It’s certainly not officially called VariCam Mini. But that’s what some people were calling Panasonic’s new camera that was shown under wraps at NAB and unveiled at Cine Gear Expo. Updated details were announced today, August 3rd. The Panasonic AU-EVA1 is a new, compact, lightweight cinema camera that fits in a backpack and shares many qualities of the Varicam LT, VariCam 35 and VariCam Pure product line.

The AU-EVA1 has a new 5.7K Super35 sensor (24.6 x 12.97mm). This results in a superb image when down sampled to 4K, UHD, 2K, or 720p. The EVA1 has of the other VariCams.

The AU-EVA1 has Dual Native ISO similar to its bigger siblings in the VariCam line. It lets you switch from 800 to 2,500 ISO with almost no increase in noise or other artifacts. The high ISO setting is extremely popular on low light and night shoots.

The EVA1 has 14 stops of Dynamic Range and full V-Log/V-Gamut capture. V-Log has log curve characteristics that are HDR ready and V-Gamut delivers a color space that will cover BT.2020.

The included adjustable handgrip offers several controls: Menu, REC Start/Stop, Iris and 2 User Buttons. The EVA1’s LCD screen is a 3.5” touch panel with Menu selections, Expand (image zoom) and Playback. The LCD has an adjustable backlight control with  a Power LCD mode for viewing in bright sunlight. With grip, the EVA1 is a compact, lightweight handheld camera. Without the grip, the EVA1 will be at home on a drone, gimbal, rig or remote head. There are also many mounting points.  Panasonic is  working with accessory companies for additional customization.

EVA1 records internally to SD cards in several formats and compression rates: up to 10-bit 4:2:2, 400 Mbps in 4K. For slow motion, it records 2K up to 240-fps.

There’s an  ND filter wheel between the EF mount and the sensor, in 2, 4, and 6 stop increments. You can swing the IR Cut filter out of the way at the push of a button for interesting photographic effects and night vision shots. The filters operate electronically, allowing wireless remote control from smartphones and tablets. EVA1 will have a remote-control app for a tablet (iOS, Android) that will be helpful when the camera is on a crane or remote head.

Connectors include dual balanced XLR audio inputs and 4K HDMI and SDI video outputs. In a future firmware upgrade, EVA1 will offer 5.7K RAW output via 3rd party recorders.

Panasonic is positioning the EVA-1 between their Lumix GH5 4K mirrorless camera and the VariCam LT. The EVA1 will ship this Fall for $7,495 for camera body, battery (5900 mAh), charger, AC adapter, shoulder strap, microphone holder, LCD monitor with hood and mounting attachment, handle, handgrip, etc.

AU-EVA1 Specs

• Sensor: 5.7K Super 35 MOS (24.6 x 12.97mm)
• 20.49 megapixels, 6340 (H) x 3232 (V)
• Effective: approx. 17.25 megapixels, 5720 (H) x 3016 (V)
• EF Lens Mount with 8-pin power and metadata contacts
• Auto Focus: One push auto focus
• LCD Monitor: 3.5” touch-screen (approx. 1,150,000 dots)
• Dual native ISO
• Weight body only: 1.2 kg (2.6 lb)
• Weight ready to shoot: approx. 2.05 kg (4.52 lb)
• (with accessories)
• Size: 135 mm (W) x 133 mm (H) x 170 mm (W)
• (5-5/16 inches x 5-1/4 inches x 6-11/16 inches)
• Power: DC 7.28 V (Battery); DC 12 V (AC adapter)
• Power Consumption: 19 W (with LCD/HDMI/SDI ON)
• Removable handgrip
• Dual Native ISO 800/2500
• ND Filter, motorized : Clear, ND 0.6, 1.2, 1.8 (-2, -4, -6 stops)
• Shutter Angles: 1.0° – 358° deg (0.5° steps), 12 presets
• Shutter Speeds: 1/24.1 sec – 1/8000 sec (23.98p)
• Integrated ND filter wheel: 0, 2, 4, and 6 stops
• Push-button swing-out IR Cut filter
• Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS)
• Color Temp: ATW, AWB, 2000 K – 15000 K, ±10.0 Green/Magenta, 12 presets
• Recording Formats: MOV: 4:2:2 10-bit / 4:2:0 8-bit
• AVCHD: 4:2:0 8-bit
• Video Compression: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile
• Up to 4:2:2 10-bit 4K recording
• 4K (4096 x 2160), UHD (3840 x 2160), 2K (2048 x 1080), Full HD (1920 x 1080), and HD (1280 x 720).
• Slow motion recording (4K 60p / 2K up to 240p):
• up to 59.94fps/50fps for 4K/UHD,
• up to 120fps/100fps for 2K/Full HD,
• up to 240fps/200fps (cropped area).
• Internal Recording to 2 SD cards in 2 SD slots
• Recording Media: SDHC, SDXC memory card, UHS-I/UHS-II UHS Speed Class 3, Video Speed Class V90 supported
• Up to 400 Mbps Recording
• V-Log / V-Gamut
• 4K video outputs for both HDMI and SDI
• Timecode: BNC connector In/Out
• Dual balanced XLR audio inputs with Dolby Audio encoding.
• Future firmware upgrade: All Intra compression in-camera recording and 5.7K RAW output to 3rd party recorders.