LAS VEGAS—Panasonic grew its 4K acquisition line—from handhelds to the studio to cine—for this year’s NAB Show.
The new UX series of 4K handheld camcorders represent the successor line to the AVCCam HD series. Two models are in development now for a fall release—the premium AG-UX180 and the standard AG-UX90. The UX180 features a one-inch MOS sensor, 20x optical zoom, 60p recording and an expected list price of less than $4,000. The UX90 features the same sensor, 15x zoom and 30p recording for under $3,000. Both will record up to 4096x2160 and 3840x2160 to SD cards. The UX180 does dual-codec recording in UHD and HD. Variable frame-rate recording is planned for HD mode.
For the studio, Panasonic announced the immediate availability of the AK-UC3000 and the AK-UC5000 cameras. The UC5000—Panasonic’s new flagship studio camera—features two-thirds 3-CMOS sensors andwill output 1080/239.76p. It’s priced at $42,000. The UC3000 uses a single MOS sensor with an internal conversion lens for 4K 60p output, features a B4 lens mount and a dynamic range of -6 to 36 dB. High dynamic range will be support with a future firmware update. The UC3000 is priced at $37,000.
A new camera control unit, the AK-UCU500, provides power up to 6,600 feet over hybrid fiber and outputs 4K and HD simultaneously. The CCU is priced at $19,000.
Panasonic also announced the immediate availability of sub-six pound VariCam LT 4K cine camcorder, capable of handling 4K, UHD, 2K and HD, as well as high dynamic range. The LT also features new codecs that enable capture at up to 240 fps.
The vendor also announced a collaboration with Canon to support IP interoperability. Panasonic, which joined Alliance for IP Media Solutions in March, is demonstrating video-over-IP on the NAB Show floor with a 10 GbE switch connecting the Canon and Panasonic booths. In addition, the company adopted the TicoAlliance codec with an eye toward 4K and 8K transmission.
Panasonic also is teaming up with Teradek to create switcher bundles with Teradek’s Cube encoders to enable streaming out of the switcher over IP to cloud-based streaming services.
On the storage front, Panasonic brought its freeze-ray optical disc-based data archive platform for cold and warm applications with IOPS and transfer speeds of 360 Mbps to 1 Gbps per rack. Panasonic is accepting alliance freeze-ray partners to disseminate the technology.
