LOS ANGELES - Feb. 19, 2026 - PRLog -- Nikon ZR users now have a powerful tool in their pre-production arsenal. ZRCalc™ is a purpose-built online tool designed to help cinematographers quickly determine how much storage media they need, based on their chosen recording formats and data rates.
As high-bitrate codecs, RAW formats, and high-resolution capture become standard, calculating card requirements has become increasingly complex. Bitrate variations across resolutions and frame rates often force shooters to rely on confusing manual charts, spreadsheets, or finger-in-the-wind estimates when budgeting media for production.
ZRCalc™ simplifies the process. Users input their shooting format, resolution, and frame rate, and the calculator instantly estimates recording time based on storage capacity. The result is clearer pre-production planning and fewer surprises on set for users of Nikon's first cinema camera made specifically for filmmakers. The new camera is suited for a variety of uses from social content to full length feature films.
For cinematographers balancing performance, workflow, and budget, ZRCalc™ aims to remove the guesswork from one of production's most overlooked line items: media planning.
Built specifically for Nikon ZR cinema workflows, the tool allows cinematographers to input their shooting format and instantly calculate:
- Estimated recording time per card
- Total number of cards needed
- Approximate budget allocation
As high-resolution formats and high-bitrate formats like REDCODE RAW (R3D NE) and ProRes become more common, storage demands increase exponentially. Underestimating media requirements can lead to overspending, or worse, running out of storage mid-production.
ZRCalc™ addresses three critical production risks:
- Overspending on unnecessary media
- Underestimating shoot-day storage needs
- Confusion around bitrate-to-storage conversions
Featured this week on Product Hunt, ZRCalc™ gives cinematographers financial confidence before stepping onto set.
About ZRCalc™
ZRCalc™ is a subscription product ($1.99/month) of AperiumAI, a California AI startup. Through this subscription model, filmmakers are entitled to unlimited use of ZRCalc™ to allow them to calculate CFexpress card requirements for their productions.
Resources:
- ZRCalc™ is available at: https://zrcalc.com/
- Interactive walkthrough on Arcade.
- More on the Nikon ZR can be found at the Nikon official website.
Photos: (Click photo to enlarge)
Source: AperiumAI LLC
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