the editman.com

All of a sudden we have three similar priced cameras each with their strong features. So far checking estimated price it comes out that Canon C300 is the least expensive camera, next is Sony's F3 at about 10% higher price and then the RED Scarlet with about 15% higher price than the F3 (equipped to run that is). So let's start with the C300.

As I see it there are a couple of really good features in this camera. First the sensor seems to be very good. Direct readout of the RGB colours and 4:2:2 recording, albeit 8-bit, is in theory something that means great images with high fidelity.

Another thing is the DSLR heritage within it's construction. EF lenses, weathersealing and a formfactor not to far from a DSLR. It also has the standard video features like ND, preset WB, XLR audio and exposure tools. CF cards are reliable and cheap and you can record to both slots.

Just by looking at it I don't like the external add-on LCD/XLR. I could be wrong and it turns out it's a good thing to mount it anywhere but I think it looks awkward and messy.

24,25 and 30p in 1080p but no higher frame rates unless you drop to 720p. A bit of a downer. No 10-bit video output is another downer but until we see some charts from the C300 who knows.

 

Sony's F3 has the shape of a traditional video camera of these and features are the ones you'd expect. A very nice sensor but despite being optimized for video there's still some moire and alising due to a weaker OLPF.

It records to 4:2:0 at a lower bitrate than the C300 and onto more expensive SxS cards. If you already have these then fine but I'd like to stay with something more mainstream like CF or SD-cards.

Until you get the s-log update for alot of cash it to only does 24,25 and 30p in 1080 and you'd have to drop to 720 to get 50/60p. But with the s-log you can record 1080p60 BUT with an external recorder which costs alot. So to get the most out of the F3 it's by far the most expensive camera of these three.




RED Scarlet has been lurking around for ages and finally it's here. It's not what many expected - it's an EPIC but with less features and a much lower pricetag. Sounds great.

My beef with RED cameras is they always seems to fail somewhere along the production path. You will get something out of RED cameras but with some hassle. 5k, 4k and 3k seems like a steal for that low price but it comes with one big disadvantage. The used area of the sensor drops as you lower resolution. Not a bad thing itself since it also reduces rolling shutter. But you also change field of view on your lenses. So if you are shooting in 4k 25p and need an overcranked shot you also have to swap lens. This is really bad since it puts limits on what you can do with higher FPS on the Scarlet.

One can clearly see that this camera lends it's design from a DSLR. But a DSLR you shoot with handheld and with a lens mounted you might have about 2kg in your hands. This camera weights 2,5kg body only and you need LCD, battery, recording media. So it will be less suited for handheld shooting.

Quality with RED RAW is good so the final output will look great and with high resolution at 4k. Some sees this as a perfect way to shoot because you can re-frame in post and get multiple framings from each shot. I've done it myself when editing 4k files so it is a good thing. But one of the estethics when shooting is to use different lenses to give each their own look and feel.

So what do I think about these three cameras?

With an adapter on the F3 you can use EF lenses on all three. Recording media I prefer SD-cards because they are available everywhere. But they are also less solid than CF-cards and so I regard CF-cards as a safer way to record.

SxS cards are a safer way but you can't buy these in any store and they cost much more than SD or CF. With RED you are stuck with their media and that is not a good thing.

Functions like ND-filters are lacking in RED Scarlet and once I got used to the ND-filters inside my AF101 I never want to be without them. Canon C300 has 2,4 or 6 stop ND just like in the AF101. Sony F3 has 2 and 6 stop ND which gives less room to filter down light.

I would put F3 and C300 on the same level when it comes to overcrank. The F3 has an edge since you can upgrade and get 1080p but again the cost and complexity also is much higher. Overcrank with the Scarlet is a big compromise in that the used area of the sensor shrinks.

What you'll get from each camera is different. Sony's F3 with s-log is 10-bit 4:4:4 but internal recording is only 8-bit 4:2:0. Canon on the other hand records 8-bit 4:2:2 which actually is pretty good for incamera recording. The HD-SDI output is also 8-bit 4:2:2 which puts in on par with the AF101. Question is if there is a need for outboard recording with the c300?

RED Raw is not RAW like what you get from a DSLR camera. But it's meant to really shine in post with lots of room to colour correct and grade. S-log in the F3 provides the same and to a lesser extent Canon log that's inside the C300. No doubt will the F3 or RED be best when grading and the C300 just behind with 4:2:2.

None of these are perfect. They all have their shortcomings. I would never like to deal with something non-standard and because of that RED is out of the loop. Sonys F3 is a clear choice in a think it's a nice balance between performance and functions. But the high s-log price and external recording needed hurts.

Finally Canon's C300. How will it compare to a 5DmkII or the coming 1D X? Or the 4k DSLR from Canon? I think it's better to compare it to them than the F3 or Scarlet because it's intended to be used instead of a Canon DSLR. A very expensive substitute.

