Panasonic continues to add significant functionality to the feature set of their entry-level digital cinema camera, the EVA1. With the release of firmware 3.0 today, EVA1 owners can now record 10-bit files all the way up to the camera’s maximum frame rate in 4K, 60p (or 50p for those in formerly PAL countries). This is due to the inclusion in the new firmware of HEVC (for High Efficiency Video Codec), also known as H.265.

Sony has just announced that firmware version 3.0 for their flagship camera, the full format VENICE, is now available. If version 2.0, released in June of 2018, got the VENICE fully firing on all cylinders, this update seeks to refine the camera’s ease of use while nicely expanding its capabilities. We got to take a look at what’s included in the update—and there’s a lot—so let’s dig into the details.

RED has just released their latest DSMC2 digital cinema camera, DRAGON-X. Featuring a 5K, 3-perf Super35-sized cut (25.6mm x 13.5mm) of their popular DRAGON sensor, DRAGON-X looks to complement the current DSMC2 camera lineup while providing versatility, performance, and value.

Every once in a while, I come across a product that solves such a basic need on set that I wonder how I got along without it. The FLEET-Q4FF Charger from CoreSWX is one such product. If you regularly work with the MōVI Pro gimbal, then you are no stranger to the rather unsightly tangle of cables and power bricks of the stock battery chargers. While one of the big upgrades to the MoVI Pro from the older M10 and M15 is the improved battery system, including the charger, there's always room for improvement.

While the industry has shifted focus towards cameras with S35 (or larger) sensors with interchangable lens mounts, many shooting situations benefit from a large zoom ratio and compact design. The Canon XF family was just updated with the introduction of the XF705, a compact 4K UHD camera with a 15x "L" series zoom lens with 5-axis optical image stabilization.

Canon has announced their entry into the full format (aka full frame) mirrorless camera market with the EOS-R. The EOS-R represents a new chapter in Canon’s lineup of video-focused still and motion cameras. Sandwiched between the traditional, mirror box-based EF-mount EOS cameras (such as the 5D Mark IV, 7D Mark II and others) and Canon’s purpose-built motion cameras from the Cinema EOS line (C200, C300 Mark II and C700/FF), the EOS-R presents a compact, highly capable body for both stills and motion using a new full format 30.3MP sensor similar in specification to the 5D Mark IV. The camera body also features a 3.69M dot EVF and articulating LCD touchscreen.

ARRI's recent release of Software Update Package 5.3 for AMIRA enables some significant new functionality for the camera. The most exciting of these new features is support for ARRIRAW, the RAW format used in the ALEXA and ALEXA Mini cameras. This is significant since the company line for many years was that AMIRA would never shoot RAW (not that we're complaining, mind you).

After the recent surprise announcement from Sony, I was was able to play with some of the new imager and recording modes in firmware v2 for the VENICE, and it includes some killer new features that are easy to overlook at first blush. Specifically, the two all-new 6K imager recording modes (6K 17:9 and 6K 1.85:1), enabled with the new firmware on cameras with the 6K Full Frame license, allow recording of the sensor’s full width (6,000 pixels across) to SxS cards in XAVC-I class 300 and class 480.

In a surprise move, Sony has moved up the general availability of the highly-anticipated version 2.0 firmware for their flagship digital cinema camera, VENICE. Originally promised for sometime in August, later rumored to be available in early July, this new firmware is actually available now and enables a broad range of features and functionality on the camera.