Sony has announced the smallest and lightest camera in the XDCAM family – the new PMW-100 XDCAM HD422 handheld camcorder.

Designed to address the need among journalists and videographers for a portable device, the PMW-100 has a newly developed 1/2.9-inch Exmor CMOS sensor. and it shoots 1080i, 1080p and 720p up to 50 Mbps. Recording and playback is based on MPEG HD422 codec with MPEG HD 422 Long GOP compression. It can also be switched to MPEG HD420 35/25Mbps or DVCAM 25Mbps and users can record to SxS memory card as well as memory stick, SD card and XQD.

Available May 2012; MSRP: TBA

Sony’s Official Press Release:

New PMW-100 XDCAM HD422 Handheld Camcorder Delivers on Performance and Mobility

Tokyo, Japan, 3rd April, 2012: Sony introduces the full-featured yet light and compact PMW-100 handheld camcorder. The PMW-100 joins the ever popular XDCAM HD422 line-up – making it the smallest and lightest camcorder in the XDCAM family.

Advancement in digital imaging technology has enabled professional journalists and videographers to cover stories by using portable devices such as mobile phones, DSLRs and consumer camcorders. However, when compared to main-stream shoulder mount camcorders, there is still a significant gap in image quality, ease of editing and data management. The PMW-100 achieves the best of both worlds, by recording full broadcast quality MPEG HD422 video within a hand-held form factor.

Equipped with a newly developed 1/2.9-inch “Exmor” CMOS sensor, it delivers excellent picture performance and also achieves the minimum illumination of 0.08lx. Featuring a 5.4-54mm (40-400mm in 35mm equivalent) zoom lens, the versatile PMW-100 allow users to work in virtually any production environment where mobility and flexibility is highly valued.

“The PMW-100 combines exceptional picture quality with portability and outstanding manoeuvrability based on the proven XDCAM workflow, taking professional users to a whole new level of productivity. The development of the PMW-100 is a natural step in the progression of the XDCAM range and is a direct response to our customers requirements. Long-time XDCAM users requested a light and compact camcorder that will not only work seamlessly on its own, but also alongside other XDCAM cameras such as the acclaimed PMW-500,” said Bill Drummond, Strategic Marketing Manager, Sony Europe.

The PMW-100 supports full-HD video at 1080i, 1080p and 720p up to 50 Mbps MXF recording and playback based on the MPEG HD422 codec using the standard MPEG HD422 Long GOP compression technology. It is also switchable to MPEG HD420 35/25Mbps or DVCAM 25Mbps. The PMW-100 can also record high quality 24-bit four-channel audio at an uncompressed 48kHz.

It offers utmost flexibility of using a variety of recording media including the high speed SxS memory card as well as Memory Stick, SD card and XQD as the emergency secondly media. The new “SxS Memory Card Management Utility”* software will provide additional operational convenience with SxS memory card, such as the data back-up function and the lifetime indication of the card in use.

Focusing on your subject and reviewing recorded footage is a breeze with the full colour 3.5-inch WVGA (852×480) LCD. The Slow & Quick Motion function enables users to create artistic fast and slow-motion footage from 1fps to 60fps in 720p mode and from 1fps to 30fps in 1080p mode.

The camera also incorporates HD/SD-SDI output, Composite output, Genlock input, time code input/output, i.LINK (HDV/DV) input/output, and A/V output.

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Congratulations to Age Van Leewin, who’s the proud new owner of a GoPro HD Surf Hero Wide Angle Kit. How did he win such a fantastic prize, you ask? Simple – he signed up for Vistek’s eNews at the recent Outdoor Adventure Show in Calgary and his name was drawn from a hat.

It’s just that easy!

Why miss out on news and future chances to win? Sign up for Vistek’s eNews today!

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Big news from Sony, this week, as they announce the new pro-grade 4k-capable E-mount camcorder – the NEX-FS700.

Pushing the creative boundaries, this new Super 35mm model is designed for high-speed shooting and is capable of capturing footage at up to 960 frames per second. With interchangeable lenses and super-slow-motion options, the NEX-FS700 shoots conventional 1080p video (switchable between 50Hz and 60Hz frame rates (including 60p, 50p, 60i and 24p and is 4K-ready, with a future firmware upgrade that will enable a 4K bit stream data over 3G HD-SDI when used with an optional Sony 4K recorder.

The NXCAM’s E-Mount flexibility is designed to accept virtually all SLR and DSLR 35mm lenses with the use of simple, inexpensive adapters without optical degradation. FS series owners can make use of their existing lenses and add more lenses without being forced on a brand or mount. Users can capture high-quality still images with the NEX-FS700.

Other features include face detection and auto focus to help ensure that a subject is always kept in focus, a newly designed ND filter wheel that rotates across the sensor like a turret and built-in 2-, 4-, and 6-stop neutral density filters that will allow videographers to shoot with wide apertures and blurred-out backgrounds.

