Panasonic has announced a free firmware upgrade for its VariCam 35 4K and VariCam HS camera/recorders that expands recording options and enables several operational and workflow improvements.
   

This multifaceted upgrade was developed based on the practical requirements and input of cinematographers, DITs, rental and post houses and other VariCam partners.

The upgrade encompasses support for writing data to Panasonic’s newly-released B series expressP2 cards for 4K and high frame-rate recording, which feature faster read/write speeds and will include an increased capacity 512GB card along with a standard capacity 256GB card. Viewfinder and Viewfinder-SDI outputs will now be able to display in different selected color settings. The update also includes compatibility with Panasonic’s new AJ-WM50 wireless module that facilitates dual-band connectivity at both 2.4 and 5GHz in a smaller unit.

Other key features of the Version 6.0 upgrade:

• In-camera color corrections can be non-destructively applied to footage played back from camera; this allows operators to view LUTs/CDLs created for footage shot in V-log when playing clips directly from the camera without requiring the looks to be “baked in” to the image
  
• Color control files created in camera can be saved separately on SD cards for easy access as stand-alone files; previously, these LUTs/CDLs were saved to a file and stored on P2 media along with videos
  
• A new “2.201:1” aspect ratio indicator can be superimposed over image for shot framing
  
• “BEEP” sounds can be played at REC START/STOP
  
• When using the AU-VEXT1G extension module, the camera will indicate an error in recording if there is an interruption in the signal between camera head and recorder
  
• Image quality is improved when V-709 MAIN recording is selected
  
• AUDIO VOLUME can now be adjusted by the menu dial
  
• A new USER SW function opens the AUDIO VOLUME display directly
  
• WFM can show in “YGBR”
  
• An on-screen area marker indicates which portion of an image is magnified when using EXPAND mode for critical analysis
  
• “Audio Setting” and “Output Setting” are now consolidated to the same menu area for easier navigation and control
  
• The “Look Around” function now allows users to select if they want to view above or below the recorded image
  
• The name of menu item ”FLIP FLOP” is changed to ”IMAGE INVERT”
  
• ProRes HQ codec support now includes 1080/60i/50i

Operators can now display settings assigned to user switches with a simplified, single operation.

This firmware upgrade --Version 6.0 -- is immediately available for downloading at the Panasonic service support website.