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			    <title>Personal View news aggregator</title> 
				<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/</link> 
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			<title>Just announced: new OM-3 Astro camera!</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/just-announced-new-om3-astro-camera</link>
			<description><![CDATA[You can now preorder the new OM-3 Astro at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, Fotokoch, FotoErhardt, Calumet, Clifton. The new Astro variant has an infrared cut filter in front of the filter enabling 100% transmission of Hα wavelengths. This is perfect to capture nebulae emitting Hα light. The camera also has two new color profiles: COLOR1 optimized…]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2026 06:18:26 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>OM SYSTEM OM-3 ASTRO Mirrorless Camera</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/om-system-om3-astro-mirrorless-camera</link>
			<description><![CDATA[OM SYSTEM has announced its new OM-3 ASTRO Mirrorless Camera, which is essentially an astrophotography-optimized version of its existing OM-3 Mirrorless Camera Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens camera. It features the same 17.4 x 13 mm (Four Thirds) 20MP BSI stacked sensor and TruePicX processor combo as the original OM-3; however, it has an infrared … Continued
The post OM SYSTEM OM-3 ASTRO Mirrorless Camera appeared first on Newsshooter.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2026 06:05:31 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>Also announced: New OM TG-7 INDUSTRY camera</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/also-announced-new-om-tg7-industry-camera</link>
			<description><![CDATA[OM also announced this new TG-7 Industry edition (here at BH). The TG-7 INDUSTRY is a kit-exclusive variant of the black Tough TG-7 digital camera widely popular on adventure and job sites alike. Sold alongside the NY-TGV Super Adapter for standard microscope eyepieces, the full kit allows users to take 12MP resolution images in examination,…]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2026 05:34:52 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>SZJELEN DJI Ronin Balance Bar</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/szjelen-dji-ronin-balance-bar</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The SZJELEN DJI Ronin Balance Bar was designed to help maintain horizontal and vertical stabilization. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 邓明杰 (@szjelen) The large bearing was designed to stabilize side-to-side and up-and-down movement when using a DJI Ronin 2. It can be carried by two people for walking or running shots … Continued
The post SZJELEN DJI Ronin Balance Bar appeared first on Newsshooter.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2026 04:23:00 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65– To Fly or Float</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/blackmagic-ursa-cine-17k-65-to-fly-or-float</link>
			<description><![CDATA[British cinematographer Ben Saffer and director Charlotte Peters chose the Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65 with Cooke Panchro 65/i spherical lenses to shoot their 1970s period film ‘To Fly or Float’. The whole concept was to create a layered look with interesting contrast ratios. Because this film is set in the 1970s, they wanted to … Continued
The post Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65– To Fly or Float appeared first on Newsshooter.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2026 03:49:31 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>How to Find a Screenwriting Partner</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/how-to-find-a-screenwriting-partner</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Screenwriting can be difficult and lonely. You might have a really hard time on a particular draft, unsure how to break a scene or end your screenplay. Maybe a thought occurs to you: This would be so much easier if I had some help. Hopefully, you have someone you can take these issues to. Maybe that&#039;s just a friend you can ask for advice or a read. I use my fellow acting and writer friends, including our very own Jason Hellerman (thanks, Jason). Or maybe you have a full-on partner in your creative endeavors. For instance, I just met Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe at Sundance, and as they write together, they act out their screenplays in a garage to figure out if dialogue and structure are working. They share writing and showrunner credit on their new project, The Screener.But writing partnerships aren&#039;t just about finding someone to do half the work. In fact, that&#039;s probably the worst reason to seek one out. As I was looking into this, I found a discussion hosted by the International Screenwriters&#039; Association, in which industry professionals tackled the question of writing partners. That is, where to find them, how to make collaborations work, and most importantly, whether you actually need one in the first place.  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  Should You Even Have a Writing Partner? Before you start hunting for a screenwriting bestie to share writing credit with you, you need to ask yourself, Why do I actually want one? Max Timm, the ISA&#039;s Director of Education, put it bluntly—if you&#039;re looking for someone to do half the work, that&#039;s the wrong reason.&quot;Because it might ruin the script,&quot; he said. &quot;You really have to know that you&#039;re going to be working well with this person.&quot;So what are the right reasons? Maybe you&#039;ve identified gaps in your skillset or perspective that another writer could fill. Maybe you&#039;re great with structure but struggle with dialogue. Maybe you need a specific voice or lived experience for authenticity. Or perhaps, as ISA&#039;s Shayna Weber discovered with her own writing partner, the collaboration simply makes the work more enjoyable and productive.You should be more productive together than apart. If that&#039;s not happening, you might be better off solo.Set Ground Rules The ISA panelists work within established guidelines and rules when collaborating. It might help you if you decide upfront how you&#039;ll handle disagreements, how feedback will be delivered, and what the revision process looks like. Hopefully, you&#039;re able to find a collaborator who is just on your level and kind enough to give suggestions in a way that works well for you. I have a DP I&#039;m working with, and he asked me to take some personality tests to see what my communication styles are and what my type of creativity is. It might sound a little woo-woo, but I think this can be a great way to get to know someone better and how they work. This doesn&#039;t have to be Meyers-Briggs. There are a few options, like Human Design and the Enneagram. Regardless of how you start, as you get into the creative process, you want to make sure you don&#039;t just tear down ideas without offering solutions. This applies in any writers&#039; room or partnership. If something isn&#039;t working, explain why and suggest alternatives. The compliment sandwich approach (positive feedback, constructive criticism, more positive feedback) can make difficult conversations easier. Learn more about giving feedback. Where to Find Your Collaborator There&#039;s not a Tinder for writers, unfortunately. You can find services like Critique Partner Connection that will try to place you with other writers for draft reads and feedback, but it&#039;s not necessarily a service to find a partner. There are other places to start looking if you know where to search.Writing groups remain one of the best places to find potential partners. Weber found her longtime collaborator through her writing group, which she&#039;s been in for a decade. These groups create natural opportunities to see how other writers think, what their strengths are, and whether your sensibilities align.We have guides on starting and running writing groups that can help you either join an existing one or create your own. When assembling a group, look for diverse voices and perspectives. Reddit&#039;s screenwriting communities offer one avenue for recruitment, as does Facebook&#039;s numerous screenwriting groups. I&#039;ve found interesting people on TikTok, too.Other platforms like Twitter (now X) can also connect you with other writers at similar career stages. The key is finding people who are committed to the craft and producing pages regularly, not just yapping about writing.              