WHAT A YEAR! FROM THE CROWN TO GUNPOWDER WE CELEBRATE 2017 definitionmagazine.com
January 2018
£4.99
REVIEWS
THE STATE OF STABILISATION
DAVINCI RESOLVE 14 PANASONIC AU-EVA1 SIGMA 24-35mm T2.2 CINE ZOOM FIILEX MATRIX TRAVEL KIT SHURE IPHONE AND DSLR MICS
The latest moves in the camera balancing act
The look behind the Oscar buzz MINDHUNTER
TV working harder than films?
GAME FACE
Changing the scripted drama rules
SNOWPIERCER Lighting the global train
AUDIO SUITES
A pro video user’s guide
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Bright Publishing Ltd, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire CB22 3HJ UK
EDITORIAL EDITOR Julian Mitchell
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CONTRIBUTORS Phil Rhodes, Adam Garstone, Adam Duckworth SENIOR SUB EDITOR Lisa Clatworthy SUB EDITORS Siobhan Godwood, Felicity Evans
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SALES MANAGER Krishan Parmar
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ACCOUNT MANAGER Harriet Abbs
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KEY ACCOUNTS Nicki Mills
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Definition is published monthly by Bright Publishing Ltd, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridge CB22 3HJ. No part of this magazine can be used without prior written permission of Bright Publishing Ltd. Definition is a registered trademark of Bright Publishing Ltd. The advertisements published in Definition that have been written, designed or produced by employees of Bright Publishing Ltd remain the copyright of Bright Publishing Ltd and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Prices quoted in sterling, euros and US dollars are street prices, without tax, where available or converted using the exchange rate on the day the magazine went to press.
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MIND OVER MATTER: David Fincher’s gripping Netflix drama, Mindhunter.
Welcome
If you have Netflix and you haven’t yet seen Mindhunter then the official Definition recommendation is to see it, but be warned the subject matter is dark and based on true events. For the purposes of this issue’s ‘welcome’: when you watch it remember you are being manipulated by the framing puppeteer genius of director David Fincher. Fincher is known to love the anamorphic lens look but refuses to shoot anamorphic. For Mindhunter he used the supreme Summilux lenses but then decided to abuse them by post-producing anamorphic lens effects like chromatic aberration and barrel distortion and feeding them back in. His famous flares also make an appearance. But there’s method there as the series is based in the seventies and he wanted to recreate the attributes of a poorly-tuned anamorphic lens of the time. His aesthetic doesn’t stop there. There are also huge amounts of splitscreening so he could slice and dice performances. There are also huge amounts of recomposing and re-stabilising, right up to the point of retiming pans to match the movement. This puts huge pressure on the operators to try and shoot in that way from the start. The effect, though, is unique.
JULIAN MITCHELL EDITOR @DEFINITIONMAGS
JANUARY 2018 DEFINITION
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The Last Jedi – or if you’re still counting, number eight – brings together film, digital and IMAX film in this never-ending space saga
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IMAGE Director Rian Johnson and crew on the set of The Last Jedi with Princess Leia herself, actor Carrie Fisher, in her last role.
© LUCASFILM
t’s Christmas and that can only mean another Star Wars movie. The Last Jedi has a tough act to follow after the beautiful digital of Rogue One, but the new movie is part of the original series, so used film and digital to shoot with. Camera and lens packages included ARRI’s Alexa XT and Alexa XT Plus with Panavision C-, E-, G-Series, ATZ and AWZ2 lenses. Also the huge IMAX MSM 9802 camera with Hasselblad and Mamiya lenses, with the main camera being Panavision’S Panaflex Millennium XL2 with Panavision C-, E-, G-Series, ATZ and AWZ2 lenses.
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REVIEW OF THE YEAR
OUR YEAR Looking back at 2017 we saw a massive upswing of production across the board, the maturity of some vital technology and visual experts wowing us with their skill
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REVIEW OF THE YEAR
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We started the year with a revisit; to Planet Earth 2. The tag line was ‘Planet Earth, as you’ve never experienced it before’ as new video technology brought the viewer down and dirty with the beasts. Talking of which the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie loomed large. ARRI ALEXA XT cameras and Panavision glass were used by DOP Philippe Rousselot. The January issue also started as we meant to go on, looking at the technology of the moment: HDR.
