Looks pretty cool, and for $8,995.

CION - Products - AJA Video Systems (http://www.aja.com/en/products/cion)

It looks great, 1/2 the weight of the Ursa and a bit of a classic design.
Hope they are not too late to the party to compete...

If nothing else, just the fact it does multiple flavors of ProRes & not ProRes HQ only makes me interested.

One of my biggest complaints with BMD cameras & recorders is that they only do ProRes HQ. I've done a lot of quality work with XDCam EX, which means that ProRes, or hell even ProRes LT is plenty enough codec for a lot of jobs.

This camera looks really interesting, I feel like Aja took a lot more time talking with actual, in the field, camera guys than Blackmagic did. (Things like how all the cable ports on the BMDCC are on the left side, the side where your face is if you put the camera on a shoulder rig.)

I gather, when fitted with a battery on the back, it does balance pretty well for shoulder holding.

An interview at their stand giving a lot of info: NAB Video: Interview with AJA on Their New CION 4k Production Camera - YouTube

I gather there's still a bit of work to be done on the Cion, but it looks like a camera of interest to people who can't stretch to an Arri Amira.

Pre-order today!

https://www.omegabroadcast.com/product-p/aja-cion-90-4795.htm

Interview that gives some background to the camera: PVC at NAB 2014 - CION Exclusive in the AJA Booth on Vimeo

I was definitely impressed with the form factor, but there looked to be some FPN going on in one of the display models, and it was currently rated at 200 ISO, which needs to be improved.

The biggest issue I can see with it is PL mount only. That would be quite an expense for me to get ready to just use the thing.

I like the specs of this camera a lot. Form factor/size/encoding!

I wonder why 120fps or similar is not supported at 1080/2k internally or even externally for that matter?

I'd love to see some type of sensor cropping feature on this, it would really cover all the bases for me then.

Due out this summer, I was told that AJA has been developing the CION for four years now.
I love all the AJA gear we have purchased thus far. It has all been rock solid and never let me down.
I expect the CION to be another professional example of AJA's work,
and one which will get even better with time.
For me, I would rather spend a bit more and get a product that is solid and comes with great support as opposed to the drama that comes with less expensive alternatives.

That said, I still like RED's Dragon images best.

Here's a PVC interview about the Cion workflow.

PVC at NAB 2014 - The CION Workflow on Vimeo

The PL lens mount on the AJA CION is in fact removable and was designed with shorter focal flange distances in mind. As part of our effort to provide open connectivity throughout the entire product design, we are inviting third-parties to create adapters for lenses and lens mount systems that cover the APS-C sized sensor. This will mean that a variety of offerings with a variety of capabilities - as well as a variety of price points - should come to market answering the acknowledged need for flexibility among different users. AJA simply chose the PL lens mount as a starting point because it is an open and accepted professional standard and an array of high quality lenses are available worldwide in PL mount.

Also worth noting, the CIONs at NAB were still to be considered pre-release versions; some image fine-tuning is still being performed prior to the product release. Having said this, we allowed NAB attendees to operate the cameras at the booth with relatively minimal AJA supervision. We even provided a lit set: 1940s film noir replete with actors in costume. Because we allowed attendees to largely "do as they pleased" with these CIONs, this meant that sometimes the images displayed on our 50" Ultra HD displays connected to the cameras might not have been producing optimal image quality. We felt it was more important for people to try the new product with their own hands to formulate an opinion. Further to this point, you cannot determine much about a product's ergonomics simply looking at it in a display case so we even supplied an area where you could handhold a CION. Universally, the response to the design, with respect to handheld operation, was extraordinarily positive. The unit really is balanced and feels familiar, like a Super 16mm film camera form factor, when resting on the shoulder.

I hope this information is helpful and I hope many of you were able to attend NAB and see the product first hand.

Sincerely,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems

Hi Jon
Thanks for your post.

