At IBC Panasonic announced they are back to developing the 4K VariCam. I didn’t know they stopped, but that explains why they didn’t talk about it at all at NAB this year. No new news on a large sensor successor to the AG AF-100 unfortunately. They should just make a s35 version with the same features and call it a day. Oh well. I already moved on but staying in the Micro Four Thirds world with mirrorless stills camera’s, so I’ll have lenses if they ever advance the AF-100 with a MFT sensor.
Panasonic did state at NAB that they are focusing on broadcast not cinema and they didn’t want to get into the cinema business so no rush for 4K cameras makes sense. In this video interview with Panasonic Europe representative Aisling Magill she states this very clearly and also tells us that Panasonic wants the whole workflow from shooting to delivering 4K for broadcast ready to go before launching a 4K product. Panasonic has a new AVC Ultra codec that looks to be very efficiant . They have been strong with codecs in the past and seem to continue. File sizes in 4K are very large so good high compression is the key to getting 4K manageable.
Check out the video. It’s very enlightening and makes perfect sense.
IBC 2013 – Panasonic on the 4K Varicam, “demand for 4K isn’t there yet” from cinema5D on Vimeo.
So their you have it. Panasonic is in the broadcast business with 4K, and lets face it broadcast isn’t ready yet so with that they have plenty of time. However they have to be careful because Sony isn’t going to wait either. They too are in the broadcast market in a big way.
IBC in Amsterdam. 13 September 2013
In response to the growing worldwide demand for 4K production, Panasonic Professional Camera Solutions is prioritising 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.
With the 4K VariCam, Panasonic is tending to businesses that are increasingly looking for suitable, and above all affordable, equipment to create 4K production environments. By using large-scale integration chip technology (LSI) boasting AVC-Ultra, the new extension of the AVC-Intra codec format used widely in HD recording, Panasonic will speed the development of its 4K VariCam.
By integrating the latest 4K technology, the VariCam will support 4K shooting from 24p to 100/120p. To enable even better 4K video productions, Panasonic will fit the 4K VariCam with a newly developed Super35mm size high sensitivity image sensor with 4K resolution. The sensor will feature wide dynamic range, extended colour space, and support for Log.
Moreover, in order to support highly reliable recording at high bit rates, new Ultra P2 cards will start shipping in conjunction with the 4K VariCam camera recorder. The form will be the same as traditional P2 cards, with a high speed PCIe interface adopted to enable high speed data transfer. Currently, 256GB Ultra P2 cards are planned for production.
Shipment of the 4K VariCam and the new Ultra P2 cards will start in 2014. Further product details will be revealed as the launch draws nearer.
– See more at: http://business.panasonic.co.uk/professional-camera/press-and-events/panasonic-unveils-new-details-about-the-bt-4lh310-native-4k-lcd-production-monitor-for-4k2khd-cinema-0#sthash.40F7wgeH.dpuf
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