But I also see advantages coming from Canon DSLR video shooting. You can use all of your EF and EF-s lenses, you can use your CF cards. So one has to look beyond the high pricetag and look at the overall cost. Doing that the camera seems to be a steal!

I have used my DSLR cameras extensively to shoot commercials these last years and in a way I felt like a pioneer. It was actually fun to figure out how to assembly a decent rig and how to monitor and set it up. Doing the mirror flipping it has been so easy getting that loved shallow depth of field and great colours. If Canon hadn't put video in their 5DmkII camera where we are today might only been a dream.

Since getting the AF101 I hardly flipped the mirror on my 5DmkII. I'm using it as what it's meant to be -  a still camera. It's not until you get to see what something like the AF101 does to the image you find a DSLR image lacking. Everything from wide shots to close ups, fine detail and patterns. The AF101 is far superior and this is only the beginning. Sonys dynamic duo F3/FS100 seams to be really excellent cameras and having the F3 in S-log and 4:4:4 just makes one want it. You can shoot very flat with the AF101 also but the F3 is in another league. It's aimed as a 35mm movie camera replacement on a budget and the AF101 is an excellent large sensor video camera. Where the FS100 is we'll see once it hits the market and people starts to shoot but a super35mm sensor is hard to beat.

It's even hard to keep up these days because so many things happen in parallel. Finally cameras starts to get affordable. Things like monitoring in EVFs are finally on the market and darn good. High Def video recorders comes in many flavours. I hear Birger Engineering are ready to get their Canon EF to micro 4/3 adapter on the market in May. Canon being the worlds largest DSLR maker and have so many great lenses that finally can be used with all functions on the AF101. I for one love if I could use all my EF lenses on micro 4/3 with an electronic follow focus. Man that gotta be sweet and much less complicated to use. No more mechanical FF to mess your rig up. I could take full advantage in having one lens set for both the AF101 and my 5DmkII!

On the horizon lurks the Sony F3. If Birger makes an adapter for the mount on the F3 I don't have to buy expensive PL lenses. No doubt PL lenses are made for cinema shooting but just looking at the optical performance and weighting in the prize I could think of no better way than using EF lenses. Man the future is so bright I have to wear sunglasses!

Another thing that's great, when having a video camera, is you don't have to get all of the things you need on a DSLR. All by itself the AF101 is a one box solution. Just peeking inside my numerous boxes of things reveals what hassles I've gone through to get DSLR to work like I want them to.

So the story goes. In 2008 we got large sensor video in an affordable package and in 2011 we take the next step towards excellent large sensor video cameras and they are still within reach!

 

I attended the Photo Fair in Stockholm this weekend and got a glimpse on some interesting hardware.

This fair is one of the smaller fairs but despite this they had two cameras that are two hot ones these days. First they had a Panasonic AG-AF-101 on display with Zeiss primes and we tried the Lumix 20/1.7 and 14-140 lenses on as well.



This was the first time I saw and handle the camera myself. It's a very nice camera that will be so popular. It's about the right size and feels solid to hold. I tried it on sticks, hand held and holding it low. With that Zeiss prime it both looks and feels great.



One thing that isn't included is a focus assist to zoom in for focus confirm. Instead there's a bar on the lower part of the screen that tells you what's in focus. I really don't know how the camera knows what to focus on... but the other focus feature - peaking actually worked better than I would expect. My Marshall monitor has peaking but it's seams to work better in the AF-101.









To mount that Lumix 20/1.7 on this camera makes it look like a toy lens but the 14-140 actually looks pretty decent. Add a lenshood and it looks somewhat proportional. We tried some overcranked footage and it looked great. Smooth and when shutter sat at 180 degrees the camera takes care of the shutter speed.





There are alot of overlays on the monitor/EVF and external output if you like. A clean good looking image as seen on the picture above. It looked creamy and rich in colour on that big display. The EVF is small but with peaking activated I manage to get things in focus so maybe this is something one can get used to.

I asked what will came with the AF101 and were told these things be included; camera body (with handle and side grip), microphone holder, 5400mah battery, battery charger and net adapter. Unlike the HVX200 a separate charger and power module is included so that you can charge and run the camera on AC at the same time.

There were not many people around this camera since this fair is mostly aimed at the photographers. Good thing for me. I didn't expect to see the next camera - Sony PWM-F3 on display. But in a corner together with some other Sony cameras the F3 rested on a pair of sticks. I could easily missed this camera if I hadn't read the news about it.



