Sony unveils Burano 8K cinema camera
September 13, 2023
By Chris Forrester
Sony’s latest cinema camera, a sister to its high-end Venice unit, maintains the Venetian connection and is called Burano. It is a digital cinema camera that is specifically designed for single-camera operators and small crews; it is around 32mm shorter and 1.4 kilograms lighter than the Venice 2.
Burano is part of Sony’s CineAlta portfolio. It has an 8.6K full-frame sensor that matches the colour science of the Venice 2 and has 16 stops of latitude.
The Burano is designed to be flexible and can handle full-frame, Super 35, and with a desqueeze function for anamorphic lenses. It can shoot at frame rates up to 8K at 30 frames per second, 6K at 60 fps or 4K at 120 fps.
“Burano is the perfect camera for both scripted and unscripted projects, be they for commercial, wildlife, or documentary productions, creating content that has a true cinematic feel, even when working with streamlined crews. This camera once again pushes back the boundaries of digital cinematography and is a wonderful addition onset alongside our existing digital cinema cameras,” explains Sebastian Leske, Head of Business Development, Cinema, Sony Europe.
The new camera offers:
· Built-in optical image stabilization leveraging a mechanism and control algorithm developed for the Alpha series of mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras that can be used with an E- or PL-Mount lens.
· Variable ND filter for added control and exposure optimization.
· FE-mount lens support.
· Body design improvements based on input from filmmakers, such as all menu buttons positioned on the camera operator’s side.
· Recording format flexibility, including support for the new XAVC H for 8K, XAVC and X-OCN LT.
· Support for various log recording modes, including S-Gamut3 and S-Gamut3 Cine.