4 minute read
A summer news roundup including stories from Apple, ASUS, Atomic Keyboard, BLAZAR, Disguise, Fujifilm, Lightcraft Technology, LVX, Nikon, Noctua, and Raspberry Pi.
Apple Names the Date
Apple has finally announced the date of its next big event. The event, which has the tagline “Awe dropping,” will take place at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park on September 9, 2025, at 19:00 CET, 18:00 BST, 1PM ET , and 10AM PT (17.00 UTC, just to throw another one in there. Ed.). This will in all probability be the unveiling of the iPhone 17 lineup, a final flourish of the Liquid Glass interface on the xx26 software before launch, and even mark the potential introduction of an iPhone 17 Air model.
Tariff Update
The events are carefully stage-managed nowadays to make sure nobody asks any awkward questions. That means no discussion about tariffs, and certainly no mention of gifts to Presidents. Elsewhere, companies that have indicated price rises are coming to US consumers again as part of the ongoing trade disputes include Nikon from September 1, where new prices look to coincide unhappily with the end of a whole bunch of promotions on August 31, and Fujifilm. Fujifilm actually raised its prices in July and August, an indication of how chaotic the situation remains.
Severance Keyboard
Atomic Keyboard’s Severance-inspired MDR Dasher Keyboard is finally available on Kickstarter. It’s based on the Data General Dasher D2 terminal that provided inspiration for the Severance team’s own models, though they added a trackball, rearranged a few things, and deliberately removed the ‘escape' key to emphasise that there is no escape from Lumon. Retro-futuristic kitsch can be yours for a starting price of around $649.
ASUS GeForce RTX 5080 Noctua OC Edition
We were also impressed earlier this month with the ASUS GeForce RTX 5080 Noctua OC Edition. Some of the engineering that goes into the cooling alone of high-end modern graphics cards is astonishing. This is the first gaming GPU with three 120x25mm fans, which are combined with an upgraded heatsink design that integrates a large vapour chamber and eleven heatpipes. The fans are offset in speed to avoid undesired acoustic interaction phenomena, such as periodic humming or vibrations caused by beat frequencies. The result? Under automatic fan settings, the Noctua Edition maintains an exceptionally quiet noise level of just 21.4 dB(A). That’s about the sound of a whisper. Costs are roughly double that of the standard RTX 5080, and that’s hovering just over $1000, but if you need quiet and performance then it can be well worth the extra. It looks great too.
Raspberry Pi Touchscreen
At the other end of the computing scale, Raspberry Pi has introduced a 5-inch touchscreen that you can pick up for a mere $40. The link is interesting as it takes you to a blog post written by Software CTO, Gordon Hollingworth, that details his use of AI in creating the application to run it. “Here, it’s taken me just a couple of hours to generate an application that I couldn’t otherwise have produced nearly as quickly,” he writes. “However, I still don’t know how the application is architected, if I wanted to add some functionality I’m not sure I’d know where to start, and I’m not convinced the application is complete or bug-free!”
Disguise Updates AI Assistant
Disguise has a major update to its AI-powered assistant, Ask AId3n, which it reckons will enable Designer Pro users to deliver concerts, theatre shows, virtual productions and more in a fraction of the time. Essentially, it enables production teams to sequence repetitive or technical tasks, as well as type questions into a chat-based interface, from simple queries like "how do I add blur?" to more complex commands instructing the tool to make direct changes to a project file. "They could then tell Ask AId3n to create layers and keyframes for every musical beat of the show and have those changes made within seconds," writes the company.
Lightcraft Trails Spark
Sticking with AI about every third press release that crosses the RedShark desk nowadays seems to be a new AI tool promising to revolutionise filmmaking. More promising than most, Lightcraft Technology has just soft-launched Spark, a new platform due out in 2026 that theoretically connects traditional CG filmmaking tools (Maya, Blender, UE5, etc.) with AI to give creators a way to do everything – from pre to post – all in one place. It’s a suite of tools that lets you do pretty much everything from virtually “pre-shoot” your film to see how it would look, to iterate a scene in real-time with a team working through a web browser. You can connect scenes directly to the script, organize VFX shots, incorporate virtual production, and more. Could be interesting…
LVX SUÁREZ Cinema Lens Collection
Onwards to lenses. Peppe Badalamenti Suárez, founder of LVX Badalamenti Cinema Optics, whose AURORA I and II sets of lenses were introduced in 2024, announced a new line of glass called the LVX SUÁREZ Cinema Lens Collection. They are based on Canon Sumire lenses, which you provide to LVX.
The new lenses are full-frame and support 35mm large format cameras up to 8K, features a 46.7mm image circle, internal focus, 300° focus barrel rotation, and a promise of nearly zero lens breathing. The price to convert them costs $4600 per lens to convert if you send six lenses, or $5000 if done individually. There are also rehousing and coating options, as well. 50% of profits will benefit Nova Vita, a charity in Guatemala City.
Learn more about the LVX here.
BLAZAR REMUS-M 1.5X Full-Frame Anamorphic Lens
BLAZAR has announced a new set of glass, the REMUS-M 1.5X lenses for mirrorless mounts, including Canon RF, Sony E, and Leica L. The original REMUS full-frame line of anamorphic lenses was first unveiled at the end of 2023, and expanded in 2024, for large format cameras (PL and EF mounts), and the new REMUS-M are the same, but for mirrorless cameras.
Focal lengths so far include 33mm T1.8, 50mm T2.0, 85mm T2.8, and 100mm T2.8. Given that the standard REMUS line has more lenses available, it is within reason to assume more REMUS-M lenses will launch soon. Pricing depends on the mount, but a set of three lenses with E mount costs $2,199 USD and RF / L mounts retails for $2349. Get more information on the BLAZAR REMUS-M lenses here.
Tags: Technology Production
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