PARAMUS, N.J.—Sony Electronics today introduced the HDC-F5500 system camera featuring a Super 35mm, 4K CMOS global shutter image sensor that enables shallow depth of field, during a live, online press conference.
The latest in the HDC camera series, the HDC-F5500 offers users the creative expression of a cinematic look in a system camera form factor. With its global shutter effect, rolling shutter distortion and flash band are prevented, Sony said.
The camera supports 120fps, making it appropriate for production of sports and live entertainment. Fox Sports plans to make one of the first uses of the HDC-F5500 system camera for live sports during its production of Games 3 and 5 of the American League Championship Series, a Fox source revealed.
The camera also offers high sensitivity and low noise, making it well-suited for capturing dark scenes, the company said.
“There is a strong desire to integrate the ‘cinematic look’ into sports and entertainment productions to heighten emotions and enable more connected storytelling,” said Sony Electronics Pro Division president Theresa Alesso.
“Listening to the voice of our customers, we’ve taken our expertise with 35mm cinema cameras and our learnings in industry-leading system cameras and created a new Super 35mm system camera that will match perfectly and easily work alongside our HDC camera series, as well as our portfolio of production solutions," Alesso added.
The HDC-F5500 features a motorized eight-step HD filter, which is used in Sony’s VENICE digital motion picture camera. It can be controlled locally or remotely, thereby adding greater flexibility, it said.
Precision selection of focus depth and controlled capture of fast-moving subjects—even in bright lighting conditions—are supported, the company said.
The new system camera supports wide color gamut, including BT.2020 and S-Gamut3/S-Gamut3.cine. The camera supports Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) high dynamic range (HDR with BT.2020 WCG) and matches seamlessly with the color science driving Sony’s cameras, it said.
The system camera offers several workflow enhancements to improve the efficiency of live production. It integrates with Sony’s IP Live production system via the HDCU-5000 series, which supports the SMPTE ST 2110 and AMWA MOS standards.
The camera can use the new HDCE-TX50 IP extension adaptor for remote production or multi-camera flight pack operation without a CCU. It is also compatible with Sony’s existing SR Live for HDR workflow with HLG and S-Log3, the company said.
It also features Automatic Restoration of Illumination Attenuation (ARIA), a newly developed function that calibrates and compensates picture appearance when shooting at a distance with select supported PL and zoom lenses, it said.
The HDC-F5500 includes a new viewfinder slide mechanism compatible with existing large viewfinders that minimizes the camera operator’s body movement while panning and allows for use in tight or challenging environments, it said.
It also offers an ergonomic grip for handheld work and side tally lamp. Direct output of 4K/12G-SDI from the camera facilitates wireless operation and direct recording, Sony said.
Sony is targeting December for availability of the new system camera.
More information is available of the company’s website.
