The AJA CION is an upcoming digital filmmaking camera priced at $9k, based around the same sensor as the Blackmagic Production Camera.
What this sample video demonstrates is that AJA seem to have applied some magic colour science to their implementation of the sensor.
If you thought the 10bit 4K ProRes of the Blackmagic Production Camera and URSA looked good wait till you see this.
CION is said to be shipping very soon and it could be an interesting option, but before you can say “Ikonoskop” there’s an obvious danger to consider here. The Sony FS7 is more of a workhorse all-rounder which could pound the CION into submission on the market, given they both share the same price point.
The FS7 will shoot 4K XAVC-S at 600Mbit/s in 10bit 4:2:2 which is very close indeed to the 4k ProRes in 10bit 4:4:4 coming off the CION.
Though the CION is not aiming to capture the section of the market that requires low light performance and slow-mo, the CION looks to be an appealing drama / cine camera for 4KÂ 24p production and let’s not forget it has a global shutter.
The packaging of the sensor has resulted in a higher price but also a higher maximum frame rate on the CION compared to the same sensor in the Blackmagic Production Camera. 4K tops out at 60fps in ProRes but an amazing 120fps when outputting 4K raw.
You can download the latest brochure for the AJA CION here whilst detailed product specs and pricing are available at AJA here
