RICHARD GALE OPTICS UK

The FORBES70 Large Format Motion Camera is designed and individually built in England by Richard Gale
Optics. At the moment we offer the system (and a camera tech) for rental as a full package comprising the
camera head, lenses, and all required equipment. We can also undertake build of multiple units should this
be necessary.
With its enormous 65mm wide image pick-up area (16:9), FORBES70 allows directors of photography to
obtain the dramatic look of medium format motion picture at up to 30 frames per second. With such a huge
frame the full image circle of high end German lenses from DHW Fototechnik are harnessed to provide
extremely wide fields of view, supremely refined optical resolution when used with apertures fully opened
up, and as such the depth of field and three dimensionality typically only obtainable with large format still
photography.
Rather than compete with the likes of large format offerings from Vision Research, Arri or Panavision, - all of
which are designed and priced to fulfil the needs of projects who's cgi, post-production, and resolution
needs are far beyond the needs of independent film productions; Our goal instead was to devise a camera
system who's primary purpose is to deliver, and in some cases surpass the aesthetic and the optical quality
of traditional 65mm motion picture while providing a solid FullHD picture.
FORBES70 is the perfect choice for creative DOP's who desire the expansive large format look and a striking
visual signature for projects who's priorities lie closer to traditional artistic expression rather than towards
post production and special effects.
In order to obtain a true large format picture the internals of FORBES70 have been designed to relay the
65mm wide image pickup area through a custom designed internal optical pathway, and onto a high
dynamic range 16mm cmos sensor of FullHD resolution. Outputting either pro-res or compressed 12bit raw
dng streams onto SD Card or via HDMI / SDI into an external recorder. The actual optical resolution
transmitted onto the 16mm cmos sensor is infact much greater than FullHD since the large format image
pickup area roughly equates to around 60-80mpx. Since the internal relay optics are capable of delivering
around 4-6k onto a s16mm sensor, the internal cmos sensor could be easily upgraded to fully take

advantage of greater resolutions dictated by the format.

Lenses (Schneider Kreuznach / DHW Fototechnik):40mm/3.5 - Super Angulon - (equiv to 16mm/1.4 lens on s35mm)
50mm/2.8 - Super Angulon - (equiv to 20mm/1.2 lens on s35mm)
80mm/2 - Xenotar - (equiv to 32mm/1.0 lens on s35mm)
90mm/4 - Makro Symmar - (equiv to 35mm/1.8 lens on s35mm)
150mm/4 - Symmar - (equiv to 60mm/1.8 lens on s35mm)
180mm/2.8 Tele Xenar - (equiv to 72mm/1.2 lens on s35mm)
300mm/4 Tele Xenar - (equiv to 120mm/1.8 lens on s35mm)
1.4x APO Tele Converter (1 f-stop light loss)

Additional lenses available Hasselblad 50mm/2.8, 80mm/2.8, 150mm/2.8, 110mm/2

NORITAR / RITTRECK 'Speed' Lenses
X-ACT2 Technical / Bellows camera system.

Native fixed ISO of 800*, Compressed RawDNG (1080p), 24/25/30fps

*internal sensor is rated at 800iso. at 0db gain mode the optical pathway provides zero light loss meaning
light meters are accurate if set to 800iso and lens aperture is used for exposure. f2.8 on FORBES70 is the
same exposure as f2.8 on any camera set to 800iso.
internal relay optics can be set to +3db gain meaning the optical pathway creates a 'speed booster' effect and
a gain of 1 stop, at the expense of a slight drop of optical resolution. The 1 stop gain should only be called upon
as a last resort when resolution is less important than noise levels in low light. Conversely, the internal optics
can be set from their base of 0db (optimal resolution) down to -9db providing up to 3 stops of ND internally.
Each increase in negative gain provides a very slight improvement in optical performance and edge to edge

resolution meaning bright conditions such as vast daytime exteriors benefit moderately better resolution at the
furthest edges of the frame.