Tasmanian filmmaker and inventor Pawel Achtel has developed a special 9×7 digital cinema camera with 18.7K resolution that sets a new standard in wildlife cinematography.
The camera, which Achtel describes as a “remarkable milestone,” features a 65-million-frame CMOS sensor, capable of capturing images at a stunning 18.7K x 14K resolution.
The system, which is similar to the one Achtel used during the capture of James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Waterwas recently used to film humpback whales off the coast of Tonga. The detail is so fine that every pore and bubble on the whales’ skin is visible.
Horses for courses
The camera’s 16-bit linear Cinema DNG format and global shutter enable uncompressed, high-fidelity recording of fast-moving subjects without distortion. The camera also boasts up to 16 stops of dynamic range with highlight recovery, allowing it to handle the challenging lighting conditions often found underwater.
With a maximum recording speed of 10GB/s, the camera can capture up to 50 minutes of footage at 30fps to its 8TB of internal storage. This makes it exceptionally well-suited for high-resolution displays such as those at NantStudios in Melbourne, Australia, which utilise massive 32K LED volume stages.
“It is extremely difficult to achieve such sharpness on land, even with large multi-camera arrays, and until now this was considered unachievable underwater,” Achtel said. PetaPixel.
Achtel’s achievement not only overcomes the traditional optical challenges of underwater filming, but also pushes the boundaries of what is possible in high-resolution cinematography. The project, carried out in collaboration with marine science researcher Professor Rob Harcourt, aims to create an immersive experience that brings viewers closer to the natural world.
Achtel’s 18.7K camera is similar to the 18K Big Sky camera system used in the Las Vegas Sphere, a state-of-the-art venue known for its immersive visual experiences. The Big Sky camera, with its 316-megapixel sensor, is designed to capture ultra-high-resolution images for display on the Sphere’s 16K x 16K LED screen. While both cameras are at the forefront of their fields, Achtel’s excels in underwater environments, while Big Sky is tuned for large-scale, immersive displays.