Photo news: Canon's double V and Sony's half camera

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Here they are – Canon's PowerShot V1 and EOS R50 V were finally unveiled this week. The song of these cameras was already being whistled from the virtual rooftops months beforehand, so the surprise could actually be limited. However, the semi-professional features and – new operating concepts that Canon has incorporated according to the data sheet – are remarkable.

Just a few years ago, log formats for 4K cameras costing less than 1000 euros were just a dream. They enable extensive color editing, which today is called "looks". You can easily do this with current editing programs, even without extensive knowledge. However, other possibilities show that the Canons are not only intended for quick vlog videos, but also for the increasingly professional demands of web video producers on YouTube, TikTok and the like.

Camera control via app

Several cameras can also be synchronized via the log settings, and if the sensors do differ, the image can be easily corrected. This is important for multi-camera setups in the home studio, for example, where the host is shown in several settings and a product may also be presented in detail shots. And for live broadcasts, it may soon be possible to do without HDMI mixing consoles such as those from Blackmagic and the OBS program.

Speculatively speaking, this would require Canon's app to be able to control multiple cameras. Then add stable WLAN connections, the new Powerzoom kit – and you have a live setup with significantly fewer cables than before. This would not only be cheaper, not counting the camera price, but also much easier and quicker to set up than previous solutions with power and HDMI cabling, HDMI mixer and notebook to control the whole thing.

With these solutions, you still had to walk to the camera to change settings. This should be easier with an app or USB-C. If Canon has not yet considered such requests, they could deliver software updates later. Our detailed report on the two new launches reveals what the cameras can really do according to the files. One more note: Canon's R50 V is not just a small update to the previous R50, but a completely new camera without a viewfinder. From above, it almost looks like Nikon's very compact Z30, for which a successor is now urgently needed. Perhaps Nikon has waited so long because of Canon's competitor.

Canon's pounding fixed focal length with 20mm

Before we venture into the really big professional realms of filmmaking, here is the most important new product that photographers can also look forward to this week: Canon has unveiled a weighty chunk of glass for the RF mount. Weighing over a pound and with an RRP of 2,000 euros, it costs almost four euros per gram of lens. That should make it clear: The Canon RF 20mm f/1.4 L VCM, with a red ring of course, is one of those fixed focal lengths for top image quality. And the fourth and most expensive lens in the series, which already offers focal lengths of 24, 35 and 50 millimeters.

Given the prices, it is clear that Canon cannot do without a few functions for filming even with these professional lenses. Particularly noteworthy: according to the manufacturer, all four lenses mentioned have such a similar center of gravity that a gimbal does not need to be readjusted. In practice, this is an advantage that should not be underestimated when shooting and a different focal length is required quickly. And all four fixed focal lengths also have the quiet and fast linear motor –, which is what the "VCM" – stands for. The 20-millimeter is due to be launched at the end of April 2025.

Sony's half camera for cinema production

Sony's latest product, the "Venice 2 Extension System Mini", also shows that the requirements of filming are often special. This is an extension for the cinema cameras in the Venice series, and cannot function without it - in short, you need a Venice to be able to use it. This is because the extension is just a housing with an E-mount (PL adapters are available), the sensor, the electronics and a weight of just 540 grams without adapter and lens. All data processing and the numerous connections – are particularly important for cine cameras – remain in the large Venice camera.

Although this means that a colleague always has to run behind with the complete camera connected by cable, which Sony clearly shows in its presentation video, the mobility of the actual cameraman is drastically increased by the extension. A whole Venice including battery and lens can be carried at least on the shoulder, or screwed onto a tripod or crane. Fast movements and dynamic changes of perspective are hardly possible. And the visual language in vogue today is often one that looks like "filmed from the hand".

Dynamic imagery in the cinema too

Small, lightweight system cameras have made this possible, usually on a gimbal. This is exactly what can now be achieved with cine cameras in 8K. The cable for the extension is 4.5 meters long, and there is also a 12-meter cable for fixed positions. This enables quite complex setups, as is often the case in the less professional sector with several action cams à la GoPro.

The fact that Hollywood wants such small cine cameras can be seen in the movie "Top Gun: Maverick". According to Sony, an early version of the extension was used there over two years ago. For blockbusters costing over a hundred million dollars, the cost of cameras only plays a minor role, as they are usually rented from specialist companies in this area anyway. Nevertheless, here are the prices: A complete Venice 2 costs from 60,000 US dollars, the extension around 25,000 dollars. And according to director Joseph Kosinski, four cameras were used in the cockpit of the fighter planes in "Maverick", although it is not known how many of them were extensions.

What Fuji's compact medium format can do

Back on earth, we stay with the large image: In photography today, however, this is called medium format. Our colleague Peter Nonhoff-Arps tried out Fujifilm's GFX100RF in Prague. He used the 100 megapixels for panoramas, digital zooming and other specialties, and of course his practical article is our recommendation for a long read or long click at the weekend. Incidentally, the fact that this edition of our column has become so video-heavy is not of our own choosing, because: Next week sees the start of NAB in Las Vegas, the biggest industry gathering for filmmakers when it comes to technology. And we will hardly be able to avoid the innovations presented there in the next Fotonews.

(nie)