Yes – there’s going to be a new kid on the block. Well, when we say new… very much like DSLR’s this new camera is the digital version of a very old kind of camera. The Bolex camera to be precise.
We’re sensing a trend here – a kind of digital old style film-making. Let’s hope so, it’ll encourage more low budget film-makers to treat cinematography as an art form that requires serious skill as opposed to just pointing and shooting. Not that we don’t appreciate the ease of use of a dedicated digital video camera, of course.
Bolex cameras conjour up images of old hand cranking home cine cameras that were used in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s – but the new generation, the D16, is the cutting edge of digital cinema.
This camera shoots RAW images (in 2K resolution) as opposed to compressed video (like our beloved DSLR). But the amazing thing is, the camera will be aimed at amateurs as well as pros, so they’re promising it will be both affordable and easy to use. In fact, it will be even cheaper than the just released Canon 5D mark III!
The development team funded their work on Kickstarter, a crowd funding website, very much like Indiegogo.
The test footage we’ve seen from this camera looks impressive and we’ll certainly keep our eye on this one. At the moment it's looking like it'll be an August 2012 release.
Cinematography legend Philip Bloom has interviewed the guys behind the camera on his blog. He's also put his money where his mouth is and put some cold hard cash into their kickstarter campaign, now that's a real endorsement!
Listen to Bloom's interview here:
Listen to Bloom's interview here:
Check out the Digital Bolex website page for more info.