Source: Bernard Hermant          In Person or Online? Should you look for someone local, or is remote collaboration fine? The ISA panelists had thoughts on this. While technology makes long-distance partnerships totally viable, there&#039;s value in finding someone you can eventually meet face-to-face.Tools like WriterDuet have made remote collaboration easier than ever, offering real-time screenwriting collaboration capabilities that let multiple writers work on the same scene simultaneously. Final Draft and other major screenwriting programs also offer collaboration features, though with varying levels of functionality.Still, if you can find someone within a reasonable distance, you gain the option of working together in person when needed. That face-to-face time can be valuable for brainstorming sessions or working through particularly thorny story problems.Building a writing community is super important, whether you&#039;re working with a partner or not. Having other writers who can provide feedback, celebrate with you, and commiserate over rejections keeps you grounded and motivated.  What Makes Partnerships Work Communication tops the list. Before you write a single word, you need to make sure you vibe. Have conversations about working styles, expectations, and how you each handle feedback and criticism. I&#039;ve had writing partnerships fall apart because my collaborator kept changing his overall goal for a screenplay, and didn&#039;t take feedback particularly well.As we&#039;ve written in our guide to co-writing, establishing mutual understanding and respect for each other&#039;s creative processes prevents conflicts down the line.You also need to determine roles and responsibilities early. This doesn&#039;t mean one person only writes dialogue while the other handles structure—ew, that sounds boring. But you should know each other&#039;s strengths. One writer can undertake the punch-up of their favorite elements, for instance, like conflict or shortening scenes.The ISA panel stressed the importance of equal contribution. Weber warned against passive-aggressive rewriting of each other&#039;s work. &quot;Don&#039;t rewrite each other&#039;s scenes and just keep sending each other bad scenes,&quot; she said. &quot;That&#039;s passive-aggressive. That&#039;s the worst.&quot;When It&#039;s Not Working Sometimes partnerships don&#039;t work out, and that&#039;s okay. Writing is intensely personal, and not every pairing will click. If you realize that working with someone has become more draining than energizing, or if you&#039;re spending more time managing the relationship than actually writing, it might be time to part ways. Again, I&#039;ve been there. Sometimes the other person will take it fine, and sometimes they will never speak to you again. If it&#039;s the latter, then it just shows that your gut was right and the match was not going to work. Learn to differentiate between normal creative friction (which can be productive) and incompatibility. It&#039;s okay to disagree. How do you work through those disagreements?Do you have advice for working with a writing partner? Let us know what has worked for you. ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 22:30:03 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>Paul Thomas Anderson Breaking Down a &#039;Battle of Algiers&#039; Clip Is Basically a Full Film School Curriculum</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/paul-thomas-anderson-breaking-down-a-battle-of-algiers-clip-is-basically-a-full-film-school-curriculum</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I&#039;m not sure TCM gets enough credit in this wild world. They are such a fun channel and so good at bringing in cool directors to talk about the classics that have influenced them.And this month, they brought in Paul Thomas Anderson, who sat down with Ben Mankiewicz to discuss the films that have shaped his cinematic DNA. The conversation covered Anderson&#039;s latest film, One Battle after Another, and dug into the power of film history and the visual language film created.Let&#039;s dive in.PTA on &#039;The Battle of Algiers&#039; and &#039;The Searchers&#039; So if you watch TCM, you know the conceit of these interviews is that the director ticks some influences and goes over  what they love about them. Anderson chose the 1966 masterpiece The Battle of Algiers for a very specific reason. In his new film, there is a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is watching the movie, and it&#039;s a nod to how it was viewed in the 1960s.A &quot;Training Film&quot; for Anarchists: Anderson called the film a &quot;blueprint&quot; for guerrilla movements like the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers. It was so authentic that critics at the time, like Jimmy Breslin, famously called it a &quot;training course&quot; for revolutionaries.The Power of Non-Professional Actors: One of the film&#039;s most striking features is its documentary-like realism. Anderson notes that almost every actor, except for Jean Martin (who plays the French General), was a local non-professional. And that&#039;s why he used those people in his movie, too. This &quot;pseudo-documentary&quot; style, influenced by Italian neorealism, makes the camera movement and the unfolding story feel so natural.Nuanced Perspectives: Director Gillo Pontecorvo isn’t blind to the brutality on both sides of the war. The movie explores the &quot;absurdity and ridiculousness of human nature&quot; through a cycle of back-and-forth violence. Sounds like a certain PTA movie, too. The SearchersAnother movie that PTA brought to the table in this discussion was John Ford’s 1956 Western, The Searchers. This is a movie that Anderson considers essential to the American cinematic canon.The Beauty of VistaVision: Anderson’s new film was shot in VistaVision. Invented by Paramount, it uses a larger portion of the 35mm negative, which gives you a deep, rich image. While it fell out of fashion for standard filming in the early 60s, it remained a staple for high-quality special effects, including the original Star Wars.John Wayne’s Performance: PTA highlights John Wayne’s role as Ethan Edwards, calling it &quot;one of the great performances you’re ever going to see&quot;. It&#039;s so cold and angry and brutal. He notes that the weight of the story perfectly supports Wayne’s stature as an actor. And you can see echoes of it in Leo&#039;s work in One Battle, but he does it with a softness, like it&#039;s the other side of the coin. Flawed Heroes: Mankiewicz noted a parallel between The Searchers and Anderson&#039;s own work, where we see the presence of &quot;massively flawed heroes&quot;. Anderson admits that when he makes films, he is constantly &quot;struggling to try to get&quot; the same kind of indescribable emotion found in Ford’s masterpiece. Summing It All Up I found this discussion to basically be a film school all unto itself. Hearing PTa break down the gritty, handheld realism of The Battle of Algiers and the sprawling, high-fidelity landscapes of The Searchers was inspirational. And I really love that these films continue to inspire one of modern cinema&#039;s greatest directors.Let me know what you think in the comments.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 22:17:23 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>Gitzo GM4562 Series 4 Carbon Fiber Monopod $249 (Reg $499)</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/gitzo-gm4562-series-4-carbon-fiber-monopod-249-reg-499</link>
