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The HD100 is the first HDV camera to offer interchangable lenses. It’s smaller than it looks, but otherwise it’s just what you’d expect from JVC Pro. It’s available in two versions: the HDV/DV out-only HD100 and the HDV/DV in/out-capable HD101.
The first time you pick up the FZ5, its lightweight body feels like it’s made out of plastic, especially when you compare it with the more robust and similarly featured Sony CyberShot H1 (reviewed here). You almost wish Panasonic had put a bit more weight in the camera.
Sony’s Cybershot H1 is clearly going after the same buyers targeted by Panasonic’s FZ5, another camera released at around the same time. Both are styled like an SLR, and both feature two-piece clip-on lens hoods, image stabilization, 12x optical zoom lenses and 5mp sensors.
Hexagon, the latest release from Eovia, is a dedicated 3D polygon modeller. The company already has a handful of 3D programs in the form of Carrara and Amapi. Eovia offers yet more 3D products on its Web site – you can buy DAZ and Pandromeda products, including MojoWorld and Bryce, at Eovia online.
Nikon’s latest brace of digital SLRs lower the entry-price into the professional camera market still further. Both will challenge the wave of high-end, closed-system prosumer models, such as Sony’s Cyber-Shot DSC-F828 and Nikon’s own Coolpix 8800.
Realsoft 3D doesn’t look much when you open it – the Windows interface harks back to the CAD-based early days of 3D. However, there are actually a choice of environments to pick from, including some preset samples.
Edius has been an also-ran in the NLE market but Canopus hopes, with the emergence of HDV, the company’s expertise with codecs will give the software a boost. Pinnacle’s Edition was the first tool to include native HDV support, but ...
Sony’s HDR-FX1E is the first HDV camcorder to record in 1080i, the interlaced variant of HDV that records at 1,440-x-1,080 with a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. This means that 1080i picture has 70 per cent more pixels than the 1,280-x-720 720p format used by ...
MotionBuilder was recently acquired by Alias, and it’s been given a slight makeover to go with the new family name.
StoryViz is not really aimed at mere mortals. It’s intended for those who need to illustrate and previsualize a movie or commercial before shooting – directors, visual effects supervisors, production directors and 3D animators, for example. As such, it’s up against that other new pre-viz product, Antics from Kelseus.
Liquid Edition is one of those pieces of software that ‘coulda been a contender’. A few years ago, when Premiere 6.5 seemed on its last legs, Pinnacle bought what would become Liquid Edition and its developer, FAST, to try to wrest the market from Adobe.
That Canon produced a PowerShot G6 at all comes as something of a surprise. The introduction of the 8mp Pro1 model earlier this year appeared to be the next step up from 2003’s 5mp G5 model, and seemed to spell the end of the well-regarded G-series of semi-professional digital compact cameras.
This drawing and illustration application has been in a crisis of identity recently. In the last couple of years it’s been called eveything from Corel Xara to Webster. This upgrade bears the name Xara X1.
Over the years, Armari has made a name for itself as one of the most dependable independent UK workstation vendors. Always at the forefront of technology, the company is regularly one of the first to showcase new developments.
EIAS is the new name for the 3D animation and modelling package ElectricImage Universe. Due to licensing issues, EIAS no longer comes with the ACIS-based EI Modeller, which is a shame, but that doesn’t mean a total return to the modeller-less old days.
Like many recent releases of 3D applications in the mid- to high-end range, version 8 of LightWave 3D has concentrated mainly on enhancements to character animation and dynamics.
XL1 owners have been asking for the XL2 for some years. 2001’s XL1s was a comparatively minor upgrade. In the lifetime of the XL1 and XL1s we’ve seen the arrival of camcorders styled after broadcast rigs, and a multiplicity of features aimed at low-budget filmmakers.
After years of using more or less the same body style for its digital cameras, Olympus now seems to be introducing a completely different look every six months. So, following the new body for the Camedia 5060 WZ last November, the C-8080 WZ debuts with yet another style.
If you’re looking to invest in a top-flight 3D animation system, there are a few big players to look at – and Softimage|XSI would be included in the list. The reasons for choosing one 3D package over another are many and varied, and the top contenders all have their strengths and weaknesses. Feature lists don’t tell the whole story, and high-end 3D applications all have similar features ...
For users of SLR cameras, going digital can have a major impact on the wallet. SLR prices jump from hundreds of pounds for a film camera to thousands for a digital model, which is why most digital SLR manufacturers have concentrated on the professional market – until recently. Nikon’s 6.1-megapixel D70 is the company’s first model designed for photographers of all stripes.
