5k
Latest
Apple adds Force Touch to 15-inch MacBook Pro, cuts 5K iMac prices
Now that the people are used to the pressure-sensitive trackpads in the new MacBook and smaller MacBook Pro, it's high time that the 15-inch model joined the party. That's why Apple has revealed that it's bringing Force Touch to the larger of its pro laptops. It's not just the user interface that's been tweaked, since there's faster flash storage, a further hour of battery life and AMD's new discrete graphics hardware tucked inside. At the same time, the company has managed to get the base price for its 27-inch Retina Display iMac down to $1,999 by sacrificing the Fusion Drive. Even better, however, is that the top-line 5K iMac with a 3.5GHz chip will now set you back $2,299, at least before you pick some build-to-order options, obviously. Both devices are available from today at the company's online and retail stores, as well as authorized resellers.
HP intros a slew of monitors, including curved, 5K and 3D models
HP just announced a boatload of new monitors here at CES and impressively, they seem to combine every big tech buzzword from the past few years. On the one hand, the company is showing off a pair of curved displays, which we already know are going to be huge at this year's show. Meanwhile, the company also unveiled its first 4K monitors, available in two sizes, along with its inaugural 5K model. Finally, HP is showing off a virtual reality display that works with 3D glasses, of all things -- a nice throwback to CES 2010.
iMac with Retina display review: best in class, but not everybody needs one
When Apple held one of its big keynotes last week, it was easy to think of it as "iPad day." Sure enough, the company announced some upgraded tablets, but it was a desktop, of all things, that stole the show. Though the new 27-inch iMac with Retina display has the same overall design as Apple's previous all-in-ones, it ushers in a 14.7-million-pixel 5K display with screen resolution of 5,120 x 2,880. That's seven times as many pixels as 1080p, and 67 percent more than you'll find even on a 4K panel. I'm not exaggerating when I say there's nothing like it. As it is, you'd be hard-pressed to find a 4K all-in-one, and meanwhile, here's this machine from Apple, with enough pixels to view a 4K video at full resolution, and still have room left onscreen for other stuff, like the Final Cut Pro dashboard. Needless to say, it's in a league -- and price class -- of its own. Starting at $2,499, it's more expensive than almost any other all-in-one on the market, even the supposedly high-end ones. As it turns out, though, if it's this kind of screen quality you're after, this might well be your only choice.
iFixit takes a peek inside Apple's new '5K' iMac
Sure, we were only just introduced to Apple's 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display, but the folks at iFixit are already tearing one apart. Inside they found a screen made by LG Display, and a setup similar to previous iMacs, including easily-accessed RAM slots for memory upgrades. Overall, the layout is almost exactly like last year's 27-inch iMac, plus that new display controller Apple bragged about and a slightly wider display data cable, enhanced to feed all those pixels. Repairing things might be tricky given its design, but you should check out the teardown for more details and a look at the carnage.
Dell outs 'world's first' 5K display with a massive 5,120 x 2,880 resolution
4K is so last week. Most of us haven't added one of those displays as part of our daily workflow yet, and Dell's 5K option is on the way. The UltraSharp 27 Ultra HD 5K monitor claims a world's first with said resolution. In terms of dimensions, that's 5,120 x 2,880 which clocks in at four times the resolution of QHD and seven times that of full HD. The panel itself is 218 PPI, putting it just shy of the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, and features the company's PremierColor tech and anti-smudge/anti-reflection edge-to-edge glass across its 27-inch facade. There are built-in "immersive acoustics" thanks to a pair of Harmon Kardon 16W speakers with six USB ports, on-board card reader and adjustable base for sorting tasks. If you're already wanting one for your office, you should probably start saving now. The UltraSharp model is set to arrive in Q4 with a $2,500 price tag.
