F35: Arri Alexa vs Sony F35 skintone

eddavid

eddavid

Carbonite Member
https://vimeo.com/129045883

Testing quick skin tone test - with fujifilm look on Alexa and Sony F35 - seeing if they can intercut. Was able to film at San Alomos Prison with inmate #45654 as my model. He got two days good behavior for being my subject. Just kidding Dave - love you man.
So Amira was on 100mm ultra prime on sticks
Sony F35 was handheld with 85mm ultra prime.
Opps! Should have both cameras on sticks and with same lens! Being lazy helps no one.
Anyway, I found the cameras incredibly similar looking.
Hope this little test is useful in some small way to someone out there, anywhere.
And if not, I am so sorry I wasted your time. I really am.
If I wasted your time, please comment that I wasted your time and I will reply and say, "I''m really sorry I wasted your time."
The other thing is that the f35 with odyssey 7q to dpx 12 bit is around a $10,000 solution right now and the Amira is about a $60k solution. Sure the Amira is a much nicer ergonomic system and has built in NDs and has many more nice convenient options, but really - you save $50,000.
So you save $50,000 - that's a lot of money.
This is what you can buy with $50,000.
A set of nice lenses
A house.
A really nice car
Help save the planet's infrastructure
Help save the planet's wealth discrepancy problem.
Shoot a feature film.
Bail your friend out of jail.
It can buy a lot of great things.
Remember kids, the latest technology is nice - but the best stuff from 2008 still holds up.
 
Pretty remarkable. I probably couldn't tell the difference if the cameras were graded and intercut in a scene.
 
thanks yes that's kind of why I made this test. Because the job I'm on wanted to go Amira and I said based on Macgregor's test - that the f35 would be pretty interchangable but they wanted the "Arri" brand name. Hopefully after this video and maybe Mac's and some more other ones I will have some leverage for the next battle :)
Man, poor old Sony. Used to be the king of electronics! :) Soon they'll be in JVC land.
 
You're really digging those blue skintone highlights at the moment Ed! F35 continues to impress.
 
Nice. The cameras aren't in the same market and your prices are a tad off off but nice to see... even with the s*%tty handheld and lack of other matching parameters. Also, what was with the really long take of the Amira log without grading it? Oh yeah and whats with your hate of really good cameras like the Amira?? If your doubts about your investment are that bad, maybe its time to sell? Or are you upset that some people can afford it? :Drogar-Love(DBG):
 
same market - yes - both are really nice imagers.
I am not hating on people who can afford the Amira - I'm hating on people who think the camera is going to magically make their project's footage look Amazingballs. It's not. There are so many factors that make something look good beyond the camera - the lenses, the lighting, the composition, the gradiing, the filtration - the camera movement.

the camera is just one part of the puzzle. And everyone neglets the other parts - the stuff that can be learned and improved on for free.
 
eddavid said:
same market - yes - both are really nice imagers.
I am not hating on people who can afford the Amira - I'm hating on people who think the camera is going to magically make their project's footage look Amazingballs. It's not. There are so many factors that make something look good beyond the camera - the lenses, the lighting, the composition, the gradiing, the filtration - the camera movement.

the camera is just one part of the puzzle. And everyone neglets the other parts - the stuff that can be learned and improved on for free.
Click to expand...

Whoa Ed, that is the most broken record, cliche thing you can post. We all know that stuff, AD-INFINITUM. Who thinks that anyway? No professional does that I have known. I think you are angry at producers, just like I am, like when I was recently told my F3 wasn't good enough for a crappy, two week long, controlled interview shoot that would have paid me very well. Guess what they (first time producers) demanded?? A 5D... lol.

Same markets? Do you know how many Amiras the NFL bought, FOR EXAMPLE? Their standard was Kodak film until 2013 or 14. Could they do what they need to with an F35? No way. There are a ton of other uses for high-end gear besides indie camera people that think they need to make "art" all the time and don't care about the practical side of things.

I just like how good the F35 looks. I can't say that I even prefer the Amira in your test. The CCD does color better, or at least just as good.
 
I think what is perhaps forgotten here, is that there are shoots that can only afford the "cheaper" F35, there are shoots that can afford and *need* the things an Amira/ALEXA can provide.... but then there are those shoots in the middle which could afford an Amira, but would be just as fine with an F35 and could spend their money much better elsewhere. In set design, lighting, better or more lenses, or crew, etc...

