Sony launches VENICE 4K Live bundle in North America

Sony has partnered with Multidyne to launch the VENICE 4K Live bundle, a new bundle created specifically to let the VENICE be used more easily on live productions.

According to Sony, the VENICE 4K Live bundle was developed with MultiDyne based on feedback from top live event professionals in the industry. MultiDyne’s Emmy award-winning SilverBack Fiber Optic Camera Adapter is the key to all this, transforming the VENICE 6K from a cinema camera into a live event camera.

Sony has, of course, done this before, most recently with 2021's HDC-F5500 s35mm live camera system. It's a growing market; everybody wants the cinematic look that the large sensor cameras provide, but nobody really wants to deal with the sheer amount of hardware you have to have hanging off the back of the cameras to make it work in a live setting. Which is why the specially adapted likes of the HDC-F5500 and the ARRI AMIRA Live are so popular with crews.

The new VENICE 4K Live bundle ups the ante on all that and includes:

• A VENICE
• SilverBack V 4K Camera Back Transceiver
• 18-inch XLR Breakout
• Sony camera data cable
• Cable assembly packages
• Tally light
• SilverBack-VB Base Station 12G/3G Transceiver
• Universal Rack Kit
• 1-meter XLR Breakout for 4x4 analog audio
• RS-232 and RS-422 Data/Tally/GPIO Breakout Y-Cable for SilverBack-VB Base Station
• Sony RCP data cable for SilverBack-VB Base Station
• Juice-48 External Power Supply
• Two RU Rack Mount Kits for HUT-CP camera units and Juice-48 power supplies

All in all, quite a lot.

Here's what Funicular Goats Founder and Technical Director, James Coker, who has used the VENICE/Multidyne combo in over 40 live events reckons: "The Sony Venice camera with a MultiDyne system makes what would be difficult or cumbersome shoots easier and more reliable: both live events and multi-camera events such as comedy specials and musical performances as well as live-to-tape style productions," he says.

 "The fiber allows us to have full control of the camera settings over IP, using the Sony Graphic User interface. And since it's hard-lined, we can run timecode and audio, multiple video feeds, tally, and sound, not to mention a robust solution for iris control. In short, the system allows for ease of use, reliability, quality control, and seamless workflow for the most challenging productions."

It's a neat system, but the VENICE 4K Live is currently available for pre-order only in North America for approximately $46,999 USD and $62,499 CAD. Shipments will begin mid-April. And we'll keep an ear out for any availability elsewhere in the world.