Digital Bolex: 100 changes

Digital Bolex: 100 changes

Digital Bolex, the plucky little Kickstarter-funded company that's designed what is effectively a digital 16mm camera for the 21st Century has posted a long article on their site detailing the one hundred or so changes that they've implemented since they had their original vision. Some of them were are about ergonomics, but others bump the specification up considerably

Here's a few examples:

Analogue volume knobs - the original ones would have degraded the signal ad low volumes so a new analogue audio board has been added.

24 bit 96k audio - Digital Bolex claim that this will give unprecedented audio quality at this price level ($3K).

Weather sealing - essential for the type of action the camera is likely to see.

Sensor gain control - improved circuitry means that pictures will be better

HDMI Port - This has meant a redesign but was thought essential for the use of external EVFs etc

HD-SDI Module - A port has been added for this so that HD-SDI will be an option later

Digital Bolex has promised pictures of their actual camera body within a week, as well as "another big announcement".

You see the "100 improvements" post on their site here

Sceptics

A lot of potential customers are understandably sceptical about the Digital Bolex D16 camera. Coming from a brand-new, Kickstarted company, who are relatively small fish in a sea of much larger manufacturers, it would not be completely surprising if the camera was delivered late, if, ultimately, not at all. But the signs are encouraging: not only is there healthy interest in the product, but the active feedback from potential customers has had a significant influence on the final functionality of the camera.

There are good practical signs as well. As Digital Bolex details on its website, they've dealt with many of the things that would prevent the camera shipping, even if it was technically ready. They've got the packaging and technical manuals ready. And they've thought about the logistics.

This is all beginning to look like it might actually happen.