Any chance of getting explaining why the camera can't run 120fps in 2k or indeed in a compressed format? This would be exceptionally useful for my work. (Wildlife tv)

Also any plans on featuring some sort of sensor cropping for 2k/HD ? The implementation of this as well as the high framerates in the F5 is pulling me towards it but I'd love to go with your camera this summer.

Many thanks
Mat

Hi Mat,
While many feature requests are under evaluation and we are actively monitoring requests like the ones you have made here, we will only pursue an effort to implement additional features beyond what has already been specified after we have made a sufficient technical review and determined feasibility.

Currently, CION's maximum on-board recording frame rate is 60 fps. 120 fps raw data may be output via 4x 3G-SDI connections. Currently, CION does not offer cropping of the image, but instead, high-quality scaling so that your lens focal length is consistent no matter what raster size you elect to use.

I understand the use cases for your requests and I appreciate your interest in CION.

I hope my explanation is helpful and thank you again for your requests; we will take them under consideration,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

The PL lens mount on the AJA CION is in fact removable and was designed with shorter focal flange distances in mind. As part of our effort to provide open connectivity throughout the entire product design, we are inviting third-parties to create adapters for lenses and lens mount systems that cover the APS-C sized sensor. This will mean that a variety of offerings with a variety of capabilities - as well as a variety of price points - should come to market answering the acknowledged need for flexibility among different users.

The issue is that most everyone in the market I am in has EF lenses. With a PL mount being the ultimate in dumb mounts, there will not be any direct way to control aperture from the camera body, and as for external aperture control, m4/3 users can attest how well third parties have adapted EF lenses to their bodies.

AJA simply chose the PL lens mount as a starting point because it is an open and accepted professional standard and an array of high quality lenses are available worldwide in PL mount.

That's fine, but I would say that those with the PL lens sets aren't exactly the market for this camera, as they have other, more established options that they can afford. Just my gut reaction, so subject to new info.

Hi Gary,
While AJA doesn't offer an EF mount, third parties are indeed making plans to support this on CION. These lens adapters could even be powered by the 2-pin power output at the front of CION to provide for sleek cable management. On a somewhat related note, I have personally powered a Fujinon Cabrio zoom using the 2-pin power output and an adapter cable and this type of configuration typically requires even more power than a lens mount with a powered aperture control system.

The fact that the lens mount is removable, power is available at the front of the camera for aperture controls and servos and AJA will be offering specifications for the lens mount to interested parties opens CION to a wide variety of lens mount options. We did not neglect the lens mount when designing the product; alternate lens options simply won't be provided by AJA directly.

I hope this information is helpful,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

Is there a case where a sensor-crop approach is an advantage over a full image target image scaled?

It seems to me that using the full sensor would be preferable in any scenario I can come up with...easier to calculate lenses...more light...etc.

Maybe there's something I'm missing?

Hi Tim,
As a general rule, maintaining the focal length of a lens via high-quality scaling no matter what raster size you wish to shoot at is typically preferred.

The major benefit of offering a windowing or cropping of a sensor is that by only using a portion of the sensor area you effectively lower the image diagonal or image circle that is necessary to cover with the lens. For example, you might take a near Super 35mm frame size and via windowing/cropping obtain a smaller frame size, such as Super 16mm, so that lenses that would not normally cover the full sensor area may now be used.

Having said this, there can be disadvantages to employing this type of windowing/cropping; typically the issue is that OLPFs used to eliminate unwanted moire and aliasing are designed for a specific raster size. Note that Sony, for example, offers a unique OLPF for use with their Sony PMW-F5 and PMW-F55 when windowing/cropping to 2K.

I hope this explanation is helpful,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

Is there a case where a sensor-crop approach is an advantage over a full image target image scaled?

It seems to me that using the full sensor would be preferable in any scenario I can come up with...easier to calculate lenses...more light...etc.

Maybe there's something I'm missing?


It gives you a flexible shooting solution. With the work that I do having that flexibility is just very important. You can use the benefits of a large sensor when you want too or use lenses such as the Canon HJ18 to get ultra long reach. It is the same with frame rates although its far more useful to have things built in when working in the field. In fact I think wildlife/documentary has the biggest demands when it comes to flexibility in a camera.

