Sony Professional has unveiled Venice, its first full-frame digital motion picture camera system.
Sony Professional has unveiled Venice, its first full-frame digital motion picture camera system. Venice is the next generation of Sonys CineAlta camera system, reportedly designed to expand the filmmakers creative freedom through large-format, full frame image capture of filmic imagery with natural skin tones and expressive dark areas. Venice was designed, the company claims, through close collaboration with the creative community.
Venice was officially unveiled on 6 September, in front of an audience of American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) members, among others. Sony also screened the first footage produced with the new camera, directed by Joseph Kosinski and shot by Academy Award winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC.
The camera reportedly combines a newly developed 36x24mm full frame sensor and compatibility with a wide range of lenses, including anamorphic, super 35mm and full frame PL mount to enable, as per the official release, a range of expressive freedom with shallow depth of field. The lens mount can reportedly be changed to handle E-mount lenses for shooting situations that require smaller, lighter, wider and more characteristic lenses. Future firmware upgrades are planned, according to the official release, to allow the camera to handle 36mm wide 6K resolution. Fast image scan technology claims to minimise Jello effects.
A new colour management system and wide colour gamut reportedly gives users more control and greater freedom to work with images during grading and post-production.
Venice reportedly achieves efficient file-based production through Sonys established 16-bit RAW/X-OCN and XAVC workflows using the portable memory recorder AXS-R7. With the new product, Sony claims to give users the option to customise their camera by enabling the features needed, matched to their individual production requirements. The Venice CineAlta digital motion picture camera system is scheduled to be available in February 2018.