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199. The Great Camera Shootout 2011: Episode 2 ~ "Senso…
7 months ago
Episode 2, “Sensors & Sensitivity” of the three part series continues with tests covering sensitivity, resolution, compression and the relationship between them. These tests were designed and administered by Robert Primes ASC, director of the Single Chip Camera Evaluation (SCCE) and shown at 2K screenings around the world to indie filmmakers, event shooters, commercial DP’s, directors and corporate filmmakers alike. Their opinions on the footage are invaluable when it comes to understanding what all this data means in real world shooting situations.
To measure the sensitivity, the SCCE team used the Signal to Noise ratio of each camera to determine the threshold of acceptable noise. “Michael Bravin shot an opto-electronic conversion function or OECF chart,” says Steve Weiss, director. The chart uses twenty different grey patches that are analyzed by software to determine how the sensor converts the illumination into digital values.” A low light scene was lit by Stephen Lighthill, ASC to show how noise can affect a shot in the real world.
Matt Siegel was in charge of measuring the resolution of each camera by shooting a 3ft wide Siemen star chart. This chart is used to find the Spatial Frequency Response (SFR) of the sensor which shows the smallest details a camera can capture. The final test in episode two covers color compression and sub-sampling. Each camera was recorded, if possible, to an external recorder to capture the most uncompressed image possible, with the Wringer chart, the differences between on-board and off-board recordings are shown. “Some cameras can record in 4:4:4” explains producer Jens Bogehegn, “but other cameras compress the image by removing color data, this can be 4:2:2 or 4:2:0.” A Still Life scene was also shot by Steven Lighthill, ASC and Nancy Shreiber, ASC to show the real world implications when resolution and compression are pushed to their limits.
Come watch Episode 2: “Sensors & Sensitivity” and learn from some of the best in the business! We promise you won’t be disappointed.
The featured scenes in this episode are shot by Michael Bravin, Matt Siegel, Stephen Lighthill, ASC and Nancy Schreiber, ASC. The still life scene was designed by Rhonda Rolston.
Commentary: Jay Lee, Jack Cummings, Dan Freene, Daniel DeMoulin, Daren Finner, Nino Leitner, Jonathan Bregel, Jon Carr, Jan Crittenden: Product Manager-Panasonic, Bruce Logan, ASC, Cinematographer “Tron,” James Kallemeyn, Sam Shinn, Johnson Liv, Chris Cooke, Mark Steel, Dave Kittredge, Richard Crook, Ken Glassing: Cinematographer, “CSI-Miami,” Gale Tattersall, ASC, Cinematographer, “House,” Michael Lewis, Sebastian Tr, Mathew Medeiros, Paul Ream, Michael Watson, Peter James, ACS, ASC, DP “Driving Miss Daisy” & “Meet The Parents,” Robert Primes, ASC, Ryan Koo, David Johnson, Rodney Charters, ASC, Cinematographer “24,” and Robert Haddad.
CAST & CREW
The web series documentary features two different independent crews. The SCCE Crew: Administrator Robert Primes, ASC; Station Chiefs: Michael Bravin, Stephen Lighthill ASC, Nancy Schreiber ASC, Matt Siegel and Mike Curtis; Line Producer Josh Siegel. The Shootout 2011 Crew: Editor Karen Abad, Graphic Designer Chris Voelz, Producers: Daniel Skubal, Scott Lynch, Jens Bogehegn and Eric Kessler; Web Series Director Steve Weiss.
Additional SCCE Testing Methodologies
All of the manufactures were invited to be involved with the tests and provide a technician with their camera. In cases where the manufacturer declined to send a representative, Bob Primes assigned a camera master who was an expert with that particular camera to manage it as it rotated though all of the series of tests. Each test also had a station chief who kept the tests consistent across cameras.
To measure the sensitivity, the SCCE team used the Signal to Noise ratio of each camera to determine the threshold of acceptable noise. “Michael Bravin shot an opto-electronic conversion function or OECF chart,” says Steve Weiss, director. The chart uses twenty different grey patches that are analyzed by software to determine how the sensor converts the illumination into digital values.” A low light scene was lit by Stephen Lighthill, ASC to show how noise can affect a shot in the real world.
