Footage comparison of s16mm, HDCAM and Varicam

P

Proteus

Well-known member
Hi,
There is a very interesting HD video @720p (1280x720) in wmv that compares the strengths and the weaknesses of super 16mm, HDCAM and Varicam formats.

They shooted the same music video 3 times, each time with a different camera.
The narration is in German so if anyone understands what it says, please explain for the rest of us. Although the files are large, it is worth downloading them if you have a fast connection.

The comparison clip with German narration (653MB, 20:37):
http://www.hd-channel.com/videos/mountain-top_reasons.wmv

The full HDCAM music video (no narration) (135MB, 3:22):
http://www.hd-channel.com/videos/mountain-top_hdcam.wmv

The full VARICAM music video (no narration) (140MB, 3:22):
http://www.hd-channel.com/videos/mountain-top_varicam.wmv

The full s16mm music video (no narration) (144MB, 3:22):
http://www.hd-channel.com/videos/mountain-top_super16.wmv
 
Last edited:
Thank you, Proteus. That S16 footage is quite impressive. I'll see if I can get the translation from a friend tomorrow.
 
Just 16MB!

Just 16MB!

For those of you who can't decide to download it or don't have a fast connection, or simply are curious, I uploaded a 1 minute sample of 16MB with about the same HD quality but low frame rate.
This is playable on windows and Macs and supported from many players including Quicktime (but don’t use QuickTime on windows because the stupid windows version uses a totally incorrect gamma and/or brightness during playback which makes it looks terrible).

Click on the link below, then on "download" on the page, then "download the file now" on the next page and save it on your hard drive.


http://www.savefile.com/files/3749414

I hope you guys will find someone who understands German to enlighten us on the subject!


George D said:
Thank you, Proteus. That S16 footage is quite impressive. I'll see if I can get the translation from a friend tomorrow.
Click to expand...

George_D did you find your friend?
 
All the cams looks great.
and now the million dollar question. which looks better?

I vote for super16 :)
 
Wow

Wow

avr said:
All the cams looks great.
and now the million dollar question. which looks better?

I vote for super16 :)
Click to expand...

Wow, that's tough. They are all amazing. The Super 16 was quite good, but so was the HD. Really, the only big difference I noticed was the Depth of Field. The best being Super 16, followed by the Varicam, then the HDCAM. Oh man! Happy mountain daddy likey them all!
 
Ok, the reason I posted this thread was to read feedback from people with film experience about the fairness of the comparison, because initially I thought that the S16mm clip was too noisy compared to HDCAM. I was thinking that maybe they didn't do all the tricks in film processing to avoid noise (if any) and that they wanted to promote HDCAM against film, but since after 300+ views in this film-specific forum there were no complaints, I guess that this comparison must be fair enough.

So, until we have the German to English translation (if ever) that would reveal a lot of information in 20' of narration, I think that:

S16mm:
Pros:
-The noise (grain) gives the footage a more filmic look and may be a plus for those emotionally connected with film, having invested more than just money as filmmakers, or for some romantic film fans too. Simply put it's a subjective aesthetic preference.
-About latitude comparison, I am not sure, I think only translation could inform us about it.
Cons:
-The S16mm is definitely far noisier than the HDCAM and VARICAM. This is a minus for people like me -I have not invested anything in drama yet :)
-Colours are more "filmic" but less accurate than on high-end video (HD).
-Can only provide the filmic or "drama" look, but not the "reality" look (smooth motion) if it's needed (Ok, this maybe a bit OT).

VARICAM:
Pros:
It seems to be able to reproduce the swallow depth of field like 35mm film (better than S16mm I think).
Cons:
It’s visibly softer than HDCAM and S16mm.

HDCAM:
Pros:
It has the sharpest and cleanest image.
Cons:
Less ability for depth of field manipulation than the other two.

Even though I like the S curve rendering of film, the noise on S16mm turns me off, and so does the softer look of Varicam. I consider the swallow depth of field of Varicam and film a plus for drama but if someone has the budget to use an HDCAM he can include an adapter too. Also, the very clean and sharp image of HDCAM gives space for post processing to the degree that will give the footage a very filmic look without degrading the image.

So I vote for HDCAM :)
 
hi

hi

hi proteus

Those were the nice and the best shots..First of all i like the music video that shot with s16.

Regaring Voting : My vote is for Super 16.

why?

In super 16 what i observed is the rich graininess make thows away the videoish look.Secondly, the color clarity is absolutely brilliant on s16, The rich thickness in colors makes me vote for super 16. The moving across piano shot the very best makes music video to look like film., Vericam is too soft..this softness makes me feel that its videoish, and colors too is tending towards more white. but I like HDCAM ,the colors somewhat relates to super16., yeah only con i have seen on hdcam is depth of field. well these are my opinions...after seeing your footage .. now i realise film is film... and if i have to buy a camera to make film i definately gonna use super16. Anyway these are my views. I appreciate for posts.

vamshi
 
S-16 has the adventage that you can "play" with a lot of stocks , if you want a clean image in exterior shots go to a 50D ASA stock, if you want more grain go to 500 ASA ... and the more advantage is film latitude. If you has controlled the light like a interior shoots OK great, no problem, but if you has a very widest range of lighting ratios ... film will be a great support.

For my taste all the sequences shot in s16 looks great except the singer face, in this case the HDCam win.
 
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