The Apertus Axiom project, which is trying to build the first open source 4K RAW Super 35mm camera, has been making steady progress over the last year or so, with a significant amount happening in the last few months. The team has been working hard with the CMOSIS 4K sensor that will eventually be in a completed camera, and they've now delivered the first 4K DNG for all of you to mess around with.
Here's Apertus on the development:
As we've previously stated, please keep in mind that our sensor calibration and tuning- alongside our image conversion logic development- have just begun and this image represents a camera in a very early developmental state. For example, the image has had no fixed pattern noise corrections or hot pixel compensation applied amongst other things that we just have not had the time to implement yet.
And the first 4K RAW image (obviously this is a JPEG, but you can download the RAW file here):
The fixed pattern noise has not been removed yet in the image above, but it's easily removed since it doesn't change from one frame to the next. Here is an example showing how fixed pattern noise will be removed in the camera:
There is a good chance the global shutter Super 35mm 4K sensor in the Axiom is the same one being used in the new Blackmagic Production Camera 4K, so if you're wondering what kind of performance this camera will have, the BMPC can give you a ballpark estimate. The plan for the Axiom, however, is to take advantage of the high frame rate capabilities of the CMOSIS sensor, so this will be a different animal altogether than Blackmagic's, as it will likely be able to reach over 100fps.
These developments are really exciting for the open source community, and you can read more about the camera over on their website.
