Panavision Announces New Large-Format Digital Camera

Working Prototypes of Millennium DXL and Reel on Display at Cine Gear Expo.

Panavision, a global brand synonymous with optics, innovation, and customer service, is introducing the Millennium DXL Camera (“DXL”), a revolutionary breakthrough in image acquisition and workflow. DXL was developed through an unprecedented combination of three companies’ best-in-class contributions: large format optics and modular accessories from Panavision, an 8K sensor from RED Digital Cinema, and new color science and optimized workflow from Light Iron.

According to Kim Snyder, President and CEO of Panavision, DXL is offered in response to heightened demand for large-format cinematography. “Our unparalleled fleet of large format and anamorphic lenses has been extremely popular in this resurgence of large format capture, and with the Millennium DXL, cinematographers now can capture more than 20-megapixels of true 4K anamorphic pictures.”

At the core of DXL is a proprietary image mapping process called Light Iron Color, which provides a unique, cinematic look directly out of the camera. Light Iron Color integrates seamlessly with DXL’s ultra-high resolution sensor, a new 8K imager manufactured by RED Digital Cinema, and with Panavision’s large format lenses. The camera body was designed with ergonomics and temperature management in mind: its mid-size form factor is extra lightweight, yet allows for an airflow system that dissipates heat more quietly than compact competitors. DXL also has built-in, crew-friendly, modular accessories to improve versatility and quick changeovers during production.

“Our streamlined workflow includes simultaneous recording of 4K proxy files – ProRes or DNx – alongside the 8K RAW files,” states Michael Cioni, DXL Product Director and President of Light Iron. “This creates a direct-to-edit workflow with the NLE of your choice. Using efficient SSD media, the cost of capturing 8K files with DXL is more economical than using third-party recorders on lower resolution cameras. Light Iron Color and our Panavised Outpost Systems provide a workflow for DXL that can be easily adopted for shooting large format photography.”

“What is exciting,” adds Cioni, “is that cinematographers will notice how 8K acquisition creates images that are smoother, not sharper. With a full frame 35-megapixel imager, DXL provides a super-sampled image, much like large format still photography, so that its smoothness is retained whether you finish in 4K, 2K, or HD.”

Jarred Land, President of RED Digital Cinema, notes that the collaboration with Panavision marks “the next step forward for the industry. RED pushed the motion picture industry into file-based RAW image capture a decade ago, but Panavision has been renowned for their optics and engineering for more than 60 years. Together with Panavision and Light Iron, we’re shaping the future of large format cinematography.”

Snyder concludes, “Panavision’s mission is to provide our customers with leading-edge tools and technologies that enable them to achieve their creative vision, and the Millennium DXL is a platform that allows us to expand the ways in which we can do just that. I am very excited about the next phase of our Company’s growth and cannot wait to present all of the products and ideas
that we are developing.”

The Millennium DXL will be rented exclusively through Panavision and will be available in early 2017. Working prototypes and a demo reel will be on display at the Panavision and Light Iron booth at Cine Gear Expo this weekend.