In Broadcast - July 2017 - 41

41

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 7 - Issue 6

InReply

Panasonic EVA1 Promises
Versatile Camera System
At Cine Gear Expo 2017 in Hollywood, California,
Panasonic Cinema Product Manager, Mitch Gross, fielded some
general questions on the unveiled AU-EVA1 which is to have
a newly designed 5.7K Super 35 sensor...

For whom is the EVA1 designed?
Mitch Gross: Depending on the type
of work you do, EVA1 answers a lot
of different needs. It is designed to
be a versatile machine that you can
plug into a lot of different situations.
There are people who have been
shooting on smaller cameras such
as DSLRs or all-in-one camcorders,
and they have felt limitations. At
the same time, you have other
people who have been shooting on
large production cameras and they
sometimes have need for a camera
that is slimmed down and more
portable. What we wanted to do
was build a camera that could sit
in-between those spaces where you
could essentially rise up from the
small cameras where you want more
versatility and you don't have to fight
the machine sometimes. Or you could
slim down from a bigger camera for
projects where a larger system may
be too difficult to deal with or simply
too expensive for the production.
What will be the main shooting
applications for EVA1?
MG: I think you're going to see a
lot of people shooting documentary
style work with the EVA1 - talking
head interviews and B-roll shots in
the field. It's very convenient for that
style of shooting. You're also going to
have people who do news shooting,
as well as live event type work such
as weddings and sports videography.
In addition, there will be people
who will want to rig the camera
for specific types of remote work,

meaning mounting the camera out on
a crane, or jib arm.
What are some of the specific
features EVA1 gives you that a
compact DSLR or mirrorless camera
won't?
MG: The first thing is that people
who are shooting with a [Panasonic
Lumix] GH5, is that they are shooting
with a Micro Four Thirds sensor and
EVA1 contains a Super 35 sensor,
which gives you a different look
and feel. The larger body size of the
camera, the design of the interface,
and where the LCD is located all give
you better access to the controls
to make adjustments while rolling.
With small DSLR cameras, you can't
comfortably change things as you're
rolling in a run-and-gun style and
that's a problem - you need to be
able to adjust on the fly.
In addition, we have proper
connectors - real XLR audio inputs,
full-size HDMI and locking SDI
connectors for video outputs. We
have a full-fledged camera that's
designed for video production. It
has a removable side hand grip with
integrated controls. Another example
of control you have while shooting
video are the integrated ND filters.
Can you explain the Dual Native ISO
feature?
MG: Panasonic developed a process
to read the sensor's photosites
in a fundamentally different way
than it's traditionally done. More
information can be extracted without

degrading the image. That effectively
gives the imager greater sensitivity
and separates the signal from the
background noise. It's essentially a
different way of reading the camera
sensor and it gives it two different
native ISOs or sensitivities. Whereas
in all others cameras, you just dial
the gain up to get more sensitivity
but you get a lot of noise in the
image. You can also do that on the
EVA1, but if you just switch between
the two native ISOs, they'll look the
same as far as the amount of noise.
There are two ways that one might
likely want to use this. First, you
can shoot with zoom lenses when
normally you would have to shoot
with primes because zoom lenses
generally aren't as fast. Instead of
having to switch prime lenses, you
have more versatility while still
getting the right exposure. Another
way of using Dual Native ISO is the
ability to lower your light levels. In
shooting with lower light levels, you
will save money, time, and you can
shoot with more practical lights in
your surroundings.
What does 5.7K resolution do for
you?
MG: There are three things. When
you start with one resolution and
you go to a lower resolution, it
always improves the resolving power
of the final image. When you start
with more and get to less, more
information comes through. The
result is a more finely detailed image.
That can be true when you go from

a 5.7K sensor to 4K, UHD, 2K, HD, or
720p - all of which are going to be
available on EVA1. Second, there's
more colour information. At 5.7K
resolution, you have more individual
examples of red, green, and blue
information - all of which enrich the
resulting image. Third, in a future
firmware update, there will be an
option for a RAW data output from
the camera to a separate recorder
and that will be available with the full
5.7K resolution.
What kind of recording media will
the EVA1 use?
MG: Part of the design ethos of the
camera was to not only make the
camera itself affordable but it had
to be affordable to use. The EVA1
uses SD cards to record footage
and it can record in various codecs,
including 4K 10-bit 422 to fast SDXC
cards. The cards are readily available
everywhere in the world so if you're
a documentary shooter in a remote
location, you can purchase more
cards and stick them in the sides of
most laptop computers, or pick up an
adaptor at any electronics store. The
usability of the camera is high and
the expense is kept at a minimum.
http://business.panasonic.co.uk/professional-camera/camcorders/AU-EVA1-cinema-compact-camera# http://www.inbroadcast.com http://business.panasonic.co.uk/professional-camera/camcorders/AU-EVA1-cinema-compact-camera#
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - July 2017
