AGENDA NEWS
SONY UPGRADES FLAGSHIP MIRRORLESS
shutter very well. It still only records 8-bit 4:2:0 internally. The camera does now offer superior weather sealing, five-axis in-body stabilisation, a faster autofocus system, a newmechanical shutter and the body has been redesigned. The A9 had two card slots, but only one was the faster UHS-II spec. The new £4799/$4498 A9 Mark II has twin UHS-II slots, as well as a digital audio interface to work with Sony’s new mic systems. sony.co.uk
The flagship mirrorless camera of the Sony range has been upgraded, but very few of the modifications will benefit filmmakers. The new Sony A9 Mark II is heavily based on the successful original A9, which has been on sale since spring 2017, but still lacks 10-bit video, video Raw or any Log settings. It retains the 20fps stills shooting with a blackout-free viewfinder, and uses the same 24.2-megapixel, full-frame stacked sensor of the original camera. This speedy sensor helps the camera combat rolling
The Red Hydrogen phone project looks like it has been axed following the retirement of the company’s founder and the driving force behind the project, Jim Jannard. The holographic phone was supposed to be the start of a newmodular camera system, but it was late to the market, had poor sales and the expected expansion modules never arrived. Jannard, who also founded sunglasses brand Oakley before starting Red, spent the last few years working on the phone project, but has now officially retired age 70. He says he is shutting down the Hydrogen project, although the phone remains on sale. red.com Hydrogen to evaporate?
OLYMPUS BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
Olympus has celebrated 100 years in business with the launch of a new OM-D E-M5 Mark III mirrorless camera, which inherits many features from the flagship E-M1 series, but at a more affordable price. The camera has a 20.4-megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor and the TruPic VIII image processor from the OM-D E-M1 Mark II. The new E-M5 Mark III records UHD or DCI 4K video at up to 30p and 1080p at 120fps, all while using the camera's advanced phase detection autofocus and image stabilisation system. The AF system features face and eye detection and 121 sensors. There’s a flat picture mode to maximise dynamic range with a LUT profile you can download from the website. The three- inch touchscreen articulates to aid video shooting. The new camera is dust and weather sealed and comes in either silver or black at £1099/$1199 for the body only, and £1399/$1799 with a 14-150mm f/4-5.6 II lens. olympus.co.uk
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PRO MOVIEMAKER WINTER 2019
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