Next July 9 Canon will present, if there is no surprise involved, the new Canon EOS R5. A highly anticipated proposal of which we have already been learning some of its main characteristics, but which still need to know other important details. But it will not be the only camera with 8K recording , Sharp already showed its interchangeable lens camera, 8K video and a very compact size.
Sharp and its 8K camera
Mobile devices were the first to offer the ability to record 8K resolution video. A fact that is not directly related to the quality of the video, because in addition to a higher resolution, other details that affect the sensor such as dynamic range, noise management, etc., are the same or even more important. But that does not mean that having a camera capable of capturing more than 30 million pixels excites us.
Over the months came cameras like the Lumix S1H or the Pocket Cinema 6K. Both proposals went from 4K to 6K and here it was beginning to offer a quality that until now only provided film cameras of several thousand euros. But it was necessary to jump a little more, to equalize in resolution and improve performance.
That title was taken by Canon, which with its future EOS R5 announced that it would offer 8K resolution and that great image quality that the brand has always enjoyed. A feat at a technical level if you consider that it will mount a Full Frame sensor in a fairly compact body. But despite the fact that its launch is scheduled for July 9, it seems that it will not be the only camera of this type for a long time.
Sharp has also announced its interchangeable lens camera, small footprint and 8K video recording capabilities. A model that we already knew something about a few months ago through a sample of what a first prototype was. Now, although its final name is not known, we do have more data on a camera that will be released this second half of the year.
Among its main features, along with a very compact body and a generous 5.5-inch folding screen, it highlights its micro four-thirds sensor and its capabilities to capture 8K video at 30p or 4k at 60p (with transfer rates of 200Mbits / s and 10bit). Then after features that in some ways closely resemble those of Blackmagic, such as the Mini XLR input. Of course, it will not be an economic option, but it seems that it will be below $ 4,000.
Therefore, although this Sharp proposal would only reach Japan and the United States at first, because in the rest of the markets it hardly has a presence, the truth is that it will be interesting to see how it encourages other brands.
The 8K era
On July 9 Canon will present the EOS R5 , an event via streaming that you can follow through this link. That we could say that it will be the starting gun for a very interesting race, that of the 8K video.
We already know that another proposal that users interested in recording these resolutions will have will be Sharp’s, but many more will come, ushering in a new era. This is not going to be as easy to assimilate as the jump from 1080p to 4K was. It is true that today we have storage units with greater capacity and faster. And likewise more capable processors with more powerful graphics, but working with 8K video requires new investments in terms of editing equipment. One that not everyone will be able to do or will be able to do.
For the moment, it will be necessary to see how they behave and not let themselves be carried away by the euphoria of the large number. Because if the management and editing of the material is a challenge, it will be much more so if the camera does not suffer limitations or problems when recording at a resolution that, along with the rest of the data, will require a lot of processing capacity.
