Longest (Bolex) Kickstarter Update Ever!
Longest (Bolex) Kickstarter Update Ever:
I have been talking for a little while about the “Big Camera Update” and this is it. I’m going to tell you about where we are now, where we are planning to be soon, and our best guess as to delivery date, as well as some exciting news about features and accessories!
Where we are now:
Today I received a report from our new project manager. As expected, it’s a good news / bad news situation. Our original delivery estimate was overly ambitious. Changing product specs took more time than anticipated. We built a strong team, created a great work environment with good communication, but again, took more time than expected. The good news is he thinks we have a great team assembled, we are over many of the big hurdles, and we have just about everything, and everyone, in place to complete the project. Now it's time to work hard and push through to the end.
Where we are planning to be soon:
After talking with the entire engineering staff for the past three days, Vahesan (our project manager) developed a timeline that he believes we can stick to. We hope to have all finalized board designs done and spun (the term for making a new board) by the end of September. At the same time we will be finishing the firmware and other software elements. As soon as we get them all together we will spend about a week thoroughly testing, during which time we will make regular KS updates. The build will take 3 weeks, and we’ll have completed cameras by the end of October. He says this is still an aggressive timeline, but one he feels we can accomplish.
I want to rest aside any fears that if we are spending time working on accessory projects we must not be concentrating 100% on the camera. I want to assure you this is not the case. We are working on lenses, website features, and other cool stuff, but the people working on these are completely independent of the engineers working on the camera itself. In no way does the simultaneous development detract from camera resources or delay the camera in any way.
Delivery Date:
Cameras should arrive on doorsteps by early November. We will do everything we can to get them to you by then, and earlier if possible.
New Bolex Super 16mm C-mount lenses:
In the follow up Kickstarter survey, lenses were by far the most popular potential accessory project, so we’re giving them to you!
There are a lot of lenses already out there on the market, both new and vintage, ranging in price from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Some potentially usable industrial lenses are as inexpensive as $10.
So what can we add to the mix that’s new? A set of C-mount lenses that create incredibly sharp images specifically intended for the S16mm film plane, that are easy to use, and are more affordable than most full frame or vintage lenses. Simple right? This was actually a huge challenge, but I think we came up with a good solution: fixed focus, fixed aperture, prime lenses.
Why fixed focus? In a way all lenses are fixed focus lenses, because all lenses are created with a perfect distance and f stop in mind. Some people call this the "sweet spot". When you adjust the focus or the f stop away from this point you are throwing light around inside the lens and creating diffraction. This causes a general softness to the image, so lens makers spend a lot of money eliminating it as much as possible. Our approach eliminates this diffraction completely, and lowers the cost of the lens. We estimate that each of our lenses will cost $100 to $150 apiece.
If you think about it, many shots in a film are standard setups; shot / reverse shot, OTS, two shot, wide, and so on. So we created lenses that give you these shots quickly. Our lenses will have large clear markings that dictate the focus range of each lens and the F stop. To use them you simply place the camera the proper distance from the subject, make sure the ISO is set appropriately and you're ready to shoot. This doesn't mean that you won't need other lenses, but it means that to get your standard coverage you can get an easy to use set of 6 incredibly sharp lenses for only $600.
There is a great history of fixed focus lenses for motion picture cameras. Many 8mm cameras like the Kodak Brownie were equipped with a turret of fixed focus, fixed aperture lenses that allowed filmmakers to quickly switch between lenses while shooting. And yes, we are planning a turret mount for these lenses!
To someone who is used to shooting video on a DSLR this approach may sound worrisome. With DSLRs you have to be very exact with your settings. With the D16 we have a lot more wiggle room. A 1/2 stop difference might make or break a shot on a DSLR, but might be hardly noticeable on a raw format camera like the D16.
New Crank Feature:
One of the most exciting pieces of news is our new crank feature. We thought for a long time about all of the different effects you could create with the crank, speed ramping, simulated roll-outs, and so on. The challenge was we didn’t want to delay the camera by using up valuable engineering time to build these effects into the camera. Recently we realized that if we recorded the movements of the crank into metadata we could apply many of these effects in post, giving you a LOT more flexibility. Basically it's the idea of raw carried through even to the crank functions.