Matt Siegel was in charge of measuring the resolution of each camera by shooting a 3ft wide Siemen star chart. This chart is used to find the Spatial Frequency Response (SFR) of the sensor which shows the smallest details a camera can capture. The final test in episode two covers color compression and sub-sampling. Each camera was recorded, if possible, to an external recorder to capture the most uncompressed image possible, with the Wringer chart, the differences between on-board and off-board recordings are shown. “Some cameras can record in 4:4:4” explains producer Jens Bogehegn, “but other cameras compress the image by removing color data, this can be 4:2:2 or 4:2:0.” A Still Life scene was also shot by Steven Lighthill, ASC and Nancy Shreiber, ASC to show the real world implications when resolution and compression are pushed to their limits.
Come watch Episode 2: “Sensors & Sensitivity” and learn from some of the best in the business! We promise you won’t be disappointed.
The featured scenes in this episode are shot by Michael Bravin, Matt Siegel, Stephen Lighthill, ASC and Nancy Schreiber, ASC. The still life scene was designed by Rhonda Rolston.
Commentary: Jay Lee, Jack Cummings, Dan Freene, Daniel DeMoulin, Daren Finner, Nino Leitner, Jonathan Bregel, Jon Carr, Jan Crittenden: Product Manager-Panasonic, Bruce Logan, ASC, Cinematographer “Tron,” James Kallemeyn, Sam Shinn, Johnson Liv, Chris Cooke, Mark Steel, Dave Kittredge, Richard Crook, Ken Glassing: Cinematographer, “CSI-Miami,” Gale Tattersall, ASC, Cinematographer, “House,” Michael Lewis, Sebastian Tr, Mathew Medeiros, Paul Ream, Michael Watson, Peter James, ACS, ASC, DP “Driving Miss Daisy” & “Meet The Parents,” Robert Primes, ASC, Ryan Koo, David Johnson, Rodney Charters, ASC, Cinematographer “24,” and Robert Haddad.
CAST & CREW
The web series documentary features two different independent crews. The SCCE Crew: Administrator Robert Primes, ASC; Station Chiefs: Michael Bravin, Stephen Lighthill ASC, Nancy Schreiber ASC, Matt Siegel and Mike Curtis; Line Producer Josh Siegel. The Shootout 2011 Crew: Editor Karen Abad, Graphic Designer Chris Voelz, Producers: Daniel Skubal, Scott Lynch, Jens Bogehegn and Eric Kessler; Web Series Director Steve Weiss.
Additional SCCE Testing Methodologies
All of the manufactures were invited to be involved with the tests and provide a technician with their camera. In cases where the manufacturer declined to send a representative, Bob Primes assigned a camera master who was an expert with that particular camera to manage it as it rotated though all of the series of tests. Each test also had a station chief who kept the tests consistent across cameras.
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Steve WeissWeb Series Director -
Jens BogehegnProducer -
Daniel SkubalProducer -
Scott LynchProducer -
Kessler CraneEric Kessler: Producer -
Karen AbadEditor -
Chris VoelzGraphic Design
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also, what's with all the goofy graphics? it's like somebody learned to use "wiggle" in AE the day they edited this and the pseudo "blue face" 80's techno look is horrific.
The issue the SCCE team was faced with is that there are no exact standards when it comes to ISO. It was determined that different ISO's are arbitrary to a certain degree and the results you get with say ISO640 on one camera are not the same results you get from ISO640 on another camera. The cameras may vary in their noise levels, Dynamic Range, Saturation, etc. This is because different camera manufacturers are allowed to choose the ISO rating for what they think are the best acceptable parameters for their camera.
-Scott
Apart from that, this series (thus far) is great. Many thanks to everyone involved for sharing this info with the world.
Just an FYI that Vimeo's comments seem to be buggy right now. So no, we didn't delete Sara's comments, as she's entitled to her opinion.
But as a retort, we wanted to make this show fun and not so dry, sorry you don't like the graphics, but we think it makes evaluating cameras a little more exciting.
