TomTheDP

Did you grade the FX30 to match the Alexa, or the other way around?
I see differences, but they're subtle and not significant.  IIRC it was Steve Yedlin that talked about the idea of the "cut back" test for camera matching.  Ie, if you were to have a shot from camera A, then another shot, then CUT BACK to camera B, would you notice that A and B were different.  
I think this is a good test because in real film-making you don't normally cut directly between two cameras showing the same scene from the same angle, so there is some distance there, and so in A/B testing you shouldn't cut directly between the same scene and angle because it's too stringent a test.
Yes, in theory you would cut between two angles of the same scene, but in lots of film-making you'd be changing the lighting setup between filming those angles, so getting a perfect match isn't relevant in these situations either.

I have been considering the Scarlet as well. I do prefer the Epic image. But Scarlet's are so cheap these days. 

Such a shame the Varicam LT never took off. It really is an incredible cost/performance camera. Thought I guess it just sat in that awkward place between smaller and bigger projects. 

Well, I've decided to get the G9 ii. Should arrive around November 2. If people have questions, I'll do my best to answer.
Also, now that I've given up my CF Express Type B that I used for my GH6, I have many v30 cards, but no v60 or v90. I don't really need the highest data rates, but I want 4k 120fps. What card to I need for that? On my CF Express card, I could just do everything without thinking about it, but I'd rather not have to shell out serious money for a v90 card unless absolutely necessary. When I look at the 4k 120fps files, their only 100 Mbps in HVEC. Can a v30 card handle 5.8 open gate?

I just got the Sony FX30 and Ronin RSC2. Going to try to incorporate more moving shots to my narrative work. I will also say Viltrox has a ton of really good and cheap AF lens options. 

I am considering selling my Alexa and getting a Mavic 3 instead. Really go all out with the small compact approach. It's hard to part with Alexa skintones though. 🤕

Yes film students who I assume many will be the next DP's and Directors. Not necessarily the people I know but just in that realm. I feel with the older generation it was trending more towards use the latest and biggest. Now things are more trending nostalgic. 

But that is just my random guess I suppose. 

I read a reddit thread where the author said that it seems like the Venice replaced the Alexa, this was a few years back. I have definitely not seen that. It seems like the LF is the major bread winner on every production. That is easily seen when I constantly look at the specs for a film on IMDB. It is almost always the Alexa mini or mini LF on newer stuff. 

I don't work in commercial but I have some friends that do and they say it is almost always Alexa. You have a few situations where there is a director who likes RED and they use RED, but it is rare. 

Now I am also coming from the perspective of someone who lives in the USA. Looking at american films and the commercial industry in New York City. I definitely think LA and NYC an obsession with ARRI. 

Detroit where I live there seems to be a liking for RED, especially in the music video space. ARRI is getting it's way into those spaces too. I know a production company here that was all RED. But they now have the Alexa mini LF and they seem to use it for their big stuff. 

Chinese TV is apparently pushing 8k hard so I imagine a most of their stuff will be using the Venice 2. There is Top Gun 2, but they probably would have shot ARRI if they didn't need the Rialto. Obviously it does get a lot of use but not like the Alexa. 

I am really curious to see if more Hollywood features and high end streaming shows will use the LF or the Alexa 35 in 2024. Assuming the strikes will have come to and end.

I just got the Sony FX30 and Ronin RSC2. Going to try to incorporate more moving shots to my narrative work. I will also say Viltrox has a ton of really good and cheap AF lens options. 

I am considering selling my Alexa and getting a Mavic 3 instead. Really go all out with the small compact approach. It's hard to part with Alexa skintones though. 🤕

The G9 makes sense as you have the glass. I'd wait until it drops in price though. The GH6 is so cheap now used and is practically the same camera. It is the same with the S5 ii though, the original S5 goes for under $1000 now used. Essentially paying a grand for auto focus and prores on the S5X. 
 
Do they have sharpening and NR turned off tho? Panasonic usually has some pretty bad processing issues that are fixed in firmware a few months later. That was the case with the S1 and S1H. Both had really bad internal sharpening that couldn't be dialed all the way off. They fixed it a few months later. 

With long form content they kind of expect it, I also added Tentacle Sync to my multi-cam workflow because Davinci Resolve isn't very good at aligning tracks based on audio waveform. In this regards I feel like Premier did a better job. TC is awesome though, one click and perfect alignment across dozens of clips instantly. It makes multi-cam so easy that I have been thinking about picking up another R7 for a locked down mid shot but then I would have to rig it, more batteries, another tripod, etc.....not worth it.
 