Our February issue was a royal one, concerning the fictional, yet fact based Netflix series The Crown. The series brought its rumoured £100 million budget and left it on screen with a fantastic shooting job from DOP Adriano Goldman. His Edge of Darkness technique set the tone for the year ahead as lighting became pivotal. Talking of which this was the first time we looked at Kino Flo’s new LED light range with the company’s DIVA now offering saturated colour. @DEFINITIONMAGAZINE |
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SHOOT STORY DARKEST HOUR
Retro Remake
Reproducing historic events isn’t easy. Do you go the sepia route or do you widen your recreation palette? WORDS JULIAN MITCHELL PICTURES FOCUS FEATURES here have been countless movies and TV programmes celebrating Winston Churchill but Darkest Hour might be the one to get the closest to the real man. Director Joe Wright, DOP Bruno Delbonnel and Senior Technicolor colourist Peter Doyle had extensive talks about how they should create the look. Peter wanted to dissect the colour look culture of the time. “We were zeroing on the actual tone of the film, based on it really focusing on Gary’s performance as Winston and him spending a lot of time in war rooms
and smaller locations. “It was about the contrast between the war rooms and the Palaces upstairs. Also to be period with costumes and all that kind of thing. Then there was really just a lot of discussion how to portray a period film, some of the inevitable discussions were, should it be in 4:3, should it be sepia, should it be in black and white, what kind of things would make it feel ‘of the time’? It was felt that a lot of those options would detract from the performance, the idea was that this
ABOVE Winston rode
the Underground to ‘feel’ what the people wanted.
RIGHT Bruno Delbonnel’s lighting design was classed as ‘old school’. BELOW LEFT There
was intentional contrast between the bright summer and the darkness of the interiors.
THE COOKE S4 HAVE QUITE A LUSTRE TO THEM, QUITE A GLOW DEFINITION JANUARY 2018
was to be as visceral as possible - it should be like you are there. “Also, anything that gets in the way of the performance and the audience is a negative. We agreed on the philosophy that it should be colour, it should be 1.85 aspect ratio and we should reproduce the fantastic costumes and set. Following on from that it became clear that we actually needed to display a lot of detail, even if the downstairs was dirty with nicotine stains and smoke and the exteriors were blacked down in terms of soot. “That in turn prompted or motivated the idea that it should be a very sharp film and technically with very little diffusion. Having really zeroed in on a sharp film, colour and the ratio of 1.85 we just discussed, what did colour film look like in the Forties, we know the Thirties and Forties in terms of Newsreel but DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
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GAME FACE SHOOT STORY
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Get your face on The ARRI Amira isn’t best known for use on scripted comedy shows but DOP Benedict Spence found it the perfect camera for E4’s GameFace WORDS BENEDICT SPENCE PICTURES E4
hen director Andrew Chaplin and I shot the pilot for GameFace in 2013 we didn’t realise it would be four years until we were allowed to shoot the full six-part series. With GameFace we were attempting to tell a heartfelt story about a woman struggling through life, but also – and more importantly – make it funny. Writer and star Roisin Conaty poured her heart and soul into the script, which is semi-autobiographical, so Andrew Chaplin and I were keen to really do it justice in terms of visual storytelling. Because we had to work to a UK comedy schedule, speed of working was key to completing the day. We shot the show over six weeks on location in London, on the ARRI Amira Premium with a set of Cooke @DEFINITIONMAGAZINE |
EARLY ON, ANDREW AND I DECIDED THAT GAMEFACE SHOULD BE A HANDHELD SHOW
ABOVE Writer Roisin Conaty also stars in this warm, semiautobiographical comedy show. RIGHT Benedict Spence and camera on-set.
