Randy Rubin

Class 480 is 480Mbs at 24/25/30.. and 960 at 50/60.. Yes fs7 doesn't have 480 (yet?).. I guess the idea was if you want 16 bit you add the A7.. it fits on without any cables and could be considered "one" camera body .. Venice is pretty small body.. way smaller than the Alexa or LF.. its more compact than an Amira come to think of it..

I didn't realize Class 480 went up to 960 for high speed.

I think it's an exciting looking camera. I know the body is smaller than an Alexa or LF. But it only does 10-bit without the recorder. With the recorder it's about the size of an Alexa or Amira. Maybe if they enable recording to an Odyssey for 444 or RAW that'll alleviate some of my concerns. That way I can mount the recorder to a gimbal if needed.

Isnt the bit rate for Class 480 , ~400 mbs 10-bit?

Is ProRes 444 @ UHD ~1000 mbs 12-bit?

Im not questioning the quality of the FS7 or the codec. Im just a little confused why a top-of-class ~$50,000 cinema camera body maxes out at 10-bit, 400 mbs when competitors like the Arri Alexa Mini and Red Epic-W and Weapon manage higher bit depth and data rates in smaller bodies.

 

 

I actually have a sneaking suspicion that the Venice might make an excellent gimbal camera. Firstly, it can be stripped down to the bare body quickly and easily. Secondly, the body alone is only 3.9kg. The internal NDs save you having to add matteboxes to the camera to control exposure. And I have an inkling, that Sony might eventually enable some autofocus capabilities through the e-mount - which could be a real boon for gimbal work.

 

Obviously leaving the R7 recorder off the camera will help keep the weight down, which will leave you with just the 10-bit internal recording. However, the less-compressed "Class 480" variant of 4k XAVC is robust enough to function as a mastering codec. So I don't think anyone will have issues intercutting that with X-OCN or Raw from the camera.

10-bit recording may work as a mastering codec for some productions. For commercial & film work going to a grade and/or VFX, I will most likely shoot either ProRes 444 or RAW. Changing the color space and recording codec also complicates the grade if I jump to a gimbal. I think it's an amazing looking camera, but for my use I think there are more nimble & robust options.

I think it's been stated that other cameras with much smaller bodies manage to accomplish more impressive data rates. Again, unless I didn't read the tech specs properly, the internal data rates are no more than an FS7 which is an entirely different class of camera.

Does anyone have further impressions of this camera and where it fits in the ecosystem of LF, Mini, Red, Varicam? It seems like a great camera, but I find it a bit confusing that the Venice only has 10-bit internal, which is a bummer especially for gimbal work. Unless I'm not understanding something correctly, it seems the internal data rates are the same as the FS7 Mark ii.