Your footage will have metadata for every frame that describes how you were moving the crank while you were filming. It's like getting to have a complex frame by frame spline that is created during recording and then can be assigned to any image filter you choose in post. So you can add filters that respond to what you were doing on set. For example, if you crank the handle when you want the image to be more grainy, you can go into our software and set the filter to a grain pattern and it will automatically add grain based on how fast you were turning the crank while filming. This can work with flash frames, roll-outs, jitter, color bleeds, and any number of other filters. Pomfort, the company developing our software, believes we can have this feature live at launch time! If you have ideas for filters you would like to see, we would love to hear them!
Exclusive Website section:
We are happy to announce a new website feature just for camera owners! We’re going to be launching a private video hosting section of our site, so D16 owners have a private place to upload anything from test footage to finished projects and get feedback from other camera owners, while keeping the videos private. A place where camera owners can work through problems or ask advice without worrying about outside scrutiny. This will also give us a space to run contests, post instructional videos, host guest filmmakers, and exclusive events for camera owners. We hope this will help foster a diverse community of professionals and people wanting to learn about filmmaking. We already have many intelligent discussions in our forums and we would like to see that blossom into something useful and fun for everyone who owns a Digital Bolex.
Summary:
As you can see, there are a lot of exciting things going on here at Bolex land! Again we sincerely apologize for the delay in the delivery schedule, and we will do everything in our power to minimize it. I'm very interested to hear from you all, especially about the idea of a new set of Bolex lenses, new camera features, and the new website content!
Thank you all for reading and supporting us, we can’t wait to get these products into your hands and see what you all do with them. Some of you have been telling us about some of the projects you plan to make on the D16, and it is very exciting! There is no better encouragement and inspiration for us than to hear about your plans for this gear, it is after all why we are doing this :)
The Kodak Brownie...
440
Backers
$262,661
pledged of $100,000 goal
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Funding period
Mar 12, 2012 -
Apr 11, 2012
(30 days)
- First created · 122 backed
- Has not connected Facebook
- Website: digitalbolex.com
Pledge $1 or more
157 backers
Our everlasting gratitude and email updates on our progress with the camera development.
Estimated delivery: Jul 2012Pledge $10 or more
29 backers
The Digital Bolex Coloring book, with an Illustration of the new camera so you can have your coloring page in the next commercial! (international buyers please add $2 for shipping)
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24 backers
A DVD copy of our Digital Bolex Short films and commercials (international buyers please add $5 for shipping)
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An official Digital Bolex T-shirt, this design will be limited to kickstarter. OR a Blu-Ray copy of the Digital Bolex Short Films. If you choose the Blu-Ray it will be delivered in July. (international buyers please add $5 for shipping)
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An 11" x 17" fine art full color Screen Print Poster, of the Bolex storybook, final page. (international buyers please add $10 for shipping)
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An 18" x 24" fine art full color Screen Print Poster, of the Bolex storybook, Pages 5 and 6. (international buyers please add $20 for shipping)
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A 24" x 36" fine art full color Screen Print Poster, of the Bolex storybook, First 2 pages. (international buyers please add $25 for shipping)
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A custom made leather camera case made by Saddleback Leather Co. that has the Digital Bolex logo on it, and a T-shirt or Blu-Ray disc. (international buyers please add $25 for shipping)
Estimated delivery: Jun 2012Pledge $1,250 or more
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All of the Above! All of the prints, the camera case, the Blu-Ray Disc, and of course our gratitude! (international buyers please add $55 for shipping)
Estimated delivery: Jul 2012Pledge $2,500 or more
77 backers Limited (3 of 80 left)
OK this is it, at this pledge amount you get 1 of 100 Pre-sale Digital Bolex Cameras with serial numbers between 1 - 100. This is an $800 savings under retail price! (Sorry No International Buyers at this time)
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $3,500 or more
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For the serious collector! A Pre-sale Digital Bolex Camera with serial number between 1 - 100 and all of the above! All of the prints, the bag, the Blu-Ray Disc, and of course our gratitude! (Sorry No International Buyers at this time)
Estimated delivery: Aug 2012Pledge $10,000 or more
0 backers Limited (3 of 3 left)
A business starter. We will help you launch your new company or create custom co-branding opportunities with your brand and the Digital Bolex brand. Message us for more info if you're interested in this reward.
