No longer under wraps, Panavision today unveiled in advance of Cine Gear Expo working prototypes of their new Millennium DXL 8K Digital Cinema Camera.  The DXL was developed through an unprecedented collaboration between Panavision, Light Iron, and RED.  Accessories and impressive design features come courtesy of Panavision, while the 8K sensor is sourced from RED Digital Cinema, and new color science with optimized workflow is delivered by Light Iron.  The project is under the leadership of Michael Cioni, DXL Product Director and President of Light Iron, which goes a long way in explaining Panavision’s 2014 acquisition of Light Iron.  Of course, Panavision will also provide a wide variety of lenses, both anamorphic and spherical, many of which are being custom designed for the new camera system.

The Digital Millennium DXL is said capture more than 20-megapixels of true 4K anamorphic pictures from the full frame 35-megapixel 16-bit 8K CMOS sensor.  Besides the 8K RAW files, the DXL can also record simultaneous 4K proxy files in ProRes or DNx.  It can shoot 60fps at full 8K, (8192 x 4320,) or 75fps at 8K 2.4:1, (8192 x 3456.)  The Millennium DXL body is under 10lbs with seemingly very intelligent modular design.

The new system will be rented exclusively through Panavision and will be available in early 2017. I’ve just returned from the Press event held at the Light Iron offices in Hollywood and can tell you that the images are quite impressive!  I recommend you see for yourself as working prototypes and a demo reel will be on display at the Panavision and Light Iron booth at Cine Gear Expo this weekend.

Reported by:  James Mathers

Cinematographer and Founder of DCS