New HD Camera, better than Viper

[Mike Metken]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr..._id=1000527854

[Charles Papert]

Just got this link also. It looks fabulous. Thankfully a workable form factor. It's going to be very interesting when both this and the Arri HD camera are field tested and out there working. Goodbye 2/3" sensors and Betacam-esque bodies--at last.

I'll post a report after Cinegear this weekend.

[Mike Metken]

I surely did not expect this. The recorder records 880 Mbps. Normally it is used with MPEG4 processor, which is large. It would be interesting to find out how is Sony handling the compression. Also I bet you the chip has so many pixels so it can do Cinemascope, 16:9, etc. ratios, similarly as the Viper. I'm almost willing to bet that it will output 4K. The Sony digital cinema projector is 4K. It's nice to see move to 4K, Cinemascope, super high bit rates. Hope we will see all that. I wonder when and if we will see a Sony brand equivalent of this. I bet it will be soon.

[Jason Rodriguez]

BTW, I'm assuming that 24-26lbs. isn't too much for hand-held shoulder mount use when the recorder is in the back postion, and you're using primes, right?

[Jason Rodriguez]

Too bad this wasn't availble for SW EPIII :-(

Would have been nice to see it on the big screen.

[Rob Lohman]

Great news indeed. Looks interesting!

Charles: please do. We need photos of this! <g> Enjoy your visit there!

[Mike Metken]

What is interesting that 35 mm CCD cameras have similar performance as 35 mm film cameras, 2/3" cameras similar to S 16 and 1/3" similar to Super 8 film. I can see how they will replace the film cameras in this way. So I guess since the pro digital productions will be moving to 35 mm, we will start having some good less expensive 2/3" and 1/3" HD cameras.

[George Ellis]

Ya' know... I would pay money to see a movie of Charles flying that sucker. :D

But then again, Charles would probably get a stunt double to do the Don Juan stair scene. :D

[Charles Papert]

Having used the Millenium XL extensively (the camera that Panavision is using as a weight comparison to their HD camera in handheld mode), I can say that it is a comfortable operating weight for short bumps of time.

George, I only wish I had a camera with those dimensions and weight for American History X. I was flying an Arri BL3 then, which probably had a good eight pounds over this one, and a longer profile. The good news is that this camera addresses the length issues of the Sony 900, which can get as long as 3.5" feet, believe it or not! Try getting that sideways through a door.

The only drag with Panavision is that the Primo lenses are great optically, but heavy bastards, usually between 5-9 lbs. Every time you change lenses it's a rebalance, and you can feel the difference in weight for sure. The lens in the picture is the 24-275mm Primo zoom, which obviously only works in studio mode. There are a couple of flyable zooms, but they are not in use all that much (they are actually still lens conversions, not Panavision glass)

[Luis Caffesse]

Just to echo Charles' remarks, the Sony 900 gets ridiculously long once you've got your battery packs & matte box on there. I worked on an indie that was all shot on location, and it makes it really tough to get a decent wide shot unless you find a location with massive space. You've got roughly 4' from the wall to the end of the lens, add in minimum focus (not that you want your actor RIGHT ON the lens either), and it's easy to wind up with a bunch of uninteresting midshots that look very flat because your actor is standing about 4 feet from the opposite wall.

HD is nice, but the cameras definitely need to get smaller for practical shooting.

-Luis

[George Ellis]

New rule 1 - no picking fights with Charles ;)

[Charles Papert]

I'll take you all on! Gimme your best shot!

Hardly...

Actually, George, I think I would like to start bringing in replacements to do the harder shots, that way I can ease myself into the "executive operator" position!

[Mike Metken]

This camera is amazing. It has 4K CCD but outputs only 2K, similarly as F950. They showed footage from this and 35 mm camera. No difference to talk about. Very wide dynamic range. From the deepest shadow to bright sunlight. The main advantage of this camera vs. F950 is the larger chip and shallower DOF. Very nice and sharp LCD screen. The tape actually slows down and speeds up as you change speed. You can overcrank it to 50p. Abd Sony is also going to introduce 4K cinema projectors for $60 and $90K. When they have 4K recording solution, they will come out with a version of this camera with 4K output. 4K production through 4K projection. So HD now extends from HDV through Genesis. And there is the 8K ultra definition system that is under development.

[Keith Loh]

So what you're saying is that my VISA limit is probably too low...

[Rob Belics]

Panavision does not sell their equipment. You can only rent it.