Toshiba cares not for 4K, has an ultra-wide 5K TV ready for CES
4K? Pah, Toshiba's already working on something, you know, one better. One of our eagle-eyed readers sent in this picture of a "5K" extra-wide UHD TV on the show floor. Of course, like LG's 5K model, this is really just a 4K TV with a thousand extra pixels tacked on at the edges, but the plain technical facts shouldn't detract from this spectacular work of corporate one-upmanship. Naturally, we'll probably find out more about this hardware in a day or so, but until then, we'll just have to gaze upon this slightly blurry shot and wonder.
Red introduces $42K Epic-M Monochrome cinema cam, on sale October 1st
Red Camera promised to stop hyping products that weren't ready to ship, and true to its word, just announced the Epic-M Monochrome, surprising even its rabid user base. Packing an all-new black and white-only Mysterium-X sensor, the new cinema cam follows in the footsteps of the Leica M Monochrom still shooter, right down to a similar moniker. Red claims the dedicated CMOS sensor means no color debayering, yielding a one-to-one pixel count and 15-20 percent bump in effective resolution compared to its chromatic cousin. It also touted a sensitivity gain as another advantage, asserting that the Monochrome will have a native ISO of 2,000 (while using the retro-sounding "ASA" term), more than double that of the Epic-M or X. The camera will have a new low pass filter to account for the higher resolution, and buyers who plop down $42,000 to get one on October 1st will be upgraded, gratis, to a new Dragon Monochrome Sensor next year. Like the Leica, if you have to ask why you'd pay such a sum for a camera that doesn't speak color, it may not be for you -- but it is for David Fincher, says Red, who's already shooting his next feature on one.
Red claims Dragon is 'single most significant sensor in the history of image capture'
Red Camera's bombastic CEO, Jim Jannard, says that internal testing of the new 6K Dragon sensor proves that it's the new "resolution and dynamic range king." He also claims it will be "the cleanest sensor you have ever seen, ISO 2000 looks better than MX [the current sensor] at ISO 800." The imaging chip was first outed at NAB in April, promising 15+ stops of DR and 120fps at a full 5K of resolution, with $6,000 upgrades for Epic customers by the end of the year. Owners of the $9,700 (brain only) Scarlet-X will also get the Dragon, though no price or date has been given yet for that camera. Needless to say, some independent testing will be needed to substantiate his claims, but Jannard sure does sound confident.
RED goes beyond cameras with $15,000 REDucation X showbiz immersion
RED's dabbled in the workshop arena with its three-day REDucation classes, but the cinema company's new program ups the session time to a full 16 weeks. REDucation X, which kicks off on October 1st, will run you a cool $15,000 -- approaching the cost of an entire Scarlet-X package. While getting REDucated at RED Studios in Hollywood, you'll learn from high-end film pros alongside 20 other deep-pocketed students as you cover digital production from A to Z, including lighting, shooting and equipment brass tacks, followed by a one-week shoot, and finishing with editing, grading and big-screen delivery. So given the choice, should you buy a new Scarlet, or take the training? We'd love to own one, but it would be nice to know how to use it properly, too.
RED Dragon 6K sensor upgrade eyes-on (video)
"Obsolescence Obsolete" -- that's RED's tagline for the just-announced Dragon sensor upgrade, which is set to bring 6K resolution to EPIC and Scarlet cameras beginning later this year. The sensor module was on display at the company's NAB booth today, under a backlit case that could only have been designed to make photographing the new chip a near-impossible task. We did manage to snag a few frames of the device, which appears as a mere silhouette to the naked eye. Sensors aren't designed for us to look at, however -- they're supposed to do the looking -- so we won't get any more hung up on the presentation. Existing RED camera owners can look forward to an incredibly impressive 15+ stops of native dynamic range and up to 120 frames-per-second at resolutions up to 5K. And as we discovered earlier today, the upgrade will roll out to EPIC owners sometime in 2012 for $6,000 while Scarlet users will need to hang tight for a release date, and a price tag. That's all we've got as far as details go, so click on through the gallery below for a flashlight-enhanced peek at the Dragon.
