This year’s NAB Show was as crazy as ever, with tons of new cameras, accessories and other products being announced and released. I’ve been covering a few events here on the blog over the past few days, but now that NAB is coming to an end I wanted to summarize some of the highlights from the show so that readers of this site can keep it all in one place. I won’t be going into detail about any of the new cameras in this post, so be sure to check back soon as I’ll be diving into my thoughts on some of these products in future posts.
Blackmagic URSA – $5,995/$6495
The first of two cameras released this year by Blackmagic Design. URSA is a super 35mm 4K digital cinema camera that shares the same sensor as 4K production cameras, but in a body better suited for real-world use. It has three built-in displays, including a huge 10-inch pop-up 1080p screen on the side, can be mounted in EF or PL, and features XLR inputs, audio metering and recording to CFast cards. The camera also has a replaceable mount, so you can upgrade the sensor later if you choose. You can also choose to buy a camera without a sensor at all, attach a different camera (such as the GH4) to the URSA body, and then just use the URSA to capture/monitor your footage.
Blackmagic Studio Camera – $1,995/$2995
This is a very interesting camera designed to be used in a live studio environment, rather than a BMCC/compact camera/URSA designed for on-location productions. The studio camera comes with an MFT mount and can shoot in 1080 or 4K, depending on which version you choose to purchase. It also has many other features suitable for broadcast environments, such as alert lights and talkback capabilities. It will likely find its home in broadcast production covering sporting events, local/cable and other low to mid-budget broadcast environments.
Sony A7S – $1,699 (estimated)
The latest addition to Sony’s full-frame mirrorless range is the ultra-powerful A7S, which is capable of recording in 4K (using an external recorder) and can shoot at high ISO up to 120 fps. The camera can actually shoot at up to 409,600 ISO, which means it can basically see in the dark, and shooting around 25,000 ISO is apparently just as clean as shooting at 100 ISO. This is achieved via the 12MP sensor, which is really optimized for low-light/video work due to its very large pixel size and low pixel count.
Aja Sean – $9,000
AJA must have noticed the huge buzz their competitor Blackmagic Design made when it entered the camera industry, and now they’re following suit. Their new CION is a 4K production camera that has a global shutter and can record at up to 120 fps, which is sure to give Blackmagic some competition! The camera has a PL interface, can record to ProRes (and possibly RAW in the future), has an XLR input, and has a built-in Thunderbolt connection. It also has built-in shoulder pads, perfect for running and gun/handheld work.
Digital Bolex D16M – $4000
There are not many cameras designed for monochrome (black and white) shooting, in fact there are probably only 3 or 4 at the moment, one of which is the new D16M from digital bolex. Featuring a native black and white sensor made by Kodak, this camera is the most affordable black and white camera on the market today. While the market for this camera may be small, for anyone who wants to shoot black and white film they will definitely be cornering it (and understands the importance of shooting monochrome natively rather than desaturating in post), this is practical The cost is the only valid option out there. The next step up is an Epic or Alexa monochrome camera, which costs many times the price of the D16M.
Red Scarlet Dragon – $14,500
RED has finally revealed the shipping date, pricing, and specs for its upcoming Scarlet Dragon camera. While the camera will cost $14,500, current Scarlet owners will have an upgrade path, although upgrading to a new camera will cost around $9,000. The camera is expected to ship in June, but there’s no official release date yet, and I wouldn’t expect to see them available in large numbers until at least late summer. It can shoot at up to 150fps, but this requires shooting in 2K to achieve that, but even at 5K the camera can shoot at 48fps, which is pretty good. At 6K, it can only shoot at 12fps, so the 6K setting is likely to be used for time-lapse or still photography.
JVC GY-LSX1
JVC has really stepped up its game this year, releasing 4 new cinema cameras (two of which I won’t discuss as they are professional/rigged cameras), but the most impressive is the GY-LSX1 (although it can Use a better) name! ). The camera has a PL mount and can shoot 4K video up to 60p, HD video up to 240p, and record to SDHX or SDXC cards using the MPEG-4 AVC 4:2:2 codec. There’s no official price or ISO/dynamic range specs for this camera yet, but I’ll be sure to update this post as soon as more information becomes available.
