TRENDS 2022 THEHOT LIST
8. SEEING THE LIGHT
6 CLEVER GIMBALS It wasn’t that long ago we were bowled over by relatively small and affordable three- axis motorised gimbals. Instead of having to use weighted plates tomanually balance a mechanical unit, a quick balance was all that was needed before the motors took over. Steady footage was never easier. However, the latest crop of three-axis gimbals are smarter than ever before. The majority are now controlled by an app, which allows you to tweak settings for time-lapse, different modes such as pan, tilt, lock and follow, auto subject tracking and AF. The Manfrotto 300XM actually splits in two, so you canmount the gimbal head to a boom, for example, and control it from the separate handle. King of the clever gimbals is the radical DJI Ronin 4D. This has an all-new, full- frame cinema camera, a video transmission and control system in a single unit. It accepts full-frame lenses – there are 6K and 8K versions – and has built-in ND filters and, of course, the four-axis stabilisation system, instead of just pan, tilt and roll. The Z-axis of vertical motion is also stabilised on the Ronin, so when going up or down steps or just walking, the camera doesn’t jolt.
Not that long ago, LED lights were accused of being inconsistent in colour and not powerful enough to take over from the hot Tungsten and HMI lights. That quickly changed. These smaller and lighter fixtures spark into life instantly, and don’t need anywhere near the power of HMI lights with their huge ballast packs and generators. Flicker-free LEDs – wirelessly controlled via Wi-Fi or DMX – boomed, with all the big brands launching their own versions. First came Daylight-balanced or bi- colour LEDs to match to Daylight or Tungsten. Then came RGB, then RGBWW, signifying these lights could either have adjustable colour temperature and tint to produce white light, or be set to output any colour you like via a mix of red, green and blue. This means you can quickly use a full spectrum of colours to add impact to any scene. If you want SFX like paparazzi flashes, fake fire or police cars, they are available easily. The latest innovations include Rotolight’s electronically adjustable diffusion technology, softening light at the turn of a dial. RGBWW tube lights are the freshest tech to come from a wave of companies. Similar in form factor to the old Kino Flo tubes, which were often grouped together to form a bank of soft lights, RGBWW tubes have LEDs arranged in groups. Instead of the whole light being one colour, a rainbow can be illuminated along the length of the tube. By altering the colour of each of these groups, the ‘rainbow’ or colour can be made to ‘move’ along the length of the tube. It’s ideal to use in the frame itself – perfect for pop videos, for example. Or just set them as a standard light. It really is the ultimate in flexibility.
A newly designed LiDAR rangefinder continuously generates precise laser measurements. It simultaneously casts over 43,000 ranging points, up to tenmeters, locating subjects accurately, even in low- light. As LiDARmeasures the distance to the subject without relying on surface textures or edges, it obtains a very fast focus speed. Inmanual focus, there is a LiDAR waveformdisplay to allow fast focusing. Autofocus keeps a sharp hold on the subject, while automatedmanual focus combines the best of bothmodes to automatically rotate the focus wheel while following the focus point. It can turn any manual focus lens into a full AF lens. It’s a bit of a disservice to call the Ronin 4D a gimbal camera, as it’s somuchmore. INNOVATION STATION The world of camera stabilisation just gets more advanced with models like this Zhiyun
7. AF FOR ALL Manual focus is a filmmaking mainstay in pretty much every area, apart from ENG and events shooting. But now, effective AF is available in the vast majority of cameras, from camcorders and mirrorless, to high-end cinema. It really does work, and can be faster and more accurate than a veteran focus puller. Even Red, the last bastion of manual focus, now has on-sensor phase detection on its 6K Komodo and 8K V-Raptor, which use Canon RF mount lenses. Sony’s FX6 and FX9 cinema cameras also have high-tech PDAF. Canon, one of the leaders in autofocus tech with its Dual Pixel AF system, has an incredibly workable autofocus on camcorders, such as the XF605, mirrorless cameras and EOS cinema range. Only Panasonic and Blackmagic are dragging their heels in adopting
PDAF, sticking to contrast- detection AF systems. AF doesn’t work perfectly in all situations. It’s a tool that a filmmaker can use as and when needed. It’s a learning curve to understand when and how it works best. But once you’ve had a camera with eye detection tracking a talking head wide open at f/1.4, and every frame is sharp, it’s difficult to go back to managing without it.
HAND ME DOWN Canon’s XF605 has all the latest AF tech from
the mirrorless and cinema cameras
GO WITH THE FLO Tube lights with endless colour combinations are the latest essential accessory
“Effective AF is available in themajority of cameras, fromcamcorders andmirrorless, to high-end cinema”
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