Panavision acquires rival: deal adds clients, inventory.

"Inspired by the Past. Focused on the Future" reads the motto on the website of Panavision Inc., the stalwart camera system and accessories provider.

As the future of filmmaking involves the use of digital cameras, it would only make sense for the Woodland Hills-based company to focus on expanding its camera offerings.

In early October, Panavision acquired Plus 8 Digital, one of the largest digital camera rental companies in North America, with offices in five cities, including Burbank.

Panavision President and CEO Bob Beitcher said that the Plus 8 Digital acquisition gives the company a broader range of inventory and entry into market segments it had been targeting.

"Plus 8 is a terrific fit for us," Beitcher said.

Jim Mathers, president and co-founder of the Studio City industry group Digital cinema Society, said the deal allows Panavision, which has always been able to get the lower-end of the market, to expand its client base.

"Panavision now has the high-end of the market tied up," Mathers said.

Both companies have offices in Toronto and New York, and Panavision also has a Burbank sales location of its Lee Filters USA division.

The privately-held Panavision is evaluating the integration of Plus 8 and no decision has been made about what to do about multiple facilities in the same city.

The company will focus on providing the same level of service that Plus 8 had under its founder and owner, Marker Karahadian, and his staff in pioneering new camera systems, Beitcher said.

Karahadian takes an executive spot at Panavision.

Plus 8 was founded in 1988 and rents the Panasonic Varicam, the Carl Zeiss HD Digiprime and the Viper, developed by Grass Valley, a division of Thomson.

At the Woodland Hill's offices of Dalsa Digital Cinema, a competing camera rental firm, the move by Panavision is seen as a validation of that company's strategy, said Vice President John Coghill.

A key part of the Dalsa strategy is to have the right camera for the right job and the company has at its disposal Sony, Panasonic and Grass Valley standard and high definition cameras as well as the Origin 4K camera developed by Dalsa.

Coghill said Panavision acquired Plus 8 to mimic that type of availability.

"This is their way of copying that strategy," he said.

A distinction between Panavision and Dalsa, founded in 1980 and headquartered in Canada, is that Dalsa has the in-house expertise to develop its own product while Panavision partners with Sony to make its cameras, including its Genesis high-def camera.

Panavision, however, has the longevity in the entertainment industry and the name recognition. The company has provided film cameras to Hollywood for 50 years.

Peer recognition of its contributions to the industry has come in the form of the Scientific or Technical Award, Technical Achievement Award, and Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the Academy Award of Merit from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The business that Panavision entered in 1954 is not the same as in 2006. While 35 mm film isn't going away soon even in the digital age, the film-less cameras provided by Plus 8 and Dalsa are the way of the long-term future.

"Panavision had a run for the money where they used to be totally dominant and they are not as dominant as they used to be," said Marty Shindler, an Encino-based management consultant on business issues for creative and technology companies. "They have a great brand name."

Panavision entered the digital market just over six years ago by modifying a Sony camera for use by George Lucas in "Episode II" of the "Star Wars" films. Lucas shot "Episode III" in the popular sci-fi franchise with Plus 8 cameras.

The use of digital cameras in a film with many visual effects can be a time saver, since the filmmaker doesn't have to take film, digitize it and then add in the effects.

"Having digital files from the start you are already a couple of steps ahead of the game," Shindler said.

Digital cameras have been employed infrequently in feature films, this summer's "Superman Returns" and "Miami Vice" being recent examples.

Television, however, is where digital and high definition cameras are used most often and Panavision jumped in to make the transition from film.

BY MARK R. MADLER

Staff Reporter