Some of IMAX's own cameras are branded MSM, which means they were built by Marty S. Mueller. I don't know about their other cameras though.

There's also a Photosonics handheld camera that shoots 14-perf 70mm at 22 fps.

I'm really happy to share with you a project I've been working on for the past 3 years that's now finally coming together.

It's a 65mm camera that shoots from 24 fps all the way to 800 fps — dialogue to extreme slow-motion, same camera, same negative, same look. 800 fps in 6-perf format, 400 fps in a close-to-IMAX 12-perf square format. Its name is K65K.

We've just updated our website with lots of technical info, so I'd be glad to receive feedback from the community! It's a new solution, new technology — there are two patent-pending innovations in there, including a magazine system that lets you stop mid-take (a first for rotary prism cameras).

This is very much an R&D project, and we want to improve it every day to give cinematographers like you this chance. Right now the camera fits in a modified Photosonics 10B body — it was the fastest way to prove out the technology — but we already have a planned development pipeline for the next 2 years 🙂

Most importantly: we'll be at BSC Expo, Stand 205 (February 12-14). I'd love to meet you there, show you what we've built, and hear your thoughts in person.

Website: https://k65k.com

PS: Don't you think this section should be updated to include K65K in the formats? 😛
Cheers!!

(Would love to hear from Scott Shepley - my contact info. is the same as before)

It mentions the 8812 VistaVision camera, the 8870 8-perf 65mm Iwerks camera, and the 9801 IMAX camera.

There is, however, a fourth camera mentioned as well: the 5815, which is described as "65mm, 5, 8, and 15 per 1 fps".

This confuses me a bit. Is this truly a 65mm camera with variable pulldown between 5, 8, and 15 perf formats - that can only shoot 1 frame per second?

What could possibly be the purpose of this camera? The only application I can guess is Ron Fricke, who used custom 65mm time-lapse cameras for Baraka.

Then why the variable format? I was under the impression that Baraka was all 5-perf.

Hope this is the right subform to post in.

I don't think anyones posted this news of Imax to develop new cameras: https://variety.com/2022/film/news/imax-new-cameras-1235208022/

I don't know much about Imax cameras, apart from the obvious like they're 65mm, they're loud and they're big. The article writes, "New features for Imax technology will include a quieter design and a number of usability enhancements." Can anyone speculate what else they could be working on for these new cameras just from knowing things about the current cameras? How much upgrading do they need? I only ask because I don't know much about them.

Interesting to see what they come out with.

Thanks.

Dear Jeff,

First, thanks for traveling all the way from Vancouver, B.C. to see Interstellar at Pacific Science Center. We value people like you who care about quality, and we appreciate you sharing your concerns.

I, too, am a fan of film and saw Intersteller several times in our theater. Recently, I saw some Interstellar "footage" projected with our new laser digital system. I found it more stunning than in film, particularly in the space shots, because of the blacker blacks.

For a long time, we waited to convert to digital because there was no digital system that could provide an image of quality comparable to 15/70 film projection. But IMAX just rebuilt its projection system from the ground up and custom designed it for IMAX's largest screens. There are only four of these projection systems now in use in the world — that is how new they are — the most advanced cinema technology currently available. Our new IMAX with laser surpasses the image quality of our prior projection system in these ways specifically:

• The image is now brighter
• The contrast levels are substantially higher than with film: blacker blacks and whiter whites
• Wider color gamut
• It also boasts a new, custom-designed immersive 12-channel sound system

Please do not confuse our new IMAX with laser system with the "Lie-max" theaters to which you refer. Our aspect ratio is 1.43:1 — that is it is taller for width of the screen than traditional cinemas. The screens you refer to as "Lie-max" are not of that aspect ratio. And they do not have this new projection system.

Last week, we opened our first feature film with the 12-channel audio that is available only for the IMAX with laser system: Avengers: Age of Ultron. I invite you to take the new system for a test ride.

Warm regards.

• The IMAX 3D Digital Camera delivers stunning image quality and is smaller, lighter and easier to use than other 3D digital camera systems on the market.
• The IMAX 3D Digital Camera is a true 4K stereo camera. This means that both the left eye and right eye images are captured at full 4K resolution.
• Transformers: Age of Extinction is the first feature film to ever use the new IMAX3D Digital Camera.
• Exclusively in IMAX theatres, sequences filmed with the IMAX 3D Digital Cameras will be presented in a 1.9:1 aspect ratio – offering moviegoers 26% more of the image than standard cinemas for a truly immersive IMAX 3D experience.
• The production team on Transformers: Age of Extinction was able to capture major action sequences of the film – including chase scenes and helicopter shots – in high-resolution 3D in a way that was previously impossible thanks to the compact size of the new cameras.

What’s unique about the new IMAX 3D Digital Camera?

As part of IMAX’s commitment to innovation and providing filmmakers with the highest-quality technology, IMAX developed the first fully integrated dual 65mm 4K digital large-format 3D camera.

The IMAX 3D Digital Camera delivers stunning image quality and is less than half the weight of other 3D digital camera systems on the market. The IMAX 3D Digital Camera will provide filmmakers such as Michael Bay with versatility that only 2D digital cameras have been able to deliver in the past. In Transformers: Age of Extinction, the production team was able to capture chase scenes and helicopter shots in high-resolution 3D in a way that previously impossible.

Exclusively in IMAX theatres, sequences captured with this camera will expand to fill more of the IMAX screen with unprecedented crispness, clarity, color and 3D for a truly immersive experience.

The IMAX 3D Digital Camera is a true 4K stereo camera. This means that both the left eye and the right eye images are captured at full 4K resolution.

How does the IMAX 3D Digital Camera compare to the IMAX 2D & 3D film cameras?

For more than 40 years, IMAX’s 15perf / 65mm film cameras have been the highest-resolution cameras in the world – delivering 10x more resolution than 35mm film.

IMAX designed the IMAX 3D Digital Camera as a complementary tool to its other 2D and 3D IMAX film camera systems as well as other camera technology that filmmakers may be using. Filmmakers typically use several different types of cameras on set for different types of shots so IMAX wanted to be able to provide them with the right tool for the right job to help achieve their creative vision.

While digital is advancing at a rapid pace, IMAX’s 15perf / 65mm film cameras continue to be the industry gold standard in terms of resolution and it expects they will to continue to be for quite some time. For this reason, IMAX is continuing to build more of these cameras to meet the demand it is seeing among today’s leading Hollywood filmmakers.

How does IMAX present films in a larger aspect ratio?

The technical term for the proportional relationship between an image’s width and its height is called aspect ratio. Most films today are presented in an aspect ratio called CinemaScope (2.40:1). When a film is presented in CinemaScope, it is often cropped and uses only part of the image the movie camera captures. This is the reason most ordinary screens are very wide but not particularly high – like looking at the world through a narrow slit.

IMAX provides filmmakers with the ability to use an expanded aspect ratio for the IMAX presentation of their film so they can utilize much more of the originally captured image - either during production through filming with the extremely high-resolution IMAX camera or protecting more of the image during their post-production process.

Exclusively in IMAX theatres, sequences of Transformers: Age of Extinction that were filmed with the IMAX 3D Digital Cameras will be presented in a 1.9:1 aspect ratio – offering moviegoers 26% more of the image than standard cinemas for a truly immersive IMAX 3D experience.

More info at https://www.imax.com/imax3dcamera/