Panasonic Varicam: limitless creativity with its own personality

As has been evident in the 'Varicam Experience Day' that Panasonic has organized at the headquarters of the Film Academy in Madrid, cinematographers have found in the Varicam range the perfect ally to carry out their most successful productions achieving images at the limit of full creativity.

Panasonic brought together this Wednesday at the Madrid headquarters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Spain numerous professionals from the sector to share impressions about the creative and technical potential of its range of cameras for digital cinematography Varicam.

In this Varicam Experience Day it has become more than clear that since its launch two years ago, cinematographers have found in the Varicam the perfect ally to carry out their most successful productions. The VariCam range of cameras has been used in a variety of films, commercials and TV shows, and is known for its colour and appearance reproduction, as well as bringing progressive workflows to the production industry.

Oriol Massagué, on behalf of Panasonic, and Andrés Torres, president of the Spanish Association of Authors of Cinematographic Photographic Works (AEC), of which the manufacturer is a Protective Member, were in charge of welcoming the attendees, anticipating that they would attend a series of tests with different Varicam taking them to unsuspected limits and achieving spectacular results.

Luc Bara, product manager of Panasonic's range of cinema products, began the day by presenting the Varicam line up currently made up of several versions that share a sensor and the same technology: Varicam Pure (the latest version capable of generating uncompressed 4K RAW files up to 120p and recording them on Codex's ultra-reliable external drive), Varicam LT (a lighter version with ProRes recording in 4K 60p and 4K 4:2:2 from 10bit to 30p), and Varicam 35 (which offers ProRes 4K 4:4:4 from 12-bit to 30p).

As already announced a few days ago at Cine Gear Expo (Hollywood), Bara took advantage of this Varicam Experience Day to announce the launch of a new version of the family: the AU-EVA1. This camera has a 5.7K Super 35mm sensor capable of recording internally at 4K 10-bit 4:2:2 up to 60p and with Dual-Native ISO (as the Varicam LT and 35 already have and that allows switching between a standard sensitivity to a high sensitivity without an increase in noise or artifacts). The new EVA1, which is expected to be released next September, will be located in terms of range and performance between the GH5 and the Varicam LT and will weigh just 1.2 kilos.

On the other hand, Bara reviewed the numerous films and television productions that have been shot with this range of cameras, highlighting that Netflix has chosen it as a reference camera for its 4K productions. For the moment, it has already premiered Orange is the new black, Frontier, Lovem Anne and 13 Reasons Why and last Ozark, 6 Balloons, Gypsy and Requiem, among others.

Bara noted that John Christian Rosenlund used the Varicam 35 in the production of the Oscar-shortlisted film. The king's Choice. The renowned cinematographer captured incredible nighttime war scenes that have to be seen to be believed with hardly any lighting by shooting at ISO 5000 and shooting in AVC Intra 4K 4:2:2.

On the other hand, Bill Wages has captured the series with Varicam Containment and SunRecords and the feature film The Forgiven. In the case of the seven-episode series SunRecords shot at ISO 800 outdoors and ISO 5000 indoors, highlighting that with this last exposure the lighting needs are divided by five while saving time in the assembly setup since both the main and filling sources are reduced to the minimum.

Finally, Bara shared the fieldwork that Oona Menges has carried out shooting scenes in London putting the Varicam Pure to the test in extreme situations of movement and light.

Flexibility

Director of photography Tommie Ferreras participated in this Varicam Experience Day to present his conclusions on the dynamic range, color and Dual ISO offered by the Varicam Pure, a camera with which he has carried out a series of demanding tests. Using Lenses Fuji, Ferreras shot at 120 fps most of the material intended to assess the possibilities that the camera has both in filming and in post-production at the level of visual effects and color work, since this Varicam model works without compression.

Among other conclusions, he highlighted that "what I like most about Varicam is its flexibility. Since the launch of the first versions we could already see that the camera offered a different cinema look achieving the most natural skin tones. It's a camera that has personality and texture. It also has an appropriate weight and measurements that allow me to move around the set looking for the right frame with total freedom of movement."

The Varicam Pure has a Super 35 CMOS Sensor, rolling shutter, dynamic range of 14 near-real tops, native ISO from 800 to 5000, aluminum PL mount and the possibility of collecting up to 4K 4096×2160 pixels. Regarding the sensor, Ferreras stressed that it offers a different look, great ISO flexibility without the need for adapters, with a stable working temperature, black balance, and a powerful dynamic range in high and especially low lights.

Commenting on the dual ISO, he commented that "you get the same equivalent dynamic range at both sensitivities with very little residual noise even when 1stop is superimposed. The camera also offers total colour stability in low light. Even by shuttering, you can double the ISO without generating more noise."

"Working at 5000 we appreciate more things in the frame, it allows greater flexibility when choosing light sources, minimizing equipment, using smaller sources for fills, doubling the ISO without shuttering, with the result of great detail in sunrises, sunsets or backlights," he added.

In terms of dynamic range, he stressed that the Varicam offers about 14 stops, with an excellent response in high scores at the level of what could be an Alexa or RED. The camera from above behaves wonderfully. It is possible to achieve extraordinary textures even on totally cloudy days.

As far as color science is concerned, Ferreras emphasized the very special skin tones that the Varicam manages to collect. In addition, it exceeds the ITU BT2020 color space to meet HDR requirements. "It gives the ideal curve to work in HDR environments with broad spectrum in the color gamut," he said.

Some of the tests that were screened on this day left many cinematographers with their mouths open when they saw the results working even at high speeds at 120 fps in 4K RAW without compression.

Finally, Pedro Martínez, Visual Effect manager at La Bicicleta, addressed the possibilities of Varicam with respect to the subsequent use of the material in finishing and digital effects. "The grain of the image even forcing ISO 5000 responds very well," he said.

Martínez has collaborated in these tests at the effects level, analyzing the possibilities of integrating track and testing color selections "and we have been very surprised because in the most adverse conditions the chromas worked perfectly. In addition, by working in the same color space, there are no shortcomings and everything is simpler even in the integration of 3D elements," he acknowledged. "The range offered by the Varicam allows us to obtain information even almost where there is none," he concluded.

To end the day, the professionals who attended this Varicam Experience Day were able to see for themselves the possibilities of Varicam Pure and LT in a test set using Fujinon optics (19-20 and 19-90) to achieve images at the limit of full creativity.

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