Last week was NAB 2015 and there was all kinds of new and exciting gear for the industry. This video from TheCameraStoreTV gives a quick rundown of what they liked at NAB 2015. This year's hot topics included new Adobe Creative Cloud updates, the mirrorless camera revolution, and drones.
Adobe CC Updates
Adobe has a bunch of updates to increase your productivity and creativity. The new mobile application that is in development, “Project Candy,” will be a useful tool to help match the colour of your shots or create looks based on whatever inspires you.
There is also a new Lumetri Color Panel which includes a lot of presets and better functionality.
One update for Premiere Pro that got many people excited was the new Morph Cut. This is a fantastic effect that will save many headaches for those that shoot a lot talking heads. It is a transition type effect that smoothes out any jump cuts so that they're unnoticeable.
Another interesting announcement from Adobe is the Character Animator app. Use artwork created in Photoshop or Illustrator to create 2D animations. The program tracks your facial movements via webcam and records your voice to apply to the character you've created. The software is in its early stages but looks fun and easy.
Mirrorless Cameras
As stated in the video, mirrorless cameras were everywhere at NAB. These fantastic little cameras are finally starting to get the attention they deserve. They're smaller, lighter, more adaptable, and have great video features. The Panasonic GH4 and Sony A7S were two of the most talked about cameras in the past year.
The Panasonic GH4 will be getting a firmware update focused on native anamorphic support. This update should pair nicely with the recently announced Veydra M43 anamorphic lenses. The GH4 is also expected to get V-log gamma which is apparently based off the VariCam. This should make the GH4 an even more powerful camera for the indy filmmaker or a great B-cam for the Varicam. However, there has been nothing confirmed regarding the release of V-log.
Drones
Drones have been blowing up in the past year and this year is certainly going to be no different. It gives the low budget filmmaker an opportunity to have the vast sweeping aerial shots in their films that the big Hollywood productions have.
DJI will release two versions of the Phantom 3. The Professional model will feature a 4K camera where as the Advanced model will be an updated version of their HD camera. Both cameras will be gimbal stabilized and able to take 12mp stills. The flight controller and sensors have been redesigned to give users a stable and more responsive flight experience.
3D Robotics has announced the Solo Smart Drone. Designed to be used with a GoPro, the Solo Smart Drone has several useful features such as: Cablecam for smooth linear tracking shots; Orbit to circle an object; Selfie to show yourself having fun; and Follow Me which will track with a GPS-enabled mobile device.
Blackmagic and Arri also have smaller form factor cameras to be used on drones coming out shortly. The Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera is expected to be available in July and the Arri Alexa Mini will be available for shipping in May.
For more information
Additional details on Creative Cloud updates can be found at: http://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/tag/product-updates/
Check out more on the Veydra M43 lenses at: http://www.veydra.com/news/veydra-nab-2015-announcements/
Pre-order your DJI Phantom 3 at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=DJI+Phantom+3&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=