 
That's the exact reason why I feel comfortable pairing it with the C70, no overheating concerns. I also use that same Sigma 18-35 1.8 religiously. Before the R7 came along I literally forgot I owned it and discovered that I already had it when I was re-arranging my camera gear. Now it lives on my R7 for any lowlight hybrid event work. For daylight hybrid work I typically use the Canon EF 24-105mm and the Meike vND RF adapter.  That combination is perfect for daylight hybrid work.
I have also changed my workflow so that my images are all shot at ISO800 even in the daylight when shooting hybrid. It was just too much hassle to fiddle with the ND filter and ISO for fast events since ISO800 is native for CLOG3. The R7's images are clean at ISO800 day or night so it lives at that ISO. Also the Meike vND does not have numbered markings so you have to watch the histogram each time to properly expose....way too much fiddling in the middle of an event.
I've had to run the R7 for 3hrs straight with one 30s battery change and it had no problems. I will caveat that with the fact that it will start to overheat after about an hour in 4k Fine (7K oversampled) mode, so it needs to be line skipped but my clients can't tell the difference.

I had always noticed the HD was subpar coming from the S1H but maybe that is only in full frame mode.

The GH5 HD looked just as good as the 4k. Which is something I have noticed when downsampling 4k to HD, even zooming in its hard to tell a difference. 

I think it's a combo of the DSLR craze and new filmmakers coming from that mindset of using 35mm photography cameras. Combined with the only 4k ARRI option being LF. 

All the younger people I know gravitate towards film and more classic cinematography. I think things will trend in that direction more. Though I imagine a large amount of stuff will always be shot LF going forward. 

It is awesome to see ARRI continuing to be adamant on not needing more than 4k and S35. The original Alexa mini still gets a lot of use on higher end stuff. 

For the last couple years really big budget stuff is pretty much dominated by the Alexa LF. It will be interesting to see when and what productions choose the Alexa 35 over it.
 

Z-cam is developing a new M43 camera that they claim has a true 16 stops of dynamic range. This is more than what they have listed for their large format camera. I wonder if that sensor will be used in the GH7. 

Internal 444 and high dynamic range would make it an instant buy. I am close to buying the G9 MK2 as it already has everything I want though. 

Z-cam is developing a new M43 camera that they claim has a true 16 stops of dynamic range. This is more than what they have listed for their large format camera. I wonder if that sensor will be used in the GH7. 

Internal 444 and high dynamic range would make it an instant buy. I am close to buying the G9 MK2 as it already has everything I want though. 

I hope S35 becomes the norm again. 

I hope S35 becomes the norm again. 

I have noticed that some very soft lenses designed for 35mm stills camera are too soft on M43 but look acceptably sharp on S35 or even better on full frame.

Things will change. The FX3 is still a far cry from an Alexa 35, but it isn't that far. A few cameras down the line and the different will be even less noticeable. 

Really their budget savings were in lighting. You can use really small lighting equipment when shooting at 12,800 iso. 

It feels gimmicky to me though. The movie was funded by Sony. Why didn't they use an FX6? Same sensor but you have SDI outputs and a more rig friendly body. Maybe because advertising the movie was shot with the more expensive FX6 won't sell as many camera bodies??

I am sure the FX3 was a nightmare for AC's to deal with.

It will probably be more like 13 stops max, but will be interesting to see if I am wrong. It doesn't appear to be the GH6 sensor because it is 6k. Very interesting. 

12 bit log has a similar amount of info as 14 bit linear raw. But yeah the image definitely looks very nice regardless.

thank you sir!
 
this looks great!

Nice!   They definitely look like movie stills and not photographs.
What was the show LUT?  Interesting range of tones/hues there.

Love these shots! 😄

Some stills from a feature film I just wrapped on yesterday. This is just with a lut applied no further adjustments or corrections. 

 

88-90 degrees is only hot if you live in the global north where it snows in the winter.  
The only reason that manufacturers aren't concerned about things like this is they're making cameras for the richest countries, which are all freezing.  The majority of the worlds population live in places where 90 degrees is so mild it's laughable.
My sister lives in Edinburgh, and her summer is like our winter.

I also think the sensor matters a lot more than the codec. The Alexa looks great in Prores 422, but its still reading out at 14 bits and getting most of the dynamic range. 

One of the reasons I prefer prores to RAW is because you can downsample. This saves you data without losing much resolution. Downsampled 2k on the Alexa looks about as good as the full 3.2k resolution, but you use way less space. I have downsampled 6k to 2k on the S1H. The 2k side by side with 6k is almost indistinguishable unless you are really cropping in a lot. Shooting in 6k resolution is super data heavy. The last film I worked on we shot on the URSA 12K in 12k. Crazy data rates. I wish the Ursa 12k had an option to downsample from 12k to 4k prores. 

The in camera 4k RAW on the URSA 12K is noticeably less detailed than the 12k. Down sampled 12k Prores would look insanely sharp. 

Of course you can always shoot in whatever codec and transcode in post, but its just nice to get it in camera, throw it on your computer and it's ready to go.