Caleb Genheimer

@IronFilm Mostly the AMIRA has a different control and ergonomic philosophy. Sure, modules make the 35 very close on paper, but AMIRA is super streamlined For single op all-in-one work in every sense.

@IronFilm Mostly the AMIRA has a different control and ergonomic philosophy. Sure, modules make the 35 very close on paper, but AMIRA is super streamlined For single op all-in-one work in every sense.

I’d still be obsessed with an AMIRA II with this sensor though, that’d be such a cool package.

Excellent breakdown here from CVP… with the sensor structured the way it is, when asked apparently ARRI stated that it no longer allows them to simply “stitch” two sensors by sitting them next to each other, so an LF/Mini LF based on this sensor would presumably require an ACTUAL NEW sensor (just based on this tech,) as opposed to the stitching used previously. ARRI said “never” to an LF with this sensor, but that probably just means it will be a new sensor, and quite a long way off in the future. They’re not gonna just stitch two and drop a new camera next year. Whats INSANE to me is just how clean they can get in the over AND under tests, even compared to their own previous cameras. It’s so clean that they’ve built in a “texture” collection. I was wondering how they’d satisfy folks who are obsessed with their original sensor’s look, but there’s my answer LOL, they have a texture setting designed to match their previous cameras.

I guess I find it very easy to believe in an honest 2-stop gain after 12 years. Sensors across the board are now a lot less noisy. Smaller photosites perform far better than they used to. The potential stacking and layer complexity of CMOS sensors has greatly increased, and I think overall manufacturing consistency is extremely tight now. If I had to guess, they can get two stops just by leveraging the general improvements in CMOS, sticking to their dual gain design. canon for example gain a decent amount of DR via dual gain, but their ADCs on chip operate at a lower bit depth than ARRI’s. I would posit that cleaner, modern ADCs are allowing ARRI to increase their gain offset versus their original sensor, overlapping less but expanding the effective total DR.

“Usually” (other mfrs) new models have new sensor designs, and come out every year or two. ARRI has gone a very long time between updating sensors, I’d expect larger improvements in these rare instances when they’re making core tech upgrades. Most of it being in the shadows makes it very likely to be true. ARRI is heavily biased towards highlight retention. It could also be though of this way: ARRI uses dual gain circuitry, so ~1 stop of improvement in the underlying sensor technology (CMOS) potentially allows them to “double down” on that (via dual gain,) resulting in an extra 2 stops. Heck, we’re 12 years out from their original ALEV sensor, wafer and chip tech has come a LONG way in that decade. All else being equal, sensors now produce cleaner images even if the DR is very similar. I’m actually super curious to see if any prominent folks will feel this new sensor is “too clean,” many seem to love the ALEXAs for their texture, even if it is subtle.

No, I don’t. You have no physics evidence to refute ARRI’s claim. They do not use a typical CMOS sensor configuration, they use dual gain architecture at high bit depth to arrive at a higher dynamic range than common CMOS sensors, and there absolutely is real physics behind how they do it, because their current sensors ALREADY do it. There’s no secrets (although there are patents protecting it,) and I think it is not only reasonable, but obvious, to conclude that in the many years since their original sensor design, there are improvements in sensor technology that now allow them to improve by a couple stops.

This is right on. It doesn’t *really* matter what stop number ARRI say the DR of their new sensor is, they’re very consistent and technical with their numbers. They rate it having two stops more than their previous sensor, so however you’d rate the original sensor, this one will have two stops on it. It sounds like a decent amount of that is aimed at cleaner shadows, with a touch of bonus in the highlights, which makes sense. ARRI is the poster child for highlight handling, everyone points at them and says “just do roll-off like that, it’s perfect,” so it is logical they’d largely maintain that behavior. I also understand the talk of ARRI bumbling the sensor update, but that’s not gonna happen either. ARRI will have put these in the hands of diehard users and ironed out any minor gripes behind the scenes long before release. ARRI users aren’t afraid to say when they don’t like a camera, and ARRI has the very top cinematographers essentially as beta testers. I’m very interested to see where the future of DR in theaters goes after this new camera is out in the wild. Should be a required bit of kit on DolbyVision sets IMO. This is 100% square one for an eventual refresh of their entire lineup though. Just like LG cut multiple size TVs from one “master glass,” I’m assuming ARRI can make varied sizes of this new sensor architecture for a new LF, and even stitch them for a new ALEXA-65. I also don’t doubt that they’ll take their sweet time. The potential update I’d be most excited to see is the AMIRA though. It really is such a cool iteration, the preset toggles enable you to work VERY fast, and it shoulders flawlessly with minimal rigging. The only things it’s awkward for are gimbals (due to length,) and anamorphic due to the 16:9 sensor. I hate gimbals, so if they update it with this new sensor without chopping down the height, I’d be VERY tempted.

