RED Digital Cinema® announced that its HELIUM® 8K S35 and GEMINI® 5K S35 sensors will be incorporated into the RED RANGER® camera ecosystem. These two new alternatives create a robust lineup for creators who prefer an integrated, all-in-one system to the more modular RED DSMC2® camera. The RANGER HELIUM 8K S35 and RANGER GEMINI 5K S35 is available now via RED’s global network of resellers, participating rental houses, and directly through RED. The cameras will be on display for the first time at IBC in the RED meeting room on the fourth floor of the Elicium at the RAI Amsterdam, from September 13-17.
Designed to meet the needs of high-end productions, the RED RANGER MONSTRO 8K VV has been well received by cinematographers since its launch earlier this year, and remains a rental house-only product.
All three sensor variants of the RED RANGER camera system include the same benefits of the compact, standardized camera body, weighing around 7.5 pounds (depending on battery). The system can also handle heavy-duty power sources to satisfy power-hungry configurations, and boasts a large fan for quiet, more efficient temperature management.
The RED RANGER camera system consists of three SDI outputs (two mirrored and one independent) allowing two different looks to be output simultaneously; wide-input voltage (11.5V to 32V); 24V and 12V power outs (two of each); one 12V P-Tap; integrated 5-pin XLR stereo audio input (line/mic/+48V selectable); as well as genlock, timecode, USB, and control. Both V-Lock and Gold Mount battery options are supported.
As with all current RED cameras, the RANGER can simultaneously record REDCODE RAW plus Apple ProRes or AVID DNxHD or DNxHR at up to 300 MB/s write speeds. It also features RED’s end-to-end color management and post workflow with the enhanced image processing pipeline (IPP2).
RED now offers two separate but equally strong product lineups that give content creators more creative choices. The DSMC2 ecosystem continues to provide a dynamic and modular cinema camera for users who value maximum flexibility, allowing their imaginations to run wild with configuration options. RED RANGER is the perfect option for those that prefer a less complex and more standardized alternative.
“In collaboration with rental houses to bring the RANGER MONSTRO to market, we have heard great feedback from customers, inspiring these two new variants,” said RED Digital Cinema president Jarred Land.
RANGER HELIUM and RANGER GEMINI ship complete with:
–New Production Top Handle
–Shimmed PL Mount
–New LCD/EVF Adaptor D with improved cable routing when used on the left side of the camera
–New 24V AC power adaptor with 3-pin 24V XLR power cable, which can also be used with 24V block batteries
–Lens mount shim pack
–Compatible Hex and Torx tools
–Additionally, RED plans to introduce Canon EF Mount versions of both RANGER HELIUM and RANGER GEMINI later this year.
Pricing for the two new variants is $29,950/€27,450/£24,750 for RANGER HELIUM and $24,950/€22,850/£20,650 for RANGER GEMINI.
Vatican, Microsoft Create AI-Generated St. Peter’s Basilica–For In-Person and Virtual Visitors
The Vatican and Microsoft on Monday unveiled a digital twin of St. Peter's Basilica that uses artificial intelligence to explore one of the world's most important monument's while helping the Holy See manage visitor flows and identify conservation problems. Using 400,000 high-resolution digital photographs, taken with drones, cameras and lasers over four weeks when no one was in the basilica, the digital replica is going online alongside two new on-site exhibits to provide visitors -- real and virtual -- with an interactive experience. "It is literally one of the most technologically advanced and sophisticated projects of its kind that has ever been pursued," Microsoft's president Brad Smith told a Vatican press conference. The project has been launched ahead of the Vatican's 2025 Jubilee, a holy year in which more than 30 million pilgrims are expected to pass through the basilica's Holy Door, on top of the 50,000 who visit on a normal day. "Everyone, really everyone should feel welcome in this great house," Pope Francis told Smith and members of the project's development teams at an audience Monday. The digital platform allows visitors to reserve entry times to the basilica, a novelty for one of the world's most visited monuments that regularly has an hours-long line of tourists waiting to get in. But the heart of the project is the creation of a digital twin of St. Peter's Basilica through advanced photogrammetry and artificial intelligence that allows anyone to "visit" the church and learn about its history. The ultra-precise 3D replica, developed in collaboration with digital preservation company Iconem, incorporates 22 petabytes of data โ enough to fill five million DVDs โ Smith said. The images have already identified structural... Read More