NAB 2012 wrap-up.

 
• Blackmagic announced a hard-to-believe camera featuring a 2.5K image sensor, 13 stops of dynamic range, built-in SSD recorder, popular open standard uncompressed RAW and compressed file formats, compatibility with quality EF and ZF mount lenses, and LCD touchscreen monitoring.

• Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 is out with and enhanced 64-bit playback engine that can handle 5K resolutions, and higher, new trimming options, compatibility with Mac touchpad gestures, a Warp Stabilizer that was previously confined to After Effects, and expanded multicam editing for more than four cameras. Taking a page from its sister app, “the audio oriented Audition, Premiere Pro CS6 offers a redesigned and more functional audio mixer. Adobe also introduced SpeedGrade, a film finishing and color grading app, and Prelude, for ingesting, logging, and transcoding.

• Autodesk announced Smoke 2013 for the Mac, a new version of what the company is now calling video editing software and at users of Apple’s Final Cut Pro or Avid Media Composer who want high-end editing and finishing tools in one app. The new price is “only” $3495, down from $14,995 for the 2012 version.

• Panasonic announced a bittersweet firmware update for the AG-AF100 that provides 1080 50p and 60p modes. That’s the sweet part. The bitter? They want users to pay $300 for the upgrade.

• Canon announced the 1D C ($15,000), which has the same chassis and still shooting features of the EOS-1D X ($6,800), and captures 4096 x 2160 8-bit 4:2:2 video to a CF card at 24 fps. Unlike the X, the C swaps a headphone jack for the X’s PC sync.

• The higher-end Canon EOS C500 ($30,000) offers the same ISO range as the C300 (320-20,000) and requires a dedicated external recorder, but captures in two full-RAW flavors: 4096 x 2960 (for motion picture), and 3840 x 2160 (for 4K TV). Both of these modes offer 10-bit 4:4:4 at 60 frames-per-second. There are two additional RAW option, 4096 x 1080 or 3840 x 1080 resolutions, which are also 10-bit 4:4:4, but at 120 fps. The camera also offers

compressed RAW at 2048 x 1080 and 1920 x 1080 with either 12-bit or 10-bit 4:4:4 60p. Unlike the C300, the C500 doesn’t not have focus assist, or built-in ND filters, or XLR inputs. Feeling a bit confused? Me too.

• Never shy from the spot light, RED announced a Dragon sensor upgrade, which is set to bring 6K resolution to EPIC and Scarlet cameras later this year The upgrade will cost EPIC owners $6,000.

• Canon showed a prototype 30-inch 4K reference display, but no word on pricing or when it will be commercially available.

• Nikon announced a brand new D3200 with all the usual bells and whistles: 24.2-megapixel APS-C size (DX-format) CMOS sensor, full 1080p HD video in 24p or 30p with full-time autofocus, all for $700. The pictures I’ve seen are all in a terrible cherry red.

• Sony announced the Alpha A57 DSLR camera (US$745 body only) featuring a 24.3MP CMOS image sensor, 10fps, and a 3-inch 921,600-pixel Xtra Fine LCD screen and full HD 1080p video (AVCHD) at 60 fps or 24 fps, competing directly against Nikon’s D5100 and Canon’s EOS Rebel T3i.