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Documentaries and more get 4K treatment from Sony

Claiming that 4K is a reality for many of its customers while looking ahead to a world of 8K, Sony has cemented its position in ultra resolution acquisition with a number innovations at IBC.

Claiming that 4K is a reality for many of its customers while looking ahead to a world of 8K, Sony has cemented its position in ultra resolution acquisition with a number innovations at IBC.

Documentary producers can future-proof their content in 4K using the PXW-FS7, a shoulder mounted unit with adjustable viewfinders designed specifically for run and gun operations and use in harsh environments.

The €7-8000 XDCAM camera houses a large format CMOS sensor and shoots 4K Quad Full HD in 60fps and super slow-motion 240fps HD, at up to 14 f-stops.

“The creative possibilities of shallow depth of field can now be applied to new genre such as documentaries,” said Dennis Lennie (pictured), a DP and producer who works for Sony.

Demonstration content shot by Lennie is being shown on the stand. “The dynamic range in particular is incredible.”

Bolstering this new product is a shoulder mounted accessory for the F55, tailored for documentaries, and an upgrade to the F5 giving users 4K recording capability. A companion E-mount 28-135mm full frame – 35mm, interchangeable power zoom lens is also debuted.

To view it all on’ Sony will launch next March a 30-inch €30,000 4K OLED monitor, the BVM X300.

It is well known that Sony produced the 4K outside broadcasts from the Maracanã stadium in Rio this summer. Among its other 4K experiments was a recording of the World Cup final using a pair of F65 cameras whose 8K signals were stitched together to form a 12K x 2K video. A €18,000 Super Resolution De-mosaicing Processor is available to achieve this come October.

Action was also recorded using F65’s at 120fps for live super motion 4K clips, a significant development in the rounding out of 4K sports production arsenal.

Meanwhile, Sony continues to work on 8K production kit as part of a Japanese government supported task force intent on broadcasting the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in the super hi-resolution format, with tests beginning 2016. “We have a special project team working on that and there will be ramifications to our future product since we only have the F65 to produce 8K just now,” said Sony Professional Europe head of AV Media Bovis.