At a recent new technology showcase in New York City, Canon www.us.canon.com/ showed a 5.5 pound prototype 4K camera that is designed for multimedia photographers who simultaneously shoot both video and still images. The camera was designed to take on RED’s Scarlett multimedia camera due on the market by year’s end.

The Canon prototype uses a two-thirds inch, eight megapixel CMOS sensor capable of four times high-definition video resolution and photos at frame rates in excess of 60 frames per second. It enables high-speed continuous shooting and high-quality slow motion playback.

Larry Thorpe, national marketing executive for Canon USA, admitted the camera is Canon’s response to the RED Scarlett professional camera for multimedia journalists. “We are getting comments at the Expo to determine where we go with it,” Thorpe said.

The prototype camera, however, will probably never be built as shown. The cameras on exhibit were equipped with 24-480mm zoom lens (35mm equivalent) with 20X optical zoom and aperture settings from f1.8 to 3.8. The cameras also featured a new electronically controlled lens drive system.

On the walls of the booth, Canon posted a series of high-resolution still images that are purported to be frame grabs from the new camera. The stills were designed to show how the camera could produce both super HD video and very high quality stills simultaneously.

Thorpe said no price or availability for such a camera exists yet. There was also no information about the camera’s technology or whether or not a cable leading from the camera might be connected to added electronics.  The cameras were secured to mounts and were not available for handholding.

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