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5/i primes, all supplied by S+O Media. Lighting was supplied by Cinelease and included ARRI, Kinoflo and Litegear kit. I’ve been shooting on the Alexa sensor since 2011 and I love how it sees the world. The way it handles highlights, skin tones and shadows feels cinematically natural and beautiful, and I know exactly how far I can push it. Technically, there are sensors which perhaps have higher resolution or greater latitude, but
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none in my opinion feel as good as the Alexa sensors. Very early on in production Andrew and I decided that GameFace should be a handheld show. The gently observational style would create more of a subjective gaze for the viewer, plus it would allow Roisin and the cast to be more natural with their performances, rather than concentrating on the technical aspects of hitting marks and the like. I also chose to operate the camera
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SHOOT STORY MINDHUNTER
Thought Police Director David Fincher drove an era-defining aesthetic using the highest-end equipment. Definition spoke to cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt to find out how it influenced the huge Netflix hit, Mindhunter QUESTIONS JULIAN MITCHELL
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MINDHUNTER SHOOT STORY
Definition: Mindhunter seems to be a show that has some very strict guidelines for shooting (similar to House of Cards). I’m not sure if these disciplines are true but perhaps ‘no zooms’, ‘no steadicams’, ‘no handheld’, ‘no filtration’. Could you talk about the regime of shooting Mindhunter in these terms and why the practices are adhered to? Erik Messerschmidt: I wouldn’t say that we necessarily approached Mindhunter in terms of what we wouldn’t do with the camera, but more in terms of what camera choices would support the story and themes of the show. It’s true (with the exception of two shots in Episode 10) that we didn’t use any handheld or Steadicam; most of the drama in Mindhunter comes from the characters’ experiences in very long and complex interview scenes. The content of those scenes is extremely measured and nuanced and I think a moving or shaking camera would have been a very distracting way to tell such a complex story. David Fincher likes a very specific type of operating; it harks back to the earlier days of classic cinema when the actors, dolly grip and operator are working together in concert to execute the shot. It’s a beautiful thing to watch. I feel like Steadicam, while an amazing and versatile tool, is often misused, or chosen because it’s a faster way to cover a scene. Def: Could you tell us about the lens choices and how they translate to the action in the various sets and locations? The way you shoot is obviously linked to the talkheavy nature of the series – very careful camera movement, careful jump focusing and so on. The lens choice doesn’t seem to be too fast nor the other way: it’s nice glass. Again, regimented use of a T-stop and a sweet spot of a focal length. If you use zooms, are they for specific reasons?
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PRIME LENSES FORCE YOU TO ALWAYS KEEP THE CAMERA IN THE RIGHT PLACE
ABOVE Using
classic shooting principles calls for a disciplined approach. BELOW The marvels
of a modern studio set-up help create the authentic 1970s feel of the show.
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EM: We shot with Leica Summilux-C lenses living mostly on the 29mm, 40mm and 65mm focal lengths. Working with prime lenses is great because it requires a little more discipline than zooms. In the past I’ve found it very difficult to resist the temptation to push in a bit on the zoom instead of moving the camera when the shot isn’t perfect. Prime lenses force you to always keep the camera in the right place from the start, and restricting our lens choices keeps the storytelling very consistent, which I think is important on a show like this. I shot most of Mindhunter, at least the interiors, at a T2-2.8. The exteriors were typically around a T4 or T5.6. I like the way the Leicas look at a T2.3, it’s where I think they are their best. We tried to limit the audience’s awareness of the camera as much as possible, so if we did move it we only did so in very specific dramatic moments or when other things in the frame were also moving. I did use the Fujinon 24-180 and 75-400 zooms a couple of times on the show for specific shots, but never for zooming. Def: Tell us more about the control that you have on set and locations, specifically the lighting in both. Is it a case of having more control in established sets, such as the Quantico office, and a particular shooting regime to handle new locations where control of windows and outside is less easy? EM: I was fortunate on Mindhunter to have prep time with each director so we had lots of conversations about our location work before the shooting day. I was also incredibly blessed to be working with the amazing Steve Arnold, our production designer. Steve and I had a constant dialogue about practical lights, window treatments and wall colours. We were also blessed to have amazing locations department staff who deserve tremendous credit for their JANUARY 2018 DEFINITION
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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE SAMSUNG
ANIMATION ADVANTAGE
Tom Box’s BAFTA award-winning Blue Zoo Studios in London is a major animator for children’s television; Samsung’s new Portable SSD T5 drive is helping him spread the word
n area of video production and post-production where we haven’t yet placed a Samsung portable SSD drive is the VFX industry, but Samsung’s drives are already known there. This from Lee Danskin, CTO of VFX specialist reseller Escape Technology: “Samsung’s range of portable, highspeed SSDs and NVMe solutions completes the move to solid state drives across the industry. Support for USB 3.1 10Gbps gives artists and creatives the ability to maximise DEFINITION JANUARY 2018
their mobile storage in a compact form to bridge the gap between USB drives and their larger counterparts. All with the throughput to enable 500MB/s performance through the whole data chain.” We duly contacted Blue Zoo Studios, well known for children’s television series like Digby Dragon on Nickelodeon and Alphablocks on the BBC, amongst many others. Their animations are also featured in commercials, including Lego, BBC Sport and Disney.