RED unveils Dragon sensor upgrade, turns Epic and Scarlet into a 6K camera
Love gadgets named after Hannibal Lecter movies? Good, because RED's announcing the RED Dragon upgrade kit that'll bolt onto your EPIC or Scarlet camera to provide resolutions of 6K at 85fps or 5k at 120fps with 15+ stops of Dynamic Range. Company founder Jim Jannard has said that the sensor is slightly larger than that of the Mysterium-X, but the pixel size is smaller, promising that "most of the current lenses will work" with the new hardware. It'll cost EPIC users $6,000 and arrive "late in the year," but bad news if you've got a Scarlet: it's back of the queue time for you until 2013, with no word on what it'll cost you, either.
A Red Scarlet-X 4K tour around CES 2012 (video)
For the third CES in a row, our old friend Ted Schilowitz has stopped by to let us drool over Red's latest high-end cameras. And boy, this is one helluva camera we have this time. You may recall that last year we were shown a working Scarlet prototype with 3K video resolution and a fixed lens; but fast forward to 2012 and we have the Scarlet-X, a sturdy 4K beast that not only supports interchangeable lens, but it's also actually out on the market. Obviously, the $9,700 base price (excluding the Canon EF lens mount; Nikon and Leica mounts coming soon) is aimed at film studios instead of us regular Joes, but Ted was kind enough to spend a whole afternoon showing us all the goodness on the Scarlet-X -- we even got to play with it on the CES show floor, and unsurprisingly, this Red kit became quite the celebrity. Read on to find out how we got on with it.
RED makes the Scarlet official, 5K stills and 4K video for $9,750
It's been quite a day for all you cinephiles out there. First Canon outed its pair of Cinema EOS cameras, and now RED has finally released the Epic's baby sister Scarlet. Scarlet packs a similar punch as her older brother, so she takes 5K (5120 x 2700) resolution stills at 12fps, or can shoot your next cinematic masterpiece in 4K (4096 x 2160) at 25fps. The Scarlet also can use all of the Epic's accessories and comes with a Canon mount so there's plenty of glass to choose from, too. Best of all, Scarlet can be all yours for the low price of $9,750. That's right, for the price of a used Honda Civic, you can shoot video that essentially looks as good as those made by pros like Peter Jackson and John Shwartzman (assuming you've got their moviemaking skills). We're about to get our hands on one, so stay tuned for our first impressions. When she's all by herself, Scarlet cuts a rather petite figure. She weighs the same as an Epic, but trades her elder brother's ebony exterior for one that is, according to RED founder Jim Jannard, "battleship gray." Not the most feminine color, but we must admit we like the two-tone appearance when you start adding on extras like a RED remote or an external view screen. Unfortunately, we didn't get to shoot any video with Scarlet, but we did get to hold her for a bit and found the build quality to be top notch. The camera has a solid feel, and while we wouldn't want to lug it around all day by hand, it's easy enough to maneuver for several minutes at a time. We're hoping we can do some serious shooting with Scarlet with sometime soon for a fuller impression -- RED aims to start shipping them on December first -- but given her low price point and copious cinematic capabilities, we imagine her dance card will be filled for quite some time. %Gallery-138423%
RED EPIC-X starts shipping to lucky shooters with deep pockets
It's been almost two years since we first got a peek at the specs on RED's EPIC-X, and the 5K-shooting, roughly $30,000 rig is just now shipping out to customers. That's not terribly shocking considering the company's notoriously long development cycles and, if you ordered one, you should be too excited about getting a new toy to worry about how long it took to build. Lets just hope the first batch of folks to start capturing gorgeous footage with this thing have a little more luck than Mark Pederson -- RED can't be handing out $100,000 bounties every time it releases a new product.
