Somebody had to get the 4K cinema ball rolling for consumers and sadly it is not Canon, not Nikon and indeed not even Panasonic or Sony. Of the big guns, Canon have shown a hairdryer with a small chip, and that’s it.
Now it seems JVC have brought out a ground breaking ambiguously worded press release.
Apparently at the consumer electronics show (CES) on January 6th 2011, JVC will unveil the first prosumer video camera based around their new high speed CMOS sensor and ‘4K LSI (image processor)’.
The camera does 4K at 60p (3840Ă—2160 – double 1080p’s resolution), and 300fps at lower resolutions, though there seems to be some doubt around the video capabilities.
The LSI is capable of 4K at 60fps, but only in a JPEG stream for stills capture whilst recording 2K HD video at 1080p. Also the sensor size isn’t mentioned not anything regarding an interchangeable lens mount mention.
In 2009 JVC unveiled a prototype 4K modular cinema camera to take on the big guns. That camera used a Nikon-F mount for demonstration purposes. Nikon’s mount has been licensed to 3rd parties before (most notably Fuji for their high end DSLRs like the S5 Pro).
The killer for 4K video on this latest JVC ‘CES camcorder’ is that H.264 is a more complex codec and video has heat and memory issues to contend with, the LSI can only encode H.264 at 2K, but the press release keeps going on about 4K LSI.
JVC’s real 4K cinema camera prototype is 1 and a half years old now. Ideally – JVC would announce both the consumer camera and a higher end version in January, much like Sony are doing with the F3 and it’s younger brother, the NXCAM. But I feel that a dramatically stripped down version of the cinema camera’s 4K LSI is going to end up in a prosumer camcorder with fixed lens and small chip, and that the press release is ambiguously worded enough to get people confused about 4K video.
The camera also shoots 3D video and 300fps at reduced resolution output. Again that’s it’s being announced at CES also points to it being an affordable prosumer camcorder with small chip.
The higher end cinema camera prototype in 2009 had a compact detachable camera head which could be separated from the LSI image processor, so in effect it is a modular camera. The camera head can operate up to 328ft from the LSI box. It was slated for a mid-2010 release but seemingly failed to materialise.
The consumer camera is 60p only and does not support 24p. JVC believe that 60p is the future – I am not sure the artists are in full agreement with the boffins on this one.
Another thing which counts against this being a 4K video camera is the initial pricing of JVC’s high end 4K stuff being completely eye-watering. Under $200,000 for the prototype cinema camera was mentioned in 2009, and earlier this year JVC announced a 4K projector for a hefty $150,000.
What is key to all of this is JVC’s approach to the sensor in the consumer version. We are getting so close to 4K video in a consumer camera now. if we get the 35mm sensor as well with an interchangeable lens mount, then this is very big news indeed and JVC are onto a winner.
January 6th 2011 is the date to keep an eye on, and it may be worth putting your ear to the ground for any Canon vibes around CES too – one of 2011’s prime places to launch a new prosumer DSLR, like the 5D Mark III, if a rather early one.
Meanwhile, although the $200,000 prototype 4K cinema camera with Nikon mount does exist, there is no new news on when it’s coming out, and frankly at that price it is not going to be much of a game changer for consumers when it does.
