Sumix 2/3" 1920x1080 CMOS

[Farhad Towfiq]

Originally Posted by Régine Weinberg

blonde output
a control for the camera functions,
the parameters to get white balance
or any knee parameters yo like to have,
via the smallest industry 104 card
written on a stupid flash card millions are out.
Star stop is nothing else
as sending it at 10 bit best resolution small money can buy
to an laptop. Preview via an LCD has not to be full resolution
and an optical view finder to have direct control over light and the scene, very old fashioned but
I guess there is no better way to have an idea what's going on on scene.

This was exactly Sumix strategy to release this camera head. A camera head with superior dynamic range and low noise that can be integrated into an individual darling blonde cinema camera for its DIY integrator.

At Sumix after many discussions we are converging on making an integrated camera also. We have almost all the engineering expertise to do this job. But we do not know, given our lack of filmmaking experience, if such camera can be mass produced and commercially viable. But we know we can make such thing is small hand made quantities, and we can tune them according to orders. Perhaps we make then in 5-10 quantities for each batch to be sold to a single serious customer. All details will be fine tuned and polished. We will incorporate presets according to the needs of the customer. We reproduce all the conditions that the customer wants to use the cameras in and make sure that there will be no surprise.
The side effect of this camera (Blonde Mother One) will be that we can share pieces of the technology with you. For example, presently we have an FPGA module with 32 channels of input 12 bit data in size of a little bit bigger than a playing card. This module can process several frames simultaneously for possible operations like matching motions, compression between frames and deciding on temporal versus spatial smoothing. This module is developed for our ultrasound beamforming project. But it is flexible to be used laterin camera also.

[Biel Bestue]

maybe the only thing really needed for the "next sumix camera" would be a way to beat the rolling shutter problem without sacrifice fps

[Jose A. Garcia]

Farhad,

What you said is exactly what we need. Turning the 12A2C into a self contained fully independent cam would be just perfect and would also lead to a huge amount of potential customers.

I think simplicity is the way to go. Capture 10bit RAW video and compress it in a way that's balanced between quality and disk space needed. Add very simple controls. Just what's needed to shoot. Everything else can be done in post. Gain, shutter, fps, maybe your color chart based automatic color correction... Output to CF cards (future Cineform recorder and new Scarlet cam from Red do the same). There's nothing else needed really. A very basic digital cinema cam.

Please, don't turn this thread into an "I want this or that feature" nightmare like the Scarlet section at RedUser.net since the cam was announced. Keep it simple and easy. The camera should only have what cannot be done in post. That's capturing, compressing and storing with the gain, shutter, fps and white balance you want.

My only regret is that it's not already finished. I have to shoot a documentary short film in two weeks and I'm afraid I'll have to buy an HV20 plus 35mm adapter to get the image I want. Being the Alternative Imaging Methods freak that I am that's something I hoped I never had to do.

[Thomas Richter]

Originally Posted by Jose A. Garcia

Farhad,

What you said is exactly what we need. Turning the 12A2C into a self contained fully independent cam would be just perfect and would also lead to a huge amount of potential customers.

like me. Would buy such a cam from you instantaneously.

If it works like Jose suggests, this would be my dream cam. No wishlist please, just simple, all manual filming with basic controls.

Jose, does the A. stand for Ángel? One of my best friends is called the same.

Thomas

[Biel Bestue]

are those codecs sugested able to encode RAW video?

[Jose A. Garcia]

Of course it would need some way to plug an LCD. I forgot that.

Thomas, the A is for "Antonio". A very common spanish name.

Biel... Don't know.

[Seth Kersey]

Farhad, that is exciting news.

I agree with Jose that we should keep it simple and not let things get carried away (like that other forum :)

Even if it was just a way of having the compression and recording handled in the FPGA... then software and a very basic computer could be used to control the rest, such as the PicoITX. I know most would want a completely self-contained cam, but I am a DIY'er at heart.

Regarding CinemaDNG... it is not compression, just a standardized RAW format. I believe it will be an "open" format, not "Open Source" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_format

[Nicky Campos]

ye that sounds great...

I didnt know NASA was moderating these forums. If Farhad wants to discuss a probable 3d cam why is treated like roswell area 51???

[Jose A. Garcia]

Seth, I'm a big DIYer as well but many people will want a pc independent cam. Maybe it could have extended features if connected to a minipc.

