ep135 - Wood vs. Silicon Valley: A DIY Digital Bolex, while OpenAI Buys Into Imaging - CineD Focus Check

The Blackmagic Design price raise hits 36 products at once: the ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus alone jumps from about $13,000 to $20,000, with SMPTE 2110 converters, Cloud Store and HyperDeck recorders following – all blamed on memory costs. In the same breath, Blackmagic cuts DaVinci Resolve Studio 21 and its editing panels by 20% until November 20. And Getty Images, the biggest name in stock photography, is filing for bankruptcy protection. • Hollyland sponsors this episode. Check it out at 11:54. Check out the Pyro S wireless video transmitter: http://cined.co/lwhjQk

Can you imagine stepping inside your camera — which is actually a tent — and seeing the very same sheet of material that captured the light hanging on a gallery wall as a photograph? In this special episode of Focus Check, Sony Alpha Rumor's runner Andrea Pizzini explains how he makes single, unrepeatable color photographs up to 127x220cm in size. The story behind the camera is a deeply personal one, and Andrea talks candidly about the events that led him to leave the project behind—and eventually return to it. ► Follow Andrea's project: andreapizzini.com Topics and Chapters in this Episode: (00:00:00) Intro: Andrea Pizzini and the Cube camera project(00:00:29) Running Sony Alpha Rumors, the world's biggest rumour site(00:02:00) How it started: 43 Rumors and the mirrorless revolution(00:03:21) Who is Andrea? From the Dolomites to documentary filmmaking(00:05:43) A difficult childhood and the urge to get out(00:07:40) Discovering cameras at the age of 12(00:08:39) Twelve and a half years without sleep – and why the blogs saved him(00:11:59) Meeting Christian Martinelli(00:14:13) Building the Cube: a two-metre camera obscura(00:15:32) Losing Christian(00:16:52) Friends convince Andrea to rebuild the project(00:18:57) How it works: lens, panel, paper and developer(00:21:06) The giant Nikon process lens from eBay(00:24:06) A focus system built by a former SpaceX engineer(00:26:04) No pixels: how much resolution is in these images?(00:27:29) The last photo paper left – and turning a negative into a positive(00:29:58) Developing the image in 45 minutes(00:30:42) Looking at the prints in the studio(00:34:21) Artist or explorer?(00:36:03) Finding peace through photography(00:38:14) What if it becomes famous?(00:40:55) The future of Sony Alpha Rumors(00:41:50) Could it get smaller – or even shoot video?(00:45:32) Stay true to reality(00:47:07) A tribute to Christian: his developing machine(00:49:55) Does the project have a name?(00:50:20) Where to follow Andrea's project Let us know in the comments below what you think of this special episode, or email us at [email protected]. And don't forget to subscribe on your favourite platform!

Are modern sensors too clean? Johnnie argues that CCD cameras like the Digital Bolex had a character today's CMOS sensors lack, while Nino points to image science and noise reduction you can no longer switch off. Also this week: Nino's field test of the DJI SDR Transmission 2, Apple's redesigned Final Cut Camera 2.4 with manual aperture control for the iPhone 18 Pro, Huawei's clip-on Ruiying Z10 camera module for the Mate90 phones, another Sony FX5 delay, FUJIFILM's price increase in Japan, and Imaging World's move to Cologne. This episode is sponsored by Hollyland Pyro S (sponsor message at 23:55). Chapters:(00:00) Intro(00:56) Widescreen or not? Your feedback on our aspect ratio(03:16) DJI SDR Transmission 2 field test(23:55) Sponsor: Hollyland Pyro S(24:47) Sony FX5 delayed again(26:33) Apple Final Cut Camera 2.4 and Final Cut Pro 12.4(32:29) Huawei Mate90 and the Ruiying Z10 clip-on camera(39:15) Vivo X500 Pro, LOFIC and "are modern sensors too clean?"(50:36) FUJIFILM raises camera prices in Japan(53:00) Imaging World moves to Cologne(57:37) RAW Supersampler for Nikon raw(01:01:26) Panasonic LUMIX S9 firmware 2.1(01:02:01) Lomography Joseph Petzval Métamorphose 35 f/1.8(01:04:16) Godox Litemons SR20R(01:05:41) SmallRig x CineD OrBrella campaign update(01:07:49) FUJIFILM Fujikina NYC 2026(01:10:08) SmallRig Autumn Sale(01:10:59) Day-for-night: Sunlight in Disguise All articles and links from this episode: https://www.cined.com/are-modern-sensors-too-clean-dji-sdr-transmission-2-field-tested-huaweis-clip-on-camera-focus-check-ep137/ Full disclosure: the DJI SDR Transmission 2 field test is a paid collaboration with DJI and not a review. The SmallRig Autumn Sale article is sponsored. The OrBrella is our own product, developed with SmallRig. Send your questions and suggestions to [email protected], and watch the video version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQTktdMLtqnic6-qI28B774IC9xLMbKOG

DJI shipped more than 10 million handheld cameras last year – more than every CIPA camera maker combined. Together with Insta360, the company now ships more than twice as many cameras as the entire mirrorless industry. And in our Lab, the Sony FX5 just matched the ARRI ALEXA Mini LF for dynamic range. In this week's episode, Nino and Johnnie are back from IBC to go through the FX5 Lab Test, the ARRI-branded HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, Nikon’s Z5IIC, Meta’s VR Glasses, a SIGMA fp open-gate hack, the Chronos Q12, the big RØDECaster Video update, the crowdfunding launch of our OrBrella light, and more.

This week's episode is dedicated to remembering our dear colleague and friend Rodney Charters, ASC, who passed away in Amsterdam during the show – we will dedicate more time to him in an upcoming episode.We work through Johnnie's first hands-on demo of our SmallRig x CineD OrBrella prototype and the 200 pre-orders that sold out in just days, all the winners of our CineD Best-of-Show Awards at IBC 2026 – from the Adobe After Effects AI Assistant and the Deity PR-4 to the Aputure STORM CS32, NANLUX Matrix 2500C, Atomos Shinobi 7 II and Hollyland Pyro 7 Ultra – the Teradek Bolt 7, Sony's DWX Gen 4 and its US patent problem, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo, SmallRig's iPhone 18 cinema kit, the latest Pixboom Spark update, the Canon EOS R8 Mark II, Tilta's Pyro 7 Ultra cage, the SNAPGRID Core, SmallRig's Nano power banks, the Saramonic WiTalk Base, Angelbird's new CFexpress Type A v4 cards and a new MZed Storytelling Session. This Episode is Sponsored by Hollyland. Check it out at (00:18:36)►Learn more: http://cined.co/lwhjQk Topics and Chapters in this Episode: (00:00:00) Intro