F23 camera redefines state-of-the-art

Sony has received the first orders for its new, top-end, digital cinematography F23 acquisition camera, which ships this Spring. Leading equipment enabler and rental company Band Pro in Munich has ordered five F23 cameras, with further orders in the UK and the Netherlands. The F23, which supports 4:4:4 1920 x 1080 RGB imaging, is aimed at the top-end of movie-making, commercials and television production.

“The F23 is a new digital cinematography camera recording on 4:4:4 RGB HDCAM SR,” says Richard Lewis, chief engineer, Sony Professional Solutions Europe. “The F23 has many useful features designed specifically for digital cinema production and high end commercials. It is a stand alone camera that looks and feels exactly like a film camera. It means you can take your film camera off its tripod and replace it with the F23 and its really easy to use with all the same accessories.”

The F23 incorporates several new features that have been incorporated after extensive consultation and feedback from production professionals. The SRW-1 HDCAM SR digital 4:4:4 recorder docks directly to the top or to the tail of the F23. This eliminates the need for cumbersome cable handling between the camera and recorder. When more mobility is required, the recorder can also be tethered using a “dual-link” cable connection so the camera is as small and light as possible.

“The F23 is a new artistic creative tool in movie making,” says Gerhard Baier, managing director of Band Pro Munich, which has ordered five F23s. “It is a perfect fit with our Zeiss DigiPrime high definition lenses. The fact that it looks like a film camera should also help the acceptance of digital acquisition tools in the cinematography world. The F23 will have a market in all ambitious digital rental houses servicing commercials, TV movies and feature films.”

In order to be “film user-friendly,” the camera body is compatible with a variety of film camera accessories, including bridge plates, matte boxes and follow focus units. These can be attached to the unit without modification. For increased durability and reliability, and to withstand the numerous lens changes that often happen on location, the F23 system uses a hardend material for its lens mount (B4 type).

When used with Sony’s SRW-1 VTR, the new camera system can capture and record variable speed images from 1P to 60P 4:4:4 at the full HD resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. This allows for quick- or slow-motion functionality, also known as “undercranking” or “overcranking,” to produce special motion effects commonly used in high-end production.

These variable speed images can be played back by the SRW series of VTRs immediately after shooting. The camera uses three 2.2 megabit 2/3-inch type progressive CCD imagers and a 14-bit A/D converter. The system supports 1080/23.98P, 24P, 25P, 29.97P, 50P, 59.94P, 50i and 59.94i formats.

The control surface layout, indicators and menu system have been designed to give film camera users a familiar and intuitive user interface. Users can operate the system with the supplied “Assistant Panel” remote controller. This device connects to the camera with a single cable and allows users to remotely execute basic camera and VTR operations, such as REC/STOP, changing frame rates and shutter angle. The CVP File Editor v3.0, which is the Windows® PC running gamma creation software, is also supported.

SRW-1 HDCAM SR VTR