This is my dream

I know Gerald is apparently in vogue as the reviewer to bash, but honestly I got a lot more from his preview than from the others I watched (including Media Division). 1. He had that shot out a window that clearly and concisely showed the impact of engaging DR Boost 2. He whacked the camera around to show how good the RS performs 3. Sure, his “is dead” statement is clickbaity, but heck, he laments even having to drop a video at embargo lift. He knows what he’s doing, it’s just how it has to be done to a certain extent, and most importantly, if you pay attention to his justification for personally declaring that, HE’S RIGHT. Anyone who follows sensor tech and the signal processing along with it will recognize that he gave grounded reasons. For what it is, the performance is incredible, but they can’t cheat the physics of smaller sensors. I think the GH6 will serve many serious creators well, just like every other GH before it, but we’re now at a juncture where Panasonic has larger sensors in the game as an alternative. On paper, I think what most (if not all) the reviewers have missed though is its strengths versus the S-Series, which fill in some (not all) gaps, making it a VERY attractive B-Cam. Most importantly, they’ve managed full V-Log, so matching should be a breeze. And secondly, where DR is M4/3’s Achilles Heel, RS is Full Frame’s! The GH6 has piles of VERY high quality HFR AND low rolling Shutter. If you have an S-Series body, and need a second camera, I think the GH6 adds more flexibility to your arsenal than a second S-Series body would.

Yes, Canon is doing something similar. They’ve definitely broken the 12-stop barrier, but most tests show the C70/C300III still underperform versus the ALEV sensors. Regardless, I’d rank those two cameras over even RED/Sony/Panny cinema cameras for this exact reason. I debated heavily on S1H vs C70 last year, but landed on the S1H for the 24X36 Open Gate mode, because I primarily shoot anamorphic, and wanted to get into large format scope capture. I’m happy enough with my S1H to never sell it. The only other digital camera I’ve kept is my GH2. A Samsung NX1, GH5S, and Pocket 4K have all come and gone. I also agree that the GH6 really needs to have properly implemented V-Log to differentiate from previous models. Going from V-Log L on the GH5S to full V-Log on the S1H was a paradigm shift, and I wouldn’t go backwards after having it. I don’t mind M4/3 sensors from a size perspective, but they DO struggle to implement the same imaging pipelines that often accompany larger sensors. I’d be considering a GH6 for b-cam if it had full V-Log, but without that, I’ll pass.

I agree that the Alexa sensor is definitely “gold standard,” but also that expecting that kind of performance out of something like a GH6 is a bit unrealistic. That being said, I wish the prosumer camera manufacturers would throw in the towel at around 6K resolution, and begin focusing on dynamic range in video. That directly corresponds to the technology previously discussed: dual gain output photosites. The current limiting factor for basically all prosumer camera DR is the ADC (analog to digital converter) bit depth of 12 bits, which limits performance to 12 stops of DR. Fancy processing can squeeze out a bit extra (like the ~12.7 stops of the S1H,) but that’s the limit. The Alexa sensor’s photosites have TWO ADC each, at different gain settings, in parallel, for simultaneous capture (at the same moment.) The signals from these offset sensitivity ADCs are then combined by the image processor to cover a resulting higher DR. This is entirely possible in a prosumer camera at reasonable bitrates via LOG scale encoding. The real bottleneck is the ADC tech, which is linear in nature. For the vast majority of applications/users, 12-and-change stops is plenty enough to get a satisfactory image with room for flexibility, but those wanting to accurately simulate DR-dependent effects like Bloom, Halation, and flare, it is important to have as much differentiation in the highlights as is possible. I’ve found the S1H to have… enough DR for pretty reasonable halation approximation, providing I expose for the highlights. I’d take two more stops though if another prosumer camera offered it. It sounds like the GH6 is using an entirely different approach to increase DR: sequential offset exposure. That’s not bad, necessarily, but it’s far more computational/AI in nature, and could definitely have motion artifacts. I feel we’re finally at the juncture where the internal codecs and bitrates on prosumer cameras have caught up to the capabilities of the sensors, and it’s time for attention to swing back to the underlying sensor tech for significant improvement. I’m also a bit sad to see the continuing use of DFD AF. Prediction: “3X faster processing” will just mean “3X faster micro jitter.” I’m ready for Tilta or DJI to make a stand-alone TOF/LiDar wireless follow focus AF/focus aid device. The tech is there in the Ronin 4D, and I’d willingly pay several thousand dollars to remove AF from all my future camera body purchase decisions.

The best thing that could happen for LUMIX would be DJI taking the 4D’s AF tech, (LiDar tracking, wireless controller with focus waveform,) and pairing it with a universal focus motor. If I could bolt that tech onto any lens, map a quick profile, and have flawless AF/powerful MF tools in a wireless package… on any camera… I’d pay top dollar. And I’d stick with Panny forever.

Looks like it. Bummer if true. Usually B&H has the most no-nonsense tech info, but maybe they missed.

According to the listed specs on B&H, PSA it DOES have a Full Frame Open Gate 24X36 8K mode in CRL. For anamorphic users, that puts it in a category that only a handful of other cameras hit.