TomTheDP

I think its the Burano honestly. Same sensor as the 80K Venice 2. Doesn't require the bulky raw recorder, weighs 3 pounds less. Why would you get the old 6k Venice when you can get the Burano for 25k. Now at 18k the original Venice is tempting, but for just a few more Ks you get brand new camera. The Burano doesn't have as many output or power output options though, but neither does the Alexa mini.

It is definitely a better option to shoot on 3 of the same exact model camera or shoot high res and just punch in. Though it's fairly common now to use a cinema camera and then use a cheaper camera for a B & C cam. I'll use whatever I am given lol. Every video I have watched comparing a cinema camera to a lower end camera they say something like they can be matched in post, but then when the person attempts to do it they can't. This doesn't bode well with productions that won't have a color house doing the color grade in the post process. The whole post production scene that I usually deal with is a nightmare. Now it still stands that it probably wouldn't matter what camera I shot with in terms of the directors/audience noticing the final product. I am super tempted to try to start just using an FX30 on everything despite how much I dislike the SOC look. Would make my life easier. 😅

I am seeing Venice 6k kits with all the licenses and the RAW recorder for 20k now. I just saw one go for 17k, another for 13k(with no licenses). Pretty wild considering a few months ago they were around 30k +

Unfortunately or maybe fortunately depending how you look at it, the skill to get in now doesn't need to be as high anymore. Even many people at very lofty levels of the film industry are not as skilled as they used to be. DP's can utilize high resolution color accurate monitors to see what they are getting rather than light metering. Cameras are so sensitive now you don't need crazy light fixtures. A lot of big budget shows are now are using mostly small LED fixtures combined with natural lighting. There's certainly a level of skill still required especially on the biggest of productions but it's become less and less. Think about changing a 35mm film mag vs digital media. Same with getting good results shooting 35mm film for a wedding vs digital. Night and day

Sounds like a good method. I didn't use the color chart in a precise way, it was held closer to the camera, probably a 6ft difference. Plus I shot the color chart about 20 minutes later. That said I'd still imagine it being closer than it was. It was a room with Cyan walls, so there is a lot of tinted light going on. I am going to try it again today and make sure I do it properly and see if it makes any difference. A normal shooting situation would involve more pure lighting. Skitones are a large reason I choose to shoot with an Alexa or at least RED. Every time I have done a mixed camera situation the colorist comments on how nice the Alexa/Red skin tones look compared to 10 bit DSLRs.

I was really excited about the Sony lineup after seeing its usage on the creator. That said after using I am not impressed with the image. I would say Sony's low end cameras seem to have the worst color out of the box compared with Canon or Blackmagic. It doesn't carry over to the Venice line of course. It's really just a matter of balancing skin tones and accurate colors. I am sure it's not a problem for a post house to do. But for lower budget stuff where you are relying on the camera more, its annoying.

Looks like a winner on the FX30. Gimbal one and done lens maybe

That is very true. The only thing would be very interview situations where you have an A and B cam on the same subject. I haven't done one in almost a year now but I have a gig coming up where we are going to be doing that. I used the color match tool in resolve, using an xrite chart. So you can set the color space and gamma, which I set to ARRI's. I did it on both cameras so it changed up the way the Alexa originally looked as well, with its preset white balance. This method would fall apart with creative lighting though. Let's say you wanted to do an orange tinted light as a key with blue for fill or something wacky. The chart is only useful for getting normal colors. Yes someone pointed both out to me. I didn't see them at first but its very apparent now. Definitely got it much closer than my manual attempts. I think with more fine tuning it could come closer.

Yeah boot times don't bother me too much. I am used to them with older red cameras or Alexas. 2k 444 is ideal for me codec wise. Should be pretty nice if its downsampling from the 4k sensor. Rolling shutter is a bit annoying but 15ms is very usable. I have honestly never noticed rolling shutter ever across my life shooting videos, other than for strobe lighting.

The RED naming has always confused me. But I am talking about the RED Epic Dragon vs the RED Scarlet X. Having used both the Epic Dragon has a lot more highlight latitude and the colors are more neutral.

lmao, why the hell did they not use the FX6. It's such a way better ND option than a vari ND. It's not even a pound difference 1.4lbs vs 2lbs. I don't think the Creator will become hollywood standard as its just way too smart of a way to approach making a movie. Hollywood is too dumb to make that a standard. The high end film industry knows how to waste money like no one else.

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.

Somewhat unrelated to the topic. My attempt at matching an ARRI Alexa Classic and an FX30. Used an Xrite color checker passport chart. I guess that is cheating but I wanted to see if I could match them this way 100%. I think these are very close but maybe not 100%. Thoughts? The more stylized one I switch the color space and gamma to RED and then put a Kodak lut on. The other two are just ARRI color space with the ARRI 709 lut.

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

How did you feel about the GH6 btw?

I am really tempted to get the Varicam LT. I definitely think it is a slept on camera. I guess the Venice really just replaced it. It is sort of like an Alexa mini but with a 4k sensor, dual ISO, and a more run and gun friendly body.

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.

accidental repost

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.

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 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.

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 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.