Director of Marketing & Product Development Thom Calabro introduces the Fujinon XA19 Lens, which debuted at NAB 2012.

The Fujinon PL 19-90 Cabrio Lens, featured in the video above, was presented with a Digital Video Best of Show Black Diamond Award at NAB Show 2012. A select panel of engineers, editors, and production and post professionals joined the magazine staff to judge the Best of Show awards for Digital Video, which recognize outstanding achievement in the advancement of video technology.

The Fujinon PL 19-90 Cabrio (ZK4.7x19) features an exclusive detachable servo drive unit, making it suitable for use as a standard PL lens or as an ENG-Style lens. The ZK4.7x19 also features flange focal distance adjustment, macro function, and is LDS (Lens Data System) and /i metadata compatible. With a 19-90mm focal range and weight of only 2.7kg including servo motors, this lens has the longest focal range available in a light weight zoom.

Visit www.FujifilmUSA.com/2012NAB to see other Fujinon lens debuts from this years NAB or for more information on Fujifilm Optical Devices, go to www.Fujinon.com, or follow us at www.Facebook.com/FujifilmOptical and www.Twitter.com/FujifilmOptical

1. Is there one instance you can pinpoint that turned you on to photography and cinematography?

In high school, I was always the kid that could not quite figure out the whole social scene. When I discovered photography, my whole world opened up to new ways of communicating. I could now create an image and get really interesting responses from people.  
 
2. What do you view as emerging trends in cinematography today?

For me, creative trends are far more interesting than technology trends. In our business, we are seeing the need to have aerials, or establishing shots, in all productions from full scale nature documentary to reality shows to indie films. Aerials are unique in their power to set a place and mood for the film.

Planet Earth established the Cineflex V14HD as the "must have" camera for any nature documentary. Now, almost every "Made for TV" program needs aerials.

3. What were your FIRST and BEST experiences using the revolutionary Cineflex HD technology?

Everyday! I absolutely love exploring new landscapes and communicating the beauty of the planet with the Cineflex and Fujinon lenses. My personal favorites are The Andes mountains, glaciers, Grand Canyon, and filming volcanoes. Lately, we have been working in Latin America where the landscape is just now being explored with the Cineflex camera systems.
 
4. You started working mainly in fashion, annual report photography and advertising.  How did you transition from that to the range of everything you do now?

I think anyone starts business with the opportunity at hand. I was based in Charlotte, NC when I started business 30 years ago. At that time, the only work was from textile mills and banks. My only business strategy was to differentiate my studio by specializing in location work rather than studio. From my start in commercial work, I then produced images for license as stock for many years before moving to aerial HD video. As a caveat, I have been shooting aerials for many years, so moving into aerial film was an easy transition. Creating aerial video is really just creating many, many still images in sequence. Every image composition must be perfect, and transition into the next image.



Stay tuned in to our blog for part two!

For more information on Aerial Filmworks visit http://www.aerialfilmwork.com/.

For more information on Fujifilm Optical Devices, go to www.Fujinon.com, or follow us at www.Facebook.com/FujifilmOptical and www.Twitter.com/FujifilmOptical.
 

According to data released in a Broadcast Engineering article, NAB 2012 was attended by 91,932 professionals from the worldwide broadcast and professional video production industries. This is up about 4.5% from the 88,044 that gathered last year.
 
In line with the show overall, Fujifilm USA experienced better booth traffic, in part because of the new products we unveiled. Headlining this year’s cast was the Fujinon PL 19-90 Cabrio Lens, which was presented with a Digital Video Best of Show Black Diamond Award. A select panel of engineers, editors, and production and post professionals joined the magazine staff to judge the Best of Show awards for Digital Video, which recognize outstanding achievement in the advancement of video technology. You can see a video of the PL 19-90 here.

The lens was a hit with attendees from all over the world, fitting the overall feel of NAB. The official numbers*, as provided by the NAB, are as follows

• Total Registered Attendees:  92,112
• International Attendees:  24,928
• Countries represented:  151
• News Media Attendees:  1,652

NAB Executive Vice President of Media Relations Dennis Wharton said that an estimated $30 billion in commerce was generated by the show including the business done on the exhibit hall floor by the 1,600 exhibitors

To watch videos of all the products we introduced at NAB, visit our YouTube channel. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. 

* International and news media attendance figures are included in the overall registration number. All numbers are based on pre-show and onsite registration.
 

Welcome to the second half of our interview with Director of Photography for the National Geographic special, Oceanus, David Linstrom!

Q: You not only used the Fujinon HA13X4.5 lens during the filming of Oceanus, but you've said that, in using the HA13X4.5 it over the past 6 or so years, it's become your favorite lens. Why do you think it works so well for your style of documentary shooting?

A. The Fujinon HA13X4.5 is a beautiful lens. It allows me to get up close and personal. When shooting handheld, it allows me to move with the camera more fluidly. It makes my work look better by taking out a lot of the shake. And it's pin sharp.

Q. You said in a recent article (http://www.btlnews.com/crafts/camera/spintec-keeps-lens-clean-for-david-linstrom's-columbia-river-voyage/) that you were able to protect the Fujinon HA13X4.5 lens while in difficult waters during the shooting of Oceanus with the Spintec rain deflector from Innovision Optics. How much footage did this save from the cutting room floor, and are there any particular scenes we should watch out for that might have otherwise not been included?

A. The Spintec was used with a Tyler helicopter nose mount. It keeps rain and bugs off of the lens. Helicopter shots are expensive and since it was raining on and off the entire week we were there, it was the perfect tool for this shoot.

Q. Aside from adverse weather, is there another major challenge you often face during shooting, and if so, how do you combat it?

A. When shooting for National Geographic (and all non-fiction for that matter) I usually find myself in adverse conditions. Long flights, long car rides, hot and buggy or freezing locations, marginal food. That said, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've been to some of the most fascinating places on earth. The trick is to stay healthy and travel safe. I learned early on how important it is to re-charge at the end of the day. And to keep in mind that I'll probably never be back to this location, so get the most out of it in the short time I'm there.

Q. What was most unique about the production of this documentary?

A. The Columbia Bar Pilots have a very dangerous and unique job. It is their responsibility to navigate large tankers and container ships over one of the most treacherous waters, where the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean. If the Bar closes, the river traffic backs up and million of dollars are at stake. It's their job to keep the commerce moving. And they risk their lives every day just to get to work. They either have to climb up a rope ladder that extends down form a moving super tanker or be lowered via cable onto a moving ship. Then they have to steer a gigantic vessel over a sand bar in waves up to 40 ft that clears the bottom by as little as 5 ft. These men and women are some of the most easy going yet confident people I've ever met. Simply amazing.


Oceanus will air on the National Geographic Channel next year.