The Mac Filmmakers user group meeting this month was a joint meeting about digital cinematography with the Digital Cinema Society, resulting in about 100 attendees.
Sony reps did a presentation on the Sony EX3 Pro video camera, list price about $9,900, then there was a pizza break and raffle, followed by a presentation on the Sony F35 CineAlta digital cinematography camera.
Art and Adam demoed the F35, and showed their F35 PG&E conservation public service spot and talked about production. They did multiple takes with different cameras and showed the differences in ability to hold contrast. Quite an eye-opener.
There was a discussion of S-log and Hyper gammas for video camera contrast compression. Cinematographers agreed they can make a big difference in contrasty situations, for example an interior shot of a room with sunshine streaming in.
One audience member lamented that there was no discussion of camera pricing. Since these are industrial cameras, if you have to ask, likely you can’t afford it. Also, a complete setup would involve a combination of many items depending on the shot – body, lenses, curves, storage, sound capture, etc.
Some people mentioned that it makes more sense to rent when possible, as the technology is constantly evolving, and the rental company is more able to maintain the camera firmware and sensor upgrades. Fortunately, the Bay area does have a number of retailers willing to rent gear packages by the day.
Thanks to Apple for hosting the event.