RED EPIC scores a Canon EOS mount, Laforet gets some extraordinary footage (video)
We've seen some mind-blowing footage from RED's EPIC, as one might expect from a $39,500 camera with a 5K sensor and up to 120 fps video capture (at 4K). But video shooter and all-around photo wiz Vincent Laforet got to take an exclusive early look at the company's new Canon EOS mount, which pairs the EPIC-M with Canon's enormous collection of top-quality glass, including the 600mm f/4 L lens Laforet used for his shoot at Mono Lake in California. That lens, used with a 2x Canon teleconverter and the RED's multiplication factor, yields a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 3400mm, which as you'll see in the video below, enabled some pretty incredible video captures. RED has yet to officially announce availability for the Canon EOS mount, but has shared that it will cost $2,000 (pennies compared to the EPIC's $58,000 kit price), and will be constructed of titanium -- tasked with the critical responsibility of reducing movement during those extended-lens shoots. Jump past the break for Laforet's sample video, or check out his blog post at the source link for the full rundown.%Gallery-130053%
FCC gives the RED EPIC-M its teardown treatment, so you don't have to
Ever wondered what it feels like to tear down a $58,000 professional video camera? Well, unless you're as minted as Peter Jackson or James Cameron, chances are you'll never get close to a RED EPIC-M (without breaking the law) to find out. That said, you may get some insight from this fresh batch of disassembly shots, courtesy of the FCC. Sure, there aren't any jewels or unicorns hidden inside this powerful 5K imager, but you'll get plenty of close-up shots of its delicate circuitry -- it's actually pretty impressive how much the hand-machined chassis holds. Head over to Wireless Goodness to admire the full glory, but make sure you don't dribble over your keyboard.
James Cameron picks up 50 RED EPIC-Ms, high-fives Peter Jackson
Looks like another director's been on a shopping spree lately, as RED's Jim Jannard's just announced that he sold another 50 EPIC-Ms to one generous customer. Who's this, you ask? Why, it's James Cameron of Avatar and Titanic fame, and he's probably just blown $2.9 million on his latest stash of cinematographic toys -- it's $58,000 a pop for these hand-machined professional cameras. Details are scarce at the moment, but any educated guess would point at the upcoming Avatar 2 due end of 2014, meaning our favorite blue aliens will be returning in a healthy 5K resolution. Keep an eye out for Jannard's official announcement later this week for the full lowdown. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
RED EPIC-M stars in gorgeous vid, RED ONE jealously shoots the footage (video)
By now you're probably familiar with the $58,000 RED EPIC-M and what it can do, but it's hard to properly admire its hand-machined beauty from a distance. We can't ship you a unit, of course, but we've got the next best thing: close-up footage of the compact 5K beast shot with another RED camera -- the original 4K RED ONE M-X. Lousiana post-production company Digital FX lovingly fondled EPIC-M #98 on camera, not to mention goodies like the Bomb EVF and 5-inch touchscreen LCD, and you can watch, drool and share your oh-so-envious thoughts with us right after the break.
RED EPIC shoots birds at 96fps, no dog needed to retrieve them (video)
Forgive us if we take a moment every now and again to relish in some resolution overload courtesy of a RED EPIC, but we just can't help ourselves. The video below (and picture above) come courtesy of Tom Lowe, who filmed a sequence of birds frolicking in the water at Salton Sea, California, captured at 5K resolution and at 96fps. This gives everything a rather majestic air to it -- though the soundtrack certainly doesn't hurt. Click "play" and enjoy, and then wish that your connection were fast enough to handle an uncompressed 5K video stream. [Thanks, Tom]
First hand-machined RED EPIC ships, gets lovingly toyed with (update)
This RED EPIC belongs to Mark Pederson -- the head of studio OffHollywood -- who was apparently the very first one to drop $58,000 for the pre-production 5K camera, not to mention the first to lay down money for the original one. In case you've arranged to find yourself with a similarly jawdropping Christmas present in the mail, you can find pictures of what to expect at our source links below. The links will also do quite nicely if you haven't experienced that feeling called "jealousy" in a while and would like a refresher course. Update: OffHollywood is shooting up a storm with the EPIC-M right now, and you'll find more gorgeous pics and impressions at REDUSER and their Twitter account. [Thanks, Charlie and Patrick]