			<description><![CDATA[B&amp;H Photo has a great deal on the highly-rated and best selling Gitzo GM4562 Series 4 Carbon Fiber Monopod. You can grab one today for only $249 (Reg $499). Gitzo GM4562 Series 4 Overview The GM4562 Series 4 Monopod from Gitzo is a 6-section, lightweight carbon fiber support designed to be the most compact and travel friendly monopod within […]]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 22:15:55 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>Canon Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of This Iconic Camera With A Limited Edition Release</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/canon-celebrates-the-30th-anniversary-of-this-iconic-camera-with-a-limited-edition-release</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Man, those years are flying by for all of us as Canon has announced that one of the company’s most popular and iconic camera lines is hitting the big three-oh. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Canon PowerShot compact digital camera, the company is releasing a special 30th-anniversary limited-edition kit version of the PowerShot G7 X Mark III.Set to feature some exclusive perks like a special graphite finish with a diamond-knurled control ring and a custom strap, let’s look at what this special edition Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III has to commemorate and offer.Canon PowerShot AnniversaryOriginally launched by Canon back in 1996, the first model was the PowerShot 600, which was released as an answer to its previous SV series and as one of the company’s first major moves to the newfangled world of digital.
Canon’s PowerShot line has remained one of the company’s most successful camera lines thanks to its focus on everyday ease-of-use, but backed by the company’s advancements in digital camera technology, which helped Canon launch into higher-end professional photo and video cameras as well over the years.30th Anniversary Edition Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark IIITo celebrate the legacy of the PowerShot, Canon has announced this special 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Kit for the PowerShot G7 X Mark III, which is set to feature an exclusive graphite finish with a diamond-knurled control ring, plus a custom wrist strap and an SD card.
The PowerShot G7 X Mark III is a nice camera for this special edition to be featured on, as it packs a nice 20.1MP 1&quot; CMOS sensor which uses a stacked design and pairs with the DIGIC 8 image processor to enable especially fast focusing performance, full-resolution shooting at up to 20 fps, and UHD 4K30p video recording. 
Optically, the G7 X Mark III houses a 4.2x zoom lens, which covers a 24-100mm equivalent focal length range for wide-angle to short-telephoto fields of view. Plus, with an f/1.8-2.8 maximum aperture range, the camera is well-suited to work in difficult lighting conditions.
Overall, the camera has a slim design with a 3.0&quot; 180° tilting touchscreen LCD plus Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for wirelessly connecting to a mobile device. All modern touches are far removed from the line’s simple beginnings.Price and AvailabilityThe Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera Kit (30th Anniversary Graphite Limited Edition) is currently available on a waitlist for now, with units expected to ship in late April.
If you’re interested in checking it out, here are the full specs and price options.20.1MP 1&quot; Stacked CMOS SensorIncludes Wrist Strap and SD CardDIGIC 8 Image Processor4.2x Optical Zoom f/1.8-2.8 Lens24-100mm (35mm Equivalent)3.0&quot; 1.04m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCDUHD 4K30p and Full HD 120p Video20-fps Shooting, 30-fps Raw Burst ModeBuilt-In Bluetooth and Wi-FiLive Streaming &amp; Vertical Video SupportCanon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera Kit (30th Anniversary Graphite Limited Edition)Celebrate 30 years of the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III with this 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Kit. It includes the iconic camera in an exclusive graphite finish with a diamond-knurled control ring, plus a custom wrist strap and an SD card.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 21:30:04 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>Take a Look at the First Viltrox L-Mount Lens With This Ultra-Fast, Full-Frame Prime</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/take-a-look-at-the-first-viltrox-lmount-lens-with-this-ultrafast-fullframe-prime</link>
			<description><![CDATA[While Viltrox officially joined the L-mount alliance last year, you could say the alliance wasn’t fully joined until the company released its first actual lens for L-mount camera systems. Well, that’s happened now as Viltrox has revealed its new AF 16mm f/1.8 full-frame lens for Leica L-Mount cameras.This new 16mm lens is set to be an AF lens with ultra-wide, full-frame capabilities, which aims to find a spot in the market in Viltrox’s usual spot by affording a mix of performance and affordability. Let’s check it out.The Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 LensAs an ultrawide-angle-of-view lens for L-mount full-frame camera systems, the Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 FE Lens aims to be a nice option for all types of photographers, videographers, and other hybrid creators.
For photography specifically, it should do well when shooting landscape and architecture photography, astrophotography, and it should work well for video projects that require close-up capabilities with expansive backgrounds.
The lens should be quite robust but still lightweight and easy to grab for all types of shoots, thanks to its large aperture and high resolution.Price and AvailabilityOverall, this new lens from Viltrox does represent an interesting first for the company that many have been waiting to see—especially those with Leica L-mount camera systems.
The lens will include some nice additional features like an Fn1 and Fn2 custom buttons, a sophisticated LCD screen to display shooting info, and compatibility with 77mm filters.
Here are the full specs and purchase options.
Full-Frame | f/1.8 to f/22Ultrawide Angle of ViewFast STM Autofocus MotorSilent Stepless Aperture RingHD Nano Multilayer CoatingEasy-to-Read LCD ScreenUSB-C Interface for Firmware UpgradesAll-Metal Body, Weather-Resistant DesignViltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 Lens (L-Mount)Featuring an ultrawide angle of view for L-mount full-frame cameras, the Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 FE Lens is an ideal choice for a wide variety of photographic pursuits, including landscape and architecture photography, astrophotography, and creative videography requiring close-up capabilities with expansive backgrounds.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 21:20:04 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>Don’t Wait, Get These Major Firmware Updates Installed for These Aputure Lighting Fixtures</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/don’t-wait-get-these-major-firmware-updates-installed-for-these-aputure-lighting-fixtures</link>
			<description><![CDATA[You gotta hand it to a company when they understand the importance of consolidation. Instead of rolling out these firmware updates individually over the next several weeks and months, Aputure has just dropped a ton of firmware updates all at once that cover pretty much all fixtures in the company’s STORM, NOVA II, and NOVA 9° families.For many of these fixtures, these firmware updates are quite major as they’ll offer new functionalities and improvements which you’re going to want to check out if you own or use these light options for your film and video projects.Here’s everything you need to know.Aputure Firmware Updates