ABOVE AND RIGHT
Tom Box, cofounder of Blue Zoo animation studios with his laptop and ‘treasured’ Samsung SSD T5 portable drive.
Co-founder Tom Box saw the advantages of Samsung’s new T5 Portable SSD drive immediately, “I’m a big fan of this drive; my first impression was just how small it was compared to the usual type of hard disks we use. It matches my laptop in proportions and looked just as cool and you also don’t worry about its weight in your bag. Also having a solid state device stops you wondering that if you knock it accidentally that it won’t boot up the next time you plug it in. It’s one DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
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thing less to worry about when you’re juggling loads of projects. “Having used it for a while, I find it amazing! The best external storage drive I’ve tried. I’m getting an insane 800% speed boost from our usual USB 2 mechanical external hard disks.” PROMOTING BLUE ZOO As co-founder of the studios, Tom spends a lot of his time travelling to industry events and to pitch his studio to customers. This means preparing different types of showreels for each occasion. “What has always been frustrating working with hard drives before has been the speed of them. We’re always dealing with different projects and have been known to even use USB sticks to copy files from our workstations to my laptop. They take forever so more recently we have ironically sent files over the Internet with our gigabit link from one computer to another in the studio. Now, with the Samsung T5 Portable drive it is much quicker to transfer a multi-terabyte file. Minutes have turned in to transferring in a flash.” To prepare these showreels Tom has to take elements from different departments and producers and then copy all that material on to the drive so he can edit all the QuickTime files together on the laptop while he travels across the country. “I do a lot of industry talks so usually have to edit bespoke material for that. The Samsung drive has allowed me @DEFINITIONMAGAZINE |
to multitask and achieve more. I’m not waiting for files to copy which is incredibly frustrating when you’re just about to run out the door and catch the train.” Tom’s journeys also include pitching for new business which means a whole different type of showreel, one to impress and not necessarily teach from. “Last week I went to ten different colleges for presentations on how they could have better animation training. The next day I went to Manchester to an animation festival to give a masterclass in running an animation company which needed a different showreel. On the following Friday I went to a skills show in Birmingham where I was trying to raise awareness of the animation industry. “Yesterday I went to an agency to do a show-and-tell for new business so I needed to edit work for specific relevance to that agency. I’m constantly making bespoke stuff instead of having general stuff that might not suit the situation.” For the Manchester festival Tom finished the presentation on the train with the Samsung T5 Portable drive which would have been tricky with his usual hard drive. “Those train tables are tiny so having a compact drive which is self-powered to work from is just lovely. It is so refreshing having such a small device to use like this. It’s so convenient to have this drive and all the small advantages turn into one huge benefit.”
