METADATA PRODUCTION.
METADATA
“While there’s something of a format war raging, it’s reasonable to hope that, in the near future, most cameras will know exactly which way is up”
Not quite DSLR Cinema lens data systems generally don’t have much in common with DSLR lens electronics. Many stills mechanisms couldn’t implement LDS or /i on video-capable stills cameras if they wanted. Those machines simply don’t know what focus distance their lenses are set to. Modern autofocus chooses ‘nearer’ or ‘further’ until the focus is correct; the distance in real- world units is not important to ensure a sharp picture. As a result, many cameras don’t have the information. Some of the best stills lenses can report an accurate focus distance as a digital encoder value, although that may be coincidental to how they’re intended to work.
also Blackmagic, Sony and Red cameras, displays from Transvideo, recorders from Atomos, and many others. Panavision has publicised an intention to support the /i system, and that company doesn’t even use the same mount as everyone else. Even Arri has begun to implement /i, and although the company website currently describes support as incomplete, compatibility issues between the two systems might conceivably become academic. So, while there’s something of a format war raging, it’s reasonable to hope that, in the near future, most cameras will know exactly which way is up, and report that fact accurately to the world.
attention, it works well. There are, after all, only two major systems in use. When Sigma developed its well-regarded series of cinema primes, it could licence /i for the cost of a candy bar. Cooke’s choice to make /i affordable reflects a genuine desire to see the technology widely adopted, while maintaining enough control to prevent the compatibility problems that might arise from a complete free-for-all. For a grim point of comparison, consider the usability sinkhole of open-source software. Not only is /i implemented on the company’s own lenses and those of Zeiss, Fujifilm and Angénieux, but
61. JUNE 2022
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