Ending months of curiosity, Red Digital Cinema surfaced at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas with a nonworking prototype of a 4k digital cinematography camera carrying a list price of $17,500. Meanwhile, Munich-headquartered ARRI declared that it is seeing a renaissance in Super 16 mm film–a trend in commercialmaking acknowledged by numerous rental houses–and introduced the Arriflex 416, a new Super 16mm camera with a lightweight ergonomic design.
These announcements, coupled with the launch of Thomson’s Grass Valley Infinity and the latest from companies such as Sony and Panasonic, made this a big NAB for the cinematography community.
The Red camera–displayed under glass at NAB–was probably the most discussed, eliciting a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism. According to Red, the camera incorporates what it terms “Mysterium,” a 12-megapixel, S35 mm sized CMOS sensor, capable of shooting 4k, 2k, 1080p, 720p at frame rates including 24fps and 60fps. The camera is designed to support PL mount, cine style 35 mm lenses. Red is also developing its own set; the first was shown under glass at NAB and was a 300 mm prime. It is also creating a new shoulder harness to stabilize the camera that would ask the cinematographer to hold the system in a similar manner to a shotgun. Red said it is also developing 2k and 4k recording options, although third-party systems may be an option.
Red, under the ownership of Oakley sunglasses founder Jim Jannard, reported that it plans to ship the camera during Q1 of ’07, but it began taking orders accompanied by a “refundable, nontransferable” $1,000 deposit at NAB (as well as via phone and on the Web). At press time, the company reported that it already had 181 orders placed. It also said that it was limiting the number that a single vendor could order to five.
These early orders signal strong appeal, with interested parties pointing out that it would bring high-end capabilities to a whole new market thanks to a competitive price point that would challenge other camera makers.
A fair amount of attendees also dismissed the developing camera. “They are already exceeding physics laws with some of their claims,” one executive requesting anonymity asserted. Others questioned the workflow; on the exhibition floor, Red suggested 2k post workflows with Apple’s Final Cut Pro running with an AJA Kona card, or an Assimilate Scratch DI system.
As the show reached its peak, the Red camera earned an NAB Award for Innovation in Media (AIM) in the content creation sector. This award is voted on by NAB attendees. (Still, some questioned the recognition in that company did not demonstrate a functional product.)
SUPER 16
Explaining that advances in lenses, film stock and postproduction technology have elevated the Super 16 format to a new level of quality and efficiency, and in response to market demand, Arri introduced its new Arriflex 416 with a lightweight ergonomic design, integrated electronic accessories and compatibility with the same lenses and accessories used by other Arri 35mm cameras. The new camera offers a 35-style viewfinder and a low sound level (less than 20 dbA) similar to that of the Arricam. Its speed is variable from 1 to 75 fps, and the mirror shutter can be manually adjusted from 45 to 180 degrees. The viewfinder optics have been re-designed from the ground up, incorporating fewer lens elements of higher quality and a shorter optical path. The 416 uses the industry standard 54mm stainless steel PL mount, and is scheduled for availability at the end of ’06.
“If you want a film look, the simplest way to do that is to shoot film,” declared Arri’s Marc Shipman Mueller. He added that in “digital speak,” the camera offers 2k uncompressed images, and 16-bit linear images in a camera weighing 12.2 lbs. and offering variable speeds up to 75fps.
Thomson’s Grass Valley launched its Infinity series, an “IT-immersed” product line that includes a multiformat camcorder and digital media recorder. The aim of the series, initially announced last September at IBC, is to offer an open production system that avoids proprietary approaches and gives users their choice in video formats, compression, recording media, connectivity and workflow. Among the companies to announce support for the Infinity series were Avid Technology and Apple Computer, which intend to offer support in their nonlinear editing systems.
Sony presented a theme of “HD for All,” highlighting applications of its HD technology for all levels of professional digital video production and included its newest XDCAM HD line of optical disc camcorders and decks.
Sony is making some changes it its Cine Alta line, including the launch of an “environmentally friendly” Cine Alta HDCAM F900R camera.
Meanwhile, the company plans to discontinue the F950–the newer Cine Alta model that supports 4:4:4 RGB imagery on the HDCAM SR format–this fall. Sony’s Rob Willox explained that a company has started an initiative to remove from its products materials that are harmful to the environment, and he claimed that the 950 would be discontinued because the solder used to build the camera model contains lead. He added that unleaded solder melts at a different temperature.
As a replacement to the F950–which would continue to be supported for seven years per Sony ground rules–Willox said that customers could consider as an option the HDC1500, which could record 4:4:4 RGB to an HDCAM SR deck. But he explained that the next generation of the 950 is a new camera that is dockable to the SRW-1 portable HDCAM SR deck and is scheduled to ship in Q1 of ’07. A concept of this model was shown under glass in the Sony booth at the NAB exhibition.
Sony’s family of HDV products has expanded over the past year, with the HVR-A1U compact camcorder joining the HVR-Z1U.
Momentum continued for Panasonic’s new HVX200 camera–launched in December–that records to a P2 solid state memory card to create a tapeless production environment. The camera–which also combines multiple HD and SD formats, multiple recording modes and variable frames rates, and a compact design–collected a NAB AIM honor. So too did Canon’s XLH1 High Definition camcorder with selectable frame rates.
During NAB, Panasonic announced sales growth for its DVCPRO P2 system over the past year with worldwide adoption amounting to sales of more than 15,000 units. Panasonic additionally unveiled a broader expansion of P2 into HD products with a new P2 HD line.
The company also announced it will offer dual codec capability, including an optional AVC-Intra (H.264 compliant) codec in addition to DVCPRO HD codec. The AVC-Intra codec is designed to offer more efficient compression, translating to advantages in storage and distribution. This option is scheduled for availability in April ’07. Avid Technology and Apple Computer said they would support this development in their editing tools.
JVC Professional Products Company expanded its ProHD family line of products with the introduction of the GY-HD200U. Targeted for independent filmmakers, this HD camcorder is capable of supporting HDV720/60p images. The suggested list price is currently placed at $7,995.
JVC also unveiled the GY-HD250U, which captures 24p and 30p, and allows for extensive user customization with additional gamma settings for cinema applications. Its 1/3-inch bayonet mount allows the use of various interchangeable lenses from Fujinon, Canon and other third party lenses and accessories. The suggested list price is $8,995. Both JVC models are scheduled to ship in October.
