Panasonic Announces Prioritized Development of 4K VariCam at DV Info Net (http://www.dvinfo.net/news/panasonic-announces-prioritized-development-of-4k-varicam.html)

"AMSTERDAM. 13 SEPTEMBER 2013 -- In response to the growing worldwide demand for 4K production, Panasonic Professional Camera Solutions is prioritizing the development of the 4K VariCam camera recorder. The VariCam will be a highly practical camera, boasting features and performance suitable not only for 4K cinema, but also HDTV content production. The camera is set for launch in 2014. Panasonic has also unveiled the development of the new Ultra P2 cards at IBC."....

"By integrating the latest 4K technology, the VariCam will support 4K shooting from 24p to 100/120p."

Wow!
It was only a matter of time, I guess.
I wonder what Panasonic is going to do with the 2/3" 4K chip they co-developed?

Does anyone still think 4K is a long way off?

I'm interested to see what they do with the AF100 line now that we know what this Varicam is capable of. Hope the AF100 gets new life at NAB 2014... To answer your question...4K is here. I wonder how Canon will deal with 4K in the consumer/prosumer realm. There's no codec from them yet except canon raw and 4k mjpeg.

We took a pic of it #ibc2013

NEW Panasonic 4K Varicam | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/omegabroadcast/9735017365/)

We took a pic of it #ibc2013

NEW Panasonic 4K Varicam | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/omegabroadcast/9735017365/)

Thanks for the pics!
Does anyone know, is this the same prototype they showed at NAB 2012?

Does anyone still think 4K is a long way off?

Depends what you mean by this. Do I think the manufacturers are going to make 4K TV sets
and cameras? Seeing as they like making money, I'd say, yeah 4k is here right now in that
aspect. Of course 3D is here right now too.....

For myself it won't happen for quite some time. 98% of my clients still want a SD DVD,
I just bid on a $16,000 contract. The deliverables? 1,500 DVDs. So 4k is quite a ways off
for me personally. I only bought my first HD camera in 2011 (a FS100) as I finally had
a couple clients who wanted Blu rays.

Looks very similar to the mockup they had at Broadcast Asia in 2012.

Sony showed a live 4K feed from a Rugby match in London at IBC today. Looked very impressive projected on a big 4K screen, but even more impressive on the 4K TV's. Interesting thing is that most of the infrastructure used for the live feed was HD, just doubled up to provide the extra bandwidth, so many of the things required for 4K are already in place.

Posted a news blurb to our website on this camera:

Omega - News - Panasonic - Panasonic 4K Varicam (http://www.omegabroadcast.com/fmp/omega-news-detail.php?&-recid=326)

Great. More stackable bricks. Sigh.