by Peter Pachal on MashableCanon has a message for everyone in pro video: 1080p is over.
The next big thing is 4K, a video format that pumps up the number of pixels to 4,096 x 2,160 — or more than four times as many as in 1080p — and Canon has just announced a truckload of equipment that hits this next milestone in digital video. The centerpiece: a DSLR camera that shoots in 4K.
The Canon EOS-1D C, a variant of the current flagship 1D X, is the monster camera that can capture video in 4K.
The camera’s full-frame CMOS sensor records 4K video at 24 frames per second. It can also record regular 1080p at either 24 or 60 fps. Canon says the EOS-1D C will arrive in 2012 and cost a whopping $15,000 (by comparison, the 1D X is $6,800).
Besides the EOS-1D, Canon also said it was developing two “digital cinematography” video cameras for shooting 4K — the EOS C500 and C500 PL — and those will be capable of capturing 4,096 x 2,160 footage at 60 fps. Canon is only at the prototype stage on these, and it predicts a list price of about $30,000 on the new cams.
And of course, what good is 4K resolution if you have nothing to display it on (besides that Sony projector we saw at CES)? Canon also unveiled a prototype of a 30-inch 4K monitor for industrial applications. No pricing on that yet, but Canon says it’ll have more to say about it before the end of the year.
Clearly, Canon wants a piece of the digital-filmmaker market that’s up till now been largely dominated by the versatile RED cameras. RED has offered cameras that shoot 4K resolution for some time — and at price points accessible by small companies as well as studios.
The star of Canon 4K sideshow is clearly the EOS-1D C camera, since it brings 4K to the DSLR arena for the first time — even at an exorbitant price. It captures 4K video straight to a CompactFlash card, and the included software is said to ensure “no loss of quality” when viewing 4K footage on an external monitor. Plus you get all the bells and whistles of the EOS-1D X.
It should be noted that 4K, while an exciting technology for digital cinema, has little value to the home-video experience as it exists today. At typical viewing distances, today’s big-screen TVs are already “retina displays” — meaning that the addition of more pixels makes no difference to the human eye.
Adding 4K to the mix won’t make a perceivable difference, unless you are sitting close enough to earn a rebuke from your mother.
What do you think of Canon’s 4K binge? Share your high-resolution thoughts in the comments.
The Canon EOS-1D C camera can capture 4K video (4,096 x 2,160) at 24 fps. It's based on Canon's flagship, the 1D X.
Canon is also developing dedicated video cameras that record in the 4K format, which will be able to capture 4K footage at up to 60 fps.
Source; Mashable.com