Available: June 2012; MSRP: less than $10,000.

>> Read the full press release

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Photo Fabulousness ——

A Fools Errand – Day 102 by Rye& fUMIO
 

Online Awesomeness ——

My best shot: The one that got away. The Guardian is one of the UK’s oldest papers so it might surprise you to know they have a great arts and culture section online. For five years, The Guardian has been asking photographers to tell us the story behind their best shot. But what about their worst? Jane Bown, Martin Parr, Terry O’Neill and others reveal all.
 
 

Video Virtuosity ——

The music video for the Underworld single, Bird 1, contains an amazing floral time-lapse animation by photographer Peter Thiedeke.

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Be sure to mark your calendars for the 2012 Canadian Imaging Conference & Trade Show! This year’s event is being held April 20 – 25 in Halifax, Nova Scotia – and you won’t want to miss a second!

A number of exciting special events have been added to this year’s roster, including:

• The Halifax & Area Photo Safari (April 20) is a a chartered bus tour guided by professional travel photographer, Dale Wilson.
• A full day (April 21) of Accreditation Judging, Image Critique, and a Judging Clinic.
• A full-day Boudoir Workshop with renowned master photographer, Mark Laurie.
• Early Riser workshops each morning from 7 – 8:30am, featuring smaller classes and a more intimate format.

Five days of seminars, networking events and a massive 2-day photographic trade show will take place at Halifax’s Westin Nova Scotian.  A registration form for  the five-day event is available online along with a full schedule of events, speaker’s list as well as details on where to stay and how to get there!

Don’t miss out!

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The spring edition of Point of View Magazine is now on stands and, to coincide with this, the good folks at POV have also launched an exciting new web series! The POV interview series  – In Conversation with Point of View magazine editor,  Marc Glassman, features original content that’s not included in the print issue. And you’ll find it all at  POV’s new YouTube Channel!

The series launches with a three-part interview featuring Wim Wenders, who graces the cover of this latest issue. Check out part one!

Be sure to check out the POV YouTube channel for the rest of this interview !

 Inside This Issue:

• Master filmmaker Wim Wenders talks to POV’s editor Marc Glassman about his creative process in making the documentaries Pina, Buena Vista Social Club, The Soul of a Man and Lightning Over Water.
• Policy Matters columnis, Barri Cohen, reports from the Realscreen Summit 2012… where nary a ‘documentary’ word is heard.
• Jennifer Baichwal’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s Payback raises issues about debt— and not just the monetary kind. By Sarah Keenlyside.
• Campaigns about breast cancer are growing but the disease isn’t on the wane. Léa Pool’s documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc. investigates a contemporary dilemma. By Jocelyne Clarke.
• Melanie Sevcenko surveys the edgy, innovative interactive and web-based docs unveiled at IDFA’s Doc Lab in Amsterdam, including Insitu, Highrise: One Millionth Tower, Barcode.tv and Beyond 9/11.
• Stephanie Boyd looks at dedicated young Arab filmmakers and their works in the months before Arab Spring.
• Adam Nayman looks at a diverse array of art docs feature at Toronto’s Reel Artists Film Festival.
• Is funding for art docs under attack? Matthew Hays examines the Canadian scene art scene and comes up with unusual answers.
• Brought back by popular demand, filmmaker and writer James Buffin offers his personal look at the docs at TIFF 2011.
• Nik Sheehan reviews The Queer Film Classic Series, cutting-edge books on gay and lesbian cinema.
• Freeze Frame: Pina

Get your subscription to POV Magazine, or purchase individual issues HERE.

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Congratulations to Jim Lamb, who’s the proud new owner of a GoPro HD Surf Hero Wide Angle Kit.  How did he win such a fantastic prize, you ask? Simple – he signed up for Vistek’s eNews at last weekend’s Outdoor Adventure Show and his name was drawn from a hat.

It’s just that easy!

Why miss out on news and future chances to win? Sign up for Vistek’s eNews today!

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The newest Adobe Lightroom is here! We all know it provides a comprehensive set of digital photography tools, from powerfully simple one-click adjustments to cutting-edge advanced controls – but check out all of these other amazing new features:

→ Highlight and shadow recovery
Bring out all the important detail that your camera can capture. New technology brings in more image detail from dark shadows and bright highlights than ever before. Now you’ve got more power to create great images in challenging lighting conditions.

→ Photo book creation
Create beautiful photo books from your images with a variety of easy-to-use templates included in Lightroom. Upload your book for printing with just a few clicks.

→ Location-based organization
Find and group images by location, easily assign locations to images, or plot a photo journey. Automatically display location data from GPS-enabled cameras and camera phones.

→ White balance brush
Get more consistent color across your image in scenes with mixed lighting sources. A flexible brush lets you refine and adjust white balance in targeted areas of your shot.

