I am pleased to announce another huge update for the Digital Cinema Pocket Guides today!
This update contains 5 brand new pocket guides, including the ARRI Alexa XT, Sony F5/F55 cameras and Canon 5D Mark II, as well as updates to 13 of the existing pocket guides.
If you’ve previously downloaded the pocket guides, you should have an email sitting in your inbox with instructions on downloading the update (check your spam/junk folder if it’s not in there). If you’ve yet to grab the pocket guides, check them out here:
Learn More About the Digital Cinema Pocket Guides
Interested in what’s new in this update? I’d love to tell you more!
Check Out What’s Fresh
Camera manufacturers have no problem supplying me with new gear and manuals to crunch into pocket guide form, so I’m pleased to add these 5 new cameras to the lineup:
Brand New Digital Cinema Pocket Guides
- ARRI Alexa XT
- Sony F55
- Sony F5
- Canon 5D Mark II
- GoPro Hero3 Silver
Sony’s F5, F55, and ARRI’s XT upgrade to its flagship Alexa system are poised to contribute significantly on productions throughout the next year and beyond. It was important to me to make pocket guides available for those high-end cameras.
But I also listened to those who wanted the still-kicking Canon 5D Mark II. Initially, my plan was to focus only on new models of cameras, but many of you gave great feedback and reasoning on why the 5D Mark II deserved a spot next to its younger brother, the Mark III. Your wish is my command!
Finally, I added the GoPro Hero3 Silver because I own one and, well, I needed it. Maybe you do, too.
Though adding new cameras is exciting, it’s also important to keep the info on the pocket guides accurate and in-tune with the various software updates manufacturers push out. So several guides have been re-tooled to reflect changing software and additional features:
Pocket Guides that Have Been Updated
- ARRI Alexa
- Blackmagic Cinema Camera
- Canon 6D
- Canon 7D
- Canon C300
- Canon C500
- GoPro Hero3 Black
- Ikonoskop A-Cam
- Nikon D600
- Nikon D800
- RED Epic
- RED One
- RED Scarlet
If you use any of the cameras above on a regular basis, I highly recommend you download these updated pocket guides to make sure you are working with the most accurate information on set.
File-Size Reduction
As a final note of improvement, I was able to decrease file size on the mobile versions of the pocket guides by an average of 80%. That’s a significant reduction and should free up some crucial space on your smartphone. The regular sized guides experienced some size reduction, too, but not much.
Basically, this batch of guides will occupy less drive space than before, even with more cameras.
For a full list of changes, you can view the changelog here (PDF link)
Future Pocket Guide Updates Roadmap
I have big plans for The Black and Blue and the pocket guides. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to preview all the pocket guides on this site and choose to download them individually or as one big zip file.
And, of course, I plan to add more and more cameras (think dragons and blackmagic).
I’ve also heard feedback from many readers about new features they’d like to see. Some of these suggestions will see daylight in the next update including crop factors, adjusting the sensor section to more accurately show resolution sizes, and metric figures for all measurements.
I’m sure you’re wondering when this will happen — the best I can tell you right now is July/August.
Thank you to those of you who have downloaded the pocket guides thus far and have supported The Black and Blue. I truly appreciate it and I’m working hard to make them an even more valuable resource than they already are!
As always, please share your thoughts/feedback/questions in the comments. I’m listening!