By the way, if the 12A2C does become a self-contained cam with internal compression and CF recording will be almost like having a 1080p Red Scarlet with the interchangeable lenses that everyone's asking for.

Hurry up Farhad! The Scarlet will be released by this time next year!

And Nicky, we're not trying to keep the 3d cam a secret or treat it like it's something that shouldn't be known. We're just saying that the 12A2C should be improved and ready for professional shooting before starting a new cam. By improvement I mean turning it into a completely independent cam. That'd be a dream come true.

[Seth Kersey]

Originally Posted by Jose A. Garcia

I'm a big DIYer as well but many people will want a pc independent cam. Maybe it could have extended features if connected to a minipc.

I agree Jose.

Sorry to go a bit off track... but I was just wondering if you had done any tests with the Angenieux lens, and how it compared to the Computar?

Also curious as to your opinion of using the Angenieux's optical viewfinder with the Sumix.

[Jose A. Garcia]

I haven't posted any Angenieux test because I don't have it yet. Marie sent it yesterday and it looks like it didn't leave France yet. It's saturday, so I guess it's because of that. I supose it'll arrive by monday-tuesday. I'll post some tests and comparisons between both lenses as soon as I can.

I'm also working on the pre-production of the project I'll shoot with the HV20 and Brevis35, so I haven't done any new test for more than a week. I'm also waiting for the new Sumix software. Too bad it's not released yet, this would have been a fantastic oportunity to test the cam.

How's the new software going Farhad? I can still return the HV20 and I didn't buy the adaptor yet.

[Nicky Campos]

Originally Posted by Jose A. Garcia

Seth, I'm a big DIYer as well but many people will want a pc independent cam. Maybe it could have extended features if connected to a minipc.

By the way, if the 12A2C does become a self-contained cam with internal compression and CF recording will be almost like having a 1080p Red Scarlet with the interchangeable lenses that everyone's asking for.

Hurry up Farhad! The Scarlet will be released by this time next year!

And Nicky, we're not trying to keep the 3d cam a secret or treat it like it's something that shouldn't be known. We're just saying that the 12A2C should be improved and ready for professional shooting before starting a new cam. By improvement I mean turning it into a completely independent cam. That'd be a dream come true.

Oops... Im mistaken - I actually posted somewhere else and thought it was removed from here. LOL!!! kinda embarrassing

I cant wait for the Sumix 12A2C to become sorted!!!

[Terence Krueger]

whats all this then?

:)

havent been around here since last year, got away from all this HD stuff for a while. this camera head looks fairly similar to something i had wanted to make myself. this thread is a bit jumbled and hard to read and the website is lacking in information, so can someone clearify some basic questions about this?

1: this is basically a sensor in a box? no in camera functionality other than capture and output? all control is via the connected PC?

2: it outputs over gig-e i understand. what does it output? just plain old ccd raw? or is it pre processed? i guess some recent posts talk about lossless compression options.

3: what are the issues with it? it seems alot of you are trying to turn it into a field camera compressing with cineform or the like and having issues with cpu power and whatnot. im more concerned with dumping raw uncompressed 24/30 1080p footage to disk (raid) with a live 720p preview. is that doable? or is there issues with that as well?

im just trying to get a basic understanding of what this box currently does to see if it can fit my needs.

thanks :)

[Jose A. Garcia]

Ok, the good thing about this is that I don't get tired of explaining all the different features of this cam.

1. Yes and no. This IS a sensor in a box with a C-Mount AND basic internal hardware processing, so it can output a lossless compressed stream if wanted. All features are controlled via software in a computer.

1a. According to Farhad that's going to change soon. Sumix will take this and turn it into a self-contained pc-independent camera.

2. For now it outputs a 8bit (or 12bit) debayered stream. In less than a month it'll output 10bit lossless compressed (2:1) bayer stream with debayered preview.

3. There're many ideas. Most of us are just waiting for the new software (current software cannot be used to shoot anything more than tests) which will include fps control, better white balance, an automatic color correction option that will just work by putting a Macbeth color chart in front of the camera and many other features. With the camera, the new software and a core2duo minipc we'll be able to use the 12A2C to shoot serious projects. You don't need a raid setup to record 24 or 30fps with this cam.

Of course once this cam is pc-independent there will be no need for anything more than the lens, rails, mattebox, lcd and a follow focus. Can't wait!!

[Biel Bestue]

does this debayes tream then competes with the RAW form viper? i know the RAW from viper is 4:4:4 RGB RAW, is this the same raw from sumix?