Dion Beebe, Janusz Kaminski, Dante Spinotti, Haskell Wexler Among Featured Speakers

If it's June, it must be time for Cine Gear Expo. Now in its 16th year, the show brings together vendors of motion-picture cameras and a wide-variety of gear related to cameras and the art and science of image making. The event kicked off yesterday at The Studios at Paramount with a series of competition screenings of feature films and shorts vying for a variety of prizes, and the exhibits open at 3 p.m. this afternoon and 10 a.m. tomorrow. For more on the specifics, take a look at the CIne Gear Expo website: www.cinegearexpo.com/83/

Here's a round-up of some of the news that has crossed our desk about the gear that will be on display and other happenings. For a complete listing of Cine Gear exhibitors, check out the directory at the official website: www.cinegearexpo.com/category/exhibitors/exhibitor-list/ To get up to speed with the conference program, check out the full list of seminars here: www.cinegearexpo.com/category/seminars/full-schedule/

An ASC panel of cinematographers will talk about visual style at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, in the Sherry Lansing theater. George Spiro Dibie, ASC, will moderate and participants will include Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS; Stephen H. Burum, ASC; Patrick Cady, ASC; James L. Carter, ASC; Michael Goi, ASC; Karl Walter Lindenlaub, ASC; Donald A. Morgan, ASC; Dave Perkal, ASC; Roberto Schaefer, ASC; Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC; and Haskell Wexler, ASC.

Underwater shooting specialist DeepX will be showing a finished production model of its new 3Deep housing for the Red Epic at the Band Pro booth, along with two of the company's flagship DeepX lightweight housings for Red Epic and Scarlet. Using Nikon Nikonos submersible lenses, they're designed to minimize distortion and keep images in sharp focus by resolving 5K from corner to corner. For more info: achtel.com/3Deep/index.htm

At 4:45 p.m. today and at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow in screening room #5, Fujifilm asks, "Can film and digital live together?"

Gamma and Density will demonstrate version 5.1 of its its 3cP Set + Post dailies system, which now supports footage from the Canon C300 and the Red Scarlet and Epic and generates Avid DNxHD MXF files. G&D's Image Control app (in Pro and Lite versions) for the iPad can work as a standalone system, using Apple's iPad Camera Connection Kit to transfer frames of footage directly from a camera to the iPad via SD card or USB. For more info: www.gammadensity.com

Glidecam willl show the redesigned Glidecam XR Series of camera stabilizers (pictured), with an offset foam-cushioned handle grip attached to a three-axis gimbal that allows a free range of hand movement without affecting the motion of the camera. The camera-mounting platform can be quickly adjusted on two axes to rebalance the camera horizontally. Vertical balance is changed using counterweight disks on the base platform or by adjusting the telescoping central post. For more info: www.glidecam.com/

Kodak will present Just Talking, an event featuring Janusz Kaminski, ASC, and Phedon Papamichael, ASC, in the Paramount Theater at 6 p.m. today, June 1.

Light Iron Digital will be touting Outpost Enterprise, a new business model that would have users paying a "minimal" fee for an Outpost, Lily Pad, or Lily Pad Case mobile digital-lab system. Those users would then pay an additional flat fee for each day the system is actually in use on a project. Customers can set their own rates for clients. 

OSRAM will be showing its HMI Director Series of high-wattage single-end and double-end lamps, which will replace the company's existing 6000-watt and higher offerings. They're slated for availability this month. For more info: www.sylvania.com

Pro8mm will be showing the Rhonda Cam (pictured), a Super 8 camera originally produced in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The company hopes it will be more than a nostalgia item since it boasts a lens speed of f/1.0 — making it an interesting approach to low-light photography. It also offers users a 3x zoom and macro shooting at 215mm from the film plane. The company will be asking Cine Gear attendees to "beta test" the camera, helping set recommendations for exposure settings and appropriate film stocks. For more info on Pro8mm: www.pro8mm.com/

Radiant Images will exhibit the SI-2K Nano POV camera (pictured), which it says was developed for use on the set of cop drama End of Watch, where it was strapped to the chests of actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena. WIth a sensor one-third the size of the original SI-2K Mini, it shoots uncompressed raw 4:4:4 images at 2K resolution with a claimed 10 stops of dynamic range. It was also used in stereoscopic body mounts for 3D photography in the upcoming Step Up: Revolution. Also on offer will be a specially modified GoPro Hero in a heavy-duty anodized-aluminum front casing with a variety of mounting points and added protection for the HDMI cable port. For more info: www.radiantimages.com/

The Tiffen Company will show its new line of MPTV optical filters. The Tiffen IRND/Ultra Pol Filter, made from Water White glass, combines protection from infrared light pollution with glare and reflection reduction and other characteristics of the company's premium polarizing filters, such as dramatic sky effects. The rest of the MPTV line includes new versions of the company's Pro-Mist, Black Pro-Mist and Glimmerglass filters in a 1/16 grade size aimed at 4K shooting. Tiffen got an endorsement from DP Steven Poster, who praises the "super flatness" of the new filters for use in 4K workflows. Tiffen said pricing for the new grade of filter remains the same. Also at the Tiffen booth will be Lowel Power LED lights, including the Lowel Prime LED system that was introduced in December in daylight and tungsten versions. For more info: www.tiffen.com/

Also under Tiffen's umbrella will be Steadicam gear, such as the X-Series line of camera-stabilizer support arms. The G-50x ($11,400, with a 50 pound capacity; pictured) and G-70x ($18,800, up to 70 pounds) models have a 29-inch boom range with shock-absorbing bumpers at each end. The X-Series boasts a new design with increased structural strength, improved geometry, and a new hard anodize on the main arm components for added longevity. Also on display will be new refinements to the Steadicam Pilot and Scout, now dubbed the Pilot HD Series and Scout HD/SDI. The Pilot HD comes in HD/SDI and HDMI flavors; the HDMI version has a fixed, non-adjustable aluminum post while the HD/SDI model has an expandable carbon fiber post. Both models have a lightweight Iso-Elastic arm with 28-inch boom. The Scout HD/SDI holds up to 18 pounds of camera weight. For more info: www.tiffen.com/steadicam.html