Apertus have announced their Axiom 4K s35mm 15 F-Stop dynamic range CinemaDNG RAW recording camera is going down the open modular route and getting jiggy with crowdfunding as well.
The 4K Axiom open module camera is expected to be offered via a crowdfunding project and the price set well under $10,000.
The passionate concept behind the Axiom camera by Apertus is for you to design and build your dream camera one module after another.
Open Module Concept
Modularity is of course nothing new: Analogue film and photographic (medium format) cameras have been built around systems using this principle for more than half a century. In the digital age, we believe our Open Module Concept not only makes Axiom 100% extendible, but that it also allows for a streamlined project management system when developing new modules for various hardware functionalities. With an open modular system, different teams can be working on separate modules in parallel, with an awareness of what each other is doing. This has the potential to encourage the sharing of designs and information, with a strong level of transparency toward the community. Disclaimer: This is a concept! What you can see below is a snapshot of our current ideas, and it does not mean everything will end up exactly like it is shown or described here. What it does indicate however, is the direction in which we are heading for the future.
Here are the Axiom 4K Camera modules broken down:
Open Modules for an Open Platform
The concept of Axiom is to create much more than just a camera “product”. It is an open camera platform – ready to evolve into things we haven’t even dreamt of today. Many people are cautious of buying into a camera system due to the rapid pace at which new “products” are being announced, with state-of-the-art systems now outdated within months of their release cycle. We want to stress that Axiom will not be outdated anytime soon – it will be built from the ground up as a system that will evolve over time as we rely on FPGA based designs rather than fixed “set-in-stone systems”. We and the entire community will be able to deliver new interfaces, codecs, firmware and significant degrees of newer functionalities all via a simple software download to the camera. It is our intention to use this to create a very powerful ecosystem around Axiom, providing long term support alongside the development of new features.
Before the Apertus folks hit the big crowdfunding button they have 3 things they need to complete first.
Axiom Alpha prototype development is complete.
We have shot a selection of clips and sample footage with Axiom Alpha prototype and created a crowd funding video.
Full detailed Axiom development plans/concepts/budget/schedule are ready and viewable in an accessible form online.
Want to know more about the Apertus Axiom 4K camera? Then please hit up https://www.apertus.org/open-modules-concept