During IBC 2023 we had a chance to to sit down with Mr. Yann Salmon-Legagneur, Head of Imaging Products & Solutions Marketing, at Sony Europe for a full Q&A session about a range of topics including the new Sony BURANO 8K cinema camera, the Sony current lineup, the new Sony app, Sony A1/A7S III firmware and much more.
BURANO Cinema Camera
Just before IBC 2023, Sony announced a very interesting new high-end BURANO camera (named after the colorful Italian small island close to Venice.
The name might also give us a clue as to where Sony is positioning this new camera (basically as something closer to the Venice than to the FX6/9 although Salmon-Legagneur did mention that many documentary and broadcast companies are very interested in the camera).
We had a chance to play with the BURANO a little before the interview and you can see some of the menus in the B-roll of our video. The camera is certainly very small compared to the Venice and has an 8.6K full-frame sensor designed to match the VENICE with dual base ISO 800/3200 and 16 stops of dynamic range (just keep in mind that this is not the same sensor as the much higher priced Venice 2).
One feature that is interesting on this camera is AF. The Venice 2 lacks AF but the BURANO has advanced AF capabilities hinting at what other target audiences Sony sees for this camera.
The BURANO in IBC 2023
Combining IBIS + VND in a Single Camera
For years Sony users have been asking if it was possible to combine into one camera both IBIS and an Electronic Variable ND Filter. So far we have seen Sony making many FX and Alpha stabilized cameras but only the none stabilized FX6/FX9 has the Electronic Variable ND Filter built in.
The BURANO is the first camera to combine both and although it is larger compared to the FX6 (not by much) it is nice to see that Sony was finally able to do this in a camera. Will we see this technology in an Alpha camera any time soon, it’s hard to say but our money is on – not.
Sony camera lines and investment in accessories
Sony has a large number of camera lines (depending on how you count around 8). Some of them might seem to be overlapping and Sony does recognize this to some degree although according to Salmon-Legagneur each model has its own rationale and place even if it has some features that are similar to a different model from a different line.
Sony’s investment in cameras (and to some degree lenses) is huge, however, we always feel that Sony should invest more in accessories and utilize its camera technologies to create products that can help photographers’ jobs easier (multi-cam controlling units, true wireless gimbals with full camera controls, wireless follow focus that does not need external motors and much more.
From Sony’s perspective accessories are not its main area and there is a lot of competition in this field so according to Salmon-Legagneur the company will only develop products where it sees a clear advantage that it can bring to the market.
Sony Monitor & Control App
Sony recently announced the Sony Monitor & Control app for FX3/F30/F6 cameras. This new app has a lot of interesting features for video shooters. We wanted to know if at least some of these features will come to some of the higher-end Alpha cameras.
In the interview, Salmon-Legagneur could not give an answer but after the interview, we got a very happy update according to it both the A1 and A7S III will also be supported by the app in Spring 2024 (What does this mean for those cameras’ long-awaited firmware updated and will other newer cameras also work with the app – we will have to wait and see).
The new Sony Monitor & Control app
Full-time DMF
The ability to manually change focus (using the focus ring) while in AF mode is called in Sony full-time DMF. We wanted to know if this is a lens feature or a camera feature and according to Salmon-Legagneur, this is now a feature on Sony cameras.
Focus Magnification
Related to the question above we wanted to know how the automatic focus magnification on Sony cameras and lenses works (on some lenses when you change the focus on the ring the camera enters magnification mode automatically and in other lenses it does now). We didn’t really get a full answer here (if you happen to have a better understanding of this topic let us know and we will keep digging into this subject in the future).
Sony A1/A7S III Firmware
As we asked in our interview with Salmon-Legagneur last year we wanted to know if the A1 and A7S III will finally get a new major firmware update. Salmon-Legagneur could not say much but he did say that the highest-ranking people in Sony are aware of this and to us, this sounds like a glimmer of hope.
Make sure you don’t miss any of our IBC 2023 videos and articles on our special show coverage page.
Special thanks to our sponsors for IBC 2023: SmallRig, Ulanzi, Godox, Zhiyun.
Iddo Genuth 
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