Panavision's new cinema camera is ready to go against rivals Red and Arri

Gone are the days when a movie used to end with a post-credit message that read "Lenses and Panaflex camera by Panavision" would show. Now it's more likely that the blockbuster you watched was shot on Red or Arri. Panavision now seeks to change that, by adopting one of its contemporaries' key pieces of technology.

With its latest cinema camera, the Millenium DXL2, the company has crammed in Red's Monstro 8K VistaVision sensor that offers 16-bit, 8192 x 4320 RAW output and has a dynamic range of 16 stops.

To against the likes of Arri's renowned skill for skin tone reproduction, Panavision also launched its own "color science" for its Light Iron Color 2 camera. The company believes the new system will attract the cinematographers who make do with the traditional Kodak and Fujifilm motion picture films.

Panavision in a post on their website explains, Light Iron Color 2 deviates from traditional digital color matrices by following in the footsteps of film stock philosophy instead of direct replication of how colors look in nature."

The new Light Iron Color 2 also offers a new workflow that will make work easier for the crew members handling bulky RAW files to watch footage on the sets.

"We have been listening to feedback from cinematographers and the results of our collaboration are directly manifested in the DXL2," said Panavision CEO Kim Snyder.

Panavision also borrowed one more thing from RED by making the DXL2 modular, wireless, EVF, separate power and additional modules. This will also allow cinematographers to quickly switch from a huge studio setup to a steady camera setup. The company also mentions that the camera body weighs only 10 pounds.

As they say "all good things come at a good price," you must be expecting some jaw-dropping price for this piece of hardware. But for the good news, Panavision doesn't sell cameras - it only rents them. For renting the camera, cinematographers will probably have to shell out around $750 to $1,000 (excluding the lenses) per day.