UN-COMPRESSED

UN-COMPRESSED

It’s no news that the image quality of cameras is increasing at a rapid rate but capturing that quality image to a convenient, user friendly and portable device has been a bit more challenging.  Cameras like Panasonic’s top line HPX 3700 and Sony’s F3 are capable of outputting to an un-compressed dual-link 4:4:4 signal but the camera itself is not able to record that signal internally.  There have been options out there but many of them have been expensive, bulky and created complex workflows.  There are several advantages to the increased resolution uncompressed 4:4:4 recording but one of the biggest is SFX and green screen post work graphics. 

We have spent a little time and effort researching options to bring clients a cost affordable solution for everyday use.  Testing several digital recorders like the Sound Devices PIX220, the Cinedeck EX and  AJA Ki Pro’s,  all quality products by the way, but each was lacking some specific features.

The AJA Ki Pro and Ki Pro mini have been extremely popular can only record 4:2:2 in Apple Codex, perfect for final cut users but not a great option for Avid editing.  The Sound Devices PIX220 is light-weight, records in a wide variety of codex and has an extremely user friendly menu and 4.5” screen that can double as an on camera monitor.  It is easy to see why it is selling rapidly but if you are looking to step-up to recording uncompressed, sadly there is again no option. 

The Cinedeck EX however has the solution to recording uncompressed 4:4:4 video to a wide variety of codex best suited to the NLE system you are using, though it should be noted that the MXF option was not yet active in the one we tested.  It has a large user-friendly interface that also doubles as a monitor with live picture, playback/record and waveform/vector scope.  It is an impressive well planned piece of equipment but on the downside it is large and requires a lot of power making it very difficult to use in any portable environment.

That brings us to what we, at Camera Originals, believe is the best overall solution for capturing the full potential of 4:4:4 dual link capable cameras, the Gemini 4:4:4 from the makers of the hugely successful Nano Flash. Low power, light-weight, small size and low cost the Gemini meets our requirements to bring you the highest quality on site recording to meet the demand.  Instead of locking you into a codex that may not be favorable to your NLE the Gemini records fully un-compressed 10 bit 4:4:4 to the DPX file format which can be trans-coded into any NLE system with no loss in resolution.  The Gemini records to 2 removable SSD drives that can hold up to 84 min @ 108024P each.  The drives can be quickly downloaded with an esata docking station that comes with the unit.  The 5” touch screen menu is bright and also makes for a high quality on camera monitor that is just the right size to fit nearly any camera still giving you the freedom to move.   It can also be used to up-convert a 4:2:2 signal to 4:4:4 using a weighted average of nearby pixels creating the highest quality possible.  It can fully support Sony’s S Log and Arri C Log, has the ability to upgrade to 3D dual record in one unit and other upgrades on the way.

For more info visit www.convergent-design.com  or let us bring you a demo to show you the quality and convenience, this powerful piece of equipment brings a new level of imaging into your grasp.