News roundup: Kinefinity Vista, Godox USA, Vizrt AI Keyer, and more

A bumper post-NAB digest covering Kinefinity's full-frame 6K Vista, the formation of Godox USA, Vizrt's green-screen-free AI Keyer, MAVIS camera, Colorfront, Dante, Video Assist, and more. Now with added Grogu!

Kinefinity Vista teased ahead of Cine Gear

One of the more intriguing cameras spotted on the NAB 2026 show floor was the Kinefinity Vista, a compact full-frame 6K cinema camera that the company was showing in prototype form. Kinefinity is keeping most of the details under wraps until the official launch, expected around Cine Gear in June, but the headline numbers — full-frame, open gate, sub-$3000, palm-sized — are already generating considerable buzz. A dedicated microsite is live at vista.kinefinity.com if you want to register your interest ahead of the announcement. Much is going to depend on what sensor it's built around.

Apple Vision Pro's role in The Mandalorian & Grogu

So, someone's bought one. The Mandalorian & Grogu director Jon Favreau recently described how he used Apple Vision Pro to help bring Grogu to the biggest of big screens.

Interviewed by Matt Belloni during CinemaCon in Las Vegas recently, he described how the device helped him line up shots.

"So I’m making an IMAX movie and I’m looking at a TV screen. No matter how big your TV screen is, it’s not an IMAX screen. We built software so that I could pop on my Apple Vision Pro and be sitting in an IMAX movie theater and see the full aspect ratio when you’re lining a shot up."

MAVIS Camera adds TAMS

Mavis Camera has added a beta TAMS (Time Addressable Media Store) integration to its Camera to Cloud service, allowing iPhone-captured video to be uploaded in real-time as discrete chunks directly into TAMS-based cloud workflows. A "jump to live" feature lets the upload head skip ahead to current material if network conditions cause a backlog, which is going to be useful for news and fast-turnaround production.

The integration also supports external inputs including HDMI/SDI via Atomos Ninja Phone or Accsoon SeeMo, plus NDI, extending the pipeline beyond the iPhone's internal camera. 

Colorfront Transkoder 2026

Colorfront's Transkoder 2026 adds AI integration, agentic workflow infrastructure via MCP servers, expanded automation toolsets, new QC detection modules (clipped highlights, crushed blacks, camera judder, matte intrusion), a Composition Comparison Engine for version comparison, audio automation via keyframe-driven volume curves, and a browser-based orchestration platform currently in closed beta.

The update also deepens partnerships with Dolby — adding Dolby Vision 2 metadata creation and de-judder tooling — and Apple, with a full end-to-end delivery pipeline for Apple Vision Pro content.

Audinate launches Dante Preset Creator

Audinate has launched Dante Preset Creator, a free online tool that lets users configure Dante network settings offline before hardware is available. Presets can then be imported into Dante Controller and applied selectively, preserving any existing configuration. Given the way that Dante increasingly underpins audio networks worldwide, this is going to be a valuable tool. Both tools are free at GetDante.com.

MAC Group and MPEX Distribution form Godox USA

The newly established Godox USA finally unifies all Godox products under one roof in the US led by MAC Group. Launching May 1, 2026, Godox USA brings together the complete Godox lighting ecosystem — Flash, LED, wireless control, light-shaping tools and related creative accessories — under one US-based website with unified sales, support, and coast-to-coast service.

Godox USA will have full technical support and service centers in New York, Ohio, and California. All customer support experiences will be unified across the entire Godox system, which will be a big improvement on the previous fragmented picture that was spread across the different product lines.

Video Assist updates

Video Assist, an iPad app that turns the device into a professional on-set monitor and playback system via a UVC capture card, has received a major update adding Advanced Masks (up to three simultaneous frame lines), Record Trigger support for the Canon C50 and C400, Metadata Extraction for RED and Sony Venice cameras, and VTR Reports for generating PDF clip sheets. The app is built by solo developer Bradley Andrew and is free to download, with subscriptions at $129.99/year (Base) and $199.99/year (Pro).

Vizrt AI Keyer replaces green screen

Vizrt has launched the AI Keyer, a background replacement and AR graphics tool that works without green screens, specialist lighting, or chroma keying. Trained on real-world footage across varied environments and lighting conditions, it isolates human subjects and locks them into virtual scenes in any location, indoors or outdoors. Vizrt specialises in real-time virtual sets and broadcast graphics, so it lists use cases as inserting remote speakers into virtual sets, repositioning news presenters, and placing virtual ad walls behind interview subjects. No doubt others will find their own creative applications.

You're going to have to wait for more Artemis

NASA's Artemis II mission has been one of the biggest photography stories of the year to date: a literally out-of-this-world test of camera kit that included over a decade's worth of equipment from the GoPro HERO4 to the iPhone 17 Pro. You're going to have to wait at least 18 months for a follow-up, however, maybe longer.

NASA's Artemis III mission, now recast as an Earth-orbit test flight along the lines of Apollo 9, is unlikely to launch before late 2027, with both SpaceX and Blue Origin indicating that timeline for having their landers ready. Rather than a Moon landing, an Orion crew will rendezvous and potentially dock with Starship and/or Blue Moon in Earth orbit, keeping astronauts close to home if problems arise. NASA also wants to fly at least one Axiom spacesuit on the mission and they're not running to schedule either.