→ Additional editing brushes
Expand your creative control by targeting particular areas of your images using new local editing brushes for noise reduction and moiré removal.

→ Extended video support
Organize, view, and make adjustments to video clips. Play and trim clips, extract still images from them, or adjust clips with the Quick Develop tool.

→ Video publishing
Easily share video clips in HD format on Facebook and Flickr. Or save HD clips formatted for phones, tablets, TV, and more.

→ Soft-proofing
Save time and ink and ensure your prints meet your expectations. Soft-proofing lets you preview how an image will look when printed with color-managed printers.

→ Enhanced online sharing integration
Easily post images to social media and photo sharing sites like Facebook and Flickr®. With selected sites, online comments about your images are visible within Lightroom.

→ Emailing within Lightroom
Email images directly from Lightroom using the email account of your choice.

→ Import of other libraries
Bring the power and elegance of Lightroom to all your images, new and old. Easily import photos from other applications.

And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 is available now – so check out all the details for yourself!

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Vistek has teamed up with the award-winning photographers at Bebb Studios to present Modern Weddings: Working Smarter – a two-day event for aspiring and established wedding photographers, alike!

A 6-hour general session – covering a wealth of information – will take place Sunday, April 15 on the U of T campus, while an exclusive full-day, hands-on workshop (limited to 16 attendees) giving you the total wedding experience will take place April 16 at Vistek Toronto.

SEMINAR
Sunday, April 15 | 10am – 5pm
Take advantage of an opportunity to learn advanced photography techniques and profitable business ideas from one of the top ten Wedding Studios in the world.
Cost: $99 + tax | Register Online

WORKSHOP
Monday, April 16 | 9am – 4pm
Participants will have the chance to work with professional models and get to work one-on-one with the Jen and Steve Bebb on some of the assignments that will be handed out at the beginning of this workshop!
Cost:  $549 + tax (includes continental breakfast and lunch) | Register Online

Need more info? More details can be found here.

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It’s here! The EOS 5D Mark III boasts a new 22.3-megapixel full-frame Canon CMOS sensor, a high-performance DIGIC 5+ Imaging Processor, a 61-point High Density Reticular Autofocus (AF) System and six frames-per-second (fps) continuous shooting speed.

KEY FEATURES:

• Newly designed 22.3 Megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, 14-bit A/D conversion, wide range ISO setting 100-25600 (L:50, H1: 51200, H2: 102400) for shooting from bright to dim light and next generation DIGIC 5+ Image Processor for enhanced noise reduction and exceptional processing speed.

• New 61-Point High Density Reticular AF including up to 41 cross-type AF points with f/4.0 lens support and 5 dual diagonal AF points (sensitive to f/2.8).

• iFCL Metering with 63 zone dual-layer metering sensor that utilizes AF and colour information for optimizing exposure and image quality.

• EOS HD Video with manual exposure control and multiple frame rates (1080: 30p (29.97) / 24p (23.976) / 25p, 720: 60p (59.94) / 50p, 480: 30p (29.97) / 25p with 4 GB automatic file partitioning (continuous recording time 29 minutes 59 seconds), selectable “All i-frame” or IPB compressions, embedded timecode, manual audio level control while recording, and headphone terminal.

• Outstanding shooting performance: up to 6.0 fps continuous shooting using a UDMA CF card.

• Magnesium-alloy body with shutter durability tested up to 150,000 cycles, enhanced dust-and-weather resistance, and updated EOS Integrated Cleaning system for improved vibration-based dust removal.

• Intelligent Viewfinder with superimposed LCD display with approximately 100% field of view, wide viewing angle of 34.1°, and 0.71x magnification.

• 3.2-inch Clear View II LCD monitor, 170° viewing angle, 1,040,000-dot VGA, reflection resistance with multi coating and high-transparency materials for bright and clear viewing.

• High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Multiple Exposure modes expand creative possibilities.

• Improved handling with the addition of new customizable controls, enhanced recording options with Dual Card Slots for CF and SD cards, Dual

• Axis Electronic Level, and compatibility with optional Canon Wireless File Transmitter and GPS Receiver.

>> Read the Press Release.

Available: March 2012; MSRP: (body only)$3,799.99; (body w/EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens) $4,649.99

Available for pre-order NOW!

Announced along with the 5D Mark III were three new lenses: The EF 24-70mm F2.8 II USM, EF 28mm F2.8 IS USM and EF 24mm F2.8 IS USM.

Other accessories announced include:

• Speedlite 600EX-RT (available March 2012; MSRP: $729.99)
• Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT (available March 2012; MSRP: $389.99)
• GP-E2 GPS Receiver (available April 2012; MSRP: $399.99)
• Battery Grip BG-E11 (available April 2012; MSRP: $449.99)
• Bracket AB-E1 (available April 2012; MSRP: $199.99)

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