Sony RIALTO 65 Explained – Single 65mm Sensor, Universal Lens Mount, Full-Frame Modes Coming

by Nino LeitnerToday

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Last week, I was at Pinewood Studios in London for Sony’s RIALTO 65 event, and I sat down with Sony’s Sebastian Leske to go through the new 65mm camera extension for the VENICE 2. We talked about the sensor, the missing lens mount, future crop modes, recording times, and the price, which Sony now confirms at €72,000.

The RIALTO 65 is not a new camera body. It is a 65mm format sensor head that replaces the full-frame sensor block of an existing VENICE 2, either on a cable or attached directly to the body. We covered the official specifications in our RIALTO 65 announcement article, so this piece is mostly about the answers that a spec sheet does not give you: why Sony made certain decisions, what is still missing at launch, and who the system is really for. You can watch our full conversation in the video below.

The event took place at Sony’s Digital Motion Picture Centre at Pinewood, the studio complex that many people know as the home of the 007 films. I have been there many times over the years, and (sadly) never for a 007 shoot, always for Sony. Sony first teased the RIALTO 65 at Cine Gear 2026 and published a short development announcement at that time. At Pinewood, it was finally a working unit with real footage, and Sony had a long table of 65mm and large-format lenses ready for guests to test.

A project that started with DPs

Sebastian told me that the RIALTO 65 started long before Cine Gear. Sony gets constant feedback from cinematographers, and according to him, many DPs told Sony something like this: “We love the VENICE 2, we love full frame, but we would like to have the 65mm look in the same camera.” Sony had seen how many productions shot on the VENICE 2, and it also saw how many films were shot in 65mm, on film and digitally.

Sebastian also explained why it took time. For the Cinema Line, Sony wants the image quality to speak for itself, so the team worked on dynamic range, latitude, skin tones, and highlight roll-off before it was ready to talk about the product. A second goal was a color match with the VENICE and VENICE 2. In practice, this means that a production can shoot 65mm on the A camera and use a regular VENICE 2 as the B camera, without two different color pipelines.

One sensor, not a stitched one

My first technical question was about the sensor itself. Sebastian confirmed that it is a completely new, single sensor developed for the 65mm system, and not a stitched design. It measures 53.75 x 35.83mm, with a diagonal of about 65mm. According to Sony, it is the largest sensor built into a digital cinema camera so far.

Sebastian placed it in Sony’s own history. Nine years ago, the original VENICE moved Sony’s high-end cinema cameras from Super 35 to full frame. The RIALTO 65 is the next step up, to what photographers would call medium format. We also talked briefly about that terminology problem, because “65mm”, “large format”, and “medium format” mean slightly different things in photography and in filmmaking.

The resolution goes up only a little compared to the VENICE 2 8K, to 9.6K, while the sensor area is about 2.2 times larger than full frame. So the photosites are much larger, and that is where the second base ISO of 10000 comes from. The first base ISO is 2500. During the interview, I said that an ISO 10000 base puts it almost in FX3 and FX6 territory, which is very unusual for a sensor of this size. Sony rates the latitude at 15+ stops at ISO 2500. We will of course check that claim in our lab as soon as we get a unit, and we will compare it with our VENICE 2 Lab Test. Rolling shutter on a 9.6K sensor of this size is the first number I want to see.

Why 3:2 matters

The part Sebastian talked about most was the shape. ARRI’s ALEXA 65 and the newer ALEXA 265 have a sensor of a similar width, but with a much wider aspect ratio. The RIALTO 65 is 3:2, which adds a lot of height. Sebastian said that this extra height is what DPs were looking for. For the 65mm system, as he put it, “it’s the canvas” that cinematographers paint on.

In practice, the 3:2 frame gives room for anamorphic capture, for wide landscapes, and for framing that needs to serve several deliverables. With a sensor this large, the shallow depth of field also helps to separate an actor from the background, even in a wide shot. Sony supports anamorphic lenses with de-squeeze display at multiple ratios and a Zoom to Fit function, so the operator can see the correct composition on the monitor.

How the RIALTO 65 fits on a VENICE 2

The hardware logic follows the VENICE Extension System Mini, which I also saw at Pinewood when Sony introduced it. You take the full-frame sensor block out of the VENICE 2, store it safely, and attach the RIALTO 65 to the body. On a cable, this is Extension Mode. Attached directly, it becomes one camera in Studio Mode.

Sebastian described how the system grew. The original Rialto took the sensor out of the VENICE so that the camera could go into tight places or onto gimbals. Then users asked for something even smaller, and Sony built the Mini without the internal ND mechanism. The RIALTO 65 is a mix of both. Size-wise, it reminds me more of the original Rialto, simply because the sensor is so much larger, and the head weighs about 1.5kg (3.3lb). But like the Mini, it comes with its own sensor, because there is no 65mm VENICE to take one from.

A 4.5m (14.8ft) cable is included, and a 12m (39.4ft) cable is available as an option. The cable detaches at both the head and the body, which makes rigging easier. The head also records tilt and roll as metadata for post-production, which is useful for VFX work.

