4. The Genesis is Panavision's high-end digital movie
camera, which uses a proprietary; full frame 35 mm-
width, 1.78:1 (16:9) aspect ratio, 12.4-megapixel, RGB
filtered CCD. It was first used by a feature crew to shoot
Bryan Singer's Superman Returns and was shortly
followed up thereafter by the World War I film Flyboys.
However, the CGI-heavy nature of these two movies
meant that ultimately the comedy Scary Movie 4 was the
first theatrically released feature sourced primarily from
the Genesis camera.
CAMERA DETAILS.
5. Unlike the 2/3" 3-CCD imaging system used in Sony's HDW-F900 camera
(used in Attack of the Clones), the Genesis uses a single 12.4 megapixel CCD
chip with the same width as a Super 35 mm film frame. The "Panavized"
CineAltas did not use Panavision's existing range of 35 mm film lenses and
have different depth-of-field characteristics.
Most photographic lenses designed for film cameras cannot be adapted to
work on 3-chip video cameras. In many cases, the prism block simply leaves
no room for the rear element of the lens[citation needed]. In cases where the
lens does fit, the resulting optical aberrations created by the prism (primarily
spherical) would destroy image quality. Apart from this, the sensors on a "2/3
inch" video camera are closer in size to a 16 mm film frame and so would
produce a similar depth of field.
CAMERA BACKGROUND.
6. Panavision originally tried to overcome this problem with optical adaptors that fit between
the cine lens and the video camera, but these have all produced an unacceptable drop in
image quality. Most productions using the Sony HDCAM cameras therefore used lenses
from Zeiss, Angenieux, Canon or Fujinon.[citation needed]
Apart from this, there were a number of operational problems with both the lenses and
cameras used for Attack of the Clones [citation needed], and so for Revenge of the Sith,
George Lucas severed his long-standing relationship with Panavision in 2003, obtaining
newer-model Sony HDC-F950 cameras and lenses from Plus8Digital instead.
In an attempt to address these and other problems, Panavision followed this up in 2004
with the Genesis, a full bandwidth (4:4:4)[2] camera with improved colorimetry and
sensitometry-related specs and, probably most importantly, a Super 35 mm film-sized
recording area, thus making it focally compatible with regular Cine Primo lenses and giving
a true 35 mm depth of field.
CAMERA BACKGROUND.
7. The Genesis uses a 12.4 megapixel CCD chip, arranged in a 5760x2160
horizontally RGB filtered array. The vertical resolution is cut in half to 1080 by
pixel binning, so the final output pixel resolution is 1920x1080, about 2/3 the
resolution of a 2k film scan. The chip has an HDTV-style 16:9 (1.78:1) aspect
ratio, similar in size to Super35 3-Perf film. The CCD active area is .930 in. x .523
in. This is a significant breakthrough in that it allows just about any Panavision
spherical 35 mm cine lens to be used. The main imaging module of the Genesis is
made by Sony, but the exact relationship between the two companies is unclear,
since their joint partnership was dissolved in 2004 with Panavision's re-purchase
of the 8 % shareholding Sony bought in 2000.
The Genesis can record in a custom Panalog color space, which is a log color
space that is also 4:4:4, unlike traditional HD. The tone-curve is different from the
Cineon log format used for film post-production, but preserves highlight detail
that would be lost with typical video gamma correction.
CAMERA TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS.
8. There have also been numerous complaints about the small black and white
viewfinders. B&W finders are actually strongly preferred by generations of
broadcast camera operators, who understand that a high resolution black &
white finder is a very highly refined instrument. It has about 3 times the
resolution of a color finder, which makes achieving critical focus easier. An
influx of camera operators from the film industry however, has created
demand for a color viewfinder. To address this, Panavision uses the Sony
HDVF-C30W TFT color LCD viewfinder (960x540 pixels), which is
compatible with both the CineAlta and the Genesis cameras. A Digital cinema
camera competitor to the Genesis, the D-20, incorporates a reflex optical
viewfinder to address this concern. Other similar HD-resolution cameras are
the Sony F35, ARRI Alexa, and RedOne.
CAMERA TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
