Which camera for film shoot for 35mm ….

[John Sharaf]

Both the Varicam and the Cine Alta are excellent choices for shooting feature film projects for filmout. Of course now there are better choices like the F23, Viper, Genesis and Arri D20, but these cameras all are more expensive to rent and for their postproduction workflow.

It’s generally considered that the higher pixel count and line numbers of the Cine Alta (HDCAM format) are better for filmout than the Varicam and while it does seem logical, only a comparative test would prove it. Another major factor is the lenses and in this case there is little dispute that the Zeiss DigiPrimes and DigiZooms cannot be beat both for resolution and contrast.

In the Varicam there is a setting in the Film Menu for Dynamic Range which can be maximized at 500%. This makes a low contrast master with a lot of headroom for highlight control and mimics the reproduction of film. This is the way to maximize the cameras ability to make the best filmout. The Cine Alta (F900R) has a similar setting known as Hyper Gamma and also the ability to import customized gamma curves like tose made available by Steve Shaw at Digital Praxis.

As far as post production, there is little doubt that Apple’s Final Cut Pro (FCP) is more user friendly to high definition editing. It’s ability to import DVCPRO100 via firewire and to use inexpensive firewire drives almost makes it a no brainer. The only conflict arises when the preferred editor is Avid-centric and insists that that platform be used. In that case, unless the Avid has had extensive upgrades and lots of expensive storage then downconverts must be made, editing in standard definition and a seperate on-line process is called for. The newest FCP known as 6.0 also adds a ProRes 422 feature which allows HDCAM to be edited in a manner like DVCPRO100, that is in HD and with unsophisticated storage. You will however need a capture card like a Kona, but that only costs a couple of thousand dollars, certainly less than the downconverts would cost.

If, as it seems, you are new to high definition, I strongly advise that you hire a knowledgeable consultant to guide you through this process, as it can be overwhelming, and the possibility for mistakes is great. In addition, proper testing of the camera, lenses, and post workflow including filmout will save you considerable time, money and anxiety.

Hope this helps!

JS

[Harcharan Singh]

Hi,
Thanks for your detailed response.This is the reason this forum rocks.
Further any views regarding Avid Composer with Adrenaline HD vs Final Cut Pro 6 with AJA Kona 3 for Film edit.
Thanks
Harchu