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THE BEST EXTERNAL STORAGE DRIVE I’VE TRIED. I’M GETTING AN INSANE 800% SPEED BOOST
MORE INFORMATION: www.samsung.com/uk/ssd/ JANUARY 2018 DEFINITION
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AUDIO SPECIAL SHURE MOTIV MV88 MIC
SHURE MOTIV MV88 IOS MICROPHONE
Shure want to take advantage of the iPhone’s popularity with a pro microphone you can take anywhere
WORDS ADAM GARSTONE ur phones have replaced so many other gadgets in dayto-day life. We use them as cameras, video recorders, music players – and now Shure wants you to replace your field recorder with your iPhone and its new MOTIV MV88 stereo microphone. The MV88 comes in a nice protective case and plugs directly into the Lightning connector on your phone. That raises a couple of issues: firstly, some of the more rugged iPhone cases will prevent the MV88 from sitting in the connector properly; and you will need to use Bluetooth headphones to monitor your recording, as modern iPhones no longer have a headphone jack. (There are some latency issues with monitoring over Bluetooth.) These matters aside, however, the MV88 is a very capable unit. The microphone itself is very sturdily constructed, with solid castings and a strong, 90° hinge. The capsule contains two 1cm-condenser diaphragms – a cardioid and a bidirectional (figure eight) – enabling recording in adjustable width stereo, mono (bidirectional and cardioid) or native mid/side. Sample rates are up to 48kHz, 24-bit and frequency response is quoted at 20Hz to 20kHz. Sensitivity is a very passable -37dBFS/ Pa at 1kHz. There is a windjammer provided with the unit as well. Recording is best performed using Shure’s own MOTIV app,
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ABOVE The best
recordings are achieved using Shure’s MOTIV app. BELOW Interviews
are enhanced by an adjustable stereo pattern.
available from the App Store. This has a nice meter display, and allows recording and playback. It also enables control of the microphone settings, gain (0 to +36dB) and stereo width (if recording decoded stereo). There are also some presets that enable five-band EQ, compression and limiting. File size is limited to 2GB – about two hours per recording. I found the recording quality to be excellent, given the ‘field recorder’ styling. The adjustable stereo pattern was particularly useful in recording interviews, with the unit set to bidirectional mono, and the interviewer
THE SHURE MOTIV MV88 ENABLES YOU TO HAVE AN EXCELLENT FIELD RECORDER WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES and interviewee centred in opposite lobes of the figure of eight pattern. There is some noise, at high gains, and you have to be careful about handling noise, of course. For a unit that you can keep in your bag, and with which obtain good quality recordings whenever you need them, I really loved the MV88. We use our phones as cameras, not because they are better quality than a ‘real’ camera, but because they are always with us. In just the same way, the Shure MOTIV MV88 enables you to have an excellent field recorder with you at all times The VP83F is available for under £300 (including VAT). DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
SHURE VP83F LENSHOPPER MICROPHONE AUDIO SPECIAL
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SHURE VP83F LENSHOPPER MICROPHONE This on-camera Shure microphone has all the features you would expect for a DSLR type device but has some limitations for multisource recording WORDS ADAM GARSTONE nother interesting microphone from the Shure camp is the VP83F LensHopper. It’s a short shotgun supercardioid intended to mount to the hotshoe of a DSLR. So far, so normal, but the battery powered VP83F also records WAV files to Micro SDHC cards (up to 32GB) at 24 bit, 48kHz. Frequency response is quoted as 50Hz to 20kHz. Sensitivity is -35.8dBV/Pa The microphone is mounted in a Rycote designed shockmount, which does a reasonable job of isolating camera handling noise, and is light but sturdily built. The battery compartment door at the front of the unit closes securely but doesn’t seem to have any specific weather sealing – the Micro SDHC slot is here too. At the back, there is a small panel with power and record buttons, a joystick and backlit LCD. There are also 3.5mm jacks for headphones and a feed to the camera, so you can use audio matching to sync the sound up in post. The LCD shows the recorded track title and duration, recording time available on the SD card, gain, battery level and a simple audio meter. It also shows the state of the built-in low-cut filter. Pressing on the joystick activates the menus. Here you can format the memory card, set the mic gain (0dB to +30dB) – there’s a ‘rude’ indicator of clipping on the display. The lowcut filter rolls off below 170Hz at 12dB/octave, mostly for wind noise @DEFINITIONMAGAZINE |
AS YOU WOULD EXPECT FROM SHURE, THE MICROPHONE’S SOUND QUALITY IS GOOD
IMAGES Using the Rycote designed shockmount, the Shure VP83F neatly fits into a DSLR’s hotshoe.
