Who doesn’t love a new name in the cinema camera space? While main staple companies like Canon, Sony, and Blackmagic continue to dominate the cinema camera-verse, it’s not completely unheard of for a new challenger to emerge seemingly out of nowhere.
Yet, here we are, as OCTOPUS CINEMA teases their Pocket Sized Super 16 Cinema Camera. Titled the OCTOPUS16 their hinting it could be released very soon. Let’s take a look at OCTOPUS CINEMA and how this new open platform camera might actually be able to deliver on its promise to provide high quality, 4K RAW footage for under 1,000 dollars.
OCTOPUS CINEMA Open Platform Cameras
With only around 2,000 followers on Instagram, OCTOPUS CINEMA might not be the biggest household name quite yet. However, the company has been around for several years now and is aiming to be a disruptor in the cinema camera space, in part thanks to their mission to make open platform cameras that feature removable and upgradeable parts.
After teasing some different versions of their cinema cameras in the past, including an 8K LF large sensor camera and a 5K full-frame sensor version as well, it sounds like OCTOPUS CINEMA is serious about focusing on an uber-affordable, pocket-sized cinema camera option going forward.
What’s especially unique about OCTOPUS CINEMA is their promise not to be tied to a single image sensor for any of their cameras, so each offering will support a range of image sensor modules from third-party manufacturers.
The OCTOPUS16
OCTOPUS CINEMA
The OCTOPUS16 Pocket Sized Super 16 Cinema Camera
While we don’t have a ton of details on this new camera just yet, what we do know are the bold strokes about what’s going to make this new small-form cinema camera unique on the market. And that would firstly be the price point, which OCTOPUS CINEMA is aiming for just under 1,000 dollars, which would make it perhaps most comparable to the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K model.
The OCTOPUS16 is reported to have a true 16-bit sensor readout that will make it capable of recording 4K RAW (CDNG) internally. The camera will also feature an overclocked Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 to allow for 12-bit 4K RAW as well, plus include internal recording to a CFexpress Type B Card.
The camera will also feature a small built-in touchscreen LCD screen and will be available to use with an interchangeable lens mount that can support MFT lenses (or others with an adapter). The physical dimensions will attempt to be as pocket-sized as possible coming in at 80 x 80 x 50mm, and weighing less than 0.88 pounds (400 grams).
What to Expect from the OCTOPUS16
Again, we don’t have a ton of info about this new cinema camera just yet outside of what you can find on the company’s website (which does look quite well-organized and designed) and their Instagram page (where you can see lots of versions of the camera in use—which does make it look pretty cool).
There is no reported release date or official specs just yet, but there is an email list that you can sign up for to receive updates about the camera as it develops.
For now, we’re simply excited to see another new name on the scene. And doubly excited because they’re aiming to produce a highly-functional cinema camera option that will be affordable to just about anyone looking to shoot in a beautiful cinematic style.
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