Astra m4/3 Camera

The Astra m4/3 camera system features a 4/3 image sensor with 4000 x 3000 photo and video 4096 x 2160 resolution and a MFT lens mount; allowing you to capture more detailed images in lower light with higher resolution. Combined with the 3-axis brushless gimbal system, large 4.63μm (9 micron) pixel pitch, 100 Mbit/s process speed and a host of lightweight lens options.

Shooting at 120fps allows you to slow the video footage to ¼ speed at 29.9fps (broadcast standard) creating an artistic, smooth and natural feel. Supporting shutter speeds from 1/25s to 1/8000s, you can be sure to reach the all-important 180-degree shutter rule when shooting at 120fps.

The Astra m4/3 system supports a vast array of lenses from multiple manufacturers that are small, lightweight lenses. The smaller size, focal length (35mm equivalent), aperture and AF speed provide amazing choices for even the most discerning filmmaker. Olympus and Panasonic are the two main manufacturers of MFT format lenses and there are some top-value alternatives that give an impressive performance on a tighter budget too.
The Astra m4/3 utilizes the speed and quality of post-production in Apple ProRes. ProRes post-production provides an unparalleled combination of multi-stream, real-time editing performance, impressive image quality and reduced storage rates. Utilizing variable bit rate (VBR) codec technology, ProRes uses fewer bits on simple frames that would not benefit from encoding at a higher data rate. ProRes combined with a Cfast memory card offers fast recording speeds, practical size, weight and amazing price performance (vs SSD).
The Astra m4/3 color science is tuned to be more filmic, avoiding over-saturation, especially in the red and blue channels. With its precise tuning, XDynamics has integrated a sensor that creates natural colors while keeping maximum color fidelity within each channel.

To not only perform well in low-light environments but also to preserve details even when capturing higher exposures – the Astra m4/3 has ramped down the highlight color channels as they start to over-expose in a shot. This, with the help of other proprietary color algorithms, enables the camera to provide organic highlight roll-off very similar to film. These are seen especially when filming sunrise/set and when backlit by a bright light source.
Our proprietary low-light technology provides features that are unique to the Astra m4/3 camera system. Every camera produces ‘noise’ in extreme low-light on the finished product – on screen or in print. Our system creates cinematic style noise in low light by protecting our color channels to manifest this apparition only in the black and white channels. This approach creates a smooth organic and realistic professional feel that is natural to the eyes and not distracting to the subject on camera.
The image quality of any camera is influenced primarily by the quality of the sensor, not the size of the resolution (megapixels). Think bigger film, better image quality. The Astra m4/3 sensor is 12 megapixels and that translates to the size of our pixels being twice as big as a typical m4/3 sensor allowing more light per pixel and better image quality overall.

The key advantages of this technology are better low light capabilities, more color information per megapixel and much greater dynamic range.
The Astra m4/3 system sports a very high dynamic range due to its impressive range of 13 stops. This creates a larger range of luminosity that is not achievable with other sensors or photographic equipment. The result is amazing detail in low light, bright light (sunsets) and other challenging situations.
The Astra m4/3 system supports multiple 3D LUTs to provide the widest range of film textures available in the filmmaking process. From vintage Kodachrome to classic looks like bleach bypass – the options are virtually limitless with custom LUTs. This also provides the filmmaker with a live view of the footage exactly how it will look at the time of capture.