A while ago, we reviewed Pentax’s K-30 and awarded it an Editor’s Choice for Entry Level DSLR. And while the camera only came in a select few colors before, Pentax is letting you match it with your favorite outfit now–we’re vouching for the yellow to match you’re raincoat since the camera can survive being run under a sink. The company is giving consumers nine new colors and three new finishes, including shiny, crystal, and matte. Depending on your current mainstay in your closet, you can choose from Crystal Black, Crystal Bordeaux, Crystal Green, Crystal Red, Crystal Silver, Crystal Yellow, Crystal Orange, Silky Blue, Silky Bordeaux, Silky Green, Silky Red, Silky Silver, Silky White, Silky Yellow and Silky Orange.
The color options are available now for pre-order and cost $799 with the 18-55mm WR kit lens. Kai from Digital Rev may be a tad disappointed that there is no pink option.
Via Pop Photo
It’s not photography related per se but it does have a lot to do with the future of imaging. NoFilmSchool has a great writeup on the most recent release of the new Dragon Sensor by RED. Some of the basic specs and numbers are that the sensor is capable of 6k resolution, which is 10x the amount of pixels than 1080p and less than half the noise of the Mysterium-X. When looking at the sensor in 16:9 format the sensor has more pixels than a Canon 5D Mk III at 6144×3160. I’m quite impressed with the few frames that are available and the level of detail is incredible.
If you would like to see the images at full resolution without sharpening, head over to RED’s forum and peep the images which are full compressed unsharpened JPGs here. It hasn’t been that long since the birth of RED, but they have been producing some incredible tech. The future is now.
Photo by Richard Mosse
Today’s exciting announcement from Lomography about Lomochrome Purple is bound to get some people excited and others totally confused. First off, know that it is based off of Kodak Aerochrome–an old infrared film developed for government surveillance. Since it is infrared, that means that there are no real purple fields in the Congo. So we’re here to answer a couple of big questions that you may have about the new film. Check out more information after the jump.
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RED has been talking about their upcoming Dragon sensor for a while; often claiming that their sensor is capable of achieving 20 stops of dynamic range. Last night in the REDUser Forum, Jarred Land posted an update on the project. It’s been one of their most difficult tasks to date, but they’ve engineered a sensor that can do it; and it apparently left one of their engineers speechless for the first time in 10 years.
RED fans are receiving the news very well too! One commentor stated in response,
“I’m sure the folks at Sony and Arri are saying “WTF” right about now (or at least they will in the morning as they nurse their collective hang-overs). Congratulations to Jim, Jarred and all the talented folks at Red! Happy New Year.”
Now we just have to see real life applications used with the sensor. As it stands, the dynamic range of film is around 16 stops of dynamic range. Look closely at 16 and beyond in this test though and you’ll start to see some clipping in the blacks. However, it is possible and with a good editor combined with the right technology the problems won’t even be visible. Now we just have to wait for monitors, software, and processors to catch up.
Hey cinema dudes and dudettes, get ready to cry just a little bit! NoFilmSchool tells us that RED will end production of their cinema lenses soon in an official statement by the company’s Jim Jannard. If you know anyone that is RED certified, you’ll know that those specialists love RED’s lenses. They’re often described as better than buttery smooth; so at least to us, it makes no sense as to why they’re killing one of their own products when they’re still much more affordable than anyone else’s lenses out there.
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I know the average visitor of this site isn’t a RED user but the newly announced prices at least deserve your attention. For example the camera in the above image is the RED ONE MX, it was the first RED of its kind and it saw a drop to $4,000 down from…$25,000.
The other cameras follow:
- RED EPIC-X: $34,500 down to $19,000
- RED EPIC-M (Monochrome): $39,500 down to $24,000
- RED SCARLET: $9,700 down to $7,950
- Battle Tested (BT) RED ONE MX: $25,000 down to $4,000
This is a big deal for those of us who were considering the last deal on the SCARLET. Now that the RED ONE is approaching Black Magic Cinema Camera territory we will surely give it a good look. This will surely shake up some rental houses but in the end it’s a great push to get better gear into the hands of talented people who can’t realistically afford it. The RED cameras do require a lot of add on gear to make them functional rigs but this is a great start.
Read the official post here from RED’s Jannard about the price drop.
