Digital Bolex D16 - 2K Camera project

JB Guillot · March 14, 2012

Couldn't find a topic about this interesting project so I post the links in case some of you are interested.

OFFICIAL PAGE - Kickstarter page - Vimeo page (with footage from camera)

Project Description :

ABOUT THE CAMERA

The Digital Bolex is a “digital cinema camera” or a camera that shoots RAW images (sometimes known as Digital Negatives) instead of compressed video. Unlike the digital cinema cameras used on big budget films, the Bolex is designed with consumers as well as pros in mind, and will be inexpensive, compact, and easy for anyone to use, just like the film cameras many of us remember using as kids.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH RAW?

Most video cameras (even expensive ones) shoot compressed footage, so that it takes up less space. The problem is that compressed footage, in order to make each frame more efficient, marries all your in camera settings (like white balance and contrast) to the video file being shot, which makes the shot difficult or impossible to manipulate in post without degrading image quality.

Think of the difference between a blocky, low-res JPEG image you find online, and a smooth high-res photographic print in a gallery. That’s the difference between compressed, normal video footage and RAW. It’s a big difference!

A RAW file saves a camera’s settings, but it doesn’t marry those settings to the file. That way you can change the color balance, contrast, highlights, shadows, white balance, and more all in post without any loss of quality. And because RAW is uncompressed, and the frames don’t rely on each others’ contents for efficiency, each frame stands alone, just like a film camera. (In a video file, each frame is designed to make the transition to the next frame as efficient as possible, so it can be hard to isolate a focused, clear image). Like a film camera, each RAW frame is of printable, photo quality.

IF SOME CAMERAS ALREADY SHOOT RAW, WHY DO WE NEED A DIGITAL BOLEX?

There is no camera on the market that offers affordable RAW quality to consumers and independent filmmakers. The Digital Bolex will mean filmmakers who prefer an uncompressed and “film like” look won’t have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to achieve that. Isn’t it time for the digital generation to have image quality as good as our parents had?

TECH SPECS

Resolution : 2048 x 1152 (Super 16mm mode) + 1920 x 1080 pixels (16mm mode)

Format : Adobe Cinema DNG, TIFF, JPEG Image sequences

Colour depth : 12 bit – 4:4:4

File size : 2 to 3 MB per frame in RAW

Sensor Kodak CCD : 12.85 mm (H) x 9.64 mm (V) – Similar to Super 16mm

Pixel Size : 5.5 micron (compared to the 4.3 micron size of many DSLRs)

Framerate : up to 32 fps at 2K, 60fps at 720p, 90 fps at 480p

Sound : Balanced, 2 channel, 16 bit, 48 kHz via XLR

Viewfinder : 320×240, 2.4” diagonal, with Focus Assist

Video out : 640 x 480 B&W via ?” video jack (HD-SDI avail in separate unit)

Ports : 1/8"video, headphone, USB 3.0, Audio XLR (2), 4-PIN XLR