Genesis (camera) - Technical Specification

Technical Specification

The Genesis uses a 12.4 megapixel CCD chip, arranged in a 5760x2160 horizontally RGB filtered array. The vertical resolution is cut in half to 1080 by pixel binning, so the final output pixel resolution is 1920x1080, about 2/3 the resolution of a 2k film scan. The chip has an HDTV-style 16:9 (1.78:1) aspect ratio, similar in size to Super35 3-Perf film. The CCD active area is .930 in. x .523 in. This is a significant breakthrough in that it allows just about any Panavision spherical 35 mm cine lens to be used. The main imaging module of the Genesis is made by Sony, but the exact relationship between the two companies is unclear, since their joint partnership was dissolved in 2004 with Panavision's re-purchase of the 8% shareholding Sony bought in 2000.

The Genesis can record in a custom Panalog color space, which is a log color space that is also 4:4:4, unlike traditional HD. The tone-curve is different from the Cineon log format used for film post-production, but preserves highlight detail that would be lost with typical video gamma correction.

There have also been numerous complaints about the small black and white viewfinders. B&W finders are actually strongly preferred by generations of broadcast camera operators, who understand that a high resolution black & white finder is a very highly refined instrument. It has about 3 times the resolution of a color finder, which makes achieving critical focus easier. An influx of camera operators from the film industry however, has created demand for a color viewfinder. To address this, Panavision uses the Sony HDVF-C30W TFT color LCD viewfinder (960x540 pixels), which is compatible with both the CineAlta and the Genesis cameras. A Digital cinema camera competitor to the Genesis, the D-20, incorporates a reflex optical viewfinder to address this concern. Other similar HD-resolution cameras are the Sony F35, ARRI Alexa, and RedOne.