Although the Octopus project is being developed since 2018, significant progress (pivot?) has made in the last few days, upgrading the camera sensor to an 8K global shutter with improved dynamic range. Read more about the fully customizable Octopus Cinema 8K.

Octopus: A customizable cinema camera

The Octopus Cinema is a project started in 2018 which the development has been pushed in the last months, resulting in 8K, large format, and global shutter sensor. Furthermore, the design has been finalized. Basically, it’s supposed to be a large format (larger than full-frame) cinema camera that is capable of capturing 8K and 14 stops of dynamic range. The camera is composed of Ximea image modules which are basically small cameras utilizing 3rd party sensors. The Ximea module allows the privilege of camera customization according to a specific demand. Think of it as a camera inside a camera that can be replaced, which means you can plan your own camera (Super 35mm, 4K resolution, and even a monochrome version). Head over to the Ximea website to explore the possibilities.

Full-frame, 8K, global shutter, and RAW

According to Octopus inventors, the sensor can reach an anamorphic field of view of 65mm. “It’s larger vertically than most full-frame sensors – with an anamorphic adapter you would get a similar field of view to 65mm…We’ve upgraded the Octopus Camera LF sensor to an 8K larger than full-frame global shutter sensor” the company emphasizes. As for the recording format, the company adds:” Using our unique full-frame RAW oversampling algorithm, we can record lossless 14-bit 4K CinemaDNG internally to CFast cards with excellent detail, gradability, and latitude beyond what is typically capable of global shutter sensors. We can also capture full native 8K in lossless RAW to an external thunderbolt SSD”. The camera also records a high bitrate 10-bit HEVC. The company says that sample footage and stills are coming soon.

It’s larger vertically than most full-frame sensors – with an anamorphic adapter you would get a similar field of view to 65mm. 

Octopus Cinema

Specifications and highlights of the Octopus Cinema 8K

• Resolution: 8K (7920 x 6004)
• Sensor: Full Frame, Ximea CMV50000, Global shutter, Monochrome / Colour
• Dynamic range: Up to 14 Stops
• Mount: Removable Active Canon EF Mount
• FPS: 4K up to 30fps, 3K up to 60fps, 2K up to 110fps
• Codec: 10-bit Compressed (HEVC) /12-bit Lossless RAW (CinemaDNG via Thunderbolt™ 3)
• Internal CFast 2.0 recording: SATA III based CFast 2.0 for write speeds over 400MB/s
• External Thunderbolt™ 3 SSD recording: Thunderbolt™ 3 USB-C port for up to 5000MB/s bandwidth
• Mainboard – Intel® NUC 8V7PNB: Intel® Core™ i7-8665U, 16GB DDR4 RAM (Upgradeable to 64GB), SATA III 6GB/s, 4x PCI-e Gen 3.0, 3x USB3 Gen 2, 2x HDMI 2.0 ports, Thunderbolt™ 3 USB-C
• Additional IO: 3G-SDI In / Out, Genlock reference input
• Body: 110 x 110 x 130mm, 900 grams, CNC Aluminium in gloss white finish
• Designed and assembled in London, UK

Using our unique full-frame RAW oversampling algorithm, we can record lossless 14-bit 4K CinemaDNG internally to CFast cards with excellent detail, gradability, and latitude beyond what is typically capable of global shutter sensors.

Octopus Cinema

Price and availability

There’s no info regarding the price yet. According to the team, they are looking at rental options to make it more accessible as it is a niche item.

Initial insights

The Octopus Cinema 8K can be revealed as a nice surprise by the market. By utilizing 3rd party camera modules (camera inside a camera) a precisely customized product can be born that is also capable of producing polished imagery. Nowadays, you don’t need a big factory to design and develop a camera with impressive specs, since there’re built-n technological solutions, like Ximea. Nevertheless, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope to get some beautiful footage out of the Octopus camera.