Panasonic raises IBC expectations with the third generation of Varicam

Panasonic once again demonstrates at IBC that it plays in the league of the greats with the commercial presentation of the new Varicam 35, a 4K camera with a super 35 mm sensor, and VariCam HS, a 2/3 type camera for high-speed capture.

Panasonic He comes to this IBC at a good business moment with sales recovering and debt decreasing by leaps and bounds. Compared to other multinationals that are still undergoing readjustments in their oversize, Panasonic tightened its belt a long time ago, entering the takeoff runway as the first glimmers of joy have appeared in the market.

Masaki Arizono, general director of Panasonic System Communications Europe Company, began the presentation press conference at this fair highlighting the good path that the Japanese company is following, managing to reduce its debt by half in just one year. B2B units are largely to blame for this change in trend since they already account for around 70% of turnover compared to B2C, with barely 30%. Another determining factor is its strong commitment to R&D, investing more than 3.00 million euros in 2013, which resulted in more than 2,880 patents.

For his part, Kunihiko Miyagi, director of the professional video division and AVC networks, highlighted that “the change from the world of celluloid and tape to a digital media environment involves changes both in the speed of processes and in the optimization of costs. Two aspects in which Panasonic provides value to the user.”

As an example of the implementation of Panasonic technology in various fields, the multinational invited managers from Light Iron (a company that is betting on the new Varicam in its productions) and ITN (the British broadcaster is testing wireless capture solutions for online news delivery) to share their experiences.

Within Panasonic's line focused on offering its customers value-added services more than mere equipment, the company has closed a strategic agreement with the German company SAP. Panasonic's big data results analysis technology and capture systems come together to offer both broadcasters and sports clubs various tools aimed at the statistical analysis of the sports performance of players and teams.

In this aspect of Panasonic as a service company, the launch of Panasonic Network Solution stands out, an area dedicated to the development of a capture, cloud and transmission ecosystem.

During Panasonic's press conference at IBC, it is worth noting that most of the success stories presented correspond to the Spanish market with brand solutions on television (What would you do for your children?, Telecinco) or business or institutional spaces such as the Hipódromo de la Zarzuela (Madrid) or the Parliament of the Canary Islands.

Varicam 35 y Varicam HS

In its third generation, the VariCam will be shown at this IBC 2014 in two different versions: VariCam 35, a 4K camera with a super 35 mm sensor, and VariCam HS, a 2/3 type camera for high speed capture. Its innovative modular design allows the camera head to be separated from the recording module, allowing users to choose the most suitable capture device for each application, whether it is a super 35 sensor or three type 2/3 sensors.

The VariCam 35 (AU-V35C1) stands out for its ability to process images in various formats, including 4K, UHD, 2K and HD, making it an excellent tool for high-quality digital cinema, advertising and television series, as well as for events. live in 4K. With a range of formats from the highest quality 4K RAW output to more practical captures in 4K, UHD, 2K and HD, the VariCam 35 generates 4K production files in a manageable and practical size, thanks to AVC codecs. ULTRA for 4K.

The VariCam 35 uses a new Super 35mm MOS sensor to capture 4K images with a resolution of 4096 x 2160 (17:9). The camera offers an impressive 14 stops of latitude and faithfully captures high-contrast images without sacrificing quality. Powerful color management functionality provides expanded color gamut, ensuring images with impeccable fidelity. It supports the recently developed ACES (Academy Color Encoding System) color coding system, which makes it easy to master the original material with maximum fidelity.

The VariCam HS (AU-V23HS1) offers a 2/3 type module for high speed acquisition. It incorporates three MOS sensors with 1920x1080p resolution with 14 stops of dynamic range, which allow total control of light even in the most adverse scenes. Like any three-sensor camera, the VariCam HS includes an RGB separating prism that provides three-channel (RGB) color processing, each at full resolution.

The camera is optimized for operation and recording in native 1080/50p format. Key features include high-speed capture of 240 frames per second in 1080p (with the AVC-Intra 100 codec), to create spectacular slow motion effects with the highest quality. In addition, it allows you to increase or change the frame rate during recording, even creating speed ramps. To complete the excellent video quality, the new VariCam includes 24-bit LPCM audio recording. Powerful image control, with matrix, detail, gamma and logarithmic registration adjustments, allows precise adjustment of image parameters, with great creative possibilities.

The VariCam HS will feature a range of high-quality recording formats, including AVC-Intra Class100 (for 1080/50p, 25p and 24p recording) with variable speed (up to 240p), AVC-Intra Class200 (for at 1080/50i) and AVC-Intra Class4:4:4 (up to 30p). Both AVC-Intra Class200 and AVC-Intra Class4:4:4 offer spectacular performance in applications where image quality is of vital importance.

AVC Ultra

AVCIntra and AVC Ultra are being used more and more in TV, ENG and sports production. Both Panasonic's AVC Intra and AVC Ultra lines are gaining market share in television, ENG and sports production.

This IBC presents a new AVC Ultra camcorder, the AJ-PX800. It is a P2HD camera, lightweight and with very fast network transmission (wired and wireless LAN networks, as well as 4G/LTE mobile telephony). With a main body weight of only 2.8kg, the AJ-PX800 is currently the lightest shoulder camera with three 2/3 type sensors on the market. It is noteworthy that the camera generates in real time a full quality version and another at low bitrate that can be used either for direct streaming broadcast or as a proxy to speed up editing processes. Among other functions, it includes an advanced CAC (Chromatic Aberration Compensation) chromatic aberration compensation system.

On the other hand, highlighting the launch of the AJ-PG50 recorder, designed to accelerate the workflow in the field in AVC-Ultra environments.

Multipurpose

Within the range of multipurpose cameras, highlight the launch of an interesting base designed to complement the popular AW-HE60. This base has a mini-camera that offers a wide angle. Linked to an app, it allows the user to simply mark a point in the angular image to direct the AW-HE60 camera towards that point. This approach opens up interesting possibilities both in the production of programs such as realty shows or video capture in radio programs since the announcer himself, by simply clicking on his tablet, will direct the camera obtaining the shot he wants.

Lastly, we would like to highlight a new 4K multipurpose camera of which Panasonic has hardly given any details since it is still a prototype, although at IBC you can already see the spectacular quality of its images.

For medical and scientific environments, the GP-US932 mini camera stands out at IBC 2o14, also in 4K.

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