The Flamingo Resort was, once upon a time, a thriving and fabulous part of Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ+ scene and nightlife. According to the resort manager, it was once the single largest LGBTQ+ resort in all of Florida. I am speaking in the past tense because in the fall of 2019, we demolished the entire facility.

It’s becoming rarer and rarer these days to see a structure built by hand, by a non-professional with a passion and a decent grasp of construction. After we came through, there was one less of these structures. You see, we tore down a greenhouse in Pinellas Park that was built by one man with a vision over 30 years ago. 

In the south of Tampa, there stands a luxury hotel named the Epicurean. It sits right on South Howard Boulevard, commonly known as Soho and famed (at least locally) for its collision of new and trendy coffee shops with old, uniquely Tampa architecture. The area is booming. This historic section of town is being rapidly revitalized, one dilapidated historic building at a time. And the Epicurean wants to be a part of that mission.

Apple has made a massive move today, announcing that by year’s end it will be offering computers running on “Apple Silicon.” These new chips replace the Intel processors that have powered MacOS for the last 15 years. Let’s explain what that means, and see how it affects filmmakers.

In their Virtual Press Conference today, hosted simultaneously with our Virtual Trade Show, Canon pulled back the curtain a little bit more on the upcoming EOS R5, and what they revealed is nothing but incredible. Despite the Coronavirus running rampant, Canon still promises to deliver this exciting camera to the world on schedule, expected by the end of this year, possibly as early as summer.

We are spoiled by choice in the hybrid camera market today. Our DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are increasingly absorbing the functions and features that cinema cameras and prosumer camcorders touted as exclusive just a few short years ago. Cases in point: the Panasonic GH5, the Canon 5D Mark IV, and the Sony a7S II. These three superstars all take different stances on the purpose of a hybrid camera, but all three are indisputably exceptional tools that we filmmakers sometimes take for granted. Each is perfect for someone, but which is right for you?

If you’ve looked into renting cinema cameras these days, you’ve probably noticed the majority come in two flavors: EF or PL. The RED Weapon, Ursa Mini Pro, and even the C300 Mark II are all available in both mounts. But what is the difference? And when should you choose one over the other?

There has always been a demand for simple photographic tools that produce an acceptable image with little effort. Today we have fully automatic point-and-shoot cameras such as Canon’s Powershot line or Nikon’s Coolpix series. Before there were compact digital cameras, moms at birthday parties used those disposable cameras that just ran a roll of 35mm film past a cheap plastic lens. And of course, who can forget about Polaroids, the classic instant camera still beloved by hipsters (and myself) to this day. 

Our camera this week is a collapsible film camera manufactured by Kodak in the mid-30s. It's very art-deco, with swooping arms counterpointed by a stern, octagonal face. It takes 620 film, and thus is named... The Six-20. Real creative.

Wait, Kodak made this? They do cameras?