Sony RIALTO 65 Announced – 65mm Camera Extension for VENICE 2, 9.6K Open Gate, 16-bit X-OCN

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Sony RIALTO 65 Announced – 65mm Camera Extension for VENICE 2, 9.6K Open Gate, 16-bit X-OCN

Sony’s RIALTO 65 is now official, and it puts a 65mm format sensor into a compact head that connects to an existing VENICE 2 body, on a cable or attached directly. It reads out 9.6K Open Gate, records 16-bit X-OCN internally, and arrives in the first half of 2027. I am at Sony’s event at Pinewood Studios today, where Sony is showing us the system.

When Sony announced the RIALTO 65 as a development project in June, we covered it with a long list of open questions about resolution, recording, and lens mounts. Today Sony answers most of them. The RIALTO 65 (model CBK-6510XS) uses a 53.75 x 35.83mm sensor with a 1.5:1 aspect ratio, about 2.2 times the area of full frame. According to Sony, it is among the largest sensors in any commercially available cinema camera. The head weighs about 1.5kg / 3.3lb, and it offers dual base ISO 2500 and 10000, with 15+ stops of latitude at ISO 2500.

This article is based on Sony’s press material. I will see the system at Pinewood today, and we will publish an interview video from the event in the next few days. So, for my own impressions, stay tuned.

Sony RIALTO 65 connected to a VENICE 2. Image credit: Sony

A taller 65mm sensor

For me, the most interesting part is not the size but the shape. ARRI’s ALEXA 65 and the newer ALEXA 265 have had the digital 65mm market almost to themselves for years. Their sensor has a similar width, but a much wider aspect ratio of close to 2.1:1. Sony goes taller, to 1.5:1, which gives the proportions of a still photography frame.

That extra height is useful for anamorphic capture, for framing for different deliverables, and for reframing in post. At launch, there are two readout modes: 9.6K 1.5:1 Open Gate, which uses the full sensor, and 9.6K 2.20:1, with a diagonal of about 59mm, which suits more lenses. Sony says more readout modes will come with future VENICE 2 software updates. In my opinion, the 2.20:1 mode is the one many productions will use first. Many of the large-format lenses announced this year, such as the ZEISS Panoptes 65 primes and the Angénieux EZ 65 zooms, cover an image circle of about 60mm. That fits the 2.20:1 mode, but the full Open Gate needs glass made for true 65mm coverage.

Sony RIALTO 65 connected to a VENICE 2 in “Extension Mode” with the cable, and in “Studio Mode”. Image credit: Sony

Why the cable matters

The RIALTO name tells you how this works. As with the Rialto Extension System 2 and the VENICE 2 Extension System Mini, the head can move away from the body. In Extension Mode, a cable connects the two. It detaches at both ends, and Sony includes a 4.5m / 14.8ft cable, with a 12m / 39.4ft cable as an option. In Studio Mode, the head attaches directly to the body as one camera.

This is where I think Sony has a strong argument. Until now, digital 65mm meant a big camera. A 1.5kg head on a cable can go on a gimbal, into a car interior, or onto a handheld rig, while the body, media, and power stay somewhere else. The head also records tilt and roll as metadata for post.

The 12m cable option for the RIALTO 65 system. Image credit: Sony

Same VENICE 2 pipeline

The VENICE 2 body does the recording. So the RIALTO 65 writes to the same AXS cards, in the same 16-bit X-OCN, with S-Log3 and S-Gamut3 and the CineAlta color science that VENICE users know. For rental houses with VENICE 2 packages, this is the real selling point: the media, accessories, and post workflows stay the same. My feeling is that this is Sony’s main strategy here. It does not need to sell a new camera body, only a new front end for bodies that are already out there. That is my guess, of course.

What we do not know yet is how the sensor performs. Our VENICE 2 Lab Test gives a reference for the full-frame 8.6K version. Rolling shutter on a 9.6K sensor of this size is the first thing I want to see in our lab (Sony, if you are reading this, we are ready when you are).

All the bits and pieces in the RIALTO 65 kit. Image credit: Sony

Lenses, anamorphic, and ND

The RIALTO 65 has no lens mount of its own. Sony designed it for third-party lens mount adapters, so each production selects the mount for its lenses, including 65mm optics. With a lens and adapter that communicate with the camera, it records focal length, focus position, and aperture as metadata for editing, VFX, and virtual production.

This is a change from the Extension System Mini, which ships with E-mount and an ARRI PL adapter. It gives more freedom, but it also adds one more cost and one more decision for the camera team. Sony has not named any adapter makers yet, and I hope to find out more at Pinewood (but we can see a Gecko Cam Adapter on some of the press photos they provided).

ND filters for the RIALTO 65. Image credit: Sony

For anamorphic work, there is de-squeeze display at multiple ratios and a Zoom to Fit function to check framing. The head also takes 11 drop-in ND filters with electronic contacts, so the VENICE 2 reads the density of each filter automatically. A spare CBK-NDK6510 ND Filter Kit will be available, but Sony says you cannot buy single filters separately.

Sony’s various RIALTO options: the VENICE Extension System Mini, the original RIALTO, and the new RIALTO 65. Image credit: Sony

Price and availability

The RIALTO 65 (CBK-6510XS), the CBK-NDK6510 ND Filter Kit, and the CBK-12C6510 12m cable all arrive in the first half of 2027. Sony has not announced prices, and B&H and CVP do not list the system yet.

For context, the full-frame VENICE 2 Extension System Mini launched at $25,000 at B&H. Sony has not said how the RIALTO 65 will be priced in relation to it. For more information, please visit the Sony website.

Sony now has a 65mm option that plugs into the VENICE 2 system and works on a cable, and I am curious to see it in person today. Would a 1.5:1 sensor change how you frame, or would you mostly use the 2.20:1 mode? Let me know what you think in the comments below!