Lot of good things in this camera. However, I am surprised that this model doesn't come with EF mount. Even Amira has EF option. Leaving third parties to develop adapters is not a very reassuring option. EF mount has become well established and given the type of shooting this camera is supposed to cater to, leaving out EF appears to be a major blunder.

I have already heard about a couple of people who are working on an EF mount.

So, I wouldn't worry - yet - the camera is not due for a couple of months.

Here is one of those who is working on this

Optitron | CineTechnica (http://blog.abelcine.com/tag/optitron/)

Cion Reboot. Let's talk about it again...

1. Looks like there is a base plate. Does it come with it?
2. Is the base plate ARRI standard? - Important for ARRI standard matte boxes
3. High current (HC) batteries only?

Deposit: $500.00
Manufacturer: AJA
Availability: Pre-Order

AJA CION (Pre-Order) (http://www.omegabroadcast.com/product-p/aja-cion-90-4795.htm)

To demonstrate our progress with CION, we have created a short video showcasing some of the abilities of the camera: pleasing skin tone rendition alongside rich, vibrant colors, amazing levels of picture detail from the high resolution sensor, a lack of “black sun” artifacts and in-camera slow-motion.

The following link allows you to view our latest CION video:
https://www.aja.com/cion-videos

Please be aware that this footage has not been color corrected or graded in any way.* It has only been edited.* We felt you would want to see exactly what the camera is capable of delivering “straight out of the box” without any additional post-production modifications.

The AJA CION will not be shipping immediately, but it will be shipping soon.* We are working hard to deliver the best product we possibly can.

Thank you for your interest in the AJA CION.* We look forward to delivering the camera to you as soon as possible.

Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

Hi Jon,

The footage looks nice. For our needs here at the U of Michigan,
and even though we have a pretty extensive lighting kit,
the ability to shoot *clean* footage in 4-12 foot candles is going to be a big factor when we upgrade to 4K (or above). The reason being that we shoot a lot of performances with projected back grounds. Even a 6500 lumen projector is dim when the image is 32'Wx20'H. To make those backgrounds pop, we need the right camera.

I have to say that footage taken outdoors doesn't mean much to _me personally_,
because almost all modern sensors seems to produce outstanding images in sunlight.
I did notice - and it again means little - that the black hair didn't have much shadow detail and I am hoping that the CION doesn't crush the blacks like the 5DMKII. (I do get this is ungraded, but one never knows how elastic the images are until you get them in the box).

At what ISO do you rate the CION?

Thanks!

Jacques

MTF Lens Adaptor for the CION: Canon EF, EF with aperture control, B4, and Nikon G mounts.

https://www.lensadaptor.com/mtf-effect-canon-ef-aja-cion-mount

https://www.lensadaptor.com/canon-ef-aja-cion

https://www.lensadaptor.com/b4-aja-cion-package

https://www.lensadaptor.com/nikon-g-aja-cion

Wooden Camera has Canon EF, EF with aperture control, and Nikon G mounts:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/omegabroadcast/15030706490/

Hi John,

The footage looks nice. For our needs here at the U of Michigan,
and even though we have a pretty extensive lighting kit,
the ability to shoot *clean* footage in 4-12 foot candles is going to be a big factor when we upgrade to 4K (or above). The reason being that we shoot a lot of performances with projected back grounds. Even a 6500 lumen projector is dim when the image is 32'Wx20'H. To make those backgrounds pop, we need the right camera.



6500 lumens is an incredibly small output for that much surface area. Wide angle lens? Front or rear projected?

I would imagine dynamic range would be more important as I couldn't imagine how dimly lit your stage would need to be in order to keep the performance lighting from overcoming the projected background.

Let's not veer away from the topic of this thread the CION - no disrespect intended.

I spoke with a local AJA rep a couple of days ago and he said that he hopes to bring a working CION to our studio for some testing. If and when that happens, we will test the CION under tungsten (that's what we have) and try it out with our dim projection backgrounds - (that's what we have ;-( )

We will compare the CION to our Sony EX3s and see what's what and I will report back my *impressions*.

