Products: Genesis

While Panavision developed its “Panavised” version of Sony's CineAlta some four years ago, many cinematographers felt it supported an HD technology still limited in resolution by a smaller CCD target and other constraints.

All that changed with the recent announcement of the Genesis camera system. Co-developed by Panavision and Sony, it offers a single 12.4-megapixel RGB sensor, sized in the familiar Super 35mm format. That allows the camera to use Panavision's existing spherical 35mm lenses, yielding the depth of field of a 35mm film camera.

There's a better recording technology, too. A modified next-generation Sony SRW-1 HD VTR attaches to the body to mimic the look and handling of a Panavision Panaflex, while recording full scan 10-bit signals for each RGB channel. Dual-link 4:4:4 HD-SDI outputs, a 4:2:2 HD-SDI monitor output, and an integrated fiber-optic adapter complete the system.

Genesis — could that name be a tweak of Dalsa's Origin moniker? — will be manufactured at Panavision's facility in Woodland Hills, Calif. Rentals should come by year's end. www.panavision.com