Mounted on the PL mount adapter they had a Cooke prime. What strikes me is we have two new cameras, the AF101 and the F3, similar in shape and features but also a different approach. The AF101 seams to be more a grab and shoot camera. Add a lens and you're ready to go. You can add an external recorder but it seams to be as good as can be from the get go. Sonys F3 has a low bitrate MPEG2 codec in 4:2:0, just like the AF101, but with a (probably) much better sensor and lower noise. Sony presume you will go for the lens-kit package with seams really good. Three primes (make not known) in 35/50/85mm focal. It has XLR input just like the AF101 and below a set of cinch connectors? The AF101 also has cinch for composite and audio output.



When it comes to the layout of both cameras the AF101 seams well laid out and not cluttered with buttons. The F3 on the other hand has buttons all over the camera and the display wasn't as solid put together as the AF101's display. I find both cameras EVF placement a bit awkward. When you hand hold them at least the AF101 feels like a handycam. A bit heavier but still like a handycam. The F3 is way heavier at 2.8kg were as the AF101 is about 1.2kg. These figures according to specs.



I were told that overcranking in 1080p will come later on but only 720p overcrank as of now. I think the image from the F3 looked great. A smooth and sharp image. Both cameras has built in ND-filters, the AF101 in three steps 2/4/6 and the Sony F3 in two steps. I don't know what numbers the Sony had but my guess is something like 3 and 6 stops.

Maybe it's me being used to handle a Panasonic HVX200 but the AF101 felt like a friend right away were as the F3 didn't. There was no point in trying to shoot something with the AF101 because in four weeks I'll get it myself and I don't have a work flow for Sonys memory cards. I now feel more confident that these two new cameras are going to be very impressive cameras to work with.



In one booth Philip Bloom almost bumped into me just as he had gotten a new Gorillapod (another one?) since he were there doing DSLR seminaries. I for one hope the new breed of big sensor video cameras will put an end to the cable clutter DSLR video shooting brings. Is that image above a DSLR shooters rig or a cable stand?

My mind is at the soon in stores AF101 but a new camera has caught my attention these past days, it's the Sony PMW-F3.



Take a look at this video http://vimeo.com/16981467 to see what I'm talking about. To me this is a real cinematic feeling. It's sharp and yet very pleasing to the eye. Not that overly sharp and harsh as the AF101 footage that has been posted so far. I liked Philip Blooms Hirano San, it looks great but that Sony F3 seams to play in a whole different league. And it should since the price tag is much higher.

Looking at sensor charts like the one provided by Abelcine and the Super 35mm size is bigger than the one in a Canon 7D and micro 4/3 is of course smaller. It's also interesting that the F3 has bigger pixels/less dens than any other sensor derived from a still camera. Based at 800 ISO and compare that to the AF101 which is said to be about 320 ISO. I guess that's why footage from the F3 looks so clean.

Here is another demo video and the way Panasonic and Sony markets their new upcoming cameras couldn't be more different. Panasonic opted to let the camera be used by several shooters but non has produced a real feature. All footage has been of the run-n-gun or documentary style from Panasonic where as footage from the F3 and Sony are mostly excellent pieces where they used the camera to it's fullest (or very near) capability.

What comes to mind is the image of the Canon 5D mkII. A camera with a great imager but riddled with bad moire and aliasing that masks or distorts fine details. What's it about a 5D mkII that makes images so lovely to look at? When you have one of the best still cameras in the world in that sensor size, and yes it's big compared to everything except medium format, and combine it with great optics the base image from this camera is excellent. Then the path it takes to trickle down to 1080p H264 is crude. But nevertheless all that crude signal treatment is still feed by a great imager and optics. And this shines through.

I started to analyse what picture features makes a great one. Selective sharpness, warm natural colours, large dynamic over the entire spectrum, composition, amount of motion blur, story that tells me something which touches my feelings. This is when a video/film feature is cinematic. It's not about the absolute greatest sharpness or the most technical perfect image, it's about touching feelings and appealing to all senses. That's why sound and how people act is so important. I want to be moved, to stop looking at things that aren't technical perfect and just feel what I see and hear. I want to touch the image and step into the frame myself.

The opposite is something that's all sharpness, all spot on colourwise, perfectly framed, perfect in every technical aspect but not appealing to my senses. So far the F3 has moved my feelings, my 5D mkII has moved my feelings and the AF101 has not... so far.

However to afford this baby is not within my reach as of now. What is very interesting thou is a new NXCAM camera which I don't know to much about since it's not something anyone can shoot with yet. I bet that within a month or two we'll see this little sister to the F3 coming to life.

I'm a big fan of DSLR video shooting. I love the general feeling of the 7D and 5D and I seriously hate their shortcomings. In a month or so I'll start to use the AF101 and move upwards on the camera ladder. Where will we be in a years time? Anyone shooting pro-video with a DSLR anymore? I sure wont drag my AF101 on vacation or non-work related trips so I'm still in the DSLR shooting zone for these personal videos.