Some predictions for NAB 2015

[Adrian Tan]

1. Canon will release the amazing new 5DMkIV. It will look remarkably like the 5DMkIII, except that it will have zebras. Still won't have peaking, though.

2. Blackmagic will announce four new cameras, making their previous line-up obsolete. If you preorder, you should receive your camera around NAB 2017.

3. A new company will come up with the game-changing idea to gyro-stabilise a GoPro mounted on a remote-controlled car. This initially retails for $10,000, but, seeing that the parts are off-the-shelf and none of the design ideas is patentable, Chinese knock-offs for $200 emerge a month later.

4. Zacuto will surprise by announcing that they're moving into audio. They release an innovative microphone that wins awards, but the project discontinues before manufacture. However, their new video series goes viral amongst film students: notable directors give insights into their working methods by answering the question, "What is the meaning of life?"

5. Sony will target the enthusiast market with a new 6K DSLR for $1K that can see in darker dark. However, Sony attracts negative PR later in the year, when it's revealed that pressing the record button in time with the opening beats of "Wild Thing" gives access to a secret menu that allows 8K recording and 1000fps. Prominent bloggers note that, though on paper the Sony DSLR might seem superior to any competitor offering, Canon colours are still better than Sony colours.

6. Apple releases "Final Cut Z". It boasts impressive "feline face detection" technology: at a single click, it will connect to your iPhone, scan for footage relating to cats, extract relevant clips, change any landscape video to portrait mode, and upload to YouTube. Professionals worry that Z is targeted at a consumer market; it seems to lack features they're accustomed to, like the ability to manually insert cuts. Apple responds by requiring all video content playable on their phones, tablets and computers to be exported from Z in a proprietary ".FU" format.

[Chris Hurd]

Thread moved from Wedding Video to Area 51. Threads like this one are *made* for Area 51. Area 51 is made for threads like this.

[James Manford]

Haha, had a good laugh reading your predictions.

The scary part is one of them may be true!

[Andy Wilkinson]

All in jest...

7. Adobe Creative Cloud will launch a new feature whereby, if you stop subscribing, they will activate web crawlers which will "seek out any and all content that you have created using CC" (when you were a subscriber) and delete it permanently from any server or video hosting site, worldwide. All is not lost though, as they will issue a ransom demand with a 48 hour time limit first (pricing to be confirmed but thought to be 10x the normal annual CC subscription cost).

8. Sony Vegas will announce that at some point in "the summer of 2016" their NLE software will "probably" be able to edit all flavours of XAVC natively.

9. Sony will also launch the new PXW-X7 (a tiny professional camcorder with XLR connections) which will record 4K at 150Mbps (or 200Mbps for 50/60p) and which has a fast F1.9 lens, ramping to only F2.4 at the long end of the zoom. It will be sold at a price lower than the current X70 (which still awaits its paid for 4K 60Mbps update - expected June 2015) and will start shipping/be immediately available for purchase at the close of NAB.

10. A new company will appear with "Radio Controlled Balloon Drones" thus allowing film makers to totally circumvent impending and existing regulations on the use of UAVs for commercial filmmaking.

[Michael Silverman]

This is great! #2 is actually very likely to come true since they've done this the past two years.

[Adrian Tan]

11. Announced today, the Sony NEX-FS700JK features extreme slow motion recording at 300fps and is the first video camera to be designed as a sleek, perfect sphere. In place of a traditional handgrip attached to the unit's side, three finger holes allow an operator to grip the camera from above, while an LCD screen on the base of the camera permits optimum viewing for high-angle shots.

"We feel this is the natural evolution of our previous advanced ergonomics," said a Sony spokesperson. "And, heck, if you guys buy computers in the shape of rubbish bins, why not cameras that look like bowling balls?"

In response to a question about compatibility with the popular Metabones adapter, the spokesperson replied, "Who gives a crap? This baby does 300 freaking frames per second. Why the heck are you using Canon lenses anyway? Take that, you fanboy biatches."

The camera will be available in late August for US$9,000, with optional accessories, including separate recording unit, available for purchase at $16,000 in October next year.

[Mike Watson]

One of the major camera mfrs will roll out a new camera that costs $995 and has all the major functionality of cameras in the $40k range. It has a lens mount that is easy and inexpensive to switch out and accepts all known camera lenses and interfaces with them natively. It starts shipping today and there is sufficient backstock to fill a large number of orders.

They convened ergonomic experts from around the world to design this camera. It is a seamless globe, something like a balloon. It is made of teflon. It is impossible to hold in any position for any length of time. There is no tripod mount.

It uses a proprietary media card made only in Sri Lanka that cost $3k a piece. They expect to start shipping them in the fall. The suspiciously don't mention the fall of what year.

[Noa Put]

I predict that they will bring out a camera that has no name so that videoshooters can't get into "what camera is better" kind of discussions, they just can't if you don't know what camera you are talking about so they might spend more time actually shooting :D

[Dave Blackhurst]

I shoot "the camera who must not be named"....

[Adrian Tan]

14. R0de will hold a competition for the best three-minute short film. The competition will be won by a old-school grunge band from Seattle who make a 30-minute compilation of their music videos and ask their fans to vote for them.

Panasonic's GH5 will have a 90MP 4/3 sensor in it that has the potential for fantastic 8K video. Only problem is that it won't have good low light performance in bright sunlight.

[James Manford]

16. Metabones releases the ultimate NEX speedbooster called Metabones Prestige Edition. It is available in 2 colours 24 Carat Gold Plated, or Silver (which costs £500 less). It makes ANY lens F0.95, parfocal (if a zoom lens), provides instantaneous autofocus doesn't have any communication errors with any of the NEX camcorders due to correctly modifying firmware on the fly. And the mount can defy physics and actually somehow support the heavy 600 gram+ lenses without any mounting support. However these features come at a very dear price. It costs £4995 + VAT & invite only from users that have owned all the previous models because it is handcrafted like a Rolls Royce and they cannot meet the demand for it as although the technology is there, the company makes a loss every time it sells one.

[Oren Arieli]

17. Apple will get into the camera market by releasing their sleek aluminum ingot shaped iSee. It will have no buttons; all controls will be through your iPhone or Apple Watch. Additionally, there will be no user access to the battery, you'll have to send it in. Since there are no memory slots, all footage gets sent to the cloud, where you can access it for a low-low monthly cost (TBD). It will be the most beautifully engineered ingot they've ever designed, and lines will be forming 8 months before it's scheduled launch date.

[Bruce Dempsey]

H.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.26h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.2655 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.26h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.2655 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.26h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.2655 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265 h.265

[Paul Mailath]

you cynical bastards.... GH5 sounds close though