Well, yeah, sort of. The new FCP X is incompatible with FCP 7, which it replaced. That created huge headaches for shops that needed to add more FCP 7 workstations to their editing mix – and could not jump on FCP X mid-stream since it was not compatible with existing projects.

I still use FCP 7 but have begun using Sony Vegas because of the uncertainty Apple created with this move. FCP X looked more like a replacement for Final Cut Express – while FCP 7 was dead ended.

Cameras, Still photography

Power zoom lenses for DSLR cameras

August 31, 2011 3DM 3 Comments

Panasonic launches Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 OIS pancake: Digital Photography Review.

The new Lumix “X” series lenses is an important development for shooting video on DSLRs.

DSLRs have had 3 limitations on their use for many types of video photography:

lack of power zooms
lack of audio controls
limits on video recording time

The new lenses feature built-in zoom motors and controls. Panasonic has also announced a firmware update to several of its micro-four thirds cameras that will presumably add more zoom feature support to the cameras.

At this time, the demo video I saw showed a fixed zoom speed. I presume the firmware update will add a speed control to the cameras. The zoom motor was audible in the camera’s built-in mic. This is yet another reason why we need to remember that audio is half the video experience – and should be using an external mic when sound is important.

Regarding audio, the lack of sound controls on DSLRs still demands use of BeachTek or other external audio mixers to get the sound right.

Why I like the micro 4/3ds format on the Lumix GH-2 (coldstreams.com)
DSLR Versus Point and Shoot (moneysupermarket.com)
Unique Micro Four Thirds (m43) Lenses (coldstreams.com)
Panasonic’s New X Lens Takes Micro Four Thirds Closer to Murdering the Point and Shoot [Cameras] (gizmodo.com)
Panasonic updates Lumix line with 3D, Wi-Fi, ans power zoom lenses (digitaltrends.com)
Panasonic tackles big interchangeable lenses with Lumix G X (electronista.com)
Panasonic unveils two cameras and two SLR-like lenses (news.consumerreports.org)
Panasonic power zoom lenses: hands on video (techradar.com)

Business, Cameras

Video shooting is popular – but video camera market slowly dying

August 30, 2011 3DM

This comes from a survey of Photobucket users:

According to the survey, consumers are using traditional video cameras with much less frequency, but they are using mobile devices to capture video much more often. In fact, of those surveyed:

45 percent use a mobile device for capturing video at least once a week

17 percent use a mobile device for capturing video at least once a day

9 percent use a mobile device for capturing video multiple times per day

This trend is further validated by company data, which shows a significant upward trend of video uploads:

Total video uploads web and mobile are 3.5x higher year-over-year July 2010 to July 2011

Total video uploads from mobile devices are 14x higher than in December 2010

via Photobucket: Mobile video uploads on the rise |.

Cameras