New Codex V-Raw Device Will Record Uncompressed 4K Raw at 120fps

Panasonic answered lingering questions around the upcoming VariCam 35 introduction at NAB with the announcement that the modular camera's recording unit (the AU-VREC1) will support ProRes 422 (HQ) and 4444 in HD mode. When Codex Digital announced the new V-Raw recorder, designed to record high-speed 4K uncompressed raw at up to 120fps, the picture came into clearer focus. 

If you don't need uncompressed raw quality, you can simply record 4K onboard to an expressP2 Card at frame rates of up to 120p in Panasonic's AVC-Ultra family of codecs. The camera has two expressP2 card slots and two microP2 slots, and while 4K is being recorded to expressP2, 2K and proxy footage can be recorded simultaneously to microP2.

The Codex recorder, which is (in prototype form, anyway) a black box that attaches to the back of the camera, is the result of a strategic product development alliance between Panasonic and Codex; the ProRes codec is licensed from Atomos.

The VariCam 35 will also have V-Log recording, which Panasonic's Steve Cooperman described as an extension of the FilmRec mode familiar from the original VariCam. The camera is now slated to ship this fall, at a price of less than $60,000, which includes the camera's modular head unit as well as the recording module. Its sister camera, the 2/3-inch VariCam HS, will be available at the same time for less than $55,000, Panasonic said.