Estimated delivery: Jul 2012
Comments
Creator Joe Rubinstein on August 17, 2012
Hey Kickstarter,
As promised I did a blog post on our site that goes more into the some of the camera stuff check it out...
http://www.digitalbolex.com/august-2012-camera-update-team-d16/
Creator J.Gabriel Bergeron on August 13, 2012
Hey Joe!
I think a lot of us are eager to read your every word. If your editor is concerned about long posts, you can simply break them out in different posts.
I don't think there can be too much content. In this day and age, people will filter what they want to read or not.
I, like may others I'm sure, am excited whenever there's an update or new post and I always want to read and know more.
If you don't want to saturate the kickstarter updates, you can simply post a quick update on KS redirecting on an technical update on your site.
Creator Joe Rubinstein on August 12, 2012
Hey Yves & Ballerina,
It's funny, I had originally included a lot of the information you are asking for, making this blog twice as long, and my diligent editor removed it, with the very realistic thought that in all probablilty most of our over 400 backers don't want to read something that long. I think we are having a little trouble figuring out where the right place for all of this information is.
We have a Blog, the Kickstarter updates, and our forum. Where do you think the most appropriate place for lengthy detailed production notes is? Would everyone like more concise or more lengthy Kickstarter updates?
I will do my best to answer your questions here, but this is probably not the best place for it :)
-Delivery date. I understand your concern and desire for a realistic date. Very smart / experienced people are working on getting me a solid date I can report to you. It's a complex difficult process. I am giving you the information that is given to me. It is the best most up to date info we have. As soon as I have better info I promise I will give it to you.
-PL Mount. I am planning on having EF and PL mounts available at launch. The guys designing the hardware should have most of the camera body work done this month, and as soon as they do I can start them on the mounts.
-Crank Options. Due to the new conception of the crank it will not take any time to develop this option, in fact it reduces the time the firmware people will spend on it as now it only saves the movement to metadata.
-New Forum. The new forum isn't really about wether or not you are worried about scrutiny, it's about having a place where people can upload raw footage, test footage, help requests, get peer review, and other things that would be difficult to host or might not necessarily be for the public eye. And again, I stress, this is not slowing the camera progress, it is happening simultaneously.
-HD-SDI. I will put up a forum or blog post about the HD-SDI module this coming week so we can all discuss it.
-Batteries. We love the new Kessler ION system and plan to recommend it for use with the D16. We think the battery will last for at least 6 hours of run time. There are also many 4 pin XLR AC power systems for studio use. The 4 Pin XLR 12v plug is by far the most popular power source for film cameras, there are many power sources meant for film cameras that will work with the D16, which is why we chose it.
-Software. Again I will post a blog post or forum thread about the software this coming week.
-Capturing in compressed formats. This may be possible in the future, but will not be available at launch. As you know, we are developing raw software with a company that specializes in raw work flow and data management for a good reason. We are trying to create a post scenario that is not full of "massive obstacles", but is clear and easy to use. As computers get faster and hard drives get cheaper we truly hope that raw is the future of motion capture, the way it has become the standard for even hobby still photographers.
-Kickstarter Logo. Elle put up a forum thread asking if anyone of our kickstarter backers would like to have the logo added to their profile. Or just message us at info@digitalbolex.com we check it every day, even Saturdays at midnight ;)
Let me say I completely understand your concerns, and if more info is what you want don't be afraid to ask for it and don't think you are going to offend us. We greatly appreciate the participation in this project by intelligent people like yourselves and want to do everything we can to make this an enjoyable journey for all of us!
Thanks so much for your support, Joe
Creator Yves Roy & Wacky Ballerina on August 11, 2012
A three month delay is one thing. Implying that it will be tough to meet the new deadline is another. Basically, how we are reading this, means we wont receive our cameras until next year. We are not trying to be a negative Nancy, we are just trying to make a realistic estimate.
