Vision Research Creates New Possibilities with Upgrades to the Phantom Flex4K High-Speed Digital Cinema Camera
Vision Research, a leading manufacturer of digital high‑speed imaging systems, has announced a new wave of upgrades coming to its popular Phantom® Flex4K digital cinema camera. With the ability to record up to 1,000 frames-per-second (fps) at full 4K resolution, the possibilities for what this camera can capture are endless, and it has found a home among professionals in live sports broadcast, commercial and cinema applications.
Upgrades to the Phantom Flex4K include:
- Apple ProRes 422 HQ, as an alternative to the camera’s native raw workflow
- Audio recording for sync-sound and higher frame rates
- Double the memory, with up to 128GB of RAM, enabling longer high-speed capture
“The Phantom Flex4K has quickly become the go-to camera for high-speed projects in the cinema industry” says Toni Lucatorto, Media Product Manager at Vision Research. “With the upgrades that we announced at NAB, we give Flex4K users even more flexibility in the way they can use the camera. No longer does it have to be considered purely as a specialty tool.”
These new features benefit both high-speed and standard frame rate capture. With a RAM size of 128GB, the camera now can capture 10 seconds of real time at 4K/1000 fps. The additional RAM also enables more segments in a multi-cine workflow, often used to support continuous recording and playback in a live sports replay environment.
High-speed 4K recording notoriously results in an extremely large amount of data. A typical one-day shoot will end up with several TBs of raw files. The option to choose the ProRes 422 HQ codec in-camera now provides a high-quality 4K recording alternative that saves well over half of the required storage space and ultimately provides a faster, simplified workflow.
Users now can leverage the audio capabilities of the camera, making the Flex4K the first high-speed camera with integrated audio. The audio is recorded as uncompressed .wav files at frame rates at or above 23.976 fps, and saved as separate files within the RAM or CineMag IV. The signal can be monitored via AES output or a headphone jack on top of the Phantom Flex4K, and users can take advantage of on-camera meters during recording and playback.
Additional high‑performance features include:
- Excellent image quality with low noise and high dynamic range
- Up to 1,000 fps at 4K and 2,000 fps at 2K
- Phantom CineMag™IV recording media
- Multi-channel 3G SDI video system supports 720p, 1080p, 3160p, SDI and component viewfinders
- Full featured on-camera control interface
- Interchangeable, optional battery mounts
- Lens mount interchangeable between PL, Canon EF and Nikon F/G standards
Vision Research previewed these upgrades to the Phantom Flex4K at NAB 2015 with full availability planned for Summer 2015. Be sure to visit Vision Research booth #C11435 for a demonstration and overview of a broad range of Phantom digital high-speed cameras and workflow solutions.
On Twitter, follow the Flex4K @PhantomFlex4K, Vision Research @PhantomHiSpeed; friend us on Facebook at “Flex4K” and “visionresearch” ,and keep up to date with recent innovations on the Vision Research blog at http://www.visionresearch.com/blog.
About Vision Research
Vision Research is a leading manufacturer of high-speed digital imaging systems that are indispensable across a wide variety of applications including defense, automotive, engineering, science, medical research, industrial manufacturing, packaging, sports broadcast, TV production and digital cinematography. The Wayne, N.J.-based company designs and manufactures the most comprehensive range of digital high-speed cameras available today, all of which deliver unsurpassed light-sensitivity, image resolution, acquisition speed and image quality.
Over the course of its 60+ year history, Vision Research has earned numerous awards in recognition of its innovations in high-speed digital camera technology and sensor design, including a technical Emmy and an Academy Award®. Vision Research digital high-speed cameras add a new dimension to the sense of sight, allowing the user to see details of an event when it’s too fast to see, and too important not to™. For additional information regarding Vision Research, please visit www.visionresearch.com.
Vision Research is a business unit of the Materials Analysis Division of AMETEK Inc., a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices.
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