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4:33 pm
Camera Owner
February 28, 2012
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Hello Everyone,
If you saw my kickstarted update #22 I promised I would open up for discussion the HD-SDI unit and tell you about the plans we have so far. We are open to suggestion and would like to hear from you.
So first here is an image of what we think this would look like. (Please ignore the improper port layout this is a very old graphic)
http://www.digitalbolex.com/wp.....chment.jpg
As you can see it would fit snugly under the camera and add a couple of inches of height but no width or length to the camera.
There is a port at the bottom of the camera that is a proprietary connection between the HD-SDI unit and the D16, this means no extra cables need to run from the camera to the HD-SDI unit it's power and data should transfer through this port.
Inside we are hoping to run the same floating point calculations that will be running in the computer, but in real time. This is quite a challenge and is going to add a lot of cost to this unit, but the result is much better image quality and color rendition. Basically we have to fit the processing unit from a laptop in there!
The HD-SDI will be limited to 1920 x 1080 and 4:2:2 color space. There will be analog style control knobs so you can set your color balance, saturation, value/brightness, and have various curves you can assign(labeled contrast here). There will be two HD-SDI ports that will mirror the same image to two monitors for operator / director monitors. Another one for jam syncing timecode. And possibly an HDMI port too for color monitoring.
What else would you guys like to see here?
Here are some ideas that are not included due to added cost:
1. Internal recording of the corrected / transcoded signal in a prores file to CF cards.
2. Internal battery compartment.
3. Other mounting options.
We are still in the very rough stages of planning. Obviously none of the design work on this can be started until the camera is finished and shipped, but I am happy to start talking about it now with you guys if you would like.
Thanks for your input, Joe
5:06 pm
March 27, 2012
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Would it be possible for this unit to support in camera playback of raw footage stored on the SSD or CF cards for onset review? Also the ability to create and load LUT metadata for different looks from the external software package would be nice. Exposing for and shooting to a LUT seems to be a very common practice with Red shooters.
5:39 pm
Camera Owner
February 28, 2012
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Those sound like great ideas!
Playback should definitely be possible.
I will add them to the list of feature requests 
10:10 pm
June 22, 2012
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Since I would not use that unit, maybe I should just shut up. But then, I would have some remarks, even though the price will go through the ceiling 
-Have you thought of provisions for tripod mounting? May I suggest providing a fast release compatible with Arca Swiss plates?
-If the unit is also expected to be usable handheld (I doubt it...), it should be usable with the pistol grip, i.e. it needs a pass-through of the electric "record" plug, and must be designed accordingly.
-What about 15 mm rod supports? These need to be positioned 85 mm below the optical axis.
-Could the HD-SDI unit also be equipped with a HD/SSD slot?
8:26 am
March 19, 2012
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I think that would be a great place to put all the features the non-film people are wanting. You could make one port send out just the processed video signal and the other one could optionally have focus assist, histogram & whatever else they're wanting to turn this into yet another video camera. It would be nice if the unit had its own REMOVABLE SSD port that would trigger off of the camera. That way, you can record an uncompressed HD-SDI video signal anybody could edit AND have the raw video on the camera itself. With an accessory like that, I'd even go as far as suggesting scrapping the virtually useless HDMI output on the camera itself or adding an HDMI port to the SDI unit instead. One thing that would be really cool is if you can replay the corrected HD-SDI signal off the accessories drive and the raw data off of the camera, through the video processor. That would really open up a lot of options for video people, allowing them a more conventional video workflow plus a backup version they can color correct in real time on the way to some other device such as a video switcher, VTR or computer. That would also be a good place to add the SMPTE some people want. I think this accessory, if it can do all these things, would open the camera up to thousands of people instead of hundreds. It would also allow you to leave the camera itself as simple and 16mm-like as possible. The camera has already mutated well beyond a simple, digital replacement for film users.
