News roundup: Amazon Studios, SmallRig, FUJIFILM, RØDE and 7Artisans

Amazon Studios opens up new Virtual Production Mega Stage

Amazon Studios has just announced the opening of Stage 15 at its Culver City site which combines two former stages featuring an LED wall that is 80 feet in diameter and 26 feet tall as a whole. With this volume wall, production creatives can interact with digital assets and processes in a manner that mirrors live-action to enable digital world capture, visualization, performance capture, simulcam, and in-camera visual effects.

The virtual production studio has a camera-to-cloud workflow which means the production process will reduce the lag time that productions typically experience when transferring files and assets from set to editorial, VFX, and postproduction vendors and facilities. The space will also feature a second, smaller LED stage, with a completely mobile LED wall, camera-tracking system, and control cart, an engineering workshop, scanning, 3D printing, production workspace, and equipment storage.

SmallRig introduces 4-Arm Suction Cup Camera Rig

The SmallRig SC-15K is a camera rig featuring four vacuum suction cups, four magic arms, a half-ball head, and a quick-release plate. The rig itself weighs approximately 3.4kg/7.6 lbs, and can cope with a maximum payload of 15kg/33 lbs on a flat surface. This drops down to 5kg/11 lbs when the mount is rigged vertically to the side of a car, so you don't want to go too heavy on this one.

You can mount your camera into the rig using the Arca Swiss quick-release plate. The system is not stabilized so it requires gimbal configurations. SC-15K features a modular design, which allows you to use all of the suction cups and magic arms independently depending on your needs. This way you can rig a lighter camera into a smaller space.

The SmallRig SC-15K 4-Arm Suction Cup Camera Mount is now available to pre-order for $449 or £510.95. It comes with a dedicated storage case featuring the following

• 4x Vacuum Suction Cups (4”)
• 3x Magic Arms
• 1x Magic Arm with Lens Support
• Half Ball Head
• Quick-Release Plate
• 2x Cable Tethers
• V-mount Battery Adapter Plate
• Velcro Strap

FUJIFILM TG-BT1 Tripod Grip announced

FUJIFILM has just released a new tripod for X series mirrorless cameras: X-T5, X-T4, X-T3, X-T30 II, X-T30, and X-S109. This tripod connects via Bluetooth which gives the wireless camera control with trigger/recording capabilities and a zoom rocker which are all great for creating content.

The maximum load for the camera and lens is 1.5kg. You can use this as a short selfie stick or when unfolding the legs, it turns into a tripod. The TG-BT1 allows the camera angle to be adjusted 180 degrees vertically and 360 degrees horizontally. TG-BT1 is powered via CR2032 batteries.

In the front of the tripod, you can find a record button, a still trigger button, a zoom rocker, and a lock switch. The zoom rocker is compatible with the XF18-120mm F/4 LM PZ WR. The zoom operation cannot be controlled via the T/W button for the X-T30 II / X-T30.

The FUJIFILM TG-BT1 will be available by the end of this month for £169.00

RØDE releases VideoMicro II

The RØDE VideoMicro II is an ultra-compact on-camera shotgun microphone weighing only 39g. This small shotgun is 8cm with a diameter of 2.2cm. You can connect the microphone to your camera or smartphone via built-in 3.5mm TRS audio input. The VideoMicro series does not require any external power out from the device you plug them into.

Compared to the VideoMicro I, this one has a more narrow super-cardioid pickup pattern that rejects any offset sounds. RØDE has also a new innovative HELIX isolation mount system for superior protection from knocks, bumps, and handling noise.

The RØDE VideoMicro II is available to preorder for £82.99. It comes with VideoMicro II, furry windshield, foam windshield, SC7 TRS to TRRS Cable, SC13 TRS to TRS Cable and  HELIX isolation mount.

7Artisans 12mm T2.9 Vision Series APS-C Cine Lens released

7Artisans has just launched the fourth member of its Vision Series APS-C cinema lens lineup adding a new 12mm T2.9 to the already existing 25, 35, and 50mm lengths.

The new 12mm T2.9 is a fully manual cinema prime lens that is designed to cover the APS-C format. The wide-angle option is great for close-ups with its close focus distance being only 0.14m/0.46ft. The optical scheme consists of 12 elements in 10 groups.  According to 7Artisans, the T2.9 aperture delivers nice and smooth images with its 9-blade design. The lens can be mounted in 6 different mirrorless camera options: Canon RF, FUJIFILM X, Leica L, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon Z, and Sony E.

The new 7Artisans 12mm T2.9 Vision APS-C cine lens is available now for $319.