This much anticipated ‘Chinese Alexa’ basic kit has been officially priced for pre-orders at a shocking $6300.
Francis Ford Coppola gives his answer in the new Zacuto Shootout, choosing in order of preference the Panasonic GH2 (lit by Colt Seaman), Alexa and Epic
Get the most from the GH2 – Read the EOSHD GH2 Shooter’s Guide
The results are in from Zacuto’s Revenge Of The Great Camera Shootout 2012. The majority of those at the cinema screenings – including Francis Ford Coppola preferred Colt Seaman’s lighting and the capturing of it by the Panasonic GH2.
This choice was above the stiffest possible competition including the Sony F65, Red Epic, Canon C300 and Arri Alexa. There’s a comment from Part 2 which really stands out for me and it sums up the reason EOSHD and my passion to write my GH2 book and the blog exists -
“The thing I was most impressed with is that some guys or gals with something to prove did better at lighting than the established cinematographers with a good camera” - Bruce Lundeen (33 min 13 seconds)
This is how you make a great film, a great shot, a great scene - Passion, hunger, creativity and a $700 camera.
Above: one of my favourite scenes from the episode, click it to enlarge to 1080p, the colour on this shot is ‘early Technicolor’ and ‘Hitchcockian’. But I am not 100% sure which camera was used to shoot it (although I have a gut feeling!) – and that tells you a lot about how evenly matched cameras like the FS100 and GH2 are with much more expensive offerings (if viewed at 1080p)
If you haven’t already I advise you to watch the episode before reading this and draw your own conclusions first. If you have seen the full screening please do not reveal the results on the comments forum.
The Zacuto Shootout is like a torch light in the dark for many aspiring, young filmmakers and it is useful – not to mention fascinating and enjoyable – to see these incredible tools fight for the best image. Now the Revenge series has added people into the mix it is even more interesting and educational.
The Revenge Of The Great Camera Shootout is Zacuto’s antidote to pixel peeping camera tests. It airs June 15th online, but preview showings have been taking part around the world. It aims to show how any camera from the very top (Alexa, Sony F65) down (to the iPhone) are viable filmmaking tools. Whilst I agree with Steve that creativity is overlooked too often and gear gets all the attention, I wouldn’t go quite as far as Steve in claiming the camera does not matter. The camera and lens – like lighting, like set design, like a location, like actors – has an aesthetic quality that goes into the production and heavily influences the mood of the film. I would use anamorphic lenses as my trademark style, because I feel that particular ‘brush stroke’ suits my kind of filmmaking, helping to create the moods I want. So yes, the camera matters in my view!
Here’s an interesting audience reaction to The Revenge Of The Great Camera Shootout…
“A strip of photochemistry that can be held, twisted, folded, looked at with the naked eye, or projected on to a surface for others to see. It has a scent and it is imperfect. Today, its years are numbered, but I will remain loyal to this analogue artform until the last lab closes.” - Steven Spielberg
Like Spielberg the wonderful Kodak recently decided not to replace their film stocks with digital and instead concentrated on EasyShare docks for Walmart. As a result they are going bankrupt and it has come at a time where film is in decline versus digital, mostly for cost reasons. Even Fuji seem determined to go the same way as Kodak and sell their film stocks business to Arri and RED for $1 whilst these companies turn a massive profit from digital!