[edit] Now that I think about it, this would be a great opportunity to add audio ports to the right side of the camera where they'll be out of the operator's way. Maybe you could even drop the audio ports from the camera itself. For an accessory like this, I don't think price should be TOO much of a concern as long as its reasonable, because it really turns the camera into a completely new system with a huge world of possibilities.
11:37 am
Camera Owner
Kickstarter Backer
April 23, 2012
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wado1942 said
[edit] Now that I think about it, this would be a great opportunity to add audio ports to the right side of the camera where they'll be out of the operator's way. Maybe you could even drop the audio ports from the camera itself. For an accessory like this, I don't think price should be TOO much of a concern as long as its reasonable, because it really turns the camera into a completely new system with a huge world of possibilities.
Whatever you do please DON"T drop the audio ports from the camera altogether ! by all means move them but don't take them out !
The spec and concept of the D16 with 24bit audio & high quality A/D converters is extremely important to half of the shooting I'm going to do and I will not have someone else with me to record the sound separately. This camera should be both renegade and modular !
12:15 pm
March 27, 2012
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Jade Lane said
wado1942 said
[edit] Now that I think about it, this would be a great opportunity to add audio ports to the right side of the camera where they'll be out of the operator's way. Maybe you could even drop the audio ports from the camera itself. For an accessory like this, I don't think price should be TOO much of a concern as long as its reasonable, because it really turns the camera into a completely new system with a huge world of possibilities.
Whatever you do please DON"T drop the audio ports from the camera altogether ! by all means move them but don't take them out !
The spec and concept of the D16 with 24bit audio & high quality A/D converters is extremely important to half of the shooting I'm going to do and I will not have someone else with me to record the sound separately. This camera should be both renegade and modular !
+1! I can live with the connectors as they are. No camera is perfect.
I would love to put a Pearl hypercardioid MS stereo mic on camera for ambient nature sound and acoustic music doc recording.
12:45 pm
March 19, 2012
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I wasn't quite serious about getting rid of the mic inputs on the camera itself, but having an external module to handle the "video-y" stuff would lend itself to adding mic ports there. Maybe leave the two on the camera (if they're quality, 24-bit ADCs and preamps) and add two more on the right side of the SDI module? That would even allow for four tracks max.
4:13 pm
Camera Owner
Kickstarter Backer
March 17, 2012
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The image is no longer available, but the specs sound cool.
I second the inclusion of LUT support. At least a toggle to send it out or not to a director/producer monitor.
How about adding LANC to the I/O's as well.
11:29 am
Camera Owner
Kickstarter Backer
March 18, 2012
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Ari Davidson said
The image is no longer available, but the specs sound cool.
I second the inclusion of LUT support. At least a toggle to send it out or not to a director/producer monitor.
How about adding LANC to the I/O's as well.
LUT support would have me sold on the HD-SDI Unit.
8:37 am
Camera Owner
Kickstarter Backer
March 18, 2012
Offline
I think thyl makes a good case for the displacement of the rods
Maybe bore out 15mm rod tubes at the top of the unit and then cap the openings for those who don't use rods
I would love to see SSD support, but for some reason I would really love to see sdxc 4:2:2 1920 x 1080 prores or even mjpeg so I could watch my dailies on a iPad or pc whilst my mac ( which I still don't have ) is busy processing the Cdngs
1:52 am
Camera Owner
February 28, 2012
Offline
Thanks everyone for the ideas!
Keep them coming, I am flying to Toronto on the 17th of this month to have another meeting, I'm sure we'll discuss HD-SDI unit.
Rod support sounds awesome! No extra plate needed
6:07 am
March 27, 2012
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If rod support is added, consider adding it to the backside too for supporting other accessories like wireless receivers and batteries.
This could become something like the Meizler module for Red Scarlet/Epic. http://www.red.com/store/produ.....le_Release
Or maybe the pro I/O module: http://www.red.com/store/produ.....-io-module
Building it into a universal platform base optimized for tripod and balanced over the shoulder rigs is a good idea to me.