Camera Profile: The Dalsa Origin

by Kyle Kull

A shot from "Alice in Wonderland" (Tim Burton, 2010) shot with the Dalsa Origin.

Some people may be somewhat unaware that Hollywood is not the only place in the world where the film industry is strong and flourishing. Countries such as Italy and France have been producing award winning and brilliant beautiful cinema for the past few decades. Canada, in recent years, has blossomed as one of the premiere countries for film development and production, particularly with documentary filmmaking. Hotspots for filmmaking in Canada include Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. One of the major corporations with headquarters in Canada that has extended into the film market, is Teledyne Dalsa, an electronic equipment manufacturer. 

Dalsa is based out of Waterloo, Ontario, near Toronto, and as one of Canada’s top employers, they create semiconductor technology and image sensors for NASA rovers, in addition to their digital motion picture cameras. Dalsa is a relatively new corporation, created in the 1980’s, and while they originally were making CCD image sensors, they have expanded dramatically with their quick success. Like most other camera companies, Dalsa saw the digital inflation on the market and realized an opportunity to manufacture a motion picture camera, especially with their expertise in imaging sensors. In 2003, Dalsa released their very first camera, the Dalsa Origin, the first ever 4K digital camera.

At the time the Origin was released in Las Vegas, the 4K motion picture camera, which is now the standard resolution for a motion picture, was not yet existent. Therefore, the Origin was a groundbreaking new technology for the filmmaking community, especially in the midst of the birth of digital cinema. Along with this improvement in resolution, the camera allowed for travelling matte photography and digital compositing, giving the camera a special advantage for visual effects. The reason the camera was so successful was its testing during development. Not only was the camera itself developed by a cinematographer, Ed DeGiulio, but it was also tested by other cinematographers, Allen Daviau and Daryn Okada, both members of the American Society of Cinematographers. By evaluating the camera and diagnosing its problems with professionals during its development stage, the company was able to produce a near perfect digital camera that was well received by those in the field. 

A scene from James Bond film, "Quantum of Solace".

The camera was first used for a project entitled “Postcards From the Future”, directed by Alan Chan, and continued to be used by numerous corporations on their commercials. This included companies such as Motorola, Snickers and Greenpeace whose video with the camera can be seen below. Although this video shows a large amount of footage that is not shot with the Dalsa Origin, you can see the visual clarity that is presented with the camera. The Dalsa Origin was noted for its ability to be easily used during VFX editing, making it preferred for productions that were using an excess amount of VFX. This was seen specifically in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster, 2008), in which the Origin was used. Because the camera was used mainly for VFX production, the full extent of the Origin can be seen in explosion and action sequences in the film. Although the film was not critically acclaimed, the action sequences, like in most James Bond films, were praised, with much assistance from the Dalsa Origin.

The camera was rebranded in 2007, as the Dalsa Origin II, which had a better image output than the original, as well as a touch screen interface on the display. This camera was created to respond to the RED, which was beginning to take over the digital camera industry by force. Although the Dalsa was still a great camera and proved to be useful for those that were in the field, the RED cameras were those that were preferred by professionals. As a result the Dalsa Origin eventually stopped being produced due to lack of demand. However, there are still numerous Origin’s that are still available for rental.

Dalsa has been quiet in the last few years, having not produced a film camera since the Origin II in 2007. However, be watchful of this company, which is likely to produce a new camera shortly due to their imaging expertise and past success with the motion picture camera market.