K65K: 65mm camera 1 to 800 fps

Luca Bonicalza · January 30

Hi friends,

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!!

Mark Dunn · January 30

Great! Vacuum cleaner and tweezers for cleaning. I remember it well.

Luca Bonicalza · January 30

You hare right! Hards stuff for clean in eheh!

Aristeidis Tyropolis · January 30

Do you plan to release hand-held smaller editions as well?

Not that Van Hoytema wouln't dare to carry that thing anyway...

Luca Bonicalza · January 30

LOL, I agree with you ahah! Handheld it's not our plan: there is PV, Arri and Magellan so it's not our main topic now but yes, we are working over weight and ergonomic. Today it's 33% less heavier than previous version

Aristeidis Tyropolis · January 30

All my wishes for a bright future on your efforts! Hope you get Kodak support as well.

Mark Dunn · January 30

2 hours ago, Aristeidis Tyropolis said:

Do you plan to release hand-held smaller editions as well?

From my experience with rotating prism high-speed cameras, reflex viewing isn't possible, so you line up with a boresight then lock the camera down. Also with a run time of a few seconds you wouldn't be following action in the usual way so there's not much point hand-holding.

By my arithmetic at 800pps full-frame, 1000' lasts a little under 7 seconds.

Edited January 30 by Mark Dunn

Mark Wiggins · January 31

I’m looking forward to seeing this at the BSC Expo. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the Magellan.

Steve Switaj · January 31

Luca;

That looks really cool

Back in the day, I got to play with the PhotoSonics 4C every once in a while, and these spinning-prism cameras are really neat.

With a little luck, Christopher Nolan might decide that his next film needs a lot of slow motion work

It looks like you've managed to get a pretty sharp image on the film, which has always been the issue with these. Did you have to do something special with the lenses to account for the prism block?

Also, are those two marks near the bottom of the frame fiducial marks added by the camera for stabilizing the image?

Edited January 31 by Steve Switaj

Luca Bonicalza · February 6

@Aristeidis Tyropolis I'm proud to be supported by Kodak! 😄 😄

@Mark Dunn We have a defined pipeline for R6D for the next two years and I belive we are working over some really interesting patents. BTW, our claim is not to be a competitor of Magellan, Panavision or Imax: we only work where others have never been before: HIGH SPEED! Sure, we can shot 24 fps (with 2000' mag is up to 14 minutes!) but the more interesting part is that you can do ramps going up, down, whatever you want to!

I'm looking foward to meet you, @Mark Wiggins!

@Steve Switaj Thank you very much! We do globally have the same lpm of a 4C, so with a bigger format resulution is pretty high. We have been working over the prism, making calculations and so on. Right now we really have a good sharpness: if you have a look at Jumping to conclusion, that's the first short film shot on 65mm high speed in the world, well we were closing iris only 1 stop! But as I've already said, we do have other ideas to make it performing even better: it's a long way that will never stop (otherways I'll get bored!) And yes, the two crosses are fiducials marker, I have been working even on that side, I've modified the dimension, color, pattern, and relocalized them to work better 😉

David Bernard Anderson III · February 8

Will this be marketed to bridge the gap to filmmakers like myself who want to use large format film cameras, but don’t have larger studio backings? Like what’s the plan for accessibility?

Edith blazek · February 8

I know you only say rental on the website, but IF you were to sell this, how much would you think? Or if not selling directly, could we bring in our own photosonics 10 camera for you to work your magic on?

Geffen Avraham · February 9

I also do conversions of this camera and am open to selling one, but it would be without Luca's patented lens system. That said, it can work with other large format lenses.