Sony announces 4k camera.. and oh yes, a 1080 one too.

Jarred Land

Jarred Land

President/Founder
Staff member
heh heh Sony today officially announced what their projector guys let slip last month..

That they indeed would be developing a 4k camera sometime in the next 3 years, and have proclaimed a sad and unholy death to 2k and lower formats as 4k being the new cinealta standard and the standard that hollywood will adhere too.

oh.. and as well, oops.. wait a sec.. they then announced a new professional 1080 camera, the F23..

Oh poor Sony.. They have done some strange things lately, but to announce a 1080p camera then 5 minutes shoot it in the back of the head.. thats just a brainbuster.

via crunchgear:
Sony pioneered HD digital content creation with the CineAlta system in 1999. CineAlta is now used widely for HD digital cinema production, where it can achieve the picture quality of traditional film. Filmmakers can benefit from the efficiencies of the digital production process, where CineAlta allows them to check freshly taken shots immediately, on site.

And now we are seeing the advent of total workflow with 4K in the digital cinema and high-end content markets. 4K picture quality will clearly surpass 2K which is currently gaining wide support in these markets.

From now Sony plans to develop a range of CineAlta 4K products, which will span acquisition, production and projection. Our 4K SXRD digital cinema projector is the first of these products. These products will pursue ever higher picture quality through higher resolution and stunning color reproduction.

....

Sony is no stranger to both amateur and professional film producers. Its Betacam is a smash hit with those demanding high-quality footage and ease of use. Today Sony raised the bar with the announcement of the F23, a professional camcorder designed for serious filmmaking. The camera can shoot at 24fps in HD1080 to give ultimate clarity with that “movie” feel to the picture. Want the geeked-out specs? You’ll be able to record in HD1080/60P and HD RGB 4:4:4 mode, the camera supports 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 1080/23.98PsF, 24PsF, 25PsF, 29.97PsF, 50P, 59.94P, 1080/50i, and 59.94i. We really aren’t sure if all those modes are completely necessary, but then again our self-produced movie CrunchGear: Babes in Thailand wasn’t exactly a smash hit. The F23 is due out in mid-2007 for a price that is sure to completely obliterate your bank account.
 
Last edited:
Interesting indeed ! Hard to get out of your own way when you have more corporate layers than pixels.
Aloha
-A
 
Poi Boy said:
Interesting indeed ! Hard to get out of your own way when you have more corporate layers than pixels.
Aloha
-A
Click to expand...

Poi.. that is one hell of a quote that we should frame and hang on the wall.
 
It does make me wonder how much latitude we might find in their... stock. Short Sony (stock) to bye more RED accessories. Call it an addendum to our business plan.

Jannard said:
Buy one now... while they announce it's replacement.
Click to expand...

Sony wa baka des ka? So des ne...
 
Last edited:
The more 4K the better.

How long for this F23? It baffles the mind to think that it has taken this long for these huge companies to come up with a simple 1080p camera that can overcrank. Is it really that difficult?
 
" Today Sony raised the bar with the announcement of the F23, a professional camcorder designed for serious filmmaking. The camera can shoot at 24fps in HD1080 to give ultimate clarity with that “movie” feel to the picture. Want the geeked-out specs? You’ll be able to record in HD1080/60P and HD RGB 4:4:4 mode, the camera supports 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 1080/23.98PsF, 24PsF, 25PsF, 29.97PsF, 50P, 59.94P, 1080/50i, and 59.94i. The F23 is due out in mid-2007 for a price that is sure to completely obliterate your bank account."

big deal. its nothing more than a cinealta+ a couple frame rates... it will be amusing when they announce a price.
 
Jarred Land said:
Poi.. that is one hell of a quote that we should frame and hang on the wall.
Click to expand...
I fully agree! This Poi is everything you want less a boy he isn't for sure! :thumbsup: This one is the excellence of a wider insight.
 
btw the f23 is around 150.000+ us$ (no, I didn't make a mistake with the zeros)

You can buy 8 Red's and still have money to come to spain on vacations! :-P
 
Over the next three years? So a company with possibly the largest R&D in the entire world is going to take twice as long as the Red team? There are only going to be a few things to improve upon Red if it lives up to the current spec, I wonder where Sony will justify the pricetag that will undoubtedly be in the $100k's.
 
polispol said:
btw the f23 is around 150.000+ us$ (no, I didn't make a mistake with the zeros)

You can buy 8 Red's and still have money to come to spain on vacations! :-P
Click to expand...