Based on comments by some well known DPs about their video, skin tones would be worth checking, together with clipping and producing rather contrasty looking ungraded images.

It's reflected in this DVinfo article: http://www.dvinfo.net/article/acquisition/a-critical-look-at-cions-new-demo-reel.html

together with clipping and producing rather contrasty looking ungraded images. A Critical Look at Cion’s New Demo Reel (http://www.dvinfo.net/article/acquisition/a-critical-look-at-cions-new-demo-reel.html)

Looks like they made a mistake in the description -- certainly that footage doesn't look like ungraded.

-- peer

I gather the camera applied a picture profile to them, but they are ungraded.

Not the best picture but the camera landed at WFX Dallas two days ago. October 1.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/omegabroadcast/15399063676/

AJA Announces CION Support From Top Camera Accessory Manufacturers:

Alphatron, MTF, Wooden Camera, Vocas and Zacuto to Support CION Camera

Game on. Who is going to make the CION to EF adapter that has aperture open and close built into the adapter like Optitek did for the F55 to EF?

People don't want a cable and power module hanging off the camera...

Hopefully they will have a camera to put them on some time in the next 12 months! When is this thing ever going to ship?
Steve

When is this thing ever going to ship?
Steve

Sorry to say, but I call it's all vaporware.

-- peer

We plan to ship CION shortly. We are making some final improvements before we ship the camera.

Thanks,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems

Good to hear from you Jon, and you've always been a good contact on here, much appreciated. BUT - "shortly" was the word used at IBC wasn't it? It's not just shipping date either, there's just been a massive lack of info and footage.
Steve

I sincerely appreciate your feedback. I will share it with others at AJA.

Thanks,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems

Came across this clip which I'd not seen before AJA CION Prototype "Rapunzel Jackson" Trailer on Vimeo Anyone know of any others?
Steve

The short film you found was shot shortly after NAB. We used the project as an opportunity to gather on-set operational information. During this particular shoot, there was only one color profile, one gamma profile and one exposure index value that was available to the filmmakers so they were quite limited. Both the picture and feature set has been improved upon significantly since this was shot.

I thought it was worthwhile to share these details.

Thanks,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems

Just my opinion here, but I reckon AJA have slipped up a bit here. I think they've missed a whole load of sales that they would have had if the Cion had shipped before September. At that time it was several thousands of £ cheaper than the competitor from Sony (the F5), while now it is several thousands of £ more (because the Sony has veiwfinder and battery / charger included) than the competitor from Sony (the FS7). Like it or not Sony have the established name in the industry with buyers and with the people who hire the buyers, so for people like AJA and Black Magic to compete they need to make something as good, but much cheaper. This is what they did at NAB and hence the buzz about the Cion. For the Cion to do well I reckon it need pricing at around $6,000 - this allows the buyer to spend around $2,000 on a viewfinder and battery / charger and come in around the same price as the Sony. Even at this price I'm pretty sure the vast majority of people would go for the FS7. That's my take on it, others may differ.
Steve

This will be a very long post in order to help answer some of the questions that have been posed by Steve Phillipps and others in the thread. Therefore, I apologize for the length of the post in advance.

Every product I have ever proposed or been involved with developing at AJA has been originated by asking myself the following three basic questions:
1) What tool could AJA create to help improve people's work?
2) What features do people want?
3) Can AJA build it?

I developed the idea for the first Apple ProRes tapeless video recorder, the AJA Ki Pro, in 2007. (That year is not a typo; because complex products take time to develop, it reached the marketplace in 2009.) The Ki Pro was a success because it allowed a diverse (and disparate) group of cameras in the marketplace to be connected to the device with a wide array of connection types (SDI, HDMI, component), it could record to a high-quality edit-ready codec instead of one of the myriad of codecs being offered by the traditional camera manufacturers at the time and it could get all of these cameras to the same format (SD or HD) via up/down or cross conversion. Following the success of the original Ki Pro, I was asked many, many times if AJA would ever consider building a camera.

