“I guess its okay to reveal that when we were first setting our goals for the new sensor, it seemed that the development of the camera itself would be postponed. That’s because Sony had already introduced the PMW-F55 camera, with its super-35mm 4K CMOS sensor. That camera was positioned as part of a Live Production system, based on PL-mount lenses and other components. So there was a feeling that this type of system would be sufficient to meet 4K demands.

“Of course, if I do say so myself, the PMW-F55 is a wonderful camera! Thanks to its super-35mm sensor and its PL-mount lenses, it’s a great solution for shooting dramas, music, documentaries, and so on. And if you add in some magnification optics and a lens support, you can even use it with high power lenses.

“But, when it comes to shooting sports, you’d need to use an existing large lens adaptor (HDLA) to enable easy attachment of a high power large lens. And with shooting in stadiums — where you have so much direct light — you would need the camera to deliver optimum sensitivity as our HDC Series do.

So we decided that we really did need to come up with an HDC-type 3-chip 4K camera.”