Gateway Church Brings the “Cinematic Look” to Worship Services with Sony Electronics’ HDC-F5500 Cameras

One of Sony’s cinematic camera options, the HDC-F5500 4K Super 35mm system camera, and the HDC-3500 4K camera are bringing enhanced production tools to worship services at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. Gateway placed the first order of the new Super 35m HDC-F5500 camera, and they are among the first clients to use the camera worldwide. S35mm based cameras, such as the HDC-F5500, offer a shallow depth of field and superb imagery that amplifies creative expression and provides engaging new looks that can enrich worship experiences of all sizes.

Highlights of the 4K Super 35mm HDC-F5500 and HDC-3500 cameras include global shutter technology to eliminate rolling shutter distortion and flash band. In addition, both cameras support a wide color gamut and offer various frame rates for a true “cinematic look” while providing a 60p output, making them ideal for live production. The cameras’ high sensitivity and low noise along with HDR (High Dynamic Range) also prove helpful in capturing bright or dark environments, which is especially beneficial for the lighting often used during worship services. Additionally, operation is intuitive, allowing users and volunteers at all levels to easily navigate and produce stunning content for their live production, serving both in-person and virtual audiences.

The HDC-F5500 features a locally or remotely controlled motorized 8-step ND filter for precise control of the depth of field. 4K/12G-SDI direct output from the camera facilitates wireless operation and recording.

The HDC-F5500 is utilizing a mix of FUJINON 85-300mm, FUJINON 25-300mm, and FUJINON 20-120mm Cabrio cinema zoom lenses to enhance the depth of field; the HDC-3500 is being used with a mix of FUJINON UA70x, FUJINON UA13x4.5 and FUJINON UA24x box and portable zoom lenses including that will provide Gateway with complementary matching of colorimetry and operational controls.

In addition to the HDC-F5500’s and HDC-3500’s, Gateway Church, a legacy Sony customer, installed an XVS-9000 4/ME 4K switcher, PWS-4500 8-channel 4K server, BRAVIA professional 4K HDR displays and PVM professional production monitors through integration firm Beck Associates. They also purchased the new XVS-G1 switcher for their Dallas Campus.

“We wanted to achieve a cinematic look for the Worship portion of our services and when we were introduced to the HDC-F5500 camera, we knew it was exactly what we needed,” said Noah Gravell, Executive Director of Live Production, Gateway Church.

“The new model takes the best of Sony’s imaging expertise and packages it into a camera designed with churches’ needs in mind,” said Adrian Lopez, CEO Thunderhead Enterprises who was the project manager. “It’s a complete system that works out of the box, without requiring the additional cabling and third-party parts associated with other cinematic cameras. Selecting the HDC-F5500 and HDC-3500 was an easy choice, not only because Gateway has relied on Sony’s technology, guidance, and collaboration for decades but because the new cameras match each other, the rest of the church’s equipment and pair well with their Sony ecosystem.”

“Sony has valued Gateway Church’s partnership for many years, so we’re pleased to help them evolve into the next-generation of creative cinematic capture, while building their collection of complementary Sony technology,” said Theresa Alesso, President, Imaging Products & Solutions Americas, Sony Electronics. “The HDC-F5500 was purpose built to alleviate the complications associated with achieving shallow depth of field in live productions, with input from the faith community.  Having Gateway as our first faith-based customer is a testament to the power and applicability of the camera in this environment.”

Sony and Gateway are also hosting a webinar on Wednesday, March 30 at 2pm ET/1pm CT/11am PT to offer an inside look at how the church is using technology to deliver their message and create a memorable experience. Sign up to hear from Gateway’s leaders about how they are implementing the latest trends and innovations into their services.