Octopus, the new full frame and global shutter film camera

The Octopus camera will arrive in 2020 with the intention of carving a niche in the film camera market. A camera weighing only one kilo, full frame and global shutter.

The main feature is the interchangeable sensor up to 5K, monochrome or color. The Octopus has an Intel NUC 717 motherboard with a Linux variant to which a module for the Ximea PCIe sensor has been added. For the Full Frame version it has the AMS CMV20000 sensor and for 4:3 the Sony IMX253 sensor. More like a computer than a camera, it has the advantage of being upgradable thanks to the Linux system. It will be possible to replace the various components of the body with new models to prevent it from becoming obsolete. The RAM, which will initially be 16 GB, will be upgradable to 32 GB.

Recording options are several, although the format will be Cinema DNG. For full frame recording at 5K the maximum speed will be 48 frames per second, while at 3K it will be 100fps. In 4:3 format the speeds vary at 70 and 240 frames per second at 4K and 2K respectively. Color depth varies between 12 and 10 bits. According to the Octopus brand, the camera will have 12 stops of dynamic range in 5K formats and half more in 4K, a total of 12.5. Compared to other cameras on the market it does not reach 15 stops, however the 12 stops are global shutter.

The recording of files will be done on internal interchangeable SSD cards or on C-Fast 2.0 cards. It will have Sata III connection, four USB 3.0 ports for writes over 350MB/s and two HDMI 2.0 ports.

Not much more is known about this camera and so far we have only been able to see how it shows black and white images. We will have to wait until 2020 to know more about the Octopus.