Panasonic AU-EVA1PJ Q & A Sheet

EVA1 QUESTIONS ANSWERED

At Cine Gear Expo 2017 in Hollywood, Panasonic previewed the AU-EVA1 cinema camera. Equipped with a newly designed 5.7K Super 35 sensor and positioned between the Panasonic Lumix GH5 4K mirrorless camera and the VariCam LT 4K cinema camera, the EVA1 generated tremendous buzz since being teased at NAB 2017. Compact and lightweight, the AU-EVA1 is tailor-made for handheld shooting, but also well suited for documentaries, commercials, and music videos.

We asked Panasonic Cinema Product Manager, Mitch Gross, some general questions on the EVA1’s target audience, shooting applications, Dual Native ISO, the 5.7K sensor, and more.

EVA1 QUESTIONS ANSWERED

For whom is the EVA1 designed?

MITCH GROSS: Depending on the type of work you do, EVA1 answers a lot of different needs. It is designed to be a versatile machine that you can plug into a lot of different situations. There are people who have been shooting on smaller cameras such as DSLRs or all-in-one camcorders, and they have felt limitations. At the same time, you have other people who have been shooting on large production cameras and they sometimes have need

for a camera that is slimmed down and more portable. What we wanted to do was build a camera that could sit in-between those spaces where you could essentially rise up from the small cameras where you want more versatility and you don’t have to fight the machine sometimes. Or you could slim down from a bigger camera for projects where a larger system may be too difficult to deal with or simply too expensive for the production.

On the little cameras, you can get amazing work out of these tiny machines but because they’re so small, dealing with the controls can become a barrier and you often must devise workarounds.

Shooters put up with the workarounds because these small cameras are so convenient to shoot with. We’ve risen the scale of the camera so now you have these high-end features and easier access to controls in a camera that is a more functional size for most shooters. For users of higher level production machines, we’ve tried to be judicious in keeping as much professional functionality as possible into a compact form factor.

What will be the main shooting applications for EVA1?

MITCH GROSS: I think you’re going to see a lot of people shooting documentary style work with the EVA1 – talking head interviews and B-roll shots in the field. It’s very convenient for that style of shooting. You’re also going to have people who do news shooting, as well as live event type work such as weddings and sports videography. In addition, there will be people who will want to rig the camera for specific types of remote work, meaning mounting the camera out on a crane, or jib arm. You want it fully featured yet small and lightweight because the bigger your camera is, the bigger crane you would have to use, just like on a Steadicam. Gimbal devices like a [Freefly Systems] M¯oVI or a [DJI] Ronin want a fully featured camera but in a small and lightweight package. With EVA1, you get the dual advantage of having great capabilities while being lightweight and small. Same goes for underwater housings, car rigs, or anytime you need to place a camera somewhere where you want a slimmed down unit that won’t get in the way. You still want to have a capable camera, especially with a Super 35 sensor, and the EVA1 provides just that.