Why were people asking AJA to build a camera? Primarily, people wanted a camera that could record to a post-production friendly codec like Apple ProRes. People also expressed an interest in seeing cameras with a wider array of connectivity: SDI, HDMI, timecode, balanced analog audio, etc., etc. During this time, many of the traditional camera manufacturers had begun to "tier" their offerings; sometimes cameras were stratified by little more than the connection types used on the cameras.

AJA had a significant portion of what people seemed to want - a popular edit-ready recording format and the ability to offer an array of connectivity - but we did not have at that time was experience with sensors or the mechanical components associated with an optical system. People continued to ask me, "Will you ever make a camera?"

In 2010, I made my first proposal at the company to produce a camera. In addition to a traditional market requirements document, I had also sourced a small camera head and so my "pitch" to others at the company involved showing that small camera head sitting directly in front of the Ki Pro. People were skeptical. Honestly, when you consider building a camera, you should be skeptical. Building a camera is not trivial; it requires a huge amount of time and a huge resource investment. I was asked to continue to develop the idea. So essentially I had answered the first question, "What tool could AJA create to help improve people's work?"… but I had a lot more work to do.

The second question, "What features do people want?", is always the "fun" question to answer if you are in product development. If you burden a product with too many features, you probably make the device too difficult to bring to the market in a timely fashion and you may "overshoot" what people really want. If you "overshoot", you will likely also unnecessarily burden your product with costs. Conversely, if you under-deliver on a feature set, you often aren't even considered a part of the conversation when products are being evaluated. I came from a camera background. I have a passion for cameras. I've toted around everything from massive 35mm camera rigs to tiny DV cameras. My heart though has always belonged to the 16mm and Super 16mm cameras that I learned to shoot on: ARRI SR I, II and III, Aaton LTR and XTR, Eclair NPR and ACL. Somehow, over the last decade or so, the traditional camera manufacturers decided that a certain "tier" of cameras should have a certain shape. That shape involved a "pony-tail" viewfinder and the notion that the camera needed to be held out in front of you without any help from your shoulder. The lens would also be fixed on such a design, not interchangeable. If you didn't like or want this, you'd be asked to pay more money to obtain some ergonomics. So I believed whatever camera AJA made needed to be ergonomic. To me, that meant it sat on your shoulder, not out in front of it. At the same time, it could not be what I sometimes refer to as "soul stealing"; if it was too heavy, whatever ergonomics that had been achieved would be a moot point.* It's like a "sports car"; if the curb weight is too high, all the power in the world won't improve a fundamental issue with the design. So, personally, I wanted a camera that was comparable to Super 35mm… but in a 16mm/Super 16mm form factor. Sometimes you do think about what you want while answering the basic questions… because you believe firmly that what you want is what others will also want.

What should the image look like? Now we enter the most nebulous part of a camera design… Some people talk a lot about a "film look." That is a very, very subjective term and it means something different to everyone. Having said this, most video cameras tend to feel too "cold" to me. Somewhere over the last few years it felt like everyone producing cameras had become afraid of the rich blacks, of the rich colors… things I felt were hallmarks of photochemically produced moving images. I was lucky enough to shoot film in the 1990s, during the rise of Kodak's Vision film stocks. So every time I looked at a sensor for evaluation, that was something that influenced me. I thought that "look" was missing in other digital video cameras that were being offered. Other looks will be possible to produce as well if this isn't something that interests you.

