SLR Magic 50mm

SLR Magic 50mm f/1.1 Now Shipping – Improved Quality For Same Price

The new SLR Magic Cine 50mm f/1.1 is just about to start shipping and a fresh copy of the renewed lens just landed on our table. As previously described in my original news post, the prototype had suffered from some serious limitations which strongly affected its performance especially when attempting to film at a wide open aperture. 

You might (like us) be asking yourself how a manufacturer can improve the optical performance of a lens in just under a month? Apparently it is absolutely doable! My hat off to SLR magic for listening to our remarks, holding production, improving the overall lens performance, adding a lens shade to combat lens flares at no additional cost and delivering an upgraded product just in time for the new year….

Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve 12

Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve 12 Studio Now Just $500 on the Mac App Store

Blackmagic has done some more price dropping, this time for the full Resolve 12 Studio on the Mac. 

The full suite is now available for just $500. The difference here is that it's specifically only for OS X, and only available through the Mac App store. Another benefit to the App store is that a dongle is no longer necessary to run the software — you'll simply use an Apple ID attached to the software to run it on different systems:

Now available on the Mac App Store for only USD$499, customers have more flexibility than ever before because the software downloaded from the App Store features built in security and does not require a hardware dongle to run. That means customers that purchase DaVinci Resolve 12 Studio from the Mac App Store can run it on multiple personal Macs, like their laptop and desktop computers, simply by using their Apple ID.

Here's the big question that still remains, it seems like the only version available to buy with the dongle that will work for both Windows and Mac is still $1,000. I'm trying to find out from Blackmagic what their plans are with this, and if there will ever be a $500 dongle version that works on Windows, but we'll have to wait and see. [Update: Have confirmed this is only for new purchases, and you'll still need to get the $1,000 version if you want it to work on Windows.] I also may just not be looking in the right place, but it seems like the only full version of Resolve you can buy right now is 11 — but obviously that can be upgraded for free to 12. 

Some may find this workflow more cumbersome without the dongle, but being able to run it on multiple systems with just your password seems pretty handy. For anyone who has purchased a Blackmagic Cinema Camera or higher, you'll continue to get free updates to future versions of Resolve for free, but it's unclear if you'll ever be given access to this app store version even though you technically already own the software. [Update: Have also confirmed that those who have the dongle version will not be able to go to the software-only version]. The free version is also available to download through the app store.

SHAPE Rigs A7sII A7RII Cage

SHAPE Rigs A7sII A7RII Cage System with Top Handle 15mm Rails and Metabones Lens Adapter Support

The Sony A7sII and Sony A7rII cameras have been really taking a big market share in the small mirrorless video market. But like most hybrid cameras, you may want to mount additional accessories for shooting video. This will require a rig of some sort, or at least a surrounding cage. With that in mind, here’s a closer look at SHAPE’s latest Cage system for the Sony A7sII / A7rII cameras with Top Handle and 15mm Base.

SHAPE Product Overview
Designed for the Alpha series from Sony: Sony A7SII, Sony A7R II and Sony A7 II. 

The cage is designed to give easy access to the control buttons, the side outputs and the battery compartment; which is an important thing when you are shooting. You will not waste any time removing the camera from the cage to access the memory card or to change the battery. An important feature of this cage is the micro-HDMI cable protector lock on the side to secure the use of your HDMI 4K cable.

As with all our other products, we also included in the design our red push button technology with 360 degree rotation where you can make adjustments by one press of your thumb. The simplest way to adjust handle! When you release the button, the handle locks in place. It’s solid and durable. You can remove the top handle from the cage to reveal a hot shoe adapter for other accessory attachments.



SHAPE A7sII / A7RII / A7II CAGE, visit their product catalog (LINK).

Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K Footage

Here's a Huge Collection of Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K Footage Released So Far

Though it seemed like we might be a bit closer, it doesn't look like officially shipping URSA Mini 4.6K cameras have made it to the public just yet.

The URSA Mini 4.6K is the first camera from Blackmagic that supposedly doesn't just contain an off the shelf machine vision sensor, and it's also a brand new body design that has a lot of people excited. Unfortunately, like most of Blackmagic's products, it's been delayed from its original release date (which was Summer 2015).

We have seen a number of clips, however, and some new ones have appeared recently. All of these clips have been shot in different ways, some are RAW, some are not, and some have used a bit of filtration, while others were just clean. Be sure to check out our previous post for some more details, and any relevant links are included below. I thought it would flow a lot better just being able to watch all of them right in a row so you can make some decisions about what you're seeing
and whether you might want to order one.
First up, is the very first clip we saw at NAB from Hook: