Protecting and conserving India’s wildlife with Panasonic
Shooting with Panasonic AU-EVA1 5.7K cinema cameras, Director of Photography Joe Callahan has completed principal photography on a feature-length documentary about wildlife rescue and rehabilitation in India. The documentary, aiming for premium festival berths, profiles the pioneering work of Wildlife SOS, a worldwide organization dedicated to protecting and conserving India’s natural heritage, forest and wildlife wealth.
Having purchased the EVA1s specifically for the wildlife project, Callahan has gone on to utilize the cameras for many high-profile commercial spots for GEICO, Alfa Romeo, Tide, Black & Decker, LensCrafters and Alaska Airlines, among others. “When producer Erik Oberholtzer and I met with Nikki Sharp, who heads up Wildlife SOS’ U.S. office, and discussed the organization’s plans for upcoming animal rescues, we both felt this was a story that had to be told,” Callahan said.
“I needed exactly the right cameras for what I knew would be an incredibly taxing shoot,” the DP continued. “What I look for in a camera is reliability, usability and image quality. The EVA1 is one of the top cameras I’ve ever evaluated in terms of color science and dynamic range, and I chose it over much more expensive options.
“In terms of usability, the form factor is so versatile. I can rig it up at will (for instance, on car rigs and gimbals in India) or break it down quickly and work handheld, as I did to sneak around and get shots while tracking tiger poachers.”
The majority of location work on the documentary (working title, “Where the Wild Things Aren’t”) took place last June all across India—jungles, deserts and the teeming cities of Jodhpur, Delhi and Agra. “The EVA1 proved itself to be insanely reliable,” Callahan recounted. “India beat the hell out of the cameras: we shot 12 hours a day in 120 degree heat. There was constant ash in the air, to the extent that we couldn’t see any blue sky. At one point it was so hot that a metal plate on the build-out burned my face. We never had a camera failure of any kind.”
The DP said he shot in 4K, recording ProRes HQ externally to an Atomos Shogun Inferno, with internal back-up to the EVA1’s SD cards. (ProRes HQ was chosen to avoid transcoding and make the footage direct-to-edit.) For lensing, he chose Tamron 24-70 and 70-200 G2 zooms, as well as a set of primes.
Callahan said he usually shot at ISO800, with occasional use of ISO2500. “There were times in India where ISO2500 saved me a bunch, letting me use much smaller LED lights, realizing significant cost-efficiencies.”
The EVA1 is now the DP’s camera of choice for his extensive commercial work. He said he typically shoots in 4K, again outboard recording to a Shogun Inferno and backing-up on the EVA1’s SD cards. “The EVA1 is beautifully complemented by vintage lenses, and I’ve used a range of them—Leica Rs, Super-Takumar and older Zeiss models, for instance,” he noted. “The images consistently look great.”
The AU-EVA1
The AU-EVA1 5.7K handheld cinema camera is distinguished by a pixel count of 5720 H x 3016 V (17.25 million), Dual Native ISO ratings of 800 and 2,500, and 14-stops of dynamic range. The newly-designed EVA1 sensor is Super-35 sized (24.60mm x 12.97mm) with 5.7K resolution. With an active resolution of 5720 x 3016, the EVA1 delivers more than 17.25 million photosites, nearly double the 8.8 million for 4K DCI (4096 x 2160). Weighing only 2.65-lbs (1.2Kg, body-only) with a compact form factor (6.69” H x 5.31” W x 5.23” D) and a removable handgrip, the EVA1 can be used for efficient handheld shooting applications. Because of its compact form factor, it can also be mounted on a drone, gimbal rig or jib arm for complex yet smooth camera moves.
About Panasonic Systems Solutions Company of North America
Panasonic Systems Solutions Company of North America, a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, delivers game-changing technology solutions that deliver customized experiences to drive better outcomes—for our customers and our customers’ customers. Panasonic designs and manufactures reliable, flexible and dependable products and solutions to help create, capture and deliver information of all types, especially where, when and how it is needed. The complete suite of Panasonic professional solutions for government and commercial enterprises of all sizes addresses unified business communications, mobile computing, security and surveillance, retail point-of-sale, office productivity, audio and visual systems (projectors, displays & digital signage) and professional video production. To learn more and Panasonic’s business products and solutions visit:https://na.panasonic.com.
About Panasonic Corporation of North America
Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America is a leading technology partner to businesses, government agencies and consumers across the region. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation and leverages its strengths in Immersive Entertainment, Sustainable Energy, Automated Supply Chains and Connected Solutions to provide secure and resilient integrated solutions for B2B customers. Panasonic was highlighted in Forbes Magazine’s Global 2000 ranking as one of the Top Ten Best Regarded Companies for 2017. The ranking is based on outstanding scores for trustworthiness, honesty with the public and superior performance of products and solutions. Learn more about Panasonic’s ideas and innovations at Panasonic.com
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