Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
For those of us excited by the advent of large-sensor motion picture cameras, this past year has been the Great Leap Forward.
Signs are everywhere. ARRI’s ALEXA swept TV series production in the U.S. Canon harnessed Hollywood pomp to launch its C300. RED placed an eight-page glossy fold-out to tout EPIC in April’s Vogue (“The camera that changed cinema is now changing fashion”). Sony shipped no less than 100 F65s, the first Super 35 camera with an 8K sensor.
A year ago, in “Does Size Matter?” I surveyed the still budding field of large-sensor cameras for Filmmaker and described the industry’s growing embrace of the 120-year-old Super 35 format. Not only were existing cine and SLR lenses given a new lease on life, I reported, but also overnight the market for new PL lenses had exploded. Spurring, in turn, new sensor designs with unprecedented sensitivity and low noise.
I also highlighted the latest large-sensor cameras, included the Sony NEX-VG10, Panasonic AG-AF100, Sony NEX-FS100, Sony PMW-F3, RED EPIC-M, ARRI ALEXA, Aaton Delta-Penelope and something I dubbed the Sony “8K Cineaste camera” — now called F65. I noted the drawbacks of HDSLRs, including moiré patterns due to image aliasing, poor connectivity, control and ergonomics.
For the skinny on these cameras — I won’t repeat in-depth descriptions here — I suggest revisiting this article online. For an in-depth appraisal of the Canon C300 and RED Scarlet-X, both introduced later in November, see my Filmmaker blog, “New Super 35 Digital Motion Picture Cameras from Canon and Red — What They Are And Aren’t.”
For an update on the impact of large-sensor cameras, particularly Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II, on indie feature filmmaking, along with a discussion of Super 35 and “full frame” sensor sizes, see my February Filmmaker blog, “Festival Cinematography Notes: Of Sundance, Berlin, and the Canon 5D.”
So what’s the latest in large-sensor cameras?
As it happens, I’m writing this on the eve of the NAB Show, the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, which begins mid-April in Las Vegas. The NAB Show is an enormous international equipment exhibition like … Read the rest
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
At Independent Film Week this past September, Ed Lachman taught a Masterclass sponsored by Kodak. An acclaimed cinematographer known for creating lush and arresting images in films such as I’m Not There, Erin Brockovich, and The Virgin Suicides, Lachman was nominated for an Academy Award and received an Independent Spirit Award for his work on Far From Heaven.
While the full panel is pay-walled and available only to IFP members, you can watch these three free excerpts right now:
Here, Lachman discusses the difference between working with first-time directors and more experienced directors.
Here, Lachman theorize about the difficulty of exposing characters’ interior worlds through the medium of film.
And here, Lachman discuss his experience working on the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce.… Read the rest
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
Get ready for the next round of DSLRs — Canon has just announced their EOS-1D X. From Engadget:
Stick a piece of gaffer tape over the unmistakable X, and Canon’s latest EOS-1D pro-level camera will look virtually identical to every 1D model that came before it. But once you flip up the power slider, this new king of the jungle will hum like no other. Canon’s phenomenally powerful EOS-1D X really sounds like the DSLR to rule them all. Its 18 megapixel full-frame sensor uses oversized pixels to battle noise and is supported by a pair of Digic 5+ imaging processors, which also help drive a 61-point high density reticular AF system, a top ISO setting of 204,000 (51,200 native), a 252-zone metering system, a 14 fps JPEG (or 12 fps RAW) burst mode and a built-in wired gigabit LAN connection, for remote shooting and image transfer.
Specifically referring to its video capabilities, Canon writes in its press release, “Featuring advanced video-capture capabilities, the Canon EOS-1D X’s upgraded imaging system and Dual DIGIC 5+ deliver greatly enhanced movie quality. In particular, the camera minimizes the occurrence of color artifacts and moiré, and enables the shooting of low-noise video even in dark conditions.”
Over at Planet 5D, there’s a summary of a conversation with Canon’s Chuck Westfall that has some additional details:
Video is here to stay in the HDSLRs and unless Canon is saving some amazing features for the 5D3 (which we all know is coming but we don’t yet have a clue as to the date (and neither do I), the video improvements in the 1DX are significant, but those expecting the next generation with huge advancements are somewhat disappointed. There’s no RAW video, no incredible frame rates above 60, etc. And we don’t know whether any of those are even coming in the next generation of video camera we expect to be announced in 2 weeks.
With the 1D X we did get many advancements including the removal of the 12 minute recording time. I found it interesting that we did finally get real clarification from Canon
… Read the rest
