1. Badger talks to Panasonic about the return of the
new, fighting-fit Varicam . . .
THE EMPEROR IS BACK
-and his new clothes are spectacular!

2. We live in a wondrous world - a world where, thanks to our ingenuity in creating amazing
technologies no corner is beyond our scrutiny. From the wastes of deserts so far above sea
level it is impossible to breathe without assistance, to the black, subterranean depths where lurk
creatures that have no knowledge of light, our world teems with life in all its glory - from the
sublimely simple to the outright bizarre. And we, the most complex and advanced of all the
species inhabiting this blue sphere, have an insatiable curiosity about those things that share
our home. We are captivated by far-flung and often breathtaking backdrops - and immersed in
the journey through life of its inhabitants.
Welcome to the world of the wildlife cinematographer. That most tenacious, most
committed - and often most patient of our species, with an inner desire to seek out these
worlds, and the talent to record the daily struggle for survival of those within it for us in a
stunning frame-by-frame story more gripping than the tautest thriller or drama...

3. In terms of getting a story to the screen, the world of the wildlife cinematographer provides some of the most
challenging conditions out there. Habitats can be remote, isolated - and virtually impossible to access, and
conditions can vary from biting, sub-zero camera-freezing cold to airless, humid lens-misting heat - and everything
in between. Subjects can be elusive, living underground, or high in a jungle canopy, or even underwater; and they
may be tiny, near-invisible insects - or huge, yet deceptively dangerous mammals. To capture these stories often
involves months - sometimes years - of intensive location work. And, come the moment, equipment that is equal
to the task - for the moment may come but once.Historically the fiefdom of large crews and cumbersome film
cameras, today the digital technologies rule, and one name has been inextricably linked with this dark art since the
jaw-dropping opening scenes of the BBC’s Planet Earth series first crossed our screens. That name is VARICAM -

4. and Panasonics flagship acquisition tool has been responsible for a huge proportion of the beautiful
slow-motion action scenes we have held our breath to, over the years. From the rippling muscles of Cheetahs
racing to capture their next meal, to the long, cold march of the Penguins through icy wonderlands - all have
fallen under Varicam’s lens and been delivered to us in awe-inspiring, oh-so-smooth slow motion. Now, after
a two year break in which Panasonic have done a huge amount of re-thinking, re-provisioning and
repositioning of the legendary camcorder, Varicam is returning - and it is leaner, meaner, and supremely fit
for purpose in the brave new world of 4K. The Emperor is back - and his new clothes are spectacular. Badger
spoke to Nigel Wilkes, Panasonics UK Group Manager, Professional Camera Solutions, and Rob Tarrant,
European Product Manager.

