The festival of cine cameras, not just from Red – Photo news of the week

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For decades, the camera market has been predominantly in Japanese hands, and the companies there are always watching each other: if one company has an innovation, it quickly becomes a trend that everyone picks up on. And new camera models are often quickly countered. One could easily get the idea that this week's presentations of cine cameras, i.e. cameras for TV and cinema productions, are subject to this effect.

But this is not the case. Rather, Canon, Fujifilm and Nikon have now presented their cameras and lenses within a few days because the IBC in Amsterdam takes place directly after the IFA in Berlin. This trade fair, formerly known as the "International Broadcasting Convention", now makes a point of only being called by its abbreviation. IBC is one of the world's largest industry gatherings, especially for the TV market, but not only. What manufacturers call cine cameras – At Canon, the "C" in the model name also stands for the intended use – has long been of interest to television, live streaming, streaming providers and web video. Also because the devices have become cheaper and cheaper in comparison.

Medium format sensor for filmmaking

Diversification is also continuing, as demonstrated by this week's three cine cameras: Canon and Nikon have quite compact devices that only develop their flexibility with an accessory cage called a "rig" – see the cover picture of this column. And Fujifilm has kept its GFX Eterna 55 in the conventional box design of cine cameras, with connections on almost all sides. The Eterna was announced over a year ago and has the medium format sensor of the GFX 100 II with 102 megapixels. Accordingly, the number in the model name also stands for the large image circle of 55 millimetres.

Because there is hardly a workflow or even a target system for more than 8K, in the Eterna with up to 30fps, this remains the highest resolution of the camera despite the large sensor. What is more important here is that many other resolutions can be filmed via open gate, i.e. the entire sensor surface. These include Cine 5.8K at a ratio of 2.39:1, 6.3K in Super35 format and some anamorphic formats. As you can see: It's all about the big picture for the big screen. This is also reflected in the dynamic range of 14 f-stops.

For such demands, the price of 16,500 US dollars is almost affordable compared to competitors such as Arri. And the fact that the camera, without lens, battery or the almost always necessary accessories, weighs two kilos is also irrelevant here. Such a device is only used for short hand-held shots, and even then usually by several people.

Nikon ZR – the first real Nikon Red

Nikon is taking a completely different approach with its first newly developed camera for filmmaking since it took over the Red company a year and a half ago. The Nikon ZR is a compact specialist weighing 540 grams with a folding display, interfaces and a Z bayonet. Hence the name: a Nikon Z, but with the R-ed claim. The company had already presented a modified, large Red with a Z bayonet at the beginning of 2025. However, this is a block like Fuji or Arri, the ZR is primarily intended to compete with Canon's C series.

The company has been successful with this series for a number of years because it allows you to have a mobile studio with you without any major compromises. Excellent audio recorder, more on this in a moment, equally good displays, internal recording of image and sound and still all connections: The cine-compacts are well established, and much cheaper than the large cinema boxes. We have a detailed report on the Nikon ZR, so here are just two highlights. The camera can record sound internally in 32-bit float format, which usually makes manual leveling unnecessary. The dynamic range is so wide that almost anything is possible in post-production.

And then there is the 3-megapixel display with a 4-inch diagonal in 16:10 format, which also leaves enough space for status information under a 16:9 image. It should be able to display the DCI-P3 color space in full and can be adapted with its own profiles (LUTs) just for the monitor. It goes without saying that it can be folded and swiveled. If you haven't already done so, you must have seen the displays of cine cameras for yourself. Compared to most system cameras for photos or even old Full HD camcorders, the difference is enormous. Many filmmakers do without the external additional monitors, which are actually standard because they are larger – but quite expensive and cumbersome in corresponding quality. The fact that the ZR only costs 2349 euros is probably mainly due to the fact that it does not go beyond 6K resolution. It will be released at the end of October.

Canon C50 with 7K

Canon has not yet managed to do this quite so cheaply, even though another model in the C series has now been released in the form of the Cinema EOS C50: 3800 euros for the 7K camera, over 1000 euros less than for the C70. Canon began its series of cine cameras with an RF bayonet five years ago with this camera. The even more affordable R5 C offers 8K, but is primarily optimized for an even smaller body and correspondingly fewer functions. As with the Nikon ZR, the C50 focuses primarily on open-gate filming and flexible page formats. However, the Canon is not capable of 32-bit float.

There is also a comprehensive report on this camera, which includes details of a special cine lens. Nikon does not yet have such a motorized 11-55mm zoom with an internal 1.5x extender. In the world of photography, this is called a teleconverter. This is an advantage when filming, because you have 16-85mm in your hand without having to convert – and this can take time with complex rigs –. And that without changing the weight, which makes recalibration superfluous when using gimbals, as Canon expressly recommends. However, this lens is already well into the professional range: 25,000 euros are required.

Three new photo zooms

There was also hardware purely intended for photography this week. The Supertele from OM System for MFT with f/2.8 and a native focal length of 50-200mm (100-400mm KB equivalent) has already found its way into our news ticker. Likewise the Sigma 20-200 mm F3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary travel zoom for E- and L-mount. We have not yet been able to take a closer look at the Tamron 25-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2. The same optical data was already available from this manufacturer, but not within the G2 series, which generally offers better processing and weather resistance than its predecessors. There is still only what Tamron calls a"development announcement" and no full specifications – although the lens is due to be released in the fall of 2025. One could argue that the meteorological fall has already begun on September 1, but in the environment of Japanese camera manufacturers, see above, that would be a quibble. So we'll just have to wait and see when the Tamron really arrives and how much it costs. And whether it may also be released for the Z-mount, not just the E-mount, as already announced.

(nie)