP-V2420 to be stuffed full of cutting edge display technology, and thankfully it is: 24-inch, 4096 x 2160, 4K, 10-bit, IPS LCD panel, with 178° viewing angle. Support for 48p, 50p and 60p source frame rates in 4K. ITU-R BT.709 and ITU-R BT.2020 colour gamut ITU-R BT.2100 and SMPTE ST 2084 compliant, supporting both Dolby Vision and HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma). Peak luminance of 1200 cd/m2 and a minimum luminance of 0.005 cd/m2. Built-in 4K RAW de-bayer (from C300 mk2, C500 or C700). HDR-SDR Split-Screen View. How Does the Canon DP-V2420 Perform? As mundane as it may seem, the first thing that struck me when setting up the Canon DP-V2420 HDR Monitor was how simple and intuitive the menu system was. Having worked with a lot of reference monitors in my time, this was by far and away the easiest menu system I’ve come across. It was particularly quick and easy for me to create an HDR preset to match YouTube’s new HDR specification, with a peak luminance of 1000 cd/m2. The Canon DP-V2420 HDR Monitor menu. The next thing I noticed was just how crisp and defined the 4K image was. The material I was working with was originally shot on a RED Epic-W with the 8K Helium sensor, though I was working from a 4K Pro Res 4444 XQ master. The image quality was simply remarkable, but what truly blew me away was when I set my Resolve project to 1080p to test the DP-2420’s ‘Shape Tracing’ upscaling technology. I thought this would be a useful real world test, as not everyone has the required hardware to output 4K from their system, such as Blackmagic’s UltraStudio 4K Extreme. Once I was outputting a 1080p signal to the DP-V2420, I took a step back and couldn’t believe my eyes. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn I was looking at the 4K signal still! It really is one of the best upscaled 4K images I’ve ever seen. I was a bit dubious when I first heard that this monitor used a backlit LCD rather than an OLED panel. For HDR, one would normally expect OLED in order to achieve the low 0.005 cd/m2 blacks necessary. As soon as I was feeding it my signal, though, it became clear that Canon had achieved something truly unique with this backlight technology. The DP-V2420 HDR Monitor’s backlight scanning uses a full array RGB backlight, allowing individual areas to be partially turned off. Canon wouldn’t tell me too much about how this technology works, but it’s clearly very clever and produces deep blacks that one wouldn’t normally see on a backlit IPS panel like this. As well as local dimming, the sensors behind the backlight array are also able to measure temperature, luminance and colour information across the panel. This wealth of data allows the monitor to maintain optimal performance at all times and Canon even told me that it should mean that, under normal conditions, it shouldn’t require re-calibrating (it’s initially done using top-end Klein probes by Canon before it leaves their factory) before a year or more in to it’s working life! My only real criticism of this display is its fan noise. There were times when I thought the thing was going to take off! However, after chatting with Canon about this, I was told there is a firmware update coming soon to fix this issue. There will also be some new features introduced, the most exciting of which is the ability for the monitor to take an incoming feed and split it in two on screen, allowing the colourist or DIT to check both the HDR and SDR versions of the grade side by side. This is currently only possible by bridging the SDI In and Out ports on the back with an additional cable, but the update will remove this requirement, making it much easier to take advantage of this feature. I can see this split-screen feature, coupled with the HDR-compatible waveform monitor built into the Canon V-2420, as being extremely useful on-set during HDR productions. Summary In the burgeoning market for professional HDR monitors, the Canon DP-V2420 HDR Monitor is one of the ones leading the pack. It has some very clever tech inside it and several killer features that would make it invaluable both on set during an HDR shoot and in the colour suite. *Thanks to Abandon Visuals for allowing me to show their footage being used in this review.