5. BADGER:
It’s been an interesting journey for Varicam over the
last few years hasn’t it?
NW:
It has. You have to remember that Varicam was
right there at the start of the HD revolution, 10, 12
years ago. Then, although there was 1080p we were
offering a 2/3” unit with 720p that could over and
undercrank, and produced beautiful filmic images
and great skin tones. That was the 27F, and it was the
camcorder that won a place on ‘Planet Earth’ -
in fact a large proportion of that series was shot on
Varicam.
BADGER:
And that was tape based - DVC PRO HD?
NW:
It was. But it captured the BBC’s attention. I remember
during ‘Planet Earth’ the crew went to shoot the
bird of paradise, in a dark jungle environment. It is a
jet-black bird, but it has a blue iridescent light on its
tail that had never been captured before. And the
Varicam got the shot, and that led to a huge uptake
of units for programmes like Frozen Planet and so
on - I think at one point there were 28 Varicams out
with the BBC.
BADGER:
And then tape died, didn’t it?
NW:
Yes… that was maybe 10 years ago? And we responded
with the 2700 and 3700 variants - also increasing the
resolution to 1080p. The 3700 was used on the BBC
series ‘Chimpanzee’ and Varicam basically
continued to be the camcorder of choice - it was
heavy, but it was really good in low light!
BADGER:
So Varicam became the darling of the wildlife and
natural history world, and I think it was used on stuff
like ‘Top Gear’. But then it kind of disappeared. So
what happened?
NW:
I guess we took a gap year, effectively. We took our
eye off Varicam, and turned our focus to 3D - which
at the time was big news. And in doing that, the
Varicam gap got plugged by other cameras - Red, of
course, Alexa and even Amira - and Sony’s F5/F55.
BADGER:
Well, we have the new Varicam offerings shipping as
we speak - so clearly there was a change of heart.
How and what did you do?
NW:
We realised we’d neglected Varicam and refocused
all our energies towards it. And we realised that here
was an opportunity to really do something radical.
When I explain this I often draw a triangle, with three
horizontal ‘slices’ if you like. The bottom ‘slice’
represents the huge, everyday market - on top of
that the narrower slice represents fly-on-the-wall
stuff, news, costume drama - that sort of thing. And
Varicam always sat really well in those camps. The
top piece, the smallest piece is also the most niche
- the 35mm arena, traditionally reserved for Arri and
the like - and that’s the market we’ve never truly
been able to crack. And we really wanted to put that
right. So, we had a lot of end users and other clever
people, mainly working under NDA’s, helping to nail
what Varicam needed to be - how it should work,
how it should look - the whole thing, really.
BADGER:
So was there a defining moment - when you knew
you were on the right track?
NW:
I guess that moment was around 18 months or two
years ago, and it was really to do with the form factor.
We decided to move away from the ENG style
offering and produce the new Varicam as a modular
offering. So it could be shoulder-mountable, but
equally it could sit on a crane, or under a helicopter
- and the business end could be remote from the
recording end.
BADGER:
And was that the thing that allowed you into the top
piece of your triangle?
NW:
It was part of it - but realistically the move to
4K - and that is true 4K at 4096 x 2160, with 4:4:4
combined with the modular approach did the trick.
And with the modular approach we could split the
offer, so we have a 4K 120fps unit, the Varicam 35, or
a Hi def 2/3” B4 unit, the HF model, with 240fps - it’s
totally the end users choice, and it also gives them a
clear upgrade route.
RT:
It really is a winning formula. Recently, the choice
has been either the colour and imagery from Alexa
but no 4K - or the 4K from RED but not the beautiful
colorimetry. What Varicam does is to combine both
elements into a true 4K ‘dream machine’. Plus the
modular design allows for Varicam to be used in all

10. sorts of environments, even where space is minimal.
The recorder either docks with the camera, or can be
connected with an umbilical cord and operated 30
metres from the camera itself - it is truly flexible. It
has a really good OLED viewfinder that really
sparkles, you have multi-codec in-camera, so you
can do 4K/UHD, reference 2K/HD and up to 6mbps
proxies simultaneously. Your dailies can be done
in-camera, which significantly streamlines workflow,
and there’s even in-camera colour correction.
BADGER:
How does Varicam hold up on the dynamic range
front? Everyone is quoting 14 stops of latitude these
days…
RT:
Varicam also has 14 stops of latitude but that’s 14
stops PLUS – and the plus is important, because
14 stops is conservative - in tests I’ve seen 16 stops
latitude out of Varicam - and over a large exposure
range, there’s no limitation there so it really is a good
working 14+ stops. Also there are two sweet spots in
the sensitivity. There is the native iso 800, but when
testing we found that there is another sweet spot
where the noise totally disappears, and that is at
5000 iso. And it really underlines the advantage of
a proprietory sensor, in that the sensor info can be
passed to the other circuitry of the camera, which is
already optimized to take advantage of the iso range
sweet spots. What we’re finding is that if you find
you need more gain in the shot, you can wind up
the iso to 5000, leave the gain alone and put in some
Neutral Density - it sounds bizarre but the results are
really superb!
BADGER:
And you’ve incorporated the Ultra codec in Varicam,
too?
RT:
Yes - AVC-Ultra is the main codec, and again, as it
is a proprietory codec it has been ‘harmonised’ to
give beautiful recordings - basically we’re now really
happy that the results from Varicam are world-class
- and that’s because we have control of everything
- from lens right through to card. Look, anyone can
get an off-the-shelf sensor, do the numbers, and add
a licensed codec for recording. In Varicam you have
35 years of developing cameras - all that skill, all that
experience – it’s basically an art form, developing
something as together as Varicam - and the pictures
and performance speak for themselves.
Our conversation had taken place at Wildscreen,
the Bristol based festival that likes to ‘showcase the
best’. And clearly, as far as Panasonic is concerned
the new, improved Varicam is right at home there.
It was certainly drawing a lot of interest. It is a long
time since I spoke to anyone about a product and
literally could feel the excitement pouring out of
the guy doing the show-and-tell. But there was no
mistaking it - Panasonic are excited about Varicam,
they’ve done their homework, taken things slowly,
and built something that from the specs, the gossip -
and the sheer beauty of the thing itself - promises to
give the interlopers a run for their money.
The Emperor is back. And his new clothes are,
indeed, spectacular.
Badger