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So, as mentioned above, these firmware updates are being rolled out for all fixtures in the Aputure STORM, NOVA II, and NOVA 9° families. The NOVA II 2x1 and STORM XT52 are set to receive the most notable optimizations and bug fixes as they’ll get improvements to NFC performance and new manual fan control modes in each fixture, respectively.
The rest of the updates are set to be more improvements and bug fixes and are part of the company’s ongoing commitment to support and improve its products. 
Here’s a full breakdown of everything new in these Aputure firmware updates:
NOVA II 2x1 V1.3 - Major update, including improvements to NFC performance, fan control logic, synchronization accuracy, Lead/Follow mode behavior, built-in lighting FX, and Bluetooth control stability.STORM XT52 V1.7 - Addition of coarse and fine adjustment modes in HSIC+ mode, and new manual fan control modes. Includes improvements to DMX functions, UI behavior, Silent fan mode, and performance in Sidus Link and Sidus Link Pro.STORM 1200x V1.6 - Improved fan control behavior and temperature handling, including cold environment behavior. Improved lighting logic for effects and high-speed photography. Minor bug fixes.STORM 1000c V1.8 - Improved UI text for clearer feedback and warnings. Fixed an issue where DMX VRGB color space output could behave abnormally. Improved fan control behavior and low temperature detection, plus minor bug fixes.STORM 700x V1.1 - Improvements to Sidus Link Pro FX control in CCT and HSI modes and error logging, plus minor bug fixesSTORM 400x V1.6 - Improved temperature reporting and handling, plus minor bug fixes.STORM 80c V2.0 - Improved fan control behavior, overheating notification behaviors, DMX control responsiveness, plus minor bug fixes.NOVA II 1x1 V1.1 - Addition of new manual fan control modes, plus minor bug fixes.NOVA 9° 2x1 V1.1 - Addition of new manual fan control modes, plus minor bug fixes.How to Download and InstallWhile we often recommend leaving the decision to the user as to whether or not you choose to download and install firmware updates right away, or wait a bit to make sure they don’t cause any new issues. Aputure did share a recommendation that all of its customers update their lights at the earliest opportunity.
For the full firmware update notes and to find the updates for your individual fixtures, you can find more info on the individual product pages at www.aputure.com and on the Downloads page.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 21:09:19 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>This AI Slop Ad Just Won $1 Million As Part of Grok’s Imagine 1.0 Game Day Contest</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/this-ai-slop-ad-just-won-1-million-as-part-of-grok’s-imagine-10-game-day-contest</link>
			<description><![CDATA[While the real show for the Super Bowl this year might have been the Bad Bunny halftime performance, which was much more exciting (or, at least, polarizing if you hate fun) than the game itself, there were others out there who might have been too busy to notice any of the festivities.This is because they were hard at work creating their entries for the Grok Imagine Game Day Ad Contest, which was hosted on X. This game day ad contest was a quick turnaround contest that gave creators just 48 hours to create game day ads with Grok Imagine 1.0.The winners have been announced, with the top prize taking home a $1 million prize. If you’re curious to see the results, you can check out what they look like below.The State of AI Slop


