Canon developing 8K video camera

[Chris Hurd]

My pics are here: Inside Canon Expo 2015, Part One: 8K Cinema EOS

[Jack Zhang]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

My pics are here: Inside Canon Expo 2015, Part One: 8K Cinema EOS

That final image proved very interesting, a pelican case with the NASA logo on it. Thinking NHK may be filming a future expedition in UHDTV 8K 60fps. They're already filming the current expedition with a C500 and a Codex.

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Jack Zhang

That final image proved very interesting, a pelican case with the NASA logo on it. Thinking NHK may be filming a future expedition in UHDTV 8K 60fps. They're already filming the current expedition with a C500 and a Codex.

Along with a bunch of 1DC and and...:
Orion rocket video - 4k footage of NASA's Orion launch

-- peer

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Jack Zhang

That final image proved very interesting, a pelican case with the NASA logo on it.

That's a flown C500, part of the larger Cinema EOS area that contained the 8K demo.

[Glen Vandermolen]

Holy moly, that thing's a Frankenstein rig!

[Steve Struthers]

Originally Posted by Warren Kawamoto

3 or 4 years ago at the NHK booth at NAB, I remember the camera being as big as a refrigerator! The lens had a diameter of about a foot. Last year, they came out with a tiny 8K camera that fits in the palm of your hand...about the size of a rubik's cube. Very impressive how they shrunk everything down so quickly.

The one comment I kept hearing, though, was that the image looked "very video" and nothing like film.

Looks like everything old is new again. Remember when colour studio cameras were as big as a refrigerator, had monster lenses, and needed massive, heavy tripods and dollies for support? And huge 1" or 2" pick-up tubes?

I suspect the reason why the initial 8K camera is so large was that it is essentially a test bed and a proof-of-concept device, where size and aesthetics don't matter, but performance does.

The question is, would you want an 8K camera to produce a film-like image, given that film has a softer, less precisely defined look?

[Jack Zhang]

8K is more about realism, High Dynamic Range, ultra wide color gamut, and HFR up to 120fps with 22.2 surround. 60fps is a step in the right direction, but if NHK has their way, Canon will be pushing the framerate to 120fps for the next iteration.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by Steve Struthers

The question is, would you want an 8K camera to produce a film-like image, given that film has a softer, less precisely defined look?

You can always get a softer image from high resolution. The inverse isn't true.

Having seen 8K a number of times, I think the main advantage is in the display where the pixels seem to disappear even when the image covers a large viewing angle. Given that, you can show the detail of newsprint or the natural shapes of film grain, rather than the repeating rectangular distortion of a pixelated screen.

Think of it as having the perfect amp and speakers where you can play back pristine 24-bit audio, an LP, or an Edison cylinder. Even with lower quality sources, you will hear the original noise, rather than old noise plus new limitations.

When we start talking about 120 fps source material, it all depends on the content. If I'm watching Gone With the Wind, please give me 24 fps for that dreamy film look. If I'm watching the World Cup, give me 120 fps or faster to make the motion smooth while keeping the (8K) image crisp with minimal motion blur.

So I tend to think of 8K, high frame rates, etc as containers. You can capture, store, deliver, and view stuff that pushes one or more of the limits and you can handle less taxing material as well. It doesn't mean that everything needs to be 8K-sharp from corner to corner at 240 fps with extreme dynamic range and colors that only rarely appear in nature. It means that content can exist in and explore whatever range of that space is appropriate.