February 13, 2015—A revolutionary underwater camera system that could transform the production of 3D IMAX-style films is being launched at GSCA's Giant Screen Filmmaker Symposium in Los Angeles by Pawel Achtel, director of the Tasmanian-based company Achtel Pty. Ltd., which has already built an international reputation as one of Australia’s most innovative small companies in the film industry.
Filmmaker and inventor Achtel, whose previous inventions have won international awards and acclaim in competition with such heavyweights as Sony and Canon, will launch a new underwater camera system “DeepX 3D,” radically different from anything else on the market, at the Giant Screen industry’s premier event in Los Angeles on 12 March.
Films about marine life and the oceans remain the most popular of all subjects shown on the largest film screens around the globe, at venues such as Darling Harbour’s IMAX cinema and Melbourne Museum’s IMAX screen, according to the latest industry survey.
But filming underwater presents huge difficulties, especially in the 3D that most venues need these days. Traditional underwater housings reduce image quality and create distortion to such an extent that the images fall far short of what’s required for and possible on today’s giant screens and, in 3D, can actually cause uncomfortable eye strain. Typical cameras weigh more than 120kg and require cranes just to get them in the water too.
DeepX 3D weighs in at less than 30kg and can be handled by a single cameraman, yet produces images that far surpass those of conventional camera systems. Using dedicated and optically matched underwater lenses, and a special formulation of reflective material that’s been specially developed for the beam splitter mirror that evenly splits the highly polarised ambient light underwater, Achtel’s new camera system uniquely creates images that meet, and surpass, the 4K standard of today’s giant screen technology.
“We’ve been delighted by the international reception to our previous inventions, but the DeepX 3D is a major advance for us,” said Achtel before leaving for the USA. “A single underwater cameraman can now do what hasn’t, until now, been possible even for a large crew with huge, cumbersome camera systems.”
The GSCA Filmmaker Symposium will be held in Los Angeles, March 11-12, at the Universal City Hilton Hotel. The launch will be at the Trade Show in Ballroom B on March 12 at 1:00-3:00 pm.
Source: Achtel Pty. Ltd.