-Scott Lynch
To your credit I think you underestimate the "fun" of how people respect your work and the findings you are sharing with everyone. There is nothing "dry" about the excellent interviews, behind the scenes setups, and shooting results.
There is tremendous mystery behind each test - everyone wanting to learn from the results to make better use of their equipment (strength and weaknesses). That mystery is "fun." No need for the graphics.
Best wishes,
That said, I have watched your Prada commercial and you did an amazing job with the tools given to you. I believe this is also the most valid point of this Zacuto comparison because it's the cinematographer, not the camera, that makes or breaks a movie.
The last Shootout already displayed at Skywalker Ranch on a 30ft screen that the DSLRs held up in a theater setting. Clear as day.
In fact, they still do with several DPs using them every project. Including Hurlbut, Libatique (Iron Man 1 and 2, Black Swan, Capt. America), etc.
Makes me wonder if anyone has even tested these DSLR limits before making comments like this.
Why are vimeo users so stingy with comments and feedback???
Its not like each letter u type costs a penny or anything...
for gad sakes these guys have way over thousnads of views here and only 19 comments !
Dont be stingy with ur comments!
Its what u would want if u put this thing together! Give it up for the 600 people who put this together and LEAVE a comment! (or not)
For me there are technical front runners, but the truly great thing about these test is that we can see what each camera does best, and where their weaknesses lie; with that knowledge we can plan ahead and choose the right camera for the story. I've certainly revised my appraisal of some of the new comers after seeing these tests, enough to at least consider testing them for specific projects I otherwise would've gone another way on.
Also loved the fact that Gale Tattersall, ASC pointed out that sharper isn't always better; different strokes for different strokes as they say. Call me nostalgic but I still miss Super16 hehe
The most amazing thing is the technical measurements compared to the actual picture quality you get in a shot. After the 2010 shootout and some experience of my own, I have been quite happy with Canon's DSLRs, despite the 4:2:0 colour compression. In this episode however, they do not live up to any standard, and I would shrug from using them if I wouldn't know that it is possible to squeeze some more quality out of them. Especially the 7D, which seems extremely soft and compressed here. The D7000 on the other hand looks beautiful. Nikon had a late start on the whole HD video thingy but they seem to have caught up and be using a slightly different h264 in-camera conversion than Canon. Of course the Zeiss lens also does help.
I've never worked with the AF100 but it looks really nice in these tests. Being a fairly affordable camera, I might be watching out for Panasonic some more in the future.
'It's a test that says: There might be a camera out there that's best suited for this environment or this particular story that you're trying to tell.'
Thank you again for the great shootout. As last year, I'm anticipating episode 3 the most, although I was really, really hoping for some green screen tests to see how keyable some of these are.
Massively informative stuff guys.
Episode 1 showed me why Roger Deakins opted for the Alexa for his first ever digital shoot in a movie set (In Time - Oct 2011).
Episode 2 showed me the difference between 4:2:0, 4:2:2 and 4:4:4. My 5D can't compete with RAW data streams but thankfully, 99.99% of audiences won't have a clue. ;P)
As someone trying to get their first indie feature film produced, this resource you've provided is truly invaluable. My sincerest thanks to all you guys at Zacuto, to Eric Kessler, to Robert Primes, and to everyone else that took the time to make this shootout as good as it is.
Oh, but one minor complaint: why ya' gotta throw that poor P.A. under the bus for unplugging the light on the Alexa shot? Geez guys, I'm sure someone told him to do it, and then someone else probably grabbed him and told him to go do something else. Has it really been that long since you guys had to do that crap job for someone? Give that poor guy (or gal) a break, will ya'? Geez!
I'm just sayin' :)
I've heard that you may include the Lumix GH2 in a future test. I hope you will install Vitaliy Kiselev's free PTool hacked firmware on the GH2 as part of your tests.
personal-view.com/talks/discussion/666/ptool-v3.62d-topic
Among other things, version 3.62d of the hack allows the GH2 to record AVCHD at 100 megabits/sec or more.
Since you included a hardware-modified Canon 5DM2 (Hot Rod Cameras PL mount, which costs thousands of dollars), it would be completely fair to test a GH2 running free 3rd party software, right?
Cheers.