Drop-in ND instead of a rotary ND

I asked why Sony went with drop-in ND filters instead of the rotary ND of the VENICE. Sebastian said that the larger sensor does not leave room for the rotary mechanism if the head is to stay compact. Sony also wanted the head to match the design of the VENICE 2 body when it is attached in Studio Mode. The system comes with 11 drop-in ND filters that have electronic contacts, so the VENICE 2 automatically reads the density of the filter that is in the head. A spare kit with the same 11 filters will be available, but Sony does not sell single filters.

Why there is no lens mount

This was the part I found most interesting. The RIALTO 65 ships without a lens mount. The original Rialto and the VENICE 2 have an E-mount with a PL adapter, but Sebastian explained that E-mount is too small to cover the full 65mm sensor. So Sony uses a universal mount interface instead.

Third-party companies already make LPL mounts for the Rialto and the VENICE 2, and Sony’s view is that they have the experience to update those adapters for the 65mm system. Rental houses can then select brand A or brand B, or even develop their own mount. At Pinewood, the unit had an LPL mount, with LPL-to-PL adapters on hand. In theory, Sebastian confirmed, this means mounts for almost any lens can be made. With a lens and adapter that support data communication, the system records focal length, focus position, and aperture as metadata for editing, VFX, and virtual production. There is no autofocus, which is no surprise for a camera in this class, and Sebastian confirmed that there is none even in a cropped mode.

Which lenses cover the sensor?

Sony brought many lenses to the event so that guests could check coverage for themselves. According to Sebastian, some lenses cover the 2.20:1 mode, and some cover the full Open Gate. He said that it is interesting for Sony, and for the lens makers, to see which lenses cover fully, which cover partially, and by how much. He also expects that more lens manufacturers will come to Sony to test their glass on the RIALTO 65.

The numbers give a good guide here. The 2.20:1 mode has a diagonal of about 59mm, while the full Open Gate needs about 65mm. Large-format lenses such as the ZEISS Panoptes 65 primes and the Angénieux EZ 65 zooms cover an image circle of about 60mm, which fits the 2.20:1 mode. For the full 3:2 frame, you need glass that is made for true 65mm coverage.

My feeling is that this will play out like it did with the FUJIFILM GFX ETERNA 55. At first, people said there were not enough lenses, and then more and more lens makers started to support the format. An open mount makes that much easier, because you are not limited to one mount from the start.

Full frame and Super 35 come later

At launch, the RIALTO 65 has two sensor modes: 9.6K Open Gate in 3:2, and 9.6K 2.20:1. If you want full frame today, Sebastian’s advice is to put the original VENICE 2 sensor back in, or to shoot Open Gate with frame lines and crop in post. Sony is working on additional sensor modes, including full frame and Super 35, for a later firmware update, similar to the many modes on the VENICE 2. A full-frame mode on this sensor would land at about 6K to 7K, according to Sebastian. For a production that wants one camera for everything, these modes are important, so I hope Sony does not keep them on the roadmap for too long.

Same X-OCN, same cards

I have heard many promises of sensor upgrades for existing cameras over the years, and very often they did not happen, because the processing in the older body was not fast enough, or because it needed more power. So I asked Sebastian how the VENICE 2 deals with the extra resolution, and whether there is a new version of X-OCN.

His answer: nothing changes. The RIALTO 65 records the same X-OCN flavors (ST, XT, and LT) in 16-bit to the same AXS cards, with S-Log3 and S-Gamut3. The format can handle the full Open Gate without problems. Recording times go down a little, but Sebastian said that a 1TB card in X-OCN ST still holds about half an hour. For a rental house, that means no new media, no new card readers, and no change for the DIT.

Why there is no RIALTO 65 camera package

Here I pushed back a little. ARRI sells dedicated 65mm cameras. With Sony, you always need a VENICE 2 with a full-frame sensor first, and then you add the RIALTO 65. I asked Sebastian why Sony does not offer a single 65mm camera package (Sony, I would still like to see one).

His answer makes sense for rental houses. Every VENICE 2 in a fleet, 6K or 8K, bought yesterday or four years ago, can take the RIALTO 65. A rental house does not need to buy a whole new camera that might go out on only 10 percent of its jobs. For the camera assistant, the DIT, and the data wrangler, the menus, formats, and tools stay the same. Sebastian called the VENICE 2 the center of the platform: one body, with Super 35, full frame, and now 65mm as options. I agree that this is a strong argument for owners of a VENICE 2 fleet. For a production that only wants to rent a 65mm camera, the package question matters less, because the rental house puts the system together anyway.

Price and availability

The RIALTO 65 ships in the first half of 2027. Sebastian confirmed a list price of €72,000 for the RIALTO 65 alone, and about €138,000 together with a VENICE 2. That means the 65mm head costs a bit more than the VENICE 2 body it connects to. B&H lists the RIALTO 65 at $80,000, and CVP has a product page without a price (but it will be €72,000). The optional ND filter kit and the 12m cable also arrive in the first half of 2027. For more information, please visit the Sony website.

The footage I saw at Pinewood looked beautiful, and I am very curious to test the RIALTO 65 in our lab. Would you rent a 65mm head for your VENICE 2 rather than a dedicated 65mm camera? Let me know what you think in the comments below!