IMAX announced today that they have developed the first fully integrated dual 65mm 4K digital large-format 3D camera, designed to give moviegoers a "truly immersive IMAX 3D experience" with the camera's exceptional crispness and clarity, as well as its 1.9:1 aspect ratio that offers a reported "26% more of the image than standard cinemas." Oh, and guess what -- it has already been used and vetted by none other than explosion maestro Michael Bay and cinematographer Amir Mokri on Transformers: Age of Extinction.
Though the announcement will no doubt be met with quite a bit of intrigue, many of the questions raised won't have answers, seeing as IMAX hasn't really shared much in terms of information on their new camera -- like a basic specifications or potential rental prices. However, they did offer some info. Here's a bit from their Quick Facts/FAQ page:
The IMAX® 3D Digital Camera delivers stunning image quality and is less than half the weight of other 3D digital camera systems on the market. The IMAX® 3D Digital Camera will provide filmmakers such as Michael Bay with versatility that only 2D digital cameras have been able to deliver in the past. In Transformers: Age of Extinction, the production team was able to capture chase scenes and helicopter shots in high-resolution 3D in a way that [was] previously impossible.
Exclusively in IMAX® theatres, sequences captured with this camera will expand to fill more of the IMAX screen with unprecedented crispness, clarity, color and 3D for a truly immersive experience.
This new camera is a true 4K stereo camera, meaning that both the left eye and the right eye images are captured at full 4K resolution, but how does the resolution of this digital camera compare with IMAX's 15perf/65mm film cameras, ones known for being the highest resolution cameras in the world? Well, according to IMAX, the digital camera was designed to complement them.
IMAX® designed the IMAX® 3D Digital Camera as a complementary tool to its other 2D and 3D IMAX® film camera systems as well as other camera technology that filmmakers may be using. Filmmakers typically use several different types of cameras on set for different types of shots so IMAX wanted to be able to provide them with the right tool for the right job to help achieve their creative vision.
While digital is advancing at a rapid pace, IMAX®’s 15perf / 65mm film cameras continue to be the industry gold standard in terms of resolution and it expects they will to continue to be for quite some time. For this reason, IMAX® is continuing to build more of these cameras to meet the demand it is seeing among today’s leading Hollywood filmmakers.
Check out this video to learn more about IMAX's new digital 4K 3D camera:
In the end, IMAX has built a 4K 3D camera that is relatively small and lightweight, which will certainly be beneficial to all of the documentarians making nature docs that have become a staple of the IMAX brand. (The first IMAX show I ever saw was a doc about deep-sea monsters at a special IMAX theater in Seattle, so -- ) And for feature filmmakers, it may offer them a chance to capture images that will really make the moviegoing experience more immersive. That's IMAX's end goal, anyway. To prove that 3D isn't just a fad.
Even though we don't know much about IMAX's new 4K 3D camera, what are your initial thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!
Link: IMAX 3D Digital Camera Makes Big Screen Debut in Transformeres: Age of Extinction: IMAX
[via Studio Daily]
