This was the big surprise in London’s Press launch of the new Sony F3 FilmLike camcorder, after the formal presentations talking about the F3 and showing some footage we were invited to a world exclusive, the launch of the Sony NXCAM Super 35mm camcorder at a tentative price of €6000 that’s surprise, surprise £4000.
SONY’S PR
Sony Professional today announced that it is developing a new type of E-mount 35mm camcorder. Aimed at professional cinematographers utilising a Super-35mm large format CMOS sensor, this new camcorder will become one of the new models in the “NXCAM” line-up. Available early summer of 2011, it targets the expanding entry-level digital cinematography market.
Sony Professional is already a key player in the 35mm digital cinematography market with the highly acclaimed “Cinealta” F35 and SRW-9000PL for high-end digital cinema production. Sony has also just strengthened its line-up in this category with the recent PMW-F3 camera, combining performance and price in a powerful and affordable production tool. With this latest “NXCAM” HD camcorder, Sony looks to further strengthen its position in the entry-level segment. The new model provides an affordable yet highly capable professional solution for many applications, including independent film, pop promotions and corporate communications all looking for a cinematic look to their content.
The “NXCAM” HD camcorder under development will be equipped with a Super-35mm sensor, a widely used stock size in the film industry, perfectly designed for capturing motion pictures. This new sensor will have extraordinary performance in terms of picture quality and sensitivity, and is able to offer depth of field control and flexibility with a wide range of lens options available.
The adoption of the E-mount interchangeable lens system means that it is identical to the “α” series lens system used on the NEX-5, 3 and NEX-VG10, current and future E-mount lenses will be compatible with this new camcorder. In addition, a very short flange back distance (the distance between lens mount surface and sensor surface) allows various A-mount lenses be mounted via a lens adaptor (LA-EA1). Furthermore, it is also possible to attach a range of other lenses using third-party lens adaptors. With such flexibility, users will be able to experiment with various creative expressions by exploiting the characteristics of different optics.
The recording format for this new HD camcorder will be AVCHD, widely supported by many NLE software vendors and the same format as the HXR-NX5E NXCAM camcorder.
There is also a plan to implement 1080p ( 50p / 25p) recording modes.
(MPEG4-AVC/H.264 compression will be used for these modes.)
*2: 59.94p / 29.97p / 23.98p respectively.
I will bring you a full report tomorrow from the London show.
