The KineRAW is a Chinese digital cinema camera that I called (perhaps too harshly) a "knockoff" of the ARRI ALEXA and RED cameras. This is a guest post by Wentao Marvin.

As China is celebrating the Lunar New Year (the Year of Dragon), Kinefinity KineRAW development has entered the final stage of internal user testing, and public testing is scheduled to roll out in February. This update focuses on the S35 (Super35-sized sensor) and S8 (Super8mm-sized sensor) model as they are being developed back-to-back.


Here are some images showing the S35 camera body design:

Left1

Rear_right1-616x614

A few key specifications of the S35 model:

  • Super 35mm sized CMOS sensor
  • Dual raw recording, uncompressed 12bit linear cinemaDNG (800Mbps) or 10bit log90 GoPro Cineform RAW (100Mbps), uses regular 2.5 inch SSD or HDD (shoot and dump)
  • DCI 2K 1-24fps, 1080p 1-30fps, 720p 1-60fps. (Not yet finalised)
  • Interchangeable lens mount, supports PL (standard), Canon EF, Nikon F, OCT-19
  • PL mount version 280mm*135mm*155mm, approx. 4kg.

I've been told that the dynamic range of the sensor is likely to achieve or exceed 13 stops. However the S35 model is still being fine-tuned, the actual footage is estimated to be released in mid Februrary. Here is the latest information on the camera, in the form of Q&A:

FAQ

  • Q: Why there are HDMI and VF sockets on the front of the camera? A: They are intended for compact monitors or EVF, two SDI output on the back are for reference monitors.
  • Q: What is the function of that antenna? A: It will be used for remote control (eg. smart phones or tablets), also a wireless monitoring feature is being considered.
  • Q: How many recording buttons are there on the body? A: One on the left, one on the back, one remote trigger socket on the front.
  • Q: What power supply can I use? A: the S35 model uses 4 pin XLR, supports standard 14v battery, a 140Wh battery can last approximately 4 hours.
  • Q: How many accessory mounting options are there on the body? A: There are two 1/4-20 mounting screws on the left and right side respectively, one 3/8-16 screw and 3 rows of four 1/4-20 screws on the top.
  • Q: It was mentioned that the S35 model will have an EF mount version, is the aperture electronically controlled? A: Currently the sample unit cannot electronically control the aperture of EF lenses, however it's still being developed and might be able to do that upon release.
  • Q: Does this camera have Genlock? A: It doesn't have Genlock but it will feature a special interface for 3D or multicam sync.
  • Q: How much is the S35 model? A: Approximately $8000 USD body only.

The S8 model shares most of the key features of the S35 model, two test video and some uncompressed frames can be viewed below, please note that these footage do not represent the actual quality of the S8 model since it's still a sample unit. You can download high quality .avi files of each test here and here.

Sample uncompressed 1080p frame  grabs(processed from 2.5k cinemaDNG) can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4.

I will provide Koo with more footage as soon as more is available, please stay tuned!