As we’ve covered in the past, the world of AI in the film and video industry is breaking down into some distinct buckets. There are workflow assistance AI tools, there are AI platforms, and there are generative AI image and video models. This is important to us as the “AI slop” term, which we use to describe the sloppiness of fully AI-generated images and videos, really only applies to the last section.
And that’s what this contest is focused on. Similar to the results of Darren Aronofsky’s AI-slop revolutionary war show, even the best in the business are creating videos and ads that have all the characteristics of sloppiness, as the character models look awkward and unnatural, the lighting is inconsistent, and the sound is oddly synced.
All of these models and technologies will likely keep getting better, but it’s also looking likely that, for the immediate future, generative AI videos aren’t going to replace any true filmmaking forms in any meaningful ways.Grok Imagine 1.0


Grok Imagine is another of the generative AI image and video models out there, which we haven’t covered much in the past, but is another player in a very crowded space that is capable of producing roughly the same level of sloppy video as we’ve seen from Sora, Veo, Kling, and others.
This contest was part of a campaign to kick off the announcement of Imagine 1.0, which boasts 10-second video creation, 720p resolution, and what the company calls &quot;dramatically&quot; better audio. Grok Game Day Ad Winners


Far be it from us to tell you how to feel about the results instead of letting you judge for yourself. If you’re curious to see what the $1 million winning ad looks like, as well as the other top picks, which received major payouts as well, here are the results below.




