Panasonic Announces VariCam LT 4K Super 35 Cinema Camcorder

I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a mid priced cinema camera but here is the details on the NEW Panasonic VariCam LT. Price for body only is $18K kit with viewfinder $24K (body + AU-VCVF10G viewfinder) The VariCam LT ships with a Canon EF mount. It’s electronic but full compatibility isn’t guaranteed with all Canon lenses. A PL adapter is available. Not clear if it’s a adapter or user swappable. Shoots several ProRes flavors as well as Panasonic’s AVC-ULTRA codec. The camera is smaller. comes in at 6 lbs. making it better for gimbals and jibs. Panasonic added neutral density filters to the LT camera. Always nice to have this option. Especially if you want to keep it small and light.

The Panasonic VariCam is a high end production camera that looks to be a great companion to the VariCam 35 but I really would like to see a sub $10K S35 camera from Panasonic. They have great color science in the VariCam line.

“AFRICA” The Sample Footage of Panasonic’s New Cinema VariCam LT from Cinema VariCam™ on Vimeo.

The VariCam LT has a arm and grip accessory very similar to the FS7 and URSA Mini cameras. As you can see in the picture the base plate (sold separately) is very adjustable to help balance the camera on the shoulder. Nice to see cameras going back to this body style. The EVF isn’t a standard feature and if you choose to not use it a 3rd party like the Gratical from Zacuto will be easily usable.

Press Release.

Panasonic today unveiled the VariCam LT, representing the next generation of 4K cinema cameras. The VariCam LT camcorder  inherits the same super 35mm sensor and superb imaging capabilities that distinguish the award-winning VariCam 35, but with significant reductions in size, weight and price.

Incorporating this identical imaging “DNA” in a more compact rendition, the VariCam LT (model AU-V35LT1G) delivers 14+ stops of dynamic range with V-Log, and the esteemed cinematic VariCam image quality and color science, as well as the VariCam 35’s breakout innovation, dual native ISOs of 800/5000.

Weighing just under six pounds and having superior capability to similar sized cameras, the VariCam LT will be the ideal camera for handheld, SteadiCam, jib, crane, drone, gimbal and overall cinema verité work. The VariCam LT is likewise tailor-made for owner/operators, independent filmmakers, documentary makers and corporate production creators.

The VariCam LT delivers superb image handling in multiple formats ranging from 4K, UHD, 2K and HD, and like the VariCam 35, is fully capable of High Dynamic Range (HDR) field capture. The new 4K camcorder offers Apple ProRes 4444 (up to 30p) and ProRes 422 HQ (up to 60p) support for HD recording, as well as Panasonic’s AVC-ULTRA family of advanced video codecs.

New codecs introduced in the VariCam LT include AVC-Intra LT and AVC-Intra 2K-LT, both designed to offer capture rates up to 240fps in imager crop mode, ideal for sports and other fast motion footage.

Powerful color management capabilities combined with VariCam’s extended color gamut and support for the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) workflow allow for full fidelity mastering of original source material. The VariCam LT offers in-camera color grading, with the ability to record an ungraded 4K master along with all on-set grading metadata. A new color processing feature is “V-LOOK,” which acts as a blend of V-Log and video, and allows filmic documentary acquisition without the same need for intense color grading.

The VariCam LT differs from the VariCam 35 in being a one-piece, short-bodied camcorder vs. a two-piece camera head plus recorder. While the VariCam LT does not feature parallel sub-recording, it does have an SD slot for high-resolution proxy recording. Proxy files can be wirelessly uploaded via FTP, which facilitates wireless color grading. Variable frame rates are available with LongG6 recording.
There is one expressP2 card for all formats including high frame rate and HD/2K/UHD and 4K recording (the 256Gbyte expressP2 card can record up to 90 minutes of 4K/4:2:2/23.98p content). RAW output from SDI is planned to be supported by a firmware upgrade in early summer 2016.

The VariCam LT features an EF mount (vs. the VariCam 35’s PL mount), suitable for the wide array of lenses available for smaller cameras.* The EF mount can be switched out to a robust standard PL mount, expanding the range of compatible lenses that can be used. The control panel can be separated from the camera body to facilitate real-time control and easy menu access. The camcorder has a production-tough magnesium body to assure durability and reliability in challenging shooting locations.

Other features new to the VariCam LT are power hot swap, IR shooting (further enhancing the camcorder’s extreme low-light capture at ISO 5000), 23.98 PsF output, and image presets as scene files.

Among the camcorder’s top-level production assets are ND filters (CLEAR, 0.6, 1.2, 1.8), an optional OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) with optical zoom functionality, 24-bit LPCM audio for in-camera audio master recording, Focus Assist, anamorphic lens de-squeeze, special REC functions (PreRec, interval, one-shot), IP control via Panasonic’s AK-HRP200 camera remote controller, and built-in GPS.

Professional interfaces include: 3G-HD-SDI x 3 (SDI-OUT X 2 and VF), LAN, genlock in, timecode in/out, USB2.0 Host and USB2.0 Device (mini B), and three XLR inputs (one 5-pin, two 3-pin) to record four channels of 24-bit, 48KHz audio.

The VariCam LT will be available at the end of March in two packages, suggested list price $18,000 (body only) and suggested list price $24,000 (body + AU-VCVF10G viewfinder).

For more information about the VariCam LT, visit www.us.panasonic.com/varicam, or contact Panasonic at 877-803-8492.
* Panasonic does not guarantee the compatibility or performance of all EF lenses. Specifics will be updated on the Panasonic web site,www.us.panasonic.com/varicam.

Please signup for my newsletter! Follow me on Twitter @eriknaso and check out my page on Facebook.

Thanks for coming by! Please help support my site by using the links on this page or bookmark these from my favorite retailers, B&H, Adorama, Zacuto, Amazon.com & Think Tank Photo. Using the links cost you nothing extra, but it helps offset the cost of running my blog. Thanks again for coming by eriknaso.com!

Filed in: 4K • Featured Post • Panasonic
Tagged with: 4K • Panasonic • VariCam LT