Black Betty Camera - New Camera?

[FilmMan]

Check this out.    

 

Betty is a custom camera housing that combines a Silicon Imaging SI-2K Mini Camera Head and an Apple Mac Mini into a cohesive, portable camera system.

It shoots 2K Cineform RAW Quicktimes with 1:1, 3:1, or higher compression to removable (off the shelf) 2.5″ SSDs.

 

http://blackbettycameras.com/first-camera/

 

[FilmMan]

Building Betty.

http://blackbettycameras.com/building-betty-2/

[FilmMan]

Video to check out.

 

http://vimeo.com/71071523

[richg101]

Bravo!  Love it.

[Nikkor]

Looks nice, but he could have used something more efficient than a mac mini  :rolleyes:

[Andrew Reid]

Hmm. So dated compared to what is already available for much less money.

 

Don't like the size and weight.

 

Don't like the 2/3" sensor with 11 stops.

 

Don't like the idea of a Mac Mini in the back. They're not designed to be portable machines. They will break.

 

Don't see the image quality advantages over a 5D Mark III with raw, KineRAW MINI or BMCC.

 

KineRAW MINI is miles better ergonomically.

[Bruno]

It kind of loses the advantage of the SI-2k, which is its size.

I'd rather have it plugged into some external raw/prores recorder and battery pack (both can be placed in your backpack) than a mac mini!

[Oliver Daniel]

Hmm. So dated compared to what is already available for much less money.

 

Don't like the size and weight.

 

Don't like the 2/3" sensor with 11 stops.

 

Don't like the idea of a Mac Mini in the back. They're not designed to be portable machines. They will break.

 

Don't see the image quality advantages over a 5D Mark III with raw, KineRAW MINI or BMCC.

 

KineRAW MINI is miles better ergonomically.

 

 

I completely agree.

 

Great achievement to make your own camera, but compared to other cameras on the market now, it doesn't touch other raw offerings.

 

Wouldn't even use it instead of a regular DSLR. Very much a novelty camera really! But well done to whoever made it. ;)

 

Oh and ....the image is quality is fantastic too. ;)

[jgharding]

Image is nice, I like that it looks like a film camera-ish!

 

Tiny sensor though and damn does it look inconvenient! 

 

Clever person to build it from commercially available parts

[Andrew Reid]

All credit to those who made it, that it isn't for me doesn't take away from the achievement. Just think heavy shoulder mounted small chip cameras are the past and small large sensor cameras are the future.

 

The SI head they are using can do a nice image. Danny Boyle used it on Slumdog I believe.

[Sean Cunningham]

The way I see it, once you rig up a small large sensor camera to actually shoot and handle like a motion picture camera you're around this weight, or heavier and something approaching this form factor.  Alexa, RED and the Panavision are bigger and heavier yet but when you see how they're actually used the Black Betty has more in common with them and is more ready to be used like them than any DSLR or FS-style camcorder that needs more mass and additional construction to correct their alien ergonomics.

 

Most DSLR rigs for handheld are "doing it wrong", placing the camera out, in front of the operator, at a distance from the operator's center of mass and on a pendulum, swinging through space for both broad moves and small corrections.  This design works like the better shoulder rigs, placing the camera back on the shoulder with the lens and image plane as close to center mass as possible.  It's like an Aaton or compact Arri.  Folks aren't shooting actual films with DSLRs and small FS-style camcorders as-is, generally.  When they do you can tell and regardless of how lovely the imagery is, as a still, small, lightweight camera movement plays worse than Bourne-style "shaky cam" done with real cinema cameras on hand-held rigs.

 

Naked camera ergonomics are usually a non-issue when you put them in the context of how the camera ultimately gets used, in a motion picture scenario (why the fuss over the BMCC or DSLR ergonomics has always been silly to me).  After all the rigging they tend to look quite similar and you're interfacing with the rig, not so much the camera.  This camera just requires less additions to get there and, unlike a DSLR or the BMCC or FS-style camera, you can just pick this one up in base configuration, out-of-the-box and shoot in a traditional, motion picture style that comes through in the footage.

 

But, yeah, Slumdog had a lot of SI2K footage that looked great and it took home the Oscar for cinematography that year.  This is also the same size sensor as used in the Viper which Harris Savides used for Fincher on Zodiac and Fincher used again on Benjamin Button.  We'd all rather be using larger than 2/3" sensors but there's no doubt this size is still capable of creating cinematic images.