a6300 vs Alexa!

xbourque

Well-known member
So now that I have your attention... :)

Here's "making of" clip I made with the a6300 on the set of a music video that was shot on Alexa.

For lenses I used a Sigma 17-50 2.8 and a Canon 70-200 f/4 with a metabones smart adapter.
Shot sLog2/sGamut3.cine mostly at 800 ISO (a bit higher for the few indoor shots).

For post I did the edit/grade in DaVinci Resolve using Impulz LUTs.

While it's not a true "side by side" comparison, I think it's interesting to watch the a6300 "making of" footage vs. the actual Alexa music video!

a6300 "making of":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ronQNSjKcE

Alexa music video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnUhIlPwXM4

--Xavier
 
I like your a6300 look better. Especially the color. :cheesy:

I was watching a horror film called "Sinister" released in 2012 (Ethan Hawke).

Most of it looks like it was shot with a camcorder--dark and contrasty, blown highlights all over the place, terrible dynamic range. (And I don't mean the 8mm stuff).

Later on I was surprised to see these (very expensive) technical specs:

Arri Alexa
Beaulieu 4008 (8 mm segments)
ARRIRAW (2.8K) (source format)
Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format)
ProRes 4:4:4 (1080p/24) (source format)

I was thinking: "My a7sII blows this camera away."

But the look of the movie didn't really bother me because I got pulled into the story.

Alexa shots:

Image6.jpg

Image7.jpg

Sony a7sII 24mm:

Image10.jpg
 
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VERY interestng!

Great behind the scenes stuff. Yes, it has a very nice look - which Impulz LUT is this?

The Music Video itself is outstanding. GREAT concept and execution. Very powerful.
 
I like your a6300 look better. Especially the color. :cheesy:

I was watching a horror film called "Sinister" released in 2012 (Ethan Hawke).

Most of it looks like it was shot with a camcorder--dark and contrasty, blown highlights all over the place, terrible dynamic range. (And I don't mean the 8mm stuff).

Wow never notived the blown out highlights when I watched that film (had me on the edge of my seat, specially during a certain 8mm section)

Overall the a6300 looked great compared to the alexa, my issue is that rolling shutter and overheating issues make it a only temporary purchase since I dont want to spend the money on the a7r II right now. Also the grading is really great (and something I need to work on as it affects the image so much). What Impulz luts did you use? It looks like 5203 DP if I remember it correctly.
 
What Impulz luts did you use? It looks like 5203 DP if I remember it correctly.

Wow good eye! Indeed, I used the 5203(DP)_FC Impulz LUT (sLog variant, not sLog2 or 3... I find the "vanilla" sLog more pleasing when shooting sLog2 1 2/3 stops overexposed on the a6300 to keep the shadows in check).

About rolling shutter, one thing I've found is that using "ClearImage Zoom" (i.e. sensor crop) helps a lot, which is convenient because rolling shutter artefacts are the most annoying on long lenses. Check out this other clip I've shot using this technique:

https://vimeo.com/171880954

--Xavier
 
xbourque,

Great looking behind the scenes images! Your color is amazing. Has to be on be some of the best skin tones I have ever scene out of a lower priced Sony camera. So much for the 'Sony Look"!

I am interested in the A7rII, would you think creating this look would be easy for this camera compared to the a6300? Possibly even better?
 
They are both great! I don't "prefer" one over the other, they are both stylistic considerations. I love the music video, incredible work. Thank you for sharing both!

I also have the Sigma 17-50 2.8 OS and the Canon 70-200 4.0. That is a great, affordable kit! The Sigma is an absolute bargain for the quality.

Are you using those with auto focus with the Metabones? I haven't had a chance to try them out on the A6300 yet, but I plan to use mostly my Canon lenses via Metabones.

Cheers!
 
xbourque,

Great looking behind the scenes images! Your color is amazing. Has to be on be some of the best skin tones I have ever scene out of a lower priced Sony camera. So much for the 'Sony Look"!

I am interested in the A7rII, would you think creating this look would be easy for this camera compared to the a6300? Possibly even better?

I think the key to good color on Sony cams is Sgamut3.cine. So for for lower price cams, that means a6300 and a7sII at the moment. Regular "S-Gamut" has weird primaries that need special attention in post and isn't very well suited to compressed 8-bit formats IMHO.

The picture profile menu in these cams is quite extensive, so I'm sure good results can be achieved with the a7rII with a bit of poking around though.

--Xavier
 
They are both great! I don't "prefer" one over the other, they are both stylistic considerations. I love the music video, incredible work. Thank you for sharing both!

I also have the Sigma 17-50 2.8 OS and the Canon 70-200 4.0. That is a great, affordable kit! The Sigma is an absolute bargain for the quality.

Are you using those with auto focus with the Metabones? I haven't had a chance to try them out on the A6300 yet, but I plan to use mostly my Canon lenses via Metabones.

Cheers!

I only had the metabones for 1 day and that was literally the first day I shot with the cam. If I remember correctly, autofocus could be triggered on both lenses with the metabones smart IV but was so slow and hunty that I wouldn't rely on it. (The Sigma 17-50 has pretty poor autofocus performance in general anyways).

Actually, finding a good semi-affordable 17-50 2.8 IS setup on this cam is proving to be a challenge!

--Xavier
 
Thanks for your reply. Sony sure has made it difficult to choose. A7rII has the most to offer but the a6300 produces a beautiful image along with overheating and RS beyond cell phone levels. A7sII has 1080p slo mo and the color mode 3 but only has 12mpx for 2001 still work... :) Looks like we need an a7X model to mop up all three!
 
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