We invested a lot in a Super 16mm Angenieux 11.5-138mm HR T2.3 lens, because we believe in your project, but to this day it is still unclear if the D16 will ship with a PL mount at launch. With a three months delay we want the PL mount confirmed. We know we are not the only ones who want PL mounts as stated e.g. in the Digital Bolex forum. Raw images, no frills and furbelows and the option to add supreme glass due to e.g. a PL mount is what sold us, and I guess what sold many others, on the D16. Are there going to be any back focus issues regarding all the different mounting options which delays the PL confirmation?
Crank options. It's a nice treat, but adding different grain patterns to a 400 ISO sensor is the last thing we are concerned about. But maybe that's just us.
A new forum exclusively for camera owners doesn't change our feelings about this update. It's a good idea, but we already have a forum (we know not exclusively for camera owners) at www.digitalbolex.com. "A place where camera owners can work through problems or ask advice without worrying about outside scrutiny." We are not worried about any scrutiny at all.
We were hoping to get more information from this update post about the really important technical aspects of the camera. Like the SDI module which will be sold separately. Functionality, pricing and availability. In an interview Mademoiselle Schneider, or you mentioned that the SDI module will be fitted underneath the camera body. Is this far future or are you working on this already? Will this interfere with mounting/rigging the camera in any way? Furthermore we were looking forward to get information about the estimated battery life with e.g. Kesslers "ION Battery System" like suggested by "harmonica" in the Digital Bolex Forum. To us it is still unclear wether the camera can only be powered via an external battery or additionally via a power outlet when working in a studio environment? Are there any 4 pin XLR adapters which allow us to plug the camera into a wall socket? Of course we are very keen on getting updates on the software which is under development at the moment. What are the key features you are working on? "Of course a really cool custom raw processing software that will pull the most out of the D16's footage and manage its workflow". How exactly?
It's a journey to all of us, and we all expected unforeseen challenges, some delays and changes. But what bothers us a little is the way you communicate through this highly anticipated "big camera update". We hoped for news about the workflow on the software side as well as well as on the hardware side (SDI module for capturing in compressed formats e.g. ProRes or DNxHD). Because let's face it, nobody will be able to just shoot RAW Cinema DNG without facing massive obstacles in postproduction.
Information about the crew, website changes and hipster filters are not really that satisfying. We would love to hear about the technical challenges you are facing, the good and the bad news in a honest and open manner.
Congratulations to the C-mount lenses. It's a good low cost solution for every D16 user who wants to get started with a prime set. Chapeau!
Please don't feel offended by our honest words. We love the project and what you are doing, that's why we care.
All the best to you
Yves Roy and the Wacky Ballerina.
PS.: How are we able to add the Kickstarter Baker Logo to our Profile on the Digital Bolex Forum? :-]
Creator Joe Rubinstein on August 11, 2012
Hey George, great idea! I love the idea of changing three lens at the same time!
The turret will be C-mount.
Thanks!
Creator Anthony Di Ninno on August 11, 2012
Love the idea of your lens pack. Would love to see an ultra wide, like a 5mm (not fisheye), in there.
Still think the launch mounts should be PL and m43, seeing as EF to m43 ( as well as pretty much every other mount to m43 ) adapters already exist.
Thanks for the update.
Creator George P. Schnyder on August 11, 2012
I love the Idea of fixed lenses on a turret mount. But please make sure that you also have a wide Lens to go with the cam, as this would be the hardest to find in other lenses. Could you make the mountingplate exchangeable so we can have two plates with three lenses mounted to them? What will the mount of it be to get a matching Lens (maybe a zoom)?
Creator Joe Rubinstein on August 11, 2012
Hey Phillip,
Thanks for your support!
Yes we will be releasing as many mounts as we can!
At the release time of the camera I hope to have EF and PL ready.
Other mounts will be added later, but again as soon as we can :)
thanks again, Joe
Creator Phillip Gara on August 10, 2012
Hey,
Thanks for the update. How are the non C lens mounts going? One of the main attractipns to this camera was that it would support a variety of lenses- are the othermounts on track? Pl, f, fd, m, bncr? The idea of using old lenses is much more attractive than buying new ones.
Thanks again for your hard work, the extra time is a good call and will help creae a great product. The proto looks great and as long as the quality is good, im happy.