Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
In Pictures: Tom's Hardware At NAB Show 2013
By , John Martinez,
1. 90 Years Of Content, Coming To Life

Earlier this month, we made it out to the 90th NAB Show in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. For those of you not familiar with this one, the National Association of Broadcasters has been hosting this trade show annually since 1923. Milestones include the very first HDTV broadcast back in 1996. From cameras and lighting, to audio consoles and software, the modern NAB Show is absolutely brimming with tech companies that have anything to do with every kind of media production. Join us as we take a retrospective look around the show floor and check out what the vendors were displaying in their booths this year.

2. The Nikon Booth

Setting the tone for the 2013 NAB Show, we're kicking this tour off with a camera vendor. Nikon unveiled an 80-400 f4.5-5.6 Nikkor lens that weighs in at 56 ounces, with the tripod collar. While that's a little heavier than the company's previous model, the new version is much sharper.

3. The RED Booth

RED announced an upgrade program to its Dragon sensors at NAB Show 2013. The company even brought part of its manufacturing plant to the booth to perform upgrades on-site.

4. The Tascam Booth

Tascam introduced its DR-60D, a recording device developed for filmmakers and videographers using DSLRs. It's a four-track solid state recorder with two 1/4" XLR inputs that supply +48 V phantom power.

5. The Yamaha Booth

Yamaha's new CL5 console can network with up to eight I/O racks, which can then be connected to any switch on the network.

6. The ARRI Booth

With so many camera vendors in attendance, lighting is naturally a big part of NAB Show as well. ARRI's 1,000 Hz high-speed blasts help to create flicker-free images, even at frame rates of 1,000 FPS.

7. The DJI Booth

Let's take a quick break from all of the pro-grade stuff and check out something that's equally-cool for everyone. DJI's Phantom was one of many drones on display at NAB. You can control this quadrocopter from up to 300 feet away, and even with a GoPro camera, the Phantom boasts a flight time of up to 15 minutes.

8. The Sony Booth

Sony had two new 4K cameras at NAB Show 2013: the F5 and the F55. The F55 is the one on the left with a black ring, while the silver-ringed F5 is on the right.

9. The Gates Booth

This is a Gates underwater housing for Sony's new F5 and F55 cameras. The main housing shell has an eight-inch port on the front. Up top is an external monitor for frame and focus.

10. The Edelkrone Booth

While DSLRs are gaining in popularity for use in filming, the awkwardness of the DSLR form factor remains a challenge. Seeking a solution to this problem, Edelkrone brought several variations of its Modula system to the show.

11. The Canon Booth

The Canon 14.5-60 mm 4.1x cinema zoom lens is designed for cameras with an APS-C or Super 35-equivalent sensor and a PL mount. It's a very fast T2.6 through the entire range, and the company is asking $42,750 for the new lens.

12. The AbelCine Booth

This year, several vendors set up scenes with actors, props, and professional lighting so that attendees could test the equipment. AbelCine demonstrated its HDx35 B4/PL optical adapter, which enables B4-mount 2/3" HD video lenses to work with most 35 mm-format large-sensor cameras.

13. ARRI And Canon Team Up

Canon's EOS C500 4K DSLR camera was in several booths this year, demonstrating a variety of products that work with it. One such collaboration was with ARRI, which had its 30-80 Alura Zoom lens attached to the C500. The Canon EOS C500 sells for $25,999.

14. The Supertechno Booth

Supertechno's Technodolly can be used by film crews to create movements of unlimited length and complexity. The DP sets the camera at the various points along the shoot and the Technodolly remembers the moves. It operates in an area as big as 25 feet wide, 15 feet high, and 80 feet long.

15. The SmallHD Booth

External monitors have made a big difference in the quality of shots, helping to achieve sharper focus and better shot framing. Even better, prices are coming down while specs just keep getting better. SmallHD's AC-OLED is a 7.7", 8-bit, 720p monitor with HDMI, composite, and YPbPr connections. The AC-OLED retails for $1,099.

16. The Intel Booth

Intel had a large booth at NAB Show 2013 for demonstrating its Thunderbolt technology. Inside the giant display was a stage for ongoing interviews and demonstrations. The parameter of the booth was lined with show systems from various vendors whose products incorporate Thunderbolt technology.

17. The ATTO Booth

ATTO was also in attendance at this year's NAB Show, demonstrating a variety of technologies, including its soon-to-be released 12 Gb/s RAID.

18. The Lowell Booth

We're big fans of LED lighting, but the pro-grade stuff is still quite expensive. So, based on a recommendation from an expert at the Lowell booth, we're swapping our 600 W bulbs for 300 W instead.

19. The VariZoom Booth

VariZoom's Stealthy is a great little product that can quickly transform into a wide variety of camera supports. If you can stomach the dubstep background music, the film clip on VariZoom's site explains this product perfectly.

20. The Atomos Booth

At this year's NAB Show, Atomos demonstrated its Samurai field monitor/hard disk recorder. The device records 10-bit, 4:2:2 ProRes or DNxHD, and has a five-inch 720p screen.

21. Back To The Nikon Booth

Nikon built an elaborate set for those looking to test out the video capabilities of its D4 DSLR, a 16.2 MP camera that was developed to work in low light.

22. Green Screens Galore

Several vendors were displaying green screen systems at a wide variety of price points. Since most of the demonstrations featured attractive models, they were worth checking out.

23. The Kessler Booth

Kessler's CineDrive is the poor man's answer to Supertechno's massive Technodolly. The CineDrive uses key frames to program tilts, pans, zooms, and focus, giving filmmakers an opportunity to take their projects to the next level.

24. The Red Rock Micro Booth

Red Rock Micro has developed an extensive line of cinema accessories. We added up the cost of the individual components, and the price of the system pictured here came to over $7,000.

25. The Aberdeen Booth

Remember our story What Does One Petabyte Of Storage (And $500K) Look Like?Aberdeen Computers invited several of its customers to share its booth at NAB this year. With today's digital media, storage has become a major issue with content creators, and Aberdeen's rack system drew a whole lot of interest from attendees.

26. That's A Wrap!

Looks like it was a good show this year. NAB reports that it had over 90,000 attendees from 151 countries, and more than 1,600 exhibitors. Until next year, mahalo!