Lumix BS1H full frame box camera
All the power of the S1H in a tiny little box, the BS1H offers amazing 5.9K full-frame recording for cinema, and best quality live streaming over IP for events, says Damien Demolder
Panasonic has just announced a full frame version of its BGH1 box camera, which has many of the benefits of the Lumix S1H but in a small box form. Remarkably, the box body is exactly the same as that used for the Micro Four Thirds BGH1, so not only is this full frame camera quite tiny it can also share rigs and cages with its side-kick.
Incredibly the Lumix BS1H full frame camera (right) shares a body with the Micro Four Thirds Lumix BGH1 (left). Despite the dramatic sensor area difference, the bodies are exactly the same size
While the Lumix BGH1 uses a 10.2MP MFT sensor this new BS1H brings with it the 24.2MP full frame sensor of the Lumix S1H. The extra pixel-count means the BS1H is capable of much higher resolution video recording, and can offer 6K, 5.9K and 5.4K options that are beyond the abilities of the Micro Four Thirds model. In 6K resolution the S1H can record at 24p in 4:2:0 10-bit, and up to 29.97p in 5.9K using the full width of the sensor. In C4K and 4K recording the camera offers users 4:2:2 colour in 10-bit, and frame rates of up to 29.97p – just as the BGH1 does.
A further benefit of the S1H sensor is that it has an improved ability to record highlight and shadow detail and the dynamic range of the new BS1H is 14+ stops when used with the built-in V-Log Photo Style. This gives users more than a full stop advantage over the BGH1.
As the camera’s larger sensor also has the same Dual Native ISO system as the Lumix S1H we should expect exceptional noise performance in low light conditions.
While the BS1H provides similar Variable Frame Rate options to those in the BGH1, the camera borrows the High Frame Rate settings from the Lumix S1H to allow 119.88p/100p/48p/47.95p depending on the frequency you have set for the camera. The advantage of HFR over VFR of course is that HFR allows slow-motion recording with sound and auto focus.
RAW Video
The Lumix BS1H is the first Lumix camera to ship offering both ProRes RAW and BRAW from the off, appealing to all film makers no matter their software preferences. The camera can output 5.9K resolution using the full width of the sensor in 16:9 format, in 12-bit and with frame rates of up to 29.97p. That gives us a 5888x3312-pixel image to play with!
With a Super 35mm crop C4K frame rates of 59.94p can be reached, and in Anamorphic Mode a 3536x2656 4:3 image is produced with frame rates of up to 29.97p in 59.94Hz or 50p in 50Hz.
To record in RAW you will need either the Atomos Ninja V for ProRes RAW, or a 7in/5in version of the Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR.
Connectivity
Just like the Lumix BGH1 the BS1H gives us a wide range of connectivity options. Clean HDMI-out allows for easy recording and monitoring external monitors, and as with the BGH1 this new model offers SDI as well. An Ethernet port allows cabled streaming via IP for live and recorded events, and the same port lets you power the camera at the same time using a PoE+ switch. And, as if that wasn’t enough you can tether the BS1H too using the same port, and control up to 12 cameras via the Lumix Tether For Multicam application. One cable does all that!
We also have Time Code IN/OUT and Genlock IN to help ensure accurate frame-level synchronisation when shooting with more than one camera at a time. And both can use be used at the same time.
When streaming via IP we can output 4K, FHD or HD video at up to 59.94p in all resolutions, and we have data rates of between 3 and 50Mbps available depending on resolution and frame rate.
You can read more about the Lumix BGH1 on the Panasonic Expert Advice pages, and also learn how to stream via IP with the Lumix box cameras.
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