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reduction. You can also select tracks for playback, delete tracks, set date and time and so on. In operation, the VP83F is very simple. Once everything is set up to your liking, you press the record button. There is no way to link the record function to the camera, so you’ll need to remember to roll both sound and picture at the start of a take, but that’s why they pay you the big bucks, right? As you would expect from Shure, the microphone’s sound quality is good – there is some noise at higher gains, and this is a very short shotgun, which means that off-axis isolation is limited compared to mics
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with a longer interference tube, but that has the advantage that off-axis pickup sounds better. Being able to record on the unit is a real benefit, though I suspect that many users will simply leave the mic recording, so there will need to be a bit more work done in post. The bigger issue is who this microphone is for. There is no external mic input, so the recorder can’t capture, for instance, a lavalier as well as the shotgun, and there are few productions for which a cameramounted mic as the only audio source is acceptable. Nevertheless, if a good quality, on-camera microphone is what you need, with the added bonus of high-quality recording built in, the Shure VP83F is worth a look. The MV88 retails at around £130 (including VAT). JANUARY 2018 DEFINITION
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USER REVIEW PANASONIC EVA1
Panasonic is as well known for its smaller cameras as its high-end ones; the new EVA1 is an independent filmmaker’s dream WORDS ADAM GARSTONE PICTURES ADAM DUCKWORTH
IMAGES The all-new EVA1 has been a long time coming but is definitely worth the wait.
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anasonic has a track record for making small, high-quality, midpriced camcorders. The DVX-100 was a classic – mine went all around the world with me, including spending half a day on a luggage carousel at Sydney Airport. I was in South Africa at the time – long story. So there was some excitement at the launch of the AU-EVA1 – a small-bodied, interchangeable lens camcorder with a 5.7k, S35 sensor, pitched to compete with Canon’s C200, Sony’s FS7 Mk II and Blackmagic’s URSA Mini Pro. The camera comes with a Canon EF lens mount, and weighs just over 2kg (without a lens, but with all the accessories attached). Behind the lens mount is a new 5.7k pixel (5720x3016) sensor with a claimed 14 stops of dynamic range. The sensor
is downsampled to 4k, UHD, 2k, HD or 720p as required, providing a little extra colour resolution over standard 4k sensors, to help with that lost by the Bayer filter. The camera records .mov files, using a 10-bit, 4:2:2 Long GOP CODEC (or 8-bit 4:2:0) at up to 150Mb/s. There is also an AVCHD option. These files are recorded to a pair of SDHC or SDXC cards, either using the two together, or ping-ponging. A future firmware update is promised that will allow the recording of intraframe encoded files at 400Mb/s, as well as the output of 5.7k RAW sensor data over the SDI, for use with an external recorder. Whilst slower SDXC cards are relatively cheap, the fastest cards, required for the high bit-rate recording, are currently several times the price of ‘expensive’ technologies, like CFast. DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
PANASONIC EVA1 USER REVIEW
With the current CODECs, the camera will record 4k at up to 59.94fps, and 2k/HD at up to 120fps (full sensor) or 240fps with the sensor cropped. The sensor has two native ISO ratings – 800 and 2500. This basically means that there are two gain structures on the sensor chip, so you would expect this to perform better than, for instance, an 800 ISO sensor with the gain turned up to 2500. Think of it this way, if your pixel signal is amplified on-chip to produce the ‘ISO 800’ signal, then amplified again to produce ISO 2500, the second amplifier also amplifies the noise produced by the first amplifier (as well as the noise inherent in the pixel). The Panasonic solution is to have another amplifier on-chip, connected directly to the pixel, in parallel with the ISO 800 amp, to producing the ‘ISO 2500’ @DEFINITIONMAGAZINE |
