New Aaton 35 / Penelope

[Mitch Gross]

The prototype is debuting at IBC. Can anyone there report back? It's supposed to be whisper quiet and can shoot 3-perf and even 2-perf. The little I've seen makes it look like a real ground up redesign from the previous Aaton 35-3, so perhaps the difficult mag loading is no more.

 

So nice to see Arri and Aaton still committed to buiolding innovative new 35mm cameras.

[Matt Burton]

I'd love to know if JVC had a finished HD100 at the show without bugs ?

[bobgilles]

I have used the 35-3 in 3 perf for handheld work and it was very nice, I would love to see a spy shot of their new camera. I think that Panasonics HVX 200 on the Flyer will be a huge seller too. I really don't like loading the 35 and Aminima mags so I hope the mags are redesigned too!

[Mitch Gross]

http://tig.colorist.org/wiki/index.php/IBC_Focus_Sheet_2005

 

 

Scroll down to the info for Aaton for an odd overhead angle on the "Penelope" prototype. Described as dead quiet and capable of 3perf and even 2-perf. The battery is back on the dummy side where it belongs and the ridges on the mag indicate to me that this is a whole new design for the camera rather than just an update of the 35-3. Sweet.

 

As for the JVC HD100, while there have reports of that little prosumer camera having some defects like a green shading on half the image at high gain, there have also been reports of end users who have received their cameras with no defects. The cameras are shipping now, although slowly. And the biggest remaining issues remain the cheap provided lens' chromatic abberations in telephoto (hey--it's a cheap lens but you can buy something better if you want) and the lack of capabilities to edit the 24p footage properly , which will be reconsiled soon.

 

Now back to our previous conversation...

 

While the last version (2years ago) of the Aaton 35-3 in 3-perf was noticeably quieter than earlier versions of the camera, it wasn't a complete rehaul like this new camera looks to be. So here's hoping that those mags have been reworked (enough people complained over the years).

[James Puli]

Hey Guys

 

I was lucky enough to be at an Australian Cinematographers Society tech night last month, where the inventor / founder of Aaton Jean Pierre Beauviala, came and gave us all a fantastic and fasinating talk on the current and future of Aaton.

 

He showed us computer drawings of the new camera and to answer a few questions Yes the mag design is going to change to make it easier for us 2nd AC's and loaders out there. And its also going to be lighter and quieter then the previous model. They are also doing a new version of the XTR Prod at some point soon as well.

 

Jean Pierre is an absolute genious. He, like Garrett is always thinking, looking at ways to make his products better, more user freindly and generally improve dramatically on the previous product. The other cool thing with Jean Pierre was that we had basically an open question and answer session and was listening to all of our suggestions and giving us a fantastic insight into the reasonings as to why he designed the cameras in the way that he did. With some of his other inventions being Crystal Sync, in camera time code, the world FIRST integrated video assist, and everything he has done with Aaton, Aaton Cantar, Eclair and the other camera manufacturers he has worked with over the years, I can only imagine what he will come up with next.

 

....... And YES - he is looking at Aaton Digital.

 

JP

Melbourne Australia

[bobgilles]

Wow~~

 

If Aaton could get the 35 light enough, it would be the first 35 sound camera to achieve the SK/Flyer weight class. I flew the current 35-3 with onboard batts and it was amazing on a Pro-lite sled, I am dreaming of shooting 35 or HiDef sound on a running rig, Go Aaton Go!!!!!!!

[Erwin Landau]

So they showed the Penelope at NAB... could not get any more info though...

 

It's very small... not as small as the A-Minima...but very close to the new ARRI 416.

 

 

 

 

It should hit stores in July.

 

Fly safe,

 

Erwin

[Charles Papert]

I got quite a bit of info on it (I guess you asked the wrong guy at the Aaton booth, Erwin)! Or, I should say, as much as one can get on a mockup.

 

The mags and movement are indeed all new, and simplified from the 35-3, which should help with reliability. The electronic counter is gone, as is the active displacement. This will add a couple of inches to the length of the rig but again, should be an improvement with reliability.

 

Overall it would seem like Aaton has listened to the user complaints and integrated them into the new camera, so perhaps they will again be a player in the 35mm world.

 

Speaking of the 416, one funny moment at the show was when the gent giving me a tour of it remarked that one could quickly remove the eyepiece and go to "100% video" mode. I wondered if the prism came out with the eyepiece to achieve this, and he responded no, it remained an 80/20 (optics/video) equation--but that the tap was sensitive enough that this wasn't a problem. I thought that sounded OK, but suggested that this didn't mean the same thing as 100% video.

 

A few minutes later I came across Rich Davis getting the same spiel, being told about the 100% video mode and asking the same questions. I can only imagine that the conversation was repeated over and over again for the rest of the show...!

[TJ Williams]

the mag will come off the prototype but is the very devil to get back on.... just a note to be troublesome at future shows....

TJ

[Mitch Gross]

The new Aaton won't be ready for at least a year, more likely 18 months.

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

I too got a lot of info from the guys at the booth. They mentioned that they are planning a vertical Steadicam Mag too! We'll see, but sounds good to me!