Sure, we’d heard of indie flicks and rumors of studio films being shot on Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II, but DSLR video just got a big kick into the mainstream: Saturday Night Live’s new opening title sequence was shot using an EOS 7D. SNL director of photography Alex Buono saw that Dublin’s People short and was so impressed that he switched over — and what’s more, he’s even using the 5D and 7D to shoot various segments, like the faux-mercial for “Bladivan” embedded below. That’s a big win for this new breed of video cameras — and while we’re stoked to see new tech take over the old, we’re also patiently waiting for someone to start a site dedicated to identifying jelly-motion on network television.

[Thanks, Malkmus]

Continue reading New SNL title sequence and segments shot using Canon EOS 7D, 5D Mark II

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New SNL title sequence and segments shot using Canon EOS 7D, 5D Mark II originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Selphy ES40 –Canon’s small-format “talking” printer–isn’t a great conversationalist; if anything, it’s rather shy and reticent. (In its favor, it doesn’t mindlessly babble.) It’s actually multilingual–French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin, as well as English. Its female voice sounds reasonably human–it’s no robotoid voice-box.

Other than its verbal ability, the ES40 is a fairly standard portable, dedicated small-format photo printer. It uses thermal dye technology to output its 4- by 6-inch prints. It’s about average in speed, and except for a problem printing diagonal lines like spokes on a bicycle (they come out jagged), prints very nice-looking photos. Its main shortcoming is its relatively high running cost compared with some other small-format printers such as the Editors’ Choice Epson PictureMate Dash.

As I mentioned, the Canon Selphy ES40 is no Chatty Cathy–it took some rather creative interrogation techniques to get it to speak (see our video “quick look”). The two times when it talks are when it finishes a print, and when you access the Creative Print Mode to add frame or clip art, change layout, or apply special effects to the photo. There’s really nothing it says that isn’t also imparted through the LCD screen itself. But it is a fun extra, which might appeal especially to kids, people whose first language is one of those represented, and the visually impaired. And that’s on top of a very capable small-format printer that outputs beautiful prints.

Today's featured band is Family of the Year.

(Credit: Family of the Year)

TGIF!TGIF!TGIF!TGIF!TGIF! Before you take off for the weekend, be sure to check out today’s episode of The 404 Webcast, where we’re reintroducing the Semi-weekly Beck’s Beer Audio Draft! Today’s featured artist is Family of the Year, an up-and-rocking folk(ish) band from Los Angeles. The sextet mix together Fleetwood Mac-style rock guitars with a tinge of country that make for a perfect end of summer soundtrack, and we’re very psyched to help them promote their new EP release called “Where’s the Sun.”

The two tracks on today’s show are titled “Let’s Go Down” and “Psyche or Like Scope,” both available as a streaming preview on their MySpace page.You can buy it on their Web site at a sliding scale, meaning you can throw down however much you want. Give $1, $5, whatever you can afford, but keep in mind that all the earnings will be put toward the expenses of their upcoming CMJ tour. You can also buy a signed postcard from the road with a personalized inscription from the members themselves! Give them a listen, buy the album, and check them out in a city near you. Who knows, they might even stop by The 404 studio the next time they’re in town…*hint* *hint* *nudge* *nudge*

Plenty of stories to get to today as well, including a story about some fool trying to extort money from David Letterman for a little fling he had several years ago with his assistant. In our eyes, the king of late night can do no wrong. It’s not like he’s, oh I don’t know, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; can we all just let the guy live? Keep doing what you’re doing, Dave, and if you want to come on The 404 for an exclusive interview, we’ll be more than happy to oblige.

We also have a quick story about 3.4 million or so phallic pictures crashing AT&T’s servers last week, but there are also a ton of movie-related news stories to get to, including a list of 8 movie franchises that must die, a “Kill Bill 3” in the works, a Spore adaptation, and ugh- a new “A-Team” movie. Can we run through all these stories in time and still not bust over the 45-minute mark? Check it out and find out!

Have a great weekend everyone!

EPISODE 437

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Originally posted at The 404

(Credit: USPTO.gov)

The sharp-eyed bloggers at AppleInsider have noted a newly revealed patent application related to multitouch surfaces–leading to further speculation about Apple’s purported tablet PC project.

As per usual, the application came through law firm Morrison and Foerster, and was originally filed in June of this year. …

Apple may soon introduce a mouse featuring multitouch technology, like that seen in its iPhones, iPods and MacBook trackpads.

Sporting a touch-sensitive housing, the new mouse will do away with the roller ball on the current Mighty Mouse (pictured above), sources told AppleInsider. The rumored multitouch mouse might apply the inertia feedback seen in iPods and iPhones, whereas scrolling speed accelerates or decelerates in response to how the user touches the surface.

Presumably an Apple multitouch mouse would function similarly to the unibody MacBook trackpads, which detect multitouch gestures. On new MacBooks, tapping the trackpad with two fingers triggers a right-click function, for example; this rumored multitouch mouse might copy this behavior. Also, for a mouse, we would expect a multitouch gesture to replace scrolling in different directions, and perhaps there will be special gestures that trigger Exposé commands as well.

Apple’s new mouse may be released with new iMacs, AppleInsider’s sources said. The popular iMac desktops were last refreshed in March, and Apple typically upgrades them every seven months. That would suggest new iMacs — perhaps packaged with multitouch mice — will hit stores very soon.

See Also:

• MacBooks’ Multitouch, Buttonless Trackpad Coming to Windows …
• Leaked: Apple Filing Illustrates Multitouch Tablet Technology …
• MacBook Pros Get the Multitouch Magic; But Where’s the Redesigned …
• Apple Adds Multi Touch to MacBook Pro

Photo: stopthegears/Flickr