Wow, if the f23 costs 150k then what the hell is the 4k camera going to cost? half a million?
 
polispol said:
btw the f23 is around 150.000+ us$ (no, I didn't make a mistake with the zeros)

You can buy 8 Red's and still have money to come to spain on vacations! :-P
Click to expand...

Man, are they sh#tin' everyone or what?

On the upside, maybe Vegas will finally offer 10bit color support:)

btw, I heard Spain has great pit BBQ. That's where it originated from.

Joe C.
 
Homersapien said:
Over the next three years? So a company with possibly the largest R&D in the entire world is going to take twice as long as the Red team? There are only going to be a few things to improve upon Red if it lives up to the current spec, I wonder where Sony will justify the pricetag that will undoubtedly be in the $100k's.
Click to expand...

Thats the problem.. there are 1000 engineers and 1000 politicians that every decision needs to go through.. not the most "time efficient" way to build a product.
 
zeke said:
Man, are they sh#tin' everyone or what?
Click to expand...
guys, really, calm down a little bit please.

Sony is and will be dominant on many markets - and red isn´t THE threat to them.

Most of us understand why RED is a superior offering for many filmmakers.

But then, Sony isn´t making so much money with filmmakers, as they are making much more money with broadcasters, and yes, pro&consumers. The broadcast camera market itself is much bigger than the one for moviecams.

And, while i fully agree that RED -finally- is a company who gives the behemont sony _tough_ competition - sony will keep on selling their cameras in the $$$, $.$$$, $$.$$$ and $$$.$$$ markets.

However, i totally agree that sony has -as some other cameramanufacturers- a certain "monopolistic" pricing, not only for cameraheads. Also, it could be very possible, that mid-term the red camera shakes up a full segment of the market.

But the Sony 23 has a CCU, i suppose the 4k will have that as well.
So expect to see both sonycams at the olympics, superbowls, TV-studios etc.

edit: ah yes, and i think red and the sony srx 4k projector are a good combination...
 
I'm pretty calm laguun :)

Infact I'm probably calm because I'm not thinking about where to get the hudreds of thousands of dollars for a sony camera

I think the point that this thread is making is even when there are other options such as Red or Silicon Imaging's camera on the market Sony seem to do little to offer something major in response and still ask for the same price tag that they are charging at the moment. If there are aspects of their cameras that qualifies the high price tag then I'd understand but from what I've seen so far it can only be seen as a rip off. Sure they'll continue to have great success with their cameras and that's mainly because rental companies will promote such a camera over a RedOne, SI or other camera because they can get more money from it as well as the minor updated cameras that follow every other year which they can promote as brand new products. It doesn't make it right though whichever way you look at it.

I want to see Sony look at these cameras and up their game, modify their potential markets and deliver revolutionary products, and I'm sure that alot of professionals expect to see cameras such as Red and SI's open the market upto some amazing technology over the coming years, but if this is the best we can expect from Sony within the next 3 years I certainly won't be holding my breath.
 
JJ has said himself not to think of Red as a new "television" camera but as a challenger to film cameras.

Until the production Red hits the market, no one will know how well it will fit into television workflows like live sports, multicamera studio broadcasting, etc. The lack of a CCU on the Red is probably one of the many "broadcast" style features that may be missing on the first generation Red.

Along the CCU lines, I am wondering if Iridas would ever partner with Red in the same way they have with SI and the Iridas Speed Grade on Set system. It sort of parallels the CCU model of camera shading.
 
Sproketz said:
Along the CCU lines, I am wondering if Iridas would ever partner with Red in the same way they have with SI and the Iridas Speed Grade on Set system. It sort of parallels the CCU model of camera shading.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I am sure they would, having 1000+ more speed grades in use overnight would be a dream come true IMHO.

Stephen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top