Two completely different launches were announced this week. The first is a familiar product that is finally going to start shipping: the DJI Ronin 4D-8K Cinema Camera. The second is a brand-new series of laptops that are equipped with Intel®’s latest 14th-Gen Core Ultra™ mobile processors—complete with dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for faster AI workflows. Let’s dive right in.
DJI announces 8K version of Ronin 4D cinema camera is shipping soon
It was a big deal when DJI announced it was entering the cinema camera market with the Ronin 4D. The brand’s 6K version hit the market first and had a ton of never-before-seen tech for cinema systems. Among the biggest features were an integrated gimbal and LiDAR focusing. Now, you could enjoy smooth handheld shooting straight out of the box and you could autofocus with nearly any lens you could mount on the camera.
We took the Ronin 4D-6K for a spin when it first was released:
Many of the great features in the 6K model remain in the 8K model, so you can still glean a lot of information from our video. DJI even offers the RAW License as stock for the 8K model. It is an innovative camera. It has a 3-axis gimbal that holds the camera module; you can even pick up the Zenmuse X9-8K Gimbal Camera and upgrade your Ronin 4D to the 8K. This camera is, obviously, 8K and can record 17:9 8K up to 60 fps and 2.39:1 8K up to 75 fps. It has a DL mount as a standard for DJI’s lenses, although you can swap this out with Sony E, L-Mount, or Leica M mounts.
The 8K model has a dynamic-range boost setting, at 8K 30 fps and below, that will change the native dual ISO setting of 320/1600 to 800/4000. The 8K should be the higher-performing model in the Ronin 4D line with this 8K sensor technology.
This combo kit includes a LiDAR Range Finder, which can be used to set up autofocus with nearly any lens that can accept a standard focus motor, so all your manual lenses just got upgraded. There’s also a PROSSD 1TB drive included, a 7" high-bright touchscreen, and more bundled into the 8K unit.
Glad to see the 8K model will finally be in the hands of filmmakers soon.
Intel® Ultra Core™ mobile processors bring AI to the party
Now it is time to talk about processor architecture! Intel® has made one of the biggest changes to its chips in years with the launch of the 14th-generation Ultra Core™ processors (code-named Meteor Lake™). These mobile processors feature a chipset architecture that enables multiple components, the CPU, GPU, and an NPU (Neural Processing Unit), to work together. That NPU is of particular note, since it can supercharge AI workflows.
Using this new process, Intel® was able to make its processors more efficient and more powerful. Greater efficiencies, which hopefully will be even more optimized over time with software updates, should mean that content creators will enjoy more responsive and faster working environments. AI acceleration is going to be the most interesting area to keep an eye on, as actions like subject selection in Photoshop or AI image generation can be dramatically sped up.
At launch, these processors will be available in a small selection of laptops. MSI, Acer, and Lenovo are going to be available right away with some good-looking laptops. We even took the MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo Laptop for a small test drive and we were very happy with the manner in which it handled itself.
It is still early days for Intel®’s latest processors, so we will have to keep an eye on the various hardware and software advancements that come in the next few months and years.
In other news
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We went hands-on with the smaller TASCAM Portacapture X6 handheld audio recorder.
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Check out MIDI 2.0 with this video review of the Korg Keystone MIDI 2.0 Controller.
We hope you are enjoying the holiday season!
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