signal. No need for further off-chip amplification. In front of the sensor is an IR filter which you can move out of the way, allowing for IR illuminated night vision, and an ND filter wheel. This has a standard, but slightly disappointing range of two, four or six stops – Canon’s new C200 can manage ten stops. The camera comes with a detachable top handle and a high-resolution, 3.5” touch-screen monitor. There’s no loupe for this monitor; you’ll need to buy a separate EVF if you want one. The LCD has a handy hood built into the cover, though is still proved a little hard to see on a sunny day. The touch sensitivity of the LCD works well – there is a nice ‘Home’ screen, very reminiscent of the ALEXA/AMIRA and URSA Mini Pro, showing the major
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PANASONIC HAS A TRACK RECORD OF MAKING SMALL, HIGHQUALITY CAMCORDERS
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camera settings on one page, and allowing limited set-up by prodding a finger at the relevant display (frame rate, colour settings, shutter angle, ISO, audio inputs and white balance). The LCD plugs into a custom connector on the rear of the camera, where it’s joined by a two analogue audio XLRs, SDI out, Timecode In (excellent – you have to pay extra to get this on an FS7, and it’s missing from the C200), HDMI and a 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as external power in. The camera uses standard Panasonic Li-ion camcorder batteries – I was impressed by the low power consumption of the camera. It means that you don’t need a giant V-Lock or Gold Mount battery on the back on the camera (unlike the URSA Mini Pro), and the airline restriction on Li-ion batteries is no worry. JANUARY 2018 DEFINITION
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4K CAMERA LISTINGS
DEFINITION’S 4K CAMERA LIST
As the professional video world moves towards 4K production and UHD broadcast we have the camera reference listing you need
ARRI ALEXA CLASSIC EV 120FPS
14 STOPS
PL MOUNT
2880x1620
ARRI ALEXA MINI
SxS
Even with the new SXT models coming on-stream this year, you can still buy or rent this original ALEXA model with the original great performing sensor. There are signs that the classic won’t be available for long, so be quick.
SPECIFICATION
200FPS
14 STOPS
PL MOUNT
2880x1620
SxS
New features include the EXT Sync function, which allows sensors and operational parameters of up to 15 ALEXA Minis to be synchronised to a master ALEXA Mini. Slaves can assume parameters like frame rate, shutter angle or ND setup of the master.
SPECIFICATION
SENSOR – FORMAT AND SIZE
Single CMOS, 16:9 (1.78:1), 23.8x13.4mm – S35
SENSOR – FORMAT AND SIZE
Single CMOS, 16:9 (1.78:1), 23.8x13.4mm – S35
FRAME RATES
0.75–120fps (120fps with paid-for update)
FRAME RATES
Up to 200fps in ProRes
LATITUDE (STOPS)
14
LATITUDE (STOPS)
14
LENS MOUNT
PL
LENS MOUNT
PL, EF, B4 w/ Hirose connector
DIGITAL SAMPLING
2880x1620, uncompressed ARRIRAW/1920x1080
DIGITAL SAMPLING
2880x1620, uncompressed ARRIRAW/1920x1080
RECORDED BIT DEPTH FORMAT AND TIME
3.2K: 3200x1800; 4K UHD: 3840x2160 (up-sampled from 3.2K); 4:3 2.8K: 2880x2160 (up to 2944x2160)
RECORDED BIT DEPTH FORMAT AND TIME
3.2K: 3200x1800; 4K UHD: 3840x2160 (up-sampled from 3.2K); 4:3 2.8K: 2880x2160 (up to 2944x2160)
WEIGHT (KG)
6.3 with PL mount
WEIGHT (KG)
2.3 with Titanium PL mount
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4K CAMERA LISTINGS
ARRI ALEXA SXT EV 120FPS
14 STOPS
PL MOUNT
2880x2160
ARRI ALEXA SXT W
SxS/SXR
SXT ALEXAs get the sensor from ALEXA, the electronics from the A65 and the colour management from AMIRA. In-camera rec is ProRes 4K UHD/CINE. A direct response to requests for cutting-edge digital capture with traditional elements of the film cameras.
