Sony has turned its VENICE 2 cinema camera into a 65mm large-format system. The new RIALTO 65 extension carries a sensor roughly 2.2 times the area of a 35mm full-frame chip, which is the kind of imaging surface that gives a shot that deep, big-screen separation between a subject and the space behind it.
It is a specialist tool aimed at high-end film and commercial work, not a camera most people will buy, but it is a useful marker of where large-format capture is heading. Sony says the RIALTO 65 reaches Singapore in the first half of 2027, with no Malaysian date confirmed yet.
Contents
Quick facts
- 65mm sensor measuring 53.75mm by 35.83mm, about 2.2x the area of 35mm full-frame
- 9.6K 1.5:1 Open Gate readout, plus a 9.6K 2.20:1 mode
- 15+ stops of latitude at Base ISO 2500 (Base ISO 2500 or 10000)
- Compact camera head, about 115 x 154 x 63mm, roughly 1.5kg
- Available in Singapore in the first half of 2027
What the RIALTO 65 actually is
The RIALTO 65 is a camera head that pairs with the VENICE 2 body to expand it to the 65mm format. Its sensor measures 53.75mm wide by 35.83mm high with a diagonal of about 64.60mm, which Sony says is among the largest used in a commercially available cinema camera. It reads out at 9.6K in a 1.5:1 Open Gate mode, with a 9.6K 2.20:1 mode for a wider choice of lenses.
It runs in two ways. In Extension Mode the head separates from the body, so it can sit in tight spaces, at height, or on a handheld rig, with a 4.5m or 12m cable linking the two. In Studio Mode the head bolts straight onto the body as a single camera. Either way it keeps the VENICE 2 colour science, 16-bit X-OCN internal recording, and the existing workflow, so a crew already on VENICE 2 is not starting over.
Why the sensor size matters
Large format is mostly about the look. A bigger sensor gathers a wider field of view at a given focal length and renders depth and subject separation in a way smaller chips cannot, which is why 65mm has long been a film-world shorthand for scale. Sony puts the RIALTO 65 imaging area at about 2.2 times a 35mm full-frame sensor.
It pairs that with 15+ stops of latitude at Base ISO 2500, so highlights and shadows hold together in high-contrast scenes. Sony first revealed the system as a development announcement earlier this year; this is the full launch, with the readout modes, ISO and availability filled in.
What it can film
The 9.6K Open Gate readout captures the full sensor, so an editor can reframe, stabilise or crop to a different aspect ratio without losing resolution. Footage records in S-Log3 and the wide S-Gamut3 colour space, the flat, gradeable look colourists expect, and two Base ISO settings, 2500 and 10000, give a cleaner starting point in brighter or darker setups.
Because the head detaches in Extension Mode, the 65mm format can go into confined spaces and onto handheld rigs that larger single-body systems struggle to reach. Sony has posted field-test footage from the RIALTO 65 if you want to see the look. If you are working at the other end of the budget, our guide on hiding a lavalier mic while filming covers the production details that matter whatever the camera.
Availability and price
Sony says the RIALTO 65 will reach Singapore in the first half of 2027. It has not confirmed Malaysian availability or a price, and asks buyers to check with an official local Sony retailer closer to launch. We will update this story if a Malaysian date appears.
For most readers the RIALTO 65 is something to watch rather than buy, but it signals where the cinema look is going: more sensor, more resolution, in a head small enough to put almost anywhere.
