First Day at NAB 2018

First day of NAB and the usual crowds were waiting at the gates for the clock to hit ten! First port of call was to be Sony but I was distracted by the dancing robots. Albeit they are very impressive it's not new, factory robots have been dancing for years! Sony have three new cameras. PXW-FS5M2: no real changes except RAW and HFR are included in the existing price along with a tonal colour setting which to be honest I'd drifted off at this point so can't tell you much about it. Next two cameras PXW-Z190 and Z280; both 4K 10 bit 4:2:2 recording cameras. The 280 is a 3 Chip 1/2" sensor capable of 4K60p with simultaneous HD record, with a x17 zoom lens. The 190 has 3 1/3" chips and a 25x zoom lens, no simultaneous record. For full spec see listings on website. Now I know handy cams are not very fashionable now, but I see them making a comeback as easy to use, easy to focus, easy to frame cameras have an important place in the industry. It's not all shallow depth of field arty shots. Sometimes you just need some clean images. Wooden Camera have made some really nice well thought out accessories for the Sony Venice. The power adapter has a trip switch that only takes out the accessories not the camera, so you don't lose the shot. The adaptor is intelligent and recognises the Arri trigger on the 3 pin and puts the camera into record. Something the Venice can't do on its own presently. The VF extension is really good. The products are a bit late but will be with us in the next few weeks. See here for more details. VR is still very prominent at the show and as the technology matures broadcasters are using it to spice up their online content. Sachtler and Vinten had the 100mm bowl version of the Flowtech legs which will be available in a few months.   Will have more time tomorrow so will bring you news of the weird and wonderful!