Panasonic Upgrades AU-Eva1
Latest upgrade includes 4K60p 10-bit capture and hardwired remote control.
Improvements in the latest update include 4K60p 10-bit capture and hardwired remote control.
Panasonic has announced a free firmware upgrade, Version 3.0 (a.k.a. Eva 3.0), for the AU-Eva1 cinema camera that enables 4K60p 10-bit capture, hardwired remote control via USB-Ethernet adapters and a user-button function for quick switching of shooting modes and frame rates, among other improvements.
Eva 3.0 is the seventh firmware upgrade since the camera’s release.
“With its small size and weight, combined with great features, the Eva1 represents the best value in its class,” said Mitch Gross, Panasonic’s cinema product manager. “New features like 4K60p 10-bit and hardwired Ethernet connectivity for remote control expand the use for new clients, while Quick Switch between setup files is a [response to] specific requests from current users. Panasonic is committed to continually improving and expanding the capabilities of this camera.”
The EF-mount AU-Eva1 is a 5.7K cinema camera containing a Super 35mm sensor featuring 14 stops of dynamic range, dual native ISO ratings of 800 and 2500 and the same colorimetry as the VariCam camera system.
Eva 3.0 adds HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) H.265 recording for 4K 10-bit recording up to 60 fps. The Eva1’s other recording modes allow 4K 10-bit up to 30 frames or 4K up to 60 frames in 8-bit. HEVC H.265 has twice the efficiency of H.264, allowing 4K30p 10-bit recording at 150Mbps and 4K60p 10-bit recording at 200Mbps. 10-bit recording allows use of V-Log and HLG capture without banding or other artifacts. 4K60p 10-bit at 200Mbps can be recorded to V30-class SDXC cards. Most of the popular nonlinear editing systems support the HEVC codecs, and computers using Intel Core i7 chips (seventh generation or higher) can utilize hardware acceleration on HEVC files for efficient performance.
In addition to supporting the AJ-WM50 WiFi Adapter, the Eva1’s USB port now supports several inexpensive third-party USB-LAN adapters. These enable hardwired remote control of the camera over Ethernet from Android and iOS devices running the free Eva ROP app. Additionally, third-party remote-operation controllers can be used to integrate the Eva1 into live and near-live multi-camera production. Panasonic has worked with CyanView to enable communication and painting of multiple Eva1 cameras with a single controller.
Quick Switch adds user-button shortcuts, allowing fast changes to all camera settings. At the press of a button, the user can summon a menu of preset-settings shortcuts he has saved to an SD card. Select one, and in a few seconds, all the camera settings can be reset, including frame rate, resolution, recording mode and color setting. Another user button can switch the camera in and out of variable frame rate for slow motion.
Additional features of Eva 3.0 include a Focus Position Indicator in meters or feet for the camera’s On Screen Display. When recording or playing back Hyper Log Gamma material, the LCD, SDI and HDMI video outputs can be individually set to display in HDR or SDR for proper monitoring. A second Auto White Balance memory position now allows quickly scrolling to two AWB selections as well as up to eight preset white balances. Still Image Capture enables JPEG frame captures to an SD card during playback, along with an intuitive frame advance added to the playback controls.
Eva 3.0 can be downloaded here.
Gross highlights some features of the update in this video:
