HVR-Z1U
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Clint Eastwood edges closer to shooting in HD
Sure, we'd expect a legend like Clint Eastwood to stick to his theoretical guns when it comes to manhandling the cameras on the sets of Flags of our Fathers and the forthcoming Iwo Jima, but when HD camcorders almost win out against the tried and true 35mm film approach, we can't help but take notice. Eastwood admits that he, alongside a bevy of experts, ran a series of tests between scenes shot in HD versus film, and while he couldn't quite "reach the black levels" nor "control the atmosphere" as well as he wanted with HD cams, even he admits they came awfully close. He claimed the biggest dig against current HD rigs was their size, citing a need for ultra-fine HD capturing machinery that's uber-small as well before he could shoot an entire film with it. Still, he was able to utilize a series of Sony HVR-Z1U HDV cameras inside "prop 50-caliber machine-gun ammunition cases" after ruling out Panasonic's HVX-200 due to a lack of FireStore availability, and eventually blended a good bit of that content into the feature film. Mr. Eastwood admitted that HD wasn't quite where he needed it to be just yet, but felt very hopeful about its future in the motion picture industry, and if we had to guess, we'd say it won't be too much longer before HD technology will be "making his day."[Via DVGuru]
Whale watching in 1080i
Blah blah blah, high definition makes everything better, blah blah blah. Don't you ever just get tired of reading and talking about how great HD is, and how so many things are captured and broadcast better because of high-def equipment? Nope, we don't either. Today its whale watchers off the coast of Hawaii, who are getting better footage than ever before thanks to their Sony HVR-Z1U camera. Not only relatively small and cheap for the quality, researchers are able to record the whales from further away, and more accurately count, identify and observe their behavior due to the additional clarity. They hope the new technology will enable the first ever shots of humpback whales mating and giving birth. No word on when this hot whale pr0n will make it into one of those documentaries you'll have seen 100 times on Discovery and still watch just because its in HD.Read [NYT free registration required]
