--
The new season of the Emmy Award-winning docuseries Deadliest Catch, premiering today, April 9 at 9 PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel, was shot on the forbidding Bering Sea with seven VariCam LT 4K and 17 AU-EVA1 5.7 K cinema cameras. Produced for Discovery by Original Productions, Deadliest Catch -a perennial hit--portrays the real-life events aboard fishing vessels during the Alaskan king craband snow crab fishing seasons.
The Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, is the base of operations for the fishing fleet, and the shows title derives from the inherent high risk of injury or death associated with the work. The show emphasizes the dangers on deck to the fishermen-and camera operators.
Filming of this 15thseason began last October and continued through early March. A two-person TV crew lived on each of the seven boats profiled, and could count on many 20-hour shooting days. Generally, one cameraman, operating a VariCam LT, was assigned to document the captain stationed in the wheelhouse, while the second camera operator, working run-and-gun with an EVA1, followed the crew on the deck.
Ernie Montagna, Director of Equipment Operations, Original Productions, explained that the company owns all the cameras that it deploys to shoot its portfolio of shows (which also includes docuseries Jay Leno's Garage, Storage Wars, Ice Road Truckers and more). Adding Panasonic cameras to our department was key, affording our DPs an enhanced variety of cameras from which to choose, Montagna said. We're always looking for the best technology for our shows, we'd had our eye on the EVA1 since its introduction, and its compact, lightweight form factor, image quality, dual native ISOs and compatibility with the VariCam LT made these the best cameras for Deadliest Catch.'
David Reichert, the series' Director of Photography, described the disparate shooting scenarios on each boat. Capturing the captain in his wheelhouse entailed much less salt water than on the decks, and the situation was minimally run-and-gun, he said. The money shot would often be a beautiful image of the captain in front of surrounding windows-here dynamic range was key-or, at night, the captain at watch through these same windows, with absolute restrictions imposed on us regarding lighting. Given these criteria of expansive dynamic range, superb image rendition and extreme low-light handling, the VariCam LT was ideal.
Alternately, the shooting on the deck involved salty mists and wet, slippery footing, the DP continued. The camera operator needs to maneuver, pivot and hold that camera all day and well into the night. In a sense, the cameras have to be expendable-inevitably, we're going to lose
some. Low-light handling again comes into play. The EVA1-rugged, lightweight and with native ISOs complementing those of the VariCam LT-was the choice deck camera.
Reichert, a veteran DP for the series, noted this season's epic cold weather with violent winter storms. I believe we've captured the action in a way no one has ever seen before, he said. I've always admired the Panasonic film-like look,' and the VariCam LT/EVA1 combo has produced a beautiful, cinema-style show. The cameras enhanced the overall authenticity and naturalism of the series-we were able to spend less time stopping to light and more time in the moment.
Deadliest Catch was shot in Pro Res 4:2:2 HQ (VariCam LT) and 4:2:2 All-Intra 1080p (EVA1). The VariCam LTs were outfitted with Canon L series lenses (EF 16-35mm, EF 24-70mm, EF 70-200mm, and EF 35mm and 50mm Primes,) and the EVA1s with Canon EF 24-105mm lenses. Max Post (like Original Productions, a Fremantle Media company) is handling the edit on the Avid Media Composer platform. More hours of content were shot this season than ever before, 25 hours plus an additional six hours for special and recap shows.
Original Productions is currently utilizing the VariCam LTs and EVA1s on an original series for a premium content provider. Having these Panasonic cameras places us at the forefront of camera technology and enables us to meet the strict criteria of established and emerging premier content producers, Montagna said.
For more information about Original Productions, visit http://www.origprod.com/. For more information about Deadliest Catch, visit https://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/deadliest-catch/.
About the AU-EVA1
The AU-EVA1 5.7K handheld cinema camera is distinguished by a pixel count of 5720 H x 3016 V (17.25 million), Dual Native ISO ratings of 800 and 2,500, and 14-stops of dynamic range. The newly-designed EVA1 sensor is Super-35 sized (24.60mm x 12.97mm) with 5.7K resolution. With an active resolution of 5720 x 3016, the EVA1 delivers more than 17.25 million photo sites, nearly double the 8.8 million for 4K DCI . Weighing only 2.65-lbs (1.2Kg, body-only) with a compact form factor (6.69 H x 5.31 W x 5.23 D) and a removable handgrip, the EVA1 can be used for efficient handheld shooting applications. Because of its compact form factor, it can also be mounted on a drone, gimbal rig or jib arm for complex yet smooth camera moves.
About the VariCam LT
The VariCam LT camcorder inherits the same super 35mm sensor and superb imaging capabilities that distinguish the award-winning VariCam 35, but with significant reductions in size, weight and price.Incorporating this identical imaging DNA in a more compact rendition, the VariCam LT delivers 14+ stops of dynamic range with V-Log, and the esteemed cinematic VariCam image quality and color science, as well as the VariCam 35s breakout innovation, dual
native ISOs of 800/5000.Weighing just under six pounds and having superior capability to similar sized cameras, the VariCam LT is the ideal camera for handheld, SteadiCam, jib, crane, drone, gimbal and overall cinema verit work. The V
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
-- 