I remember similar things happening with the RED ONE when it was new - all these new DoPs harping on about 4K this, 4K that... then they got the camera and ancient super speeds wide open all the time...
 
VinceinLA said:
Whoa Ed, that is the most broken record, cliche thing you can post. We all know that stuff, AD-INFINITUM. Who thinks that anyway? No professional does that I have known. I think you are angry at producers, just like I am, like when I was recently told my F3 wasn't good enough for a crappy, two week long, controlled interview shoot that would have paid me very well. Guess what they (first time producers) demanded?? A 5D... lol.

Same markets? Do you know how many Amiras the NFL bought, FOR EXAMPLE? Their standard was Kodak film until 2013 or 14. Could they do what they need to with an F35? No way. There are a ton of other uses for high-end gear besides indie camera people that think they need to make "art" all the time and don't care about the practical side of things.

I just like how good the F35 looks. I can't say that I even prefer the Amira in your test. The CCD does color better, or at least just as good.
Click to expand...

My test was a 15 minute test - if there's time on set today I'll try to do a better one
This isn't a 5d vs f3 argument. This is the best camera of modern time vs the best camera of 2008-2010 era - two kings against each other. And a former king is still a king. This isn't Alexa vs F3 or Alexa vs c300 - these are two serious cameras and one that was forgotten and then rediscovered by MacGregor - I think if you did a real test and gave it to a colorist and based on taste of DP you could match them easily - and even see that a DP may perfer the motion and dynamic range style of the F35 over Alexa. I like the Alexa a lot but it puts dynamic range into shadows - which I think if not graded right looks cartoony.

But that's just me. I have tastes that differ from others, just as you have tastes that differ too.

I am not mad at the producer - he made a commercial decision - the CLIENT and agency know brand names of Arri - and they want arri if they are paying top dollar. They don't know Sony F35 - the problem is the industry is now brand-conscious. I don't think in the film era anyone said, hey 5219 - can you use that film stock? Or, no lets use a 435 - that's the camera we want you to use - the DP usually made the decision.

It's a different world.

As James said, this is more for medium level productions where saving production $600 a day or so, $800 a day can be put towards renting a m40 light or better lenses, or more lenses
it adds up.

I'll keep broken recording forever because that gets people to look into older great gear instead of salivating over the future, which lets me down so many times. Have you seen how bad the motion is in the Taylor Swift bad blood video shot on the Red Weapon? It looks like something went really wrong. Imagine drooling then you get the camera and you are like, "OPPS, there goes $50,000. I could have bought a used Alexa XT and shot 120 FPS and the motion would have looked decent and the look of the video would have been less clinical maybe - maybe too much sharpness of that sensor is not the best idea for a fashion video where I need my female star to look great. Or what is up with the Bokah on that thing shooting at 6k? It doesn't look right or natural, not like the Alexa. Next time we'll use an Alexa. Now we'll have to go to flame and spend an extra $40,000 desharpening her face but it will maybe effect the look." Oh well!
 
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It's amazing how many mistruths do the rounds when any new format came out. I remember people moaning that HD had both "too much detail" and "wasn't as high resolution as 35mm film".... can't have it both ways.

In the UK there was a lot of resistance to it from TV, because they had to rebuild a lot of sets and things to mask the old ones, which were fine for SD - but not HD (and would have looked terrible on 35mm too)
 
Dang dude I was just saying that the Amira can do things the F35 simply can't no matter what you do to it. The Amira fits SOME shoots in a way that no other camera does.

Yes that whole Weapon thing is sad. It's one of many reasons that used Red's are for sale like never before... that and the Alexa Mini which will now own the aerial/gimble/B-cam/Crash Cam/Car mount/Stedicam markets.

But hey, when stuff like this is shot on a little A7s with only post stabilization, you have to wonder where gear will be in two or three years. This is my new B-cam I think. https://vimeo.com/129171397
 
I dont get the blue clipped forehead. If my DOP delivered that Id fire him/her.

If you want to do a test use the match to chart facility in Resolve and then compare

S
 
I'd fire you buddy just as quickly. :)
I did the match to chart in resolve - and I was more curious to push the image and see what happens. If you notice, I left the log c and slog video on there - feel free to do it yourself and post the results!

Also notice the Amira has more noise than the F35 when pushed in 200% - that surprised me. Both shot at 400 ASA.
 
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