American Cinematographer - September 2004 - 109

will continue to evolve. The

'Genesis'

name

perfect, as this is really
first generation of these kinds of

our

cameras,

and

was

and well continue to refine

improve them throughout the family

of Genesis

cameras

that follow."

One of the first cinematographers
to test the new Genesis was Allen

Daviau, ASC, who was very impressed
with the results. "Far and away the best
top end of any digital camera I've ever
used," he attests. "It really holds more

lot of

highlight information, but that's not to
that it holds it beyond a certain a
point. I think the toughest thing for
people to understand is that you can
make lovely pictures with these hi-def
cameras, but you are not capturing infor¬
mation that you don't have in the picture
for which you have set the f-stop. You
have to be very accurate about where
you're placing your exposure. I will say

camera

this: with this camera, I was able to hold

say

Allen Daviau,
ASC conducts
one

of the first

field tests of
the Genesis.

to 50 fps, but the VTR can record
60 fps.) The higher bit-rate mode
requires the tape to physically run faster
through the VTR to accommodate the
up to

information stream and therefore halves
standard 50-minute tape

into a 25time, any
footage recorded in this mode can only
be played back in the custom Genesis
HDCam-SR1 VTR. In order to accomplish
a

minute reel. Also, at press

its various frame rates, Genesis features
an

internal RAM buffer that

burst

regulates

recording.
The VTR is

capable of up to 12
input. Although the
camera only features two XLR inputs, the
remaining 10 may be accessed via an
auxiliary dockable digital processor -
the SRPC-1. It is also possible to daisychain together several SR1 VTRs to
provide simultaneous or continuous
recording, should the need arise.
channels of audio

To make

sure

the

camera

noise

levels fall within the Panaflex decibel

the design team incorporated a
passive cooling system. For speeds at 24
fps and below, there are no fans running
to cool the electronics. Instead, a large
heat sink and liquid-filled pipes, similar
to a standard refrigeration system, draw
heat away from the sensitive compo¬
nents. When the camera is running
above 24 fps, fans kick in to keep the
range,

camera

96

Panavision also

rates up

September 2004

cool.

the

common

simplified

external video

a

controls.

Explains Mayer: "All the basic
functions of the camera are immediately
accessible through a side panel with a
simplified menu. All the basic controls
frame rate, shutter angles, things of
that sort
are accessed through this
panel. You can also program it to have
other functions. If you want the higherend menus, you can click in and display

-

-

the

menu

on

a

monitor. Also, we've

made it so that you can set up the menus
in 'Cine' style or 'Video' style - so, for

example, the electronic shutter can be
represented as degrees or fractions of a
second, depending on the user's prefer¬
ence."
The viewfinder is

an

AccuScene-

style color monitor (see AC New
Products April '04), and the camera has
ports to drive two viewfinders simultane¬
ously. Although there seem to be many
supporters of a pure optical viewfinder,
the problems with such a system are
numerous. Currently, there is no space
between the CCD imager and the back of
the lens for a spinning mirror, and even if
there were, what would happen when
the mirror stopped? Which portion would
get a still-store image: the monitor or the
viewfinder? How useful is it to light and
stage a scene with a still-store image?
Beitcher notes, "These cameras

highlight detail with less fill light
before with a digital camera.
"The Genesis has a very quiet
picture," the cinematographer adds,
"and it has very subtle color saturation
you don't feel that the colors are
overly popping, and I think that is great.
If you want to emphasize something, you
more

than

ever

-

can

do it in post.
"The other joyous

thing about the
is the size of a
Super 35mm frame. We can use all the
35mm lenses that can deal with Super
35 and have the equivalent depth of
field. The design of the camera is
certainly smaller than other hi-def
cameras, which seem to be very elon¬
gated. I think the Genesis is a wonderful
instrument, and I think it's going to make
a big contribution to the field."
In examining the footage that
Daviau shot side-by-side with 35mm film
(as an intercut series of sequences alter¬
nating from film- to Genesis-originated
material, a demonstration put together
by Panavision and its subsidiary, EFilm),
Genesis is that the target

there

are

subtle differences that

are

discernible to the
material

was

qualified eye. The film
photographed on Eastman

Kodak Vision2 500T 5218 and rated at
400 ISO to match the Genesis' nominal

sensitivity. All the sequences

were
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