Panasonic has announced a free firmware upgrade, Ver. 3.0 (aka EVA 3.0), for the AU-EVA1 cinema camera that greatly improves the camera’s capabilities, including 4K60p 10-bit capture, hardwire remote control via USB-Ethernet adapters, and the addition of a user button function for quick switching of shooting modes and frame rates.

EVA 3.0 is the seventh firmware upgrade since the EVA1’s release, with more upgrades planned for the future. Released in late 2017, the EF-mount AU-EVA1 is a 5.7K cinema camera containing a Super-35mm sensor featuring 14-stops of dynamic range, Dual Native ISO ratings of 800 and 2500, and the same colorimetry as the renowned VariCam camera system. “With its small size and weight combined with great features, the EVA1 represents the best value in its class,” said Mitch Gross, Cinema Product Manager. “New features like 4K60p 10-bit and hardwire Ethernet connectivity for remote control expand the use for new clients, while Quick Switch between setup files is an improvement based on specific requests from current users. Panasonic is committed to continually improving and expanding the capabilities of the EVA1.”

Key Features of EVA 3.0

EVA 3.0 adds HEVC (High-Efficiency Video Coding) H.265 recording for 4K 10-bit recording up to 60 frames per second. The EVA1’s other recording modes allow 4K 10-bit up to 30 frames or 4K up to 60 frames in 8-bit. HEVC H.265 has twice the efficiency of H.264, allowing 4K30p 10-bit recording at 150Mbps and 4K60p 10-bit recording at 200Mbps. 10-bit recording allows the use of V-Log and HLG capture without banding or other artifacts. 4K60p 10-bit at 200Mbps can be recorded to V30-class SDXC cards. Most of the popular NLEs (Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Apple Final Cut Pro X, Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve, etc.) support the HEVC codecs, and computers using Intel Core i7 chips (7th generation or higher) can utilize hardware acceleration on HEVC files for efficient performance. In addition to supporting the AJ-WM50 WiFi Adapter, the EVA1’s USB port now supports several inexpensive third-party USB-LAN adapters. These enable hardwired remote control of the EVA1 over Ethernet from Android and iOS devices running the free EVA ROP app. Additionally, third-party remote operation controllers can be used to integrate the EVA1 into Live and Near-Live multi-camera production. Panasonic has worked with CyanView to enable communication and painting of multiple EVA1 cameras with a single controller. Quick Switch adds User Button shortcuts, which allow fast changes to all camera settings. At the press of a button appears a menu of preset settings shortcuts one has saved to an SD card. Select one and in a few seconds, all the camera settings can be reset, including frame rate, resolution, recording mode, color setting, and more. Another user button can switch the camera in and out of variable frame rate for slow motion.

Additional Features of EVA 3.0 include:

A Focus Position Indicator in meters or feet for the EVA1 On Screen Display. When recording or playing back HLG (Hyper Log Gamma) material, the LCD, SDI, and HDMI video outputs can be individually set to display in HDR or SDR for proper monitoring. A second Auto White Balance memory position now allows quickly scrolling to two AWB selections as well as up to eight preset white balances. And Still Image Capture enables JPEG frame captures to an SD card during playback, along with an intuitive frame advance added to the playback controls.