JVC GY-LSX2
Another 4K interchangeable lens Super 35mm camera from JVC, but this one is more of a camera format than the LSX1’s film/broadcast format. The odd thing about this camera is that it has an MFT mount and the sensor size is Super 35mm, so I’m not quite sure how this will work out given the mismatch in mount and sensor size. The camera can only shoot in 4K at 24p or 30p, so there’s no overboost feature available yet, but it is capable of recording simultaneously to HD and/or SD proxy files, which are easier to edit during the offline editing stage. As with the LSX1, we still have no official word on ISO/dynamic range specs, but I’m not expecting crazy numbers from this camera.
Honorable mention
A few other cameras have been announced or released recently, though not at NAB 2014.
Panasonic Varicams – Under $60,000 (pPrice of accessories: camera, tape recorder, viewing window)
Panasonic has released two excellent new Varicams this year, both with the same modular design and recorders but different cameras. One version comes with a Super35 4K camera and the other with a 2/3” HD/240fps camera. Many of us Panasonic users have been eagerly awaiting updates to the Varicam series, so this camera was a hit upon release. The sensor can Captures over 14 stops of dynamic range, which puts it into Alexa territory, has a PL mount, and can record up to 240 fps on the 2/3-inch version and 120 fps on the 4K version. It’s also capable of capturing 4K RAW. Recording to AVC-ULTRA 4K or AVC-Intra is possible at 2K resolution, and ProRes recording is also possible at HD resolution. Codex will also release a recorder for use with these cameras, allowing for speeds up to 120 fps. Uncompressed RAW capture. We expect these cameras to be available in the fall.
Kinefinity KineMAX (estimated $10,000) and KineMINI (estimated $6000)
I blogged about these two new cameras from Kinefinity a few weeks ago, but I’ll provide a quick recap here for those who missed it. KineMAX is a new 6K camera with PL, Nikon, EF or B4 lens mount options that shoots at up to 30 fps in 6K and up to 100 fps in 2K. It has 14 stops of dynamic range at 6K and 16 stops of dynamic range at 3K, which is absolutely stunning.
The KineMINI is the brother of the KineMAX, but it still shoots 4K images using a Super 35mm sensor and has the same lens mounting options as the KineMAX. It can also achieve very high frame rates, shooting up to 96 fps at 2K and 100 fps at 1080p. Indeed, in terms of value for money, the KineMINI seems to be the better choice unless you absolutely need 6K, but I’m fairly confident that no one actually does!
Lumix GH4 – $1699
One of my all-time favorite camera lines (Lumix GH) was expanded earlier this year with the addition of the GH4. This camera uses an MFT sensor for internal 4K shooting and remains the most affordable 4K SLR camera on the market. Its main competitor right now is the newly released A7S, but considering the A7S requires an external recorder, I think the GH4 definitely has the advantage. The camera also outputs clean 10-bit 4K via HDMI, which is great and will make it a great companion to the recently released Atomos Shogun 4K recorder, and is a much lower price compared to previous iterations in the series. Light sensitivity has been greatly improved. An optional recording module is available for purchase (pictured above), which allows XLR inputs, TC inputs and SDI outputs.
what is not being released
As far as its line of cinema/digital SLR cameras go, I’m quite shocked that Canon hasn’t released a new camera, but at the same time I don’t expect much from them. For example, if they were to upgrade the C100, anything they could do would immediately cut into sales of the C300/C500/1DC unless they also updated those cameras. So, in a way, Canon has painted themselves into a corner, but considering their existing camera lineup is still strong, I don’t think they’re too worried.
It is rumored that GoPro will also launch a new Hero4, but it has not been announced yet.
That’s it for my camera highlights, but check back soon as I’ll be covering some of these cameras in more detail in the coming weeks, as well as discussing other highlights from the show regarding accessories and gear.
