Vision Research updated it’s successful Flex4K Camera

The last several months at Vision Research have been filled with activity surrounding the Phantom Flex4K, as the camera’s reputation and resume continues to grow.   As a result Vision Research announced a new firmware for the camera that introduces a scaled 2K ProRes HQ recording format and dual-save functionality.

Vision Research’s Phantom Flex4K digital high-speed video camera.
Photo by Vision Research

Back in Autum 2015 Vision Research launched the first major firmware update since the camera’s inception, introducing 4K ProRes 422 HQ as a recording format in addition to the camera’s native Cine Raw format.  This was an important step in making the camera’s overall workflow more cost-effective for productions that don’t necessarily need to walk away with 4K Raw files.

Understanding the 4K ProRes HQ option was just the first stage of ProRes support, we asked customers what they wanted to see next.  There were lots of suggestions, and the majority of customers indicated the need for scaled 2K files while maintaining the full sensor’s 35mm image format.   We decided to combine this functionality with a new dual-save option, which enables the user to automatically save a 4K Raw plus 2K or 4K ProRes 422 HQ version of each shot, at the push of a button.

Existing camera owners can get these new features free of charge with a firmware upgrade to phfw.65. Check the ‘Support by Camera Model’ section of Vision Research for details about how to download and look for the firmware’s release notes which show in detail how the new functions work.

Besides the new firmware, the other part of this message is to share the news of a recent price drop across the entire Flex4K product line.  Because the camera is now established it has enabled us to lower the pricing.  Camera bodies now start at $75K and almost all camera bundles, which include CineMags and a CineStation, sell for under $100,000 USD.

Vision Research can be proud that the Flex4K has become an integral part of the production industry world-wide. It has contributed powerful imagery to documentaries, maintained reliable all-around performance for commercials and tabletop work, queued up exciting replays for live sports and delivered dynamic effects for major motion pictures.

For further information please visit: www.phantomhighspeed.com/

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