Ikonoskop a-cam dII Gets IBC interest

Aaton founder Jean-Pierre Beauviala and Ted Schilowitz from RED were top and tailing our IBC meeting with Daniel Jonsäter of Ikonoskop, makers of the new a-cam dII high definition RAW format motion picture camera.

The camera features a sensor that Daniel won't talk about because of NDA rulings but other specs are plentiful which include their media which is proprietary and writes at 240Mb/s, the workflow uses individual raw files in the DNG (Digital Negative) format which has been gifted to the industry by Adobe. The 2/3 inch sensor shoots 1920x1080 and the framerate is 1-60fps.

Daniel's company don't want a large distribution network and will sell mostly direct from the December this year. They don't see RED as a competitor but feel that RED has broadened their market by pioneering marketing.

BT VISION LAUNCHES HD FILMS

BT Vision has entered an agreement with NBC Universal International Television Distribution for a broad selection of feature films to appear on BT Vision’s new Hi-Def on demand movie service in the UK, it was announced today.

A range of HD film titles from NBC Universal are slated for release on BT Vision, including current blockbusters The Incredible Hulk, Wanted and Charlie Wilson’s War, alongside classic library titles such as E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial, Shaun Of The Dead and Miami Vice.

From today, BT Vision’s HD service is delivered through the existing V-box, and does not require an additional monthly subscription.

Dan Marks, CEO of BT Vision said: “The inclusion of HD films now makes BT Vision an even more compelling service, immediately delivering the benefits of high definition content but without the high cost of additional monthly subscription fees or an expensive new set top box.”

Current BT Vision HD films will be competitively priced at £4.95 each, with library titles costing just £2.95. Customers simply select an HD film and it automatically downloads to the V-box. Customers are only charged once the film has completely downloaded and viewing has started, and all NBC Universal titles can be watched repeatedly during a 48 hour rental period.

Kodak Release A Sensor for The Broadcast Market

Kodak's sensor business is alive and well and now in our industry. They are now just about to ship a 1920x1080 / 60p (max'd out) Interline CCD sensor in a two third inch format for the broadcast market and of course other markets like the medical and even traffic monitoring worlds.

We don't announce new sensors very often but Kodak's news will excite maybe new camera manufacturers and interest existing ones with the inherent quality that Kodak brings. Kodak has confirmed that next year new cameras featuring the sensors will appear. Apart from Sony, Panavision or Dalsa those cameras could come from anyone.

To Kodak CMOS sensors are for the consumer market and it was never a consideration for their KAI-02150 sensor. They quote their low noise levels, high dynamic range and robustness (their sensors are circling Mars at present) in their 'We're better because' list.

The sensor is based on the Kodak Truesense 5.5 micron Interline Transfer CCD platform which was announced last year.

Asked if they are working on a 4k sensor for movie production Kodak said that they were not but pointed out that they let the camera manufacturers announce their products themselves, so they could be supplying anyone with their sensors...

Check www.kodak.com/go/imagers for news

Sony F35 Sales in UK

Sony’s new F35 digital cinematography camera, which was officially launched in April 2008 at NAB, makes its debut on the UK equipment hire scene in September when Take 2 Films will be adding three units to its rental stock and one unit will be going to Rogue Element Films at Pinewood.