SPECIFICATION
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120FPS
> 14 STOPS
PL MOUNT
2880x1620
SxS
Based on the ALEXA SXT Plus, the SXT W has replaced the SXT Plus and Studio models with an industrial version of the Amimon chipset for wireless transmission. ARRI has ruggedised the W mainly for feature work.
SPECIFICATION
SENSOR – FORMAT AND SIZE
16:9 or 4:3 sensor mode. 4:3 output only for ARRIRAW and ProRes 2K recording
SENSOR – FORMAT AND SIZE
16:9 or 4:3 sensor mode. 4:3 output only available for ARRIRAW and ProRes 2K recording
FRAME RATES
At 16:9 – 0.75-120fps/60fps max when recording 2K ProRes/speeds adjustable with 1/1000fps precision
FRAME RATES
At 16:9 – 0.75–120fps/60fps max when recording 2K ProRes/speeds
LATITUDE (STOPS)
14+
LATITUDE (STOPS)
+14
LENS MOUNT
54 mm stainless steel LDS PL mount
LENS MOUNT
PL
DIGITAL SAMPLING
2880x2160 uncompressed ARRIRAW
DIGITAL SAMPLING
2880x1620, Uncompressed ARRIRAW/1920x1080
RECORDED BIT DEPTH FORMAT AND TIME
SxS PRO 64GB; SxS PRO+ 64GB; SxS PRO+ 128GB; LEXAR 3600x CFast 2.0 cards 256GB; XR Capture Drives 512GB; SXR Capture Drives 1TB & 2TB
RECORDED BIT DEPTH FORMAT AND TIME
16-bit linear internal image processing in full ALEXA Wide Gamut/Log C colour space. Target output colour spaces: Log C, Rec. 709 or Rec. 2020
WEIGHT (KG)
6.9 with PL mount
ARRI ALEXA 65 60FPS
> 14 STOPS
XPL MOUNT
5120x2880
ARRI AMIRA SXR/XR
With a sensor larger than a 5-perf 65mm film frame, ALEXA 65 heralds the start of Digital IMAX. Now shooting as a main production camera for Netflix, Amazon and the rest. Only available exclusively through their global network of rental facilities.
200FPS
14 STOPS
PL MOUNT
2880x1620
CFAST
Amira is now split up into standard, advanced and premium. Features include in-camera grading with preloaded 3D LUTs, as well as 200fps slow motion. From reportage and corporate films to TV drama and low-budget movies. Multicam mode too.
SPECIFICATION
SPECIFICATION SENSOR – FORMAT AND SIZE
ARRI A3X CMOS sensor, 54.12x25.58mm active image area. Open Gate aspect ratio of 2.11:1 (6560x3100)
SENSOR – FORMAT AND SIZE
Single CMOS, 16:9 (1.78:1), 28.17x18.3mm – 35 format
FRAME RATES
Capable of recording 20-60fps (open gate) using new SXR media. XR drives allow 27fps
FRAME RATES
Up to 200fps in ProRes
LATITUDE (STOPS)
14+
LATITUDE (STOPS)
14
LENS MOUNT
ARRI XPL mount with Lens Data System (LDS)
LENS MOUNT
PL, B4 mount w/ Hirose connector
DIGITAL SAMPLING
1.78 crop mode (5-perf 65mm): 5120x2880 and 1.50:1 crop mode – 4320x2880
DIGITAL SAMPLING
2880x1620, uncompressed ARRIRAW/1920x1080
RECORDED BIT DEPTH FORMAT AND TIME
Codex SXR Capture Drive 2000 GByte capacity Max. frame rate capability: 60 fps (Open Gate) Recording time: 43 minutes at 24 fps
RECORDED BIT DEPTH FORMAT AND TIME
HD 1920x1080, 2K 2048x1152, 3.2K ProRes 3200x1800 4K UHD 3840x2160
WEIGHT (KG)
10.5 kg | 23.2 lb
WEIGHT (KG)
4.1 with PL mount
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JANUARY 2018 DEFINITION