When working with high-end cinema cameras like the Sony Venice or the Sony Venice 2, understanding your data footprint is critical for production planning. The storage requirements vary significantly depending on whether you are shooting in 8K, 6K, or 4K, and which level of X-OCN compression you select.
What is X-OCN?
X-OCN (Extended tonal range Original Camera Negative) is Sony's high-efficiency RAW-like format. It provides the flexibility of RAW but with significantly smaller file sizes. It is available in three flavors:
X-OCN XT: The highest quality for demanding VFX work, comparable to Sony RAW but more efficient.
X-OCN ST: The standard choice for most high-end productions, balancing quality and data size.
X-OCN LT: Ideal for long-form television and documentaries where storage efficiency is paramount.
Key Factors Influencing Data Rates
Several variables impact how many gigabytes you will generate per hour:
Resolution: Venice 2's 8K sensor captures roughly 4 times the data of a 4K frame.
Frame Rate: Shooting at 60fps instead of 24fps will more than double your storage consumption.
Aspect Ratio: Full-frame 3:2 recording uses the entire sensor area and requires more data than 17:9 or 16:9 crops.
Practical Example
If you are shooting on the Sony Venice 2 in 8K 17:9 using X-OCN ST at 24 fps, your data rate is approximately 1,650 Mbps. For a typical 60-minute shoot day (actual rolling time), you would require roughly 742 GB of storage. This would necessitate two 512GB AXS cards or one 1TB card per hour of footage.
function calculateVeniceData() {
var res = document.getElementById("venice_res").value;
var codec = document.getElementById("venice_codec").value;
var fps = parseFloat(document.getElementById("venice_fps").value);
var duration = parseFloat(document.getElementById("venice_duration").value);
if (isNaN(duration) || duration <= 0) {
alert("Please enter a valid duration.");
return;
}
// Base Bitrate Table (in Mbps) at 24fps
var baseBitrate = 0;
// Logic for X-OCN 8K (Venice 2)
if (res === "8K_17_9") {
if (codec === "XOCN_XT") baseBitrate = 2470;
else if (codec === "XOCN_ST") baseBitrate = 1650;
else if (codec === "XOCN_LT") baseBitrate = 1100;
else baseBitrate = 600; // Fallback for ProRes/XAVC at high res
} else if (res === "8K_3_2") {
if (codec === "XOCN_XT") baseBitrate = 2900;
else if (codec === "XOCN_ST") baseBitrate = 1940;
else if (codec === "XOCN_LT") baseBitrate = 1290;
else baseBitrate = 700;
}
// Logic for 6K
else if (res === "6K_17_9" || res === "6K_3_2") {
var mult = (res === "6K_3_2") ? 1.2 : 1.0;
if (codec === "XOCN_XT") baseBitrate = 1400 * mult;
else if (codec === "XOCN_ST") baseBitrate = 920 * mult;
else if (codec === "XOCN_LT") baseBitrate = 550 * mult;
else if (codec.includes("XAVC")) baseBitrate = 480;
else baseBitrate = 800; // ProRes
}
// Logic for 4K
else if (res === "4K_17_9") {
if (codec === "XOCN_XT") baseBitrate = 660;
else if (codec === "XOCN_ST") baseBitrate = 440;
else if (codec === "XOCN_LT") baseBitrate = 260;
else if (codec === "XAVC_480") baseBitrate = 480;
else if (codec === "XAVC_300") baseBitrate = 300;
else baseBitrate = 880; // ProRes 4444
}
// Adjust for FPS (Base is calibrated at 24fps)
var currentMbps = (baseBitrate / 24) * fps;
// Total Data: Mbps * 60 seconds * duration / 8 (to bytes) / 1024 (to GB)
var totalGB = (currentMbps * 60 * duration) / 8 / 1024;
var cards = Math.ceil(totalGB / 512);
document.getElementById("total_storage").innerHTML = totalGB.toFixed(2) + " GB";
document.getElementById("data_rate_mbps").innerHTML = currentMbps.toFixed(0) + " Mbps";
document.getElementById("cards_needed").innerHTML = cards + " (512GB Cards)";
document.getElementById("venice_result").style.display = "block";
}