Cameras are not just the source of images for TV shows and live sports coverage, as well as—of course—feature films; they also help create the look and style of a production.
As with many of the previously standalone components in modern broadcast workflows, though, the camera is becoming part of a bigger system. Cameras are increasingly likely to be networked to other devices, with the consequent need for more interconnectivity on location or in the studio, which ultimately offers greater operational features and flexibility to both camera operators and the production team.
This is encapsulated by the acquisition of German camera and lighting manufacturer ARRI, a hugely influential name in cinema history that has moved more into broadcasting in recent years, by compatriot company the Riedel Group. Riedel made its name in intercoms and communications, but later moved into a wider, connected digital world with a range of distributed video networking systems.
‘Highly Complementary’
The deal was announced just before April’s NAB Show, where David Bermbach, co-managing director of ARRI with Christian Richter, described the combination of the two companies as “highly complementary,” as it blends Riedel’s infrastructure and audio and video communications systems with cameras and lighting from ARRI.
“In the future it [will be] not so much about selling just products but end-to-end solutions,” he said. “I see that for cinema as well as for the live broadcast field. End-to-end [is] where the potential really lies now business-wise.”
The general camera market is already moving towards this goal, and the latest developments from other major manufacturers in this direction were evident at the 2026 NAB Show. Blackmagic Design introduced a 100G version of its URSA Cine 12K LF (large format) camera, which is not only aimed squarely at live production but is also part of the company’s wider 100G ecosystem.
“The URSA Cine 12K was originally designed to be a cinematic camera, but a lot of customers [began] requesting to use it both in a live signal workflow [and] record locally in 12K for later use,” Bob Caniglia, director of sales operations for North America at Blackmagic, said. “A few things needed to change for that, the first being the ability to connect [the camera] to an ATEM switcher for the proper color correction you would have in a live situation.”
Initially, this was achieved through two SDI outputs, but Caniglia said the addition of a 100G port to the URSA Cine 12K enables it to be part of large workflows at that transmission rate. Blackmagic’s other major NAB Show launch this year was the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, which it says is the first cinema camera designed for live production using Apple Immersive Video. The camera has already been used to cover NBA games, Caniglia said, again with the 100G capability enabling it to work in a live-TV setting.
Increase in Signals
Sony’s NAB Show lineup also reflected growing connectivity to and from live production cameras. The 3000 and 5000 series, which have been on the market since 2019 and gradually upgraded in recent years—including four-times-4K support for the 5500 and higher frame rates on 3000-series cameras to enable slow-motion capabilities for high-end sports coverage—were, in the words of Rob Willox, director of product marketing for live media solutions at Sony, further “refreshed” through increased connectivity capacity.
“It was a big customer request to send many more signals between the cameras and the camera control unit,” Willox said. “This includes multiple channels of teleprompter, talent monitors, the secondary monitor and more return channels to the viewfinder overall, so just a little increased scope of signals that can be had between the cameras, the operators and the interface to the talent.”
Also in the last few years, Sony has introduced networks and software applications that provide greater connectivity to cameras through the CNA-2 camera control network adapter. This provides the ability to assign different cameras from different studios to different remote control panels, Willox said. This has now developed into a “backbone” for camera and network management that allows multiple venues to be controlled from a central location during major events.
Networked control was also a highlight from Panasonic at the NAB Show. The company introduced an Image Adjust Pro plug-in for Panasonic’s Media Production Suite that allows centralized management of up to 20 studio and PTZ cameras per license from a PC or tablet.
Mike Bergeron, senior product manager, live video production ecosystems at Panasonic North America, said the free plug-in is a conglomeration of the software tools Panasonic provides to manage its PTZ cameras.
“The Image Adjust Pro is a software master setup tool that displays itself as a bunch of our camera paint boxes, and it works across the board with the studio cameras and the box cameras and the high-end PTZ cameras and allows you to manage all of those on the same platform,” he said.
‘Cinematic Aesthetic’
Grass Valley focused on the continuing expansion of its AMPP infrastructure, which now includes support for NDI 6.3. This allows IP video workflows, such as HDR sources, to be carried in and out. The next step in terms of camera operation is how to automate such functions as shading, particularly for multiple cameras, Director of Product Marketing Klaus Weber said.
“Things like AI come into question,” he said. “How can it help, for example, to make sure all cameras are aligned to the same look? These topics are being discussed and there are no solutions yet but it is an area we are researching.”
On the camera front, the LDX 110, introduced last year as an entry-level model, was shown with three times the speed capability for super slo-mo. Also on display were the LDX 180 and LDX C180, again launched in 2025. These were designed with a Super 35mm imager front end to bring a “cinematic aesthetic” to live productions.
The difference between GV’s approach to this growing requirement—compared to its competitors—was to use an existing live camera system and add a film optical block, instead of modifying a cinematography camera, Weber noted.
ARRI began to move into broadcast more than five years ago. At its NAB Show press conference, management acknowledged it was continuing to address the growing trend towards using cinema tools to cover sports and live events. Blackmagic’s Caniglia aslo acknowledged there is now more “crossing of the streams,” with cinematic cameras used in live broadcasts. This has led it to market the URSA Cine as two cameras in one, covering live broadcasts as well as features and TV shows, he said.
Sony has a background in Super 35mm through its cinematography cameras, and although the company is seeing demand for the format in live broadcast, Willox said it would likely be best suited to one or two cameras in a production rather than all of them.
“That longer depth of field plays a little better on replays and being able to see everything that happened within the playing surface, rather than segments of the playing surface,” he said.
Cameras will doubtless continue to develop as they always have, but it is now clear this must happen as part of an overall production infrastructure.
