This is not an Alpha camera news but it’s nice to hear what Sony releases for the professional market. It gives you an idea of where the technology is going. Sony just announced that the new Cine Alta F65 will be launched in January 2012. Let’s look at the terrific specs. It has a 8K CMOS sensor that shoots 4K2K video. Now what really makes me crazy is that it has a 16-bit Linear RAW File output capability!!! RAW video recording is something that I would love ot see on professional fullframe SLT cameras! Below you can read the full press release. One more thing, the F65 costs $65,000 USD.

PRESS RELEASE:

Sony announces a monstrous Cine Alta camera

Sony Electronics officially raised the curtain on its F65 CineAlta™ digital motion picture camera system, ushering in a new era of digital cinematography. Before a select audience of American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) members, press and high-profile industry professionals, Sony screened new F65 footage shot by leading DPs, demonstrated new features and announced its roll-out plan for the revolutionary camera, including availability and a surprisingly accessible price of just $65,000 (with viewfinder).

Announced here only days before the F65 will be shown to a worldwide audience at the IBC conference in Amsterdam, the new camera clearly signals Sony’s commitment to the Hollywood community and to developing the production technologies content creators need.
The F65 derives true 4K resolution – and beyond – at the point of image capture. “4K” resolution is 4096 x 2160, which is more than four times greater than the full HD (1920×1080) spec. Its unique 8K image sensor, with approximately 20 total megapixels, offers higher image fidelity than any other digital cinema production camera. With 16-bit Linear RAW File output capability, the F65 creates the gateway to an end-to-end 4K file-based mastering workflow.
“This is the camera Hollywood has asked for, designed specifically for filmmakers,” said Alec Shapiro, senior vice president of Sony’s Professional Solutions of America group. “The ability to shoot content in true native 4K resolution lets filmmakers capture more of what they’re seeing through the lens to fully realize their vision. The F65′s incredible imager captures more data, which translates to more information that can be put up on the screen. And access to an open and inclusive platform enables the integration of an F65 file-based workflow into other systems, creating truly exciting, and limitless, production opportunities.”

You can download the full presentation at Sony.net (Click here). You can also click on the thumbnails below to enlarge the image. So what are the key info?
– Sony is already the number one producer of CCD image sensors and want’s to become number one in the CMOS market too.
– The biggest market for image sensors is the cellular market (Example: The iPhone 4 uses a Sony sensor)
– Sony is working to increase, both image quality and frame rate.

But here is the real big news: Sony wants to create a “Super Reality” sensor that surpasses Human Vision. That’s why they created a new filter layout which includes “W” pixels (no color) to increase the dynamic range. At first look this will come at cost of the color information but I guess Sony has some kind of “secret” weapon to avoid that. Can’t wait to see such a senor in use in a “real” camera.

Personal note: Would love if Sony sensors could come close to the B&W image quality of [shoplink 8756 ebay]medium format cameras[/shoplink].

Since yesterday I am getting messages from readers saying that there is an error on SAR. My technician told to me that IE8 got an update yesterday and it doesn’t read some javascript well. That’s why those of you browsing with IE8 are having problems displaying the website. I am trying to fix the issue but I strongly recommend you to upgrade to IE9 or use any other browser like Safari, Chrome or Firefox.What is important is that you understand that it is not our fault, it is Microsoft that made a mess ;)

Thanks for your understanding!