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Polaroid, Technicolor, Kodak: With the Branded Beast Extinct, What Becomes of the Brand?

01.31.13 @ 4:29AM Tags : brand, branding, camera, celluloid, film, imageprocessing, kodak, kodaks1, m43, mft, micro43, mirrorless, polaroid, s1, software, technicolor, video

In the whirlwind of hyperactive change that is Moore’s Law, branding can be a prime anchor point. Brand identity fights the tendency toward ‘the new’ with powerful invocations of the past: nostalgia, reliability, simplicity, and the association of that brand name with the creation of very dear memories. Granted, nostalgia alone can’t save anyone from bankruptcy — but it’s a start. Polaroid, Technicolor, and Kodak are prime examples of this interplay, and each is adapting in its own ways — though there’s some overlap. Not one, but two of these traditionally film-based companies are even releasing digital cameras. In whatever the way, each of the three is working toward the preservation of its own historic brand name — which do you think will pull through? More »

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Blackmagic Joins the Micro 4/3 Barbecue: is an Active MFT Mount Cinema Camera Cooking?

01.22.13 @ 5:20PM Tags : blackmagic, bmcc, camera, cinemacamera, digital, digitalcinema, lens, lensadapter, lenses, lensmount, m43, metabones, mft, micro43, olympus, panasonic, speedbooster

Just a few short months ago, it was announced that the Blackmagic Cinema Camera would be receiving a Micro 4/3 lens mount option alternative to its original Canon EF mount. Granted, for those of us still waiting on the BMCC to ship, a few short months is no stretch of time to merely shrug off — particularly when the mount announced was to be a “passive” or “dumb” one, meaning electronic control would not be supported for smart MFT lenses. There’s been speculation that this would change — and given Blackmagic’s recent addition to the consortium of companies aligned with the official Micro 4/3 standard, this speculation seems less outlandish than ever. More »