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			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:33:33 UTC</pubDate>
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			<title>Profoto L600C Lighting Review – Does Profoto Gear Belong in a DP’s Kit?</title>
			<link>http://www.personal-view.com/news/articles/profoto-l600c-lighting-review-does-profoto-gear-belong-in-a-dp’s-kit</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Sweden’s Profoto, a staple in the photography world, is continuing their move into continuous cinema lighting with the L600C RGBWWW Mono-LED light. I put the L600C to the test over several shoots, and though I previously thought the 600-watt RGB light segment didn’t need any more contenders, I was proven wrong by the capable engineers at Profoto. Find my review below.



Still photography is not my trade, but I rub shoulders with excellent photographers often. They all talk about Profoto with the same reverence we cinematographers give ARRI’s camera division. They advocate for Profoto’s reliability and build quality. I hadn’t spent much time with the company’s gear before, but the moment I took the L600C out of the box, I understood what those photographers had been talking about. 



If you have read CineD lighting reviews at all over the past half-decade or so, you’ll know I have reviewed mostly Bowens-mounted mono LED lights – too many to count. I love LED lighting, but I was beginning to suspect that (with some small exceptions), the real innovation in LED was going to continue to come with the high-output fixtures targeting the few remaining HMI lights on larger projects.



That’s not to say I don’t use 600-watt fixtures all the time. To date, the lighting fixtures I’m using most often on set are the higher wattage Nanlux Evoke 900C and the Aputure 600C II. They are just the perfect size to output ratio for the mid-sized television and commercial shoots I’m on lately. Going into this review, I was most curious how the L600C could fit in (or replace?) my go-to lighting kits.



This isn’t my first time going hands-on with a Profoto cinema light. I did have a brief chance at Cinegear in 2024 to check out the L1600D. You can watch that video HERE. However, a quick visit to a trade show booth is different than spending hours putting an instrument to work.



Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


We can’t escape the question of price here: the Profoto L600C is $3,995.00. If you are looking purely at cost to output (and ignoring the exorbitant initial ARRI Orbiter pricing), there is no doubt that this light is on the premium side of the 600-watt LED category.



Over the last several years, the frantic pace of LED lighting launches seemed to ignore a consumer standard from their tungsten-era predecessors: the standard that cinema lights should last for years and decades of hard work on set. I’m hopeful that the Profoto L600C is the type of fixture that I’ll be able to treat more like other bulletproof items in my kit, like metal-fitted tungsten lights or favorite tripods. The robust exterior build quality of the L600C alone suggests it will have a long life.



Unboxing 



My first thought, taking the matte black L600C out of the box, is just how minimalist the lamp head feels: rounded edges, a comfy handle for carrying (which doubles as impact protection), and a lovely, bright rear-facing control panel. The panel has two knobs and a single white button that also serves as the power button via long press. Beyond that, the lamp head has a DMX 5-pin port (in &amp; out) and a spot to insert the power cable. Frankly, the light just looks good. Maybe not the most important factor in reviewing a light, but we can’t pretend that impressing clients with sleek equipment isn’t a part of the business!



5-Pin DMX in and out ports sit side by side. Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


The semi-rigid case comes with a safety cable, a locking powerCON cable, molded foam to protect the contents and the lamp head itself, and a protective cover over the RGBWWW chip set.



Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


The transport case isn’t really meant to transport any additional accessories beyond the light and power cable, but you could stuff some pieces of diffusion or cinefoil in there and a few clamps, if needed. I personally wouldn’t check this case on an airplane. I would transfer the light over to a Pelican case for that type of journey. I tend to want most cases to have wheels, but this one unfortunately doesn’t. I also wouldn’t stack other cases on top of it. That said, most owner/ops will find the Profoto case has enough protection for most bumps in the road.



The little red protective cover that ships with the L600C. Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


Onto the more exciting aspect of this light: how self-contained it is. There is no external ballast included because all those electronics are built into the 13.4 lb (6.1 kg) lamp head. 13.4 pounds is actually lighter compared with other lamp heads in the 600-watt category from Aputure, Godox, and NANLITE. Setting up the light is also so much faster without needing to worry about a ballast and where to mount the ballast on the stand.



Rear control panel. Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


The yoke of the L600C, in particular, is very well designed and doesn’t seem prone to slipping at all. It also locks in a way that inspires confidence that the lamp head won’t randomly tilt forward, even under the weight of added heavy modifiers.



Key specifications



Here are the standout specifications for the L600C worth your attention. The wide color temperature range is especially impressive, and hybrid photo/video shooters will appreciate the high-speed flash mode.




Profoto Accessory Mount (adaptable to Bowens if needed) 



65-Degree Native Beam Angle 



Dimmable from 0.1% to 100%



+/- Green &amp; Magenta 



HSS Flash Capabilities with 16 million colors (in Air flash mode) 



Selectable 2000K to 15000K Color Temp



App Control, DMX (5-Pin) or Timo-Two CRMX



300 Preset Gels 



Light Modes: CCT, HSI, XY, RGBW, Gels  



Weight: 13.5 lbs (Lamp Head) / Package Weight: 24.6 lbs



Power Consumption: 690 watts 



IP 20 




Unfortunately, the L600C has an IP20 rating, giving it limited protection from dirt and dust. This also means that the light has no protection from liquids. With that in mind, the L600C will be a studio hero, but not an in-the-field warrior. For comparison, the Aputure 600C II has an IP54 rating, giving it more protection against rain and snow.



To be fair, though, 600 Watts of output generally isn’t enough punch to do much during daytime sunny exteriors, so perhaps weather resistance isn’t too necessary here, depending on your use.



The RGBWWW chip set has a plastic piece in front of it to protect against the occasional bug strike.   Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


You could always go for a larger block-style battery solution, but this light doesn’t include a V-Mount or Gold Mount (AB) battery plate.



After hours of using the light at 100% intensity in a 70-degree Fahrenheit / 21-degree Celsius studio, I never found the heat around the large vents to be an issue, and the fan noise is very, very quiet set to Auto under these conditions. Profoto uses liquid cooling with the L600C and has a patent pending for that technology, which they call “HydroCTech”.



Control



Most lighting brands have had truly rough initial launches of their various Bluetooth control apps for their LED lighting products. Eventually, the apps have improved, or the companies in question have purchased other software products to bring their applications to a place where industry professionals feel comfortable working with them, but some are still in a “lucky if they don’t crash” phase. Fortunately, this is not the case with Profoto.



Profoto’s iOS app (also available on Android), called simply “Profoto Control,” has an unheard-of 4.7 stars with 897 ratings in the Apple App Store and a healthy update cadence of every couple of months. Fantastic. The app is also now available for your Desktop MacOS too.



I tried out the Free Desktop MacOS version as well, and it is essentially 1:1 to the mobile app. One possible advantage of the Desktop version is that all the settings are displayed in a much larger UI.



Getting started on any of the applications isn’t tricky. The app immediately detects the fixture over Bluetooth. After connecting, Profoto asks you to register the light, and then the app pushes a quick firmware update over Bluetooth. I’m a fan of wireless updates versus a USB-C flash drive firmware system, but the L600C does include a USB-C port for factory service.



“Profoto Air” mode will allow you to trigger high-speed flash on the L600C.


The image below shows the main screen you’ll spend time on while in CCT mode in the in-app. Intensity is set in smaller .1 increments by hitting + or -, or you can slide your finger back and forth to make big jumps. Tap the sun icon to turn the light on or off, or tap the unlabelled white button at the very bottom to flash the light once.



You’ll spend most of your time in CCT mode looking at this screen. 


The app allows you to set the fan noise to “silent”, but that limits the light to 200 W or you can keep it in Auto or MAX. You can also limit the power input of the fixture generally to 150 W, 300 W or 450 W or keep it at max – all useful in places with power output restrictions.



