Why accept ordinary color when you can go substantially beyond? Sony preserves every last nuance of color with phenomenal 16-bit linear RAW recording. This encodes over 65,000 discrete shades Red, plus 65,000 Blues, plus 65,000 greens, for more than 275,000,000,000,000 possible colors.
Derek Rhodes of Shutterstock took in the view from the top of the Empire State Building in F5RAW.
Apple ProRes 422
and Avid DNxHD codecs
Sony’s recording formats embody high performance, widespread adoption, and broad compatibility. But even Sony understands that you may prefer to keep your material in the Apple ProRes 422 codec through the entire production pipeline, or you may prefer the Avid DNxHD® codec. Now the F5 accommodates both with the addition of the CBK-55PD encoder board, sold separately. The extra-cost option enables you to drop F5 files directly into compatible software.
The CBK-55BK dock transforms the F55 with the familiar ergonomics and proper balance of a shoulder mount camera.
Put your shoulder into it
Sony’s CBK-55BK shoulder-mount dock for the F55 is another game changer. Slide the camera into the dock and suddenly you’ve got the familiar ergonomics of a true shoulder-mount camera. Slip on a B4 lens (adapter sold separately), switch into Center Scan mode and suddenly you’ve got the same angle of view, depth of field, and operability as a broadcast camera. The F55 can be a 35 mm camera for one shot. And a 2/3-inch camera for the next!
Designed to work in your world
From small owner-operators to big-budget productions, the F55 has you covered with the camera world’s most robust range of recording options. You’ve got a choice of five resolutions and six codecs. From the industry standby MPEG-2 codec to the most advanced true 16-bit linear RAW recording, the systems are carefully tailored to preserve maximum picture quality at each bit rate. And they’re compatible with a full catalogue of third-party systems for native color correction and editing.
This prodigious range of codecs is expected to get even greater in June 2015 with the addition of Apple ProRes 4444 RGB recording at up 330 Mbps, with a firmware update free to owners of the CBK-55PD
The Transformer: from F5 to F55
Life moves forward. Opportunities emerge. Careers develop. That’s why Sony created an upgrade path. Now you can start with the F5, master the camera and earn a living. And when the time is right, you can add on-board 4K recording in XAVC I and real-time 4K output with the CBKZ-55FX downloadable software license, sold separately. Or transform your F5 into an F55 with the CBK-55UK upgrade kit, sold separately. You’ll reap the natural skin tones of Sony’s S-Gamut color filter array, the geometric integrity of Sony’s frame image scan, and more.
“APEX: the Story of the Hypercar” by boutique production company, TangentVector documents the creation of the Koenigsegg One:1. Photo credit: Jalopnik / GF Williams.