Many of you may recall that at this year’s CineGear Expo in LA, Sony announced their plans for the “Next Generation CineAlta” camera. The new CineAlta will be their first to feature a full-frame (36 x 24mm) sensor exclusively designed for this Digital Motion Picture Camera.
Just days ago, Sony sent out an invite for the launch of the said new CineAlta camera, which will be held on September 6th at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, CA. According to the already released official information by Sony, the new sensor will also be aspect ratio agnostic – meaning that it would support Full-Frame, Super 35, 4:3 anamorphic and 4K spherical DCI or 17:9.
This is particularly smart move by Sony, as the way things are going in the high-end spectrum currently dominated by the large format ARRI Alexa 65 and the RED Weapon/EPIC and other RED monsters, it only makes sense to go beyond the Super 35 sensor size and coverage to give cinematographers more options to create epic images.
Here are some of the details that have been revealed for the launch event:
- An exclusive opportunity: be among the first to get hands-on time with Sony’s next-generation CineAlta camera.
- Premier screening of the first film shot on the new camera presented by special guests.
- Hear the filmmakers share their experiences shooting anamorphic.
- Enjoy in-depth discussions with the CineAlta development team in our Digital Motion Picture Centre.
- Experience Sony’s immersive Crystal LED giant display – in 4K High Dynamic Range.
Sony F65 – current CineAlta Flagship
It is not yet known where this camera will sit in the lineup, but it appears that will either be a F65 successor or sit somewhere along side it. It will not be cheap by any standards and definitely positioned to compete with ARRI and RED’s highest spec offerings for motion picture creation. I would image the new CineAlta to cost around $30-40K for the body only.
According to Sony, the new camera will be capable of “exceptional image quality” and work with the existing 16bit Raw/X-OCN and XAVC workflow. The new Sony beast will also be compatible with the existing DVF-EL200 Full HD OLED Viewfinder for the F55, AXS-R7 recorder, AXS-CR1 and AR1 card reader, AXS and SxS memory cards. I also expect a native PL mount, or maybe an interchangeable one.
Stay tuned as we report more details post the launch event.
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