OK, OK, so it’s not a Sony camera. So, why am I writing about it? Well I think it’s very interesting and Sony don’t have anything quite like it.
Fujifilm have announced that they are developing a digital cinema camera that is based on their large format GFX-100II digital stills camera. They say it’s “in development” but they have been showing samples at InterBee in Japan and there are pictures of it on the Fujifilm website, so it can’t be all that far from being launched.
The sensor in the GFX-100II is a huge 43.8 x 32.9 mm large format sensor with 102MP. It’s not quite as big as some medium format cameras, but it is 1.7x larger than a full frame sensor.
The sensor is made by Sony and it’s a great shame that Sony haven’t put this into a camera, although Sony would have to come up with a new very clever lens mount system if they wanted to allow owners of existing E-Mount lenses to use them to shoot cropped.
In the GFX-100II Fujifilm do some very clever things with the sensor such as offering the ability to choose between a slower (possibly 14 bit) readout that gives increased dynamic range, a touch less noise and additional tonal information or a faster readout speed (that is probably 12 bit) with much less rolling shutter but also slightly less dynamic range. At least they give you the choice and you can switch between the readout modes depending on what each shot needs the most.
LOTS OF SCAN MODES:
You can shoot using the full sensor width at 4K or with a special 5.8K 2.35:1 scan mode and when used like this with a suitable lens such as the Fujifilm GF 55mm f1.7 the results are gorgeous. Take a look at the film below, shot with the GFX-100II.
If you want to shoot at 8K this is also possible by cropping the sensor to very slightly less than Full Frame. And then from this you could also shoot Super 35 at around 5.7K after cropping. Additionally the camera has several anamorphic shooting modes including open gate 3:2. So, that large format sensor opens up lots of possibilities, you are not limited to large format, Full Frame and Super 35 are possible and look great.
ADAPTABLE LENS MOUNT:
The GFX lens mount can easily be adapted to PL, Canon EF, Nikon, M42 and many others. Looking at the pictures the Eterna has a locking version of the GFX mount. The camera has special modes for the Fuji Premista lenses and Fujifilm say they are working on power zooms and other lenses for the Eterna.
RECORDING CODECS
Recording codecs in the GFX-100II include internal ProRes, H265 and H264, so plenty of decent options and its even possible to output raw to an Atomos recorder at up to 8K. I would expect to see all of these same options in the Eterna and the quality of the H265 encoder is extremely good with the ability to choose between I frame only and Lon GoP at a wide range of compression ratios.
CONNECTIVITY
Looking at the pictures of the Eterna you can see that it has an SDI out, HDMI out, Ethernet, Genlock and timecode connectors. There are also lemo connectors and hirose connectors – presumably for accessory power and lens options.
EDIT- It has been revealed that it does have a built in ND filter.
And the name – Eterna. Well that comes from one of the film stocks that Fujifilm used to make and it’s also one of the built in film look presets that the camera has.
I was just thinking last night about how AI is impacting the photography world (I’m a long time commercial still photographer). Then I thought how is it, when phones are so good at video and stills, that camera companies keep coming up with bigger and supposedly better video cameras. Then I read an article about new Zeiss, Arri and Cooke cinema lenses! Who the heck is buying these things?! I know for the really expensive stuff it’s the rental houses; but are budget still there to rent this stuff? I’m in the US where the economy isn’t exactly strong and Hollywood is supposedly struggling. Hopefully these camera companies know something I don’t and they understand/know there is indeed a very strong market demanding, and buying/renting all of these new cameras, lenses etc.
AI can do clever things, but something most are overlooking is that most AI tools work by taking something that already exists or is already known and manipulating it. AI doesn’t really create new stuff.
So – without good images, AI wouldn’t be able to do what it does. And where do these great images come from in the first place?
Phone cameras can deliver images that on the face of it look very good. But on large screens or when used in less than ideal situations flaws become visibly apparent in those images. There is absolutely a place for tiny phone cameras that use AI and other processing tricks to mimic things like shallow DoF but these processing tricks are often fooled and don’t always look good. Plus the user often has little control over the end result.
AI has a place, and it will change almost everything. But it was also said that cinema would be the end of theatre and other live performances. But humans like to see real things, real images of real people, real images of nature, not fakes.
So, the ability to capture and create minimally processed images that look amazing will remain desirable for a very long time. The cost of these new cameras and lenses is a tiny fraction of what it was 10 years ago. A great many people get a huge amount of satisfaction out of crafting a beautiful image using skill, a pretty lens and a nice camera and just as many enjoy watching such imagery.
Very often when people are finding their money doesn’t go as far as it used to they will cut back on going out and turn to TV shows and streaming platforms for entertainment. While Hollywood is currently going through problems many of which have been created by the shift from an old theatrical release business model to the new streaming business model, audiences still want more content and there remains a very large appetite for high quality film and video. This apetite is likely to grow, not shrink. The industry is struggling to adapt to this new landscape, but it will. It is likely we will see fewer vast budget mega films but more lower cost but equally high quality content from new film makers that are happy to work with these new lower cost cameras and lenses and take advantage of AI tools for special effects or to speed up their post production workflow. So the demand for high quality film making tools will remain. The market for them is larger today than it has ever been.
Hi Alister. Thank you very much for taking the time to comment. Indeed, AI takes from what has already been created. I pray that profit over quality doesn’t lead to a “it’s good enough — use AI” statement coming from whomever is in charge of various creative endeavors. Your comment gives me hope that creators continually reach for the top when it comes to their concepts and the tools they use to create/capture that content. Thank you again, Alister!