Perhaps the screen brightness of the L600C is playing in your shot in a negative way? You can dim the screen if you wish. You can also navigate DMX loss behavior, dimming curves, and all sorts of other settings easily.



What happens if you are in the app and someone on the crew decides to change the intensity on the lamp head itself? Simple. Control shifts seamlessly to the lamp itself without interruption after the first physical button press. 



One tiny quibble of the mobile app UI: the settings button (denoted by the gear in the upper right of the above image) is precariously close to the sun button (which turns off the light). I did find myself accidentally bumping the sun button a few times when I was hoping to hit the settings button – this leads to various people turning around and looking at you, assuming that the light has powered off. Perhaps those buttons could be separated further in a future firmware update.



Output, color, and Kelvin handling



I grabbed a few measurements on my Sekonic C-700U Spectrometer with the latest firmware (now updated with the C-800U) to see how accurately the L600C handles color temp measured in Kelvin and output (lx) from a distance of 3.3 ft (about 1 meter) in CCT mode.



Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


Here are my readings, this time with a target of 5600K and output set to 100% with CCT output set to Max. This test was completed with no modifiers attached at its native 65-degree beam angle (aka bare bulb).






Aiming for a target of 5600K, we ended up reading a 5623K out of the fixture. Excellent and about as perfect as you can get here.



Moving on – let’s go for a 4700K target.






A reading of 4688K is spot on next to our 4700K target, and you see a slight hit in overall output here (16500lx) compared with the 5600K target testing above. Now for a test with 3200K as the target:






A reading of 3269K is again excellent accuracy, given an aim for a 3200K target. You’ll notice over these three tests that the highest output [lx] is definitely when the fixture is set to 5600K.







Finally, the above graph asks how the L600C fairs when we look at how it replicates color accurately. With a target of 5600K, these results are truly excellent and some of the best I’ve ever tested. R12 Blue is constantly below 90 on most fixtures I’ve tested, and here it scores an astounding 94.1, for example.



There is a slight dip around R9 and R10, but everything here is scoring well over 90.



Accessories 



For this review, I used the $225.00 Profoto Maxizoom Reflector (casts a 25-degree narrow beam) in addition to the $549 Profoto 4′ Octa White Softbox. Both use the classic Profoto clamping mount that fits pretty snug, but doesn’t have a click-locking mechanism like the Bowens S-mounted fixtures that film folk will be more accustomed to.



The L600C with the 25-degree Maxizoom Reflector. Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


My favorite softbox of all time is the DoPchoice Snapbag Octa 5. It has a button-clicking mechanism that is superior to most cheaper softboxes. The DoPchoice is also built like a tank with rock-solid stitching that will absolutely survive in a rental environment. The Profoto 4′ Softbox, on the other hand, sets up in a third of the time (literally 20 seconds) and is honestly a little easier on my hands to build versus the DoPchoice option. The Profoto softbox ships with a 1-stop diffusion piece and a removable interior baffle, but unfortunately doesn’t include a grid or other diffusion types.



The softbox folds in half, giving you more room to navigate around the set when not in use. Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


A compatible grid can be purchased separately HERE for $179.00. 



Profoto really knocked it out of the park with their Softbox. I don’t think it’ll survive being rented out willy-nilly over a service like Sharegrid, but for an owner/op, it doesn’t get much better than this. The Profoto mount in the softbox folds in half and breaks down smaller than all my other softboxes, including the Octa 5, as a result.



Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


The Maxizoom Reflector didn’t quite knock my socks off like the softbox, though. It feels rugged enough not to dent as quickly as my other reflectors. It would have been nice to have included this reflector with the stock L600C kit. However, some users might appreciate not having to pay for the reflector if they don’t need it for their work.



Final thoughts



Image Credit: Graham E Sheldon / CineD


At the top of this article, I questioned if the L600C would find a permanent place in my daily lighting kit, and the answer is: yes. Excellent exterior build and a wide CCT range, paired with tons of quality control options and a superior softbox accessory, justify a premium price point and overcome a general lack of weather resistance. It’s also really hard to go back to using lights with bulky ballasts once you’ve used the L600C – a ballast is just one more thing to deal with during setup.



The L600C is impressive, and Profoto has done a good job showing how a stagnant 600-watt LED category can be revitalized by the improvements that have already made Profoto a household name amongst, well, Pro photo folks. I look forward to seeing how the brand can continue to shake up the cinema lighting industry for the better. Welcome to the party, Profoto.]]></description>
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