4K 120p raw output coming to the Sony FX9 and FX6

Sony has announced a flurry of new upgrades for its camcorders, including 120fps additions across the board.

Earlier today we reported on the rather sparse announcement of the forthcoming Ninja V successor that will support the recording of raw 4K 120fps footage. It’s no coincidence that Sony has announced forthcoming firmware updates to its FX6 and FX9 camcorders, which output precisely this format in an update to come in May.

The new firmware later in the year for the FX9 will also add an anamorphic mode to desqueeze both 2x and 1.3x anamorphic images in the viewfinder. There will also be a centre scan mode for S16mm and B4 lenses.

PXW-Z280

Sony hasn’t stopped there, however. Its PXW-Z280 camcorder will be receiving its own firmware update later this year that will add 120fps HD as well as enhanced cloud compatibility. The shoulder mount PXW-Z750 camcorder will be gaining an expanded cache record system to ensure critical moments are not lost.

IP video features heavily in the company’s announcements, with two new compact IP extension adapters, the HDCE-TX50 and the HDCE-RX50, which provides the HDC camera line-up with 4K over IP. But it’s also 8K that is getting some limelight too. Responding to the demand for 8K in China, the company has announced a new 8K ST 2110 interface option board and SNMP Agent software. This system adds to the CCU of the 8K UHC-8300 camera. According to Sony the new option board has already been adopted by China Central Television.

The Ci Media Cloud service is gaining Multi-Factor Authentication and more administrative controls to enable better protection. Some newly added quality control features have also been added, including Source Quality Frame Preview and frame-accurate audio meters so that quality and compliance checks can be made with a simple web browser.

Newly designed 4K sensor

Buried deep within the press release is the announcement that the company is developing a new 4K global shutter sensor for its HDC line of cameras. The new sensor will be a S35 affair, and the new camera that it will be housed in will be compatible with Sony’s SR Live for HDR workflow with HLG and S-log3. Sony says that the new camera will be available some time this year.

New PVM monitor

A new PVM model is being added, the PVM-X3200. This is a 32” 4K HDR production monitor, which is scheduled for release in October. It features an all-white luminance of 1000 cd/m2 and 100% matches the colour gamut of the BVM-HX310 TRIMASTER HX master monitor. Users can pay for an optional license that will add internal conversion of HDR to SDR and 4K to HD. This license will also be available to users of the PVM-X2400 and PVM-X1800 monitors.