In closing, the CION camera wasn't produced to compete with the Sony PXW-FS7; it was made to answer the questions noted at the beginning of this post. It was made because it was something people were asking AJA to produce. Any comparison of the AJA CION to the newest Sony product - with our first effort at producing a camera - could honestly be taken as a compliment. The development and introduction of the CION pre-dates the introduction of the Sony PXW-FS7. The AJA CION is a "from the ground up" effort which is why it has taken us time to produce. The Sony PXW-FS7 of course calls on elements that have been developed by Sony over time and can be found in pre-existing products. While both cameras seem to share some similarities, they have many differences. From an included connectivity standpoint, the AJA CION has more in common with the Sony PMW-F55 than it does with the Sony PXW-FS7. To make the Sony PXW-FS7 connectivity closer to the AJA CION, you would need to add the optional XDCA-FS7 unit (roughly $2,000 USD) to the cost of the PXW-FS7. If you want a PL mount for the PXW-FS7, you'll need to source an adapter and factor that into the cost. In fairness, if you want the CION to be comparable to the PXW-FS7, you'll need to source a viewfinder of your choosing for it. (For the Sony PXW-FS7, my understanding is you will need to use the viewfinder specific to that model; the viewfinders designed for the PMW-F5/55 aren't apparently compatible.) These types of comparisons can go on at length. In the end, only you can decide which camera suits your needs. Everyone's needs differ. Everyone's tastes differ. I'm happy AJA will be able to offer you the CION soon.

Sincerely,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems

What a fantastic, informative post thank you Jon!

I'm happy AJA will be able to offer you the CION soon.

Although I truly enjoyed reading Jon's lengthy post, to me this camera now seems even more like vaporware. Most everything was covered in Jon's post (sans his childhood pet) but yet no shipping date. I'm too old for sale pitches like these (deja vu all over again, Bill Southworth, etc.). Sorry.

-- peer (would love to purchase this camera if it existed)

Jon-
Great post and maybe it will enlighten those who are not familiar with the process, time and effort in bringing a camera to market. We're excited here at EVS to sell this camera and, based on our customer inquiries, feel the camera is going to be a success......now we're just waiting to find out when we'll get our first batch!

Jim Martin
EVSonline.com

Although I truly enjoyed reading Jon's lengthy post, to me this camera now seems even more like vaporware. Most everything was covered in Jon's post (sans his childhood pet) but yet no shipping date. I'm too old for sale pitches like these (deja vu all over again, Bill Southworth, etc.). Sorry.

-- peer (would love to purchase this camera if it existed)

I'd rather they take their time and get it right. Too many companies give in to pressure and release things before they're ready.

I'd rather they take their time and get it right. Too many companies give in to pressure and release things before they're ready.
Yes - but I likewise don't think it helps in the long term when companies announce product too far ahead of it actually being available. I suspect they do it in the hope that potential customers will wait for it and not purchase something else in the meantime - in practice it too often seems to backfire and just gives rise to "vapourware" speculation - as well as allowing their competitors more time to respond.

In this case I suspect AJA have lost out to Sony and the FS7 by too early an announcement - AJA announced months before, but it looks like the FS7 will be first to ship.

As far as Jons comments as such, then I'll agree with most of it in principle, but in particular what was music to my ears was "So I believed whatever camera AJA made needed to be ergonomic. To me, that meant it sat on your shoulder, not out in front of it." be nice is all manufacturers realised that!

This will be a very long post in order to help answer some of the questions that have been posed by Steve Phillipps and others in the thread.

Much appreciated, Jon! Now published on the front page:

Exclusive: AJA’s Jon Thorn answers questions about the Cion (http://www.dvinfo.net/article/ultra-hd/dvi-exclusive-ajas-jon-thorn-answers-questions-about-the-cion.html)

Jon-
One thing that I've brought up with your reps regarding the CION.....you have the camera coming in PL mount only and that is going to be a problem...you have a great $9000 camera that you are forcing people to buy $5000 lenses. At NAB, your sales force was pitching the 3rd party PL to EF adapters as a way to use EF glass. The problem is the adapters don't work 100%...none of them get far focus because of the flange focal distance issue. Have you guys looked at offering the camera in EF?...or are you working on a better work around or a neutral mount that can include those 80+ million pieces of glass that are out there?...and I'm not sure if it is even do-able. The main thing is we want you and ourselves to sell a lot of these cameras and I'm a bit worried about this issue effecting that.......

Jim Martin
EVSonline.com