The Varicam retains the clever modular design first introduced at NAB in Las Vegas, as the third generation camera arrives in two new variants, the super35mm, 4K Varicam 35, and the 2/3 type, high speed HD Varicam HS.

Andre Meterian, Director of Panasonic’s Professional Camera division, said, “Inherited from original Varicam, the Varicam 35 features a V-Log gamma to cover a wide latitude – an impressive 14+ stops.

“What is more, the ability to simultaneously record in two different formats and codecs together with its in-camera colour grading function means, for instance, that it is possible to record 4K master and HD simultaneously and begin colour grading on site. This will greatly help production companies to streamline their workflows.”

He continues, “Varicam HS will provide smooth slow motion effects, by recording in 240fps HD, without a cache memory.”

The new Varicam 35 and Varicam HS start shipping in October 2014.

The Varicam 35 incorporates a newly-developed super35mm MOS image sensor and images can be handled in variable frame rates up to 120 frames per second (fps)*.  It will deliver a variety of recording formats, including 4K and UHD in AVC-ULTRA 4K, and 2K and 1080p HD in AVC-Intra 100.

Future firmware upgrades, will allow HD recording with Apple ProRes** and V-RAW recording with a Codex V-RAW Recorder, means a wider variety of creative choice for image creation and a faster workflow, due to the ability to simultaneously record in multiple formats.    

With high speed 1080p image capture at up to 240fps, the Varicam HS camera is aimed at the production of extraordinary high-definition imagery, for the most demanding documentaries, sports or SFX slow-motion applications.

Panasonic has also developed a next generation of P2 solid-state recording for these Varicam series products. Specifically designed to capture 4K or high speed HD images, the expressP2 card and drive offers fast transfer speeds (up to 2.4Gbps). The expressP2 card (AU-XP0256A) provides 72 minutes recording time in 4K/25p mode with high data reliability by containing a flash memory error correction system, equivalent to a RAID system, to recover from a failure in a sector, page, or entire block.

For more information on Panasonic Professional Camera Solutions, please visit business.panasonic.co.uk/professional-camera/‎