I don’t often post about new gear on Fstoppers, but today I’m posting about an announcement Canon made a few days ago that kind of slipped under the radar. This week Canon unveiled it’s first 4K video production monitor, the very unsexy-sounding 'DP-V3010'. While no pricing information has yet been released, it’s due to go on sale first quarter 2014. Why should we care? Because it clearly lays a stake in the ground over what the future of video (and quite possibly stills) is shaping up to look like.
"So? This Is High End Pro Gear. Why Should I Care?"
Because 4K is here to stay.
It seems like we only relatively recently fully embraced the world of HD. Thanks to 4096 x 2560 resolution, the IPS LCD panel can display native DCI 4K video (4096 x 2160) without any scaling. This means 4K video output from Canon’s flagship C500 and EOS-1 DC cameras comes in natively and is rendered in full 4K glory.
The 16:10 aspect ratio of the display provides additional real estate, useful for computer based editing tasks such as still image processing or visual effects work. Canon is orchestrating a complete end-to-end "capture and process" solution now, so we can capture, edit, add VFX, grade and correct an entire 4K production all through this monitor and it’s 4K camera systems.
The reason this monitor is significant, regardless of whether you will ever be shooting and editing 4K video is because it cements Canon's view of the world of digital video going forward. Remember, 4K is four times as much resolution output as full 1920x1080 HD. If the C500 and 1-DC cameras were Canon’s way of saying 4K has officially arrived, this monitor says “4K is here to stay…and pretty soon, it’s going to be everywhere, so get ready”. As the world of video and stills continues to converge, this has implications for the world of photography too (read on to find out how).
Who Is It For?
According to Canon Europe, the monitor is “Designed for highly-accurate and consistent color the DP-V3010 is optimized for color grading in an edit suite or on location, and for other digital imaging tasks including CGI work. At 30-inches, the DP-V3010 is designed for desktop or wall installation in editing rooms and studios. As a compact alternative to a digital cinema projector, it is ideally suited for color grading, video editing, special effects, and to support the advanced needs of 4K digital cinema production.”
Video inputs support 24fps (native) and rates up to 60p, and scaling for 2K and HD viewing.
This is obviously for professionals who will be shooting and processing 4K video. That's not you right? Well maybe not yet, but the world of 4K is set to explode so it won't be long before we see 4K videos cat videos everywhere.
I'm A Photographer, This Doesn't Affect Me. Right?
Wrong. Regardless of how many of us will be using these monitors or even shooting in 4K, this unequivocally says 4K is here, it’s going to be everywhere. It’s going to have far reaching implications for the industry from both a workflow (all that extra storage and processing power needed). It will also provide new creative possibilities (think of all that additional detail you’ll see).
For photographers, there are implications of cinephotography (where stills are pulled from video), something RED has been looking at with more seriousness for a while and which Fstoppers and Peter Hurley got together to test recently in a Hasselblad VS RED Epic shoot off.
For those worried about what it means for their photographic skills and knowledge, my view is that actually all those skills you’ve crafted over the years as a photographer will be in high demand and put to excellent use if we do see a world where stills are increasingly being pulled from motion capture.
![[Gear] Sony Reveals NEX-FS700, '4K Ready' and 240fps Camera Body](https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/small-16-9/s3/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fs700-featured.jpg)
If you think it's name sounds unsexy, maybe you haven't heard the acronym "DP" in the same context as I have...
LoL, Video AND Photos at the same time!!! When can we expect the "Shocker"??!!?? LoL!
You mean Audio too?
Let's not go there. LOLZ
This is great, just like everything else gotta keep up with the times.
http://rickyjhernandez.com
I remember being a photographer 8-10 years ago. I had a camera that was 5 MP, and I thought it was exceptional. I remember the Canon 5D being released and thinking "12 megapixels!? No one would ever need that!"
...well, do you see where I'm getting at?
I'd like to point out that this monitor isn't $40,000 just because it's 4k. It's that expensive because it's going to be really color/contrast correct in all those pixels.
yes and you can buy one that is only 200 pix smaller for cheaper. This is like HDRI nothing new only more main stream.
it's strange that a lot of studies say that unless you sitting extremely close the human eye can't see the difference between 2k and 4k, but companies deiced that they really need to push it out as the next latest and greatest.
When I edit video in 4k a great thing to do is render out 2k full res it on good monitor and then do the same for 4k on a 4k monitor, compared side by side you really can't see a difference except for a small pix difference in text.
The sad part is the asus 4k monitor i was using is only about 200pix smaller then the one above.
But if we can shoot in 4K then we can also do clean digital zooms, pans, and fades for 2K. We usually export web video at 720 so we can do the same with 1080 but imagine the possibilities with 4k
ahh my friend that is squeezing the grape. For video, the greatness of 4k comes at the raw capabilities and at the pan and zoom and crop in regular video. When shooting for viewing in 4k that as is in the absurd. When doing cgi you want the 4k color data to be there when you bounce out the composite exr sequences so the aliasing is at it's minimal when plating your effect. If you are shooting in respect of everyone view it to be in 4k then your are wasting the data. The human eye has many limits to it, 10 million colors with 17mm focal length. For displays to be 4k it's like giving someone 2 boxes of sand one bigger, one 1/3rd the size and say count the grains. They can only see the difference if their eyes are closer then 1 foot.
For photography, 4k and medium format play a bigger role in 2 factors
1)Print
2)Crop
By grabbing more data you can inherently crop in more for print size effectively reducing your time shooting and sending people home earlier, also by not having to shoot more on different lenses. If you capture the pose on one still you can crop way in to make it the final and not try to repo it again after you have viewed the screen.
I am trying my best on becoming a composite photog, after being in the CGI and cartoon world, I've worked on the best rigs and edited sizes that blow 4k out of the water and believe me this 4k viewing is all hype to sell you stuff you don't need.
More than I can afford pal... 4krarri
If quad HD is 16x9, 4k cannot possibly be 16x10- it's "wider". Has the same height, but 256 more pixels wide. How is it 16x10?
28" 4k samsung on Amazon for $650! I can't wait to get my hands on one! Editing photos from my D3200 or playing PC games will never be the same!