Welcome to the latest episode of our weekly roundup of news from the TV and film industry.
This week we are featuring the approval process behind 'Netflix Approved' cameras. Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve 18 Beta 6 updates and DZOFilm's new Marlin 1.6x Expander for Super 35 lenses.
Netflix camera approval process
Netflix has just released a video giving us a peek behind the curtain on their camera approval process. The streaming giant introduced the Netflix Approved Camera list a few years ago, which has been growing ever since to include the latest digital cinema camera technology from Sony, ARRI, RED and others. According to them, they needed to create such a process to ensure filmmakers had the latest and greatest image capture technology at their disposal in order to tell their story. And while it has often been a heated topic of debate, the native 4K Netflix mandate is not the only factor they consider when evaluating a camera. Far from it, their camera lab technicians put the cameras through rigorous testing procedures and communicate with the manufacturers to ensure they are using the cameras in the most optimal way. They evaluate cameras not just based on resolution, dynamic range and overall image quality, but also durability and robustness in intense production environments.
DaVinci Resolve 18 Beta 6
Blackmagic design has released a new update for DaVinci Resolve 18. The latest Beta 6 update adds support for Blackmagic RAW 2.6 as well as support for the ARRI Alexa 35 camera. In addition, this update also improves gyro strength adjustment, aliasing behaviour of stabilized clips, and elastic wave retiming performance. Users also get the benefit of faster review playback in the advanced panel, while Mac users get support for Dolby Vision H.265 encoding on Apple silicon. RED shooters get optimized GPU decoding for REDCODE RAW, while those working with Blackmagic RAW files get a few bugs fixed around issues with saturation mismatch and color matching clips with Gen 5 colour science.
DZOFilm Marlin 1.6x Expander
Innovative lens maker DZOFilm has unveiled their new Marlin 1.6x Expander for S35 lenses. This accessory allows cinematographers to use Super 35 lenses on cameras with large format sensors such as the VENICE or Alexa Mini LF. Available in various lens mount options such as PL to E, PL to PL, and PL to LPL, the Marlin Expander offers a lightweight, but rugged build as well as a removable base to support heavier lenses. Despite being optimised for their Pictor Zoom lenses, DZOFilm states their expander will also work with most Super 35 lenses from other manufacturers. The Marlin 1.6x expander also does not require shimming, however as with all optical expanders, a loss of about 1.5 stops is to be expected.
