In Broadcast - December 2015 - 40


40

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 12 | December 2015

InStudio

The Ever-Increasing
Ubiquity Of 4K
The rise of 4K technology has been remarkable -
even appearing on smartphones, notes
Contributing Editor Andy Stout...

E

very technology needs a yardstick
to measure whether it has truly
gone mass market. The Gartner Hype
Cycle, for instance, does an excellent
job of charting emergent trends though
a progression of stages and media
hype, including the famous Trough of
Disillusionment, until a new technology
ultimately transitions onto what is
christened the Plateau of Productivity
and a high growth adoption phase
starts where market penetration is
over 20%.
For the broadcast industry the
definition of mass market is perhaps
simpler: it appears on a phone.
If you track back to the start of the
introduction of 4K - or even HD, for
those with longer memories - the
idea that a mass market consumer
product could contain the horsepower
to capture and edit 4K images
would have been fairly incredible.
Perhaps it shouldn't have been, the
technological engine that is Moore's
law is still holding true even at levels
of nanoscale manufacture that are
verging on the quantum. But all the
same the announcement that the
Apple iPhone 6s was shipping with 4K
capabilities was a bit of a jaw-dropper.

Apple's iPhone 6s packs in 4K capabilities

Of course, it's not the world's most
capable shooter and can't realistically
compete with even the low end of the
properly designed, production-ready
camcorder market (albeit there are
hardware and software 'filmisation'
packages that can help), but all the
same: 4K on an iPhone...that's how far
we've come in the past few years.
A Question of Scale
If there is a scale, then right at
the other end of it activity has been
somewhat lacking of late, with the
Panasonic VariCam 35, ARRI Alexa,
and Sony F65 all snugly fitting into
established positions at the top of
the price/performance apex. This
year, however, they were joined by
the latest high profile release from
erstwhile digital pioneer, RED, whose
6K Weapon started rolling off the
production line at the end of July.
Crucially it added internal ProRes
support at the same time, a move that
was felt could dramatically widen the
unit's appeal. A sensor upgrade to 8K
is due anytime now.
More on 8K later, but around
the same time as the Weapon was
launched, rumours started swirling
about a new RED unit aimed at the
comparatively low-end sub
US$10,000 market. This is
where activity is currently
highest among camera
manufacturers, and after
a week of late night teases
on its user forums, the
Raven was unveiled.
A meagre 1.59kg, a full
shooting package (Brain,
Base I/O V-Lock Expander,
RED Mini-Mag 120GB, 4.7"
LCD, AC Power Adaptor,
and Outrigger Handle)
the Raven includes a full
8.8MP Dragon sensor
and the ability to capture
4K at up to 120fps in an
impressive 16.5 stops.
Not scheduled to ship
until February, it's already

Panasonic Varicam35 late but very
impressive entry into the 4K market

suffering from an interesting form of
mission creep too, that sensor being
upgraded to 4.5K to yield a larger than
DCI image.
Given the febrile state of competition
at this price point that was probably
due to Blackmagic's Ursa Mini getting
its own speed bump to 4.6K.
The Ursa Mini, in either iteration
though (the 4.6K model is 15 stops, the
4K only 12) is a bit of a show stopper
and one that highlights quite how far
Blackmagic has come since it decided
to venture into camera production
back in 2012. Reviews have been
extremely flattering; pictures are
good, it's comfortable to use (which is
a good attribute for what is very much
an ENG-style unit); and all-in-all you
can put together a complete shooting
kit for around US$15,000, that's
including power and storage.
What's more it allows people to
use their existing HD B4 lenses
with the B4 lens mount option,
marrying that with precision optics
and spherical aberration correction

specifically designed to match the
Mini's sensor. Even better, the mount
is interchangeable, allowing users to
switch between B4 and PL, even in the
field.
It is a superb little camera, but
it needs to be as it seems that
everyone
has
suddenly
found
their manufacturing mojo and is
producing what essentially amount
to high quality, extremely capable 4K
handycams.
Focus On Formats
Having been astonishingly late at
the 4K table with the Varicam 35,
especially when you remember its
driving role in the adoption of HD,
Panasonic is starting to make up
for lost time and its DVX200 almost
looks set to redefine the industry's
expectations of what you can get from
a fixed lens camcorder.
Fixed lens units, of course, do
slightly divide option, but having
plumped for a Leica DICOMAR 13x
zoom, at least the DVX200 starts
Raven is RED's first
foray into the fecund
US$10,000 bracket
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://vimeo.com/125218622 http://www.apple.com/uk/iphone-6s/cameras/ http://www.red.com/red-raven
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - December 2015
