Best DSLR 2nd camera for F35?

[IronFilm]

F23 and F3 is too big I said it. Then I might as well buy another F35. Don't want big. I'm not overthinking. .

Why is size such a big problem? You said you need three cameras. Why not say get one F3 and one BMPCC4K (if you need a smaller camera for some specific shots, perhaps on a gimbal for instance)

Panasonic color looks nothing like F35 and I don't like panasonic color and GH5 is not RAW. BMPCC4k is not even shipping is it? Also same sensor as GH5. Who knows how will color be? BMPCC is 16mm sensor. Not correct. I don't understand how GH5 is good match for F35. Totally different color. I think best option will be some A7 camera. Question is which one? Somebody told me A7S is probably best to match because is older like F35. A7SII and newer looks more different etc. I don't know. Is not about best one is about closest one to fool the eye. Varicam is good quality image but can never match F35. Look is too different for example.

What people are saying is probably a GH5S/BMPCC4K/etc will be the best color match option for a F35, yet it is from a different company, but the a7 series is from a completely different division at Sony and are only 8bit vs the 10bit or even raw from the Panasonic/BMD which will make a big difference in the end.

 

[Spartacus]

I can vaguely remember talk of the Nikon D800 having a F35ish look, but I can't find a single video backing that up.
Also vaguely remember the Samsung NX1 being compared to the F35 when it had its 15min fame in DSLR video blogosphere.
But without RAW and some kind of LOG most of the DSLRs fail at highlight retention and it's a more like a reflex some DSLR
with good video performance gets compared to the F35 or Alexa...
If there was a DSLR out there offering the F35-look, I'm pretty sure it would be well known and documented.
So I agree with others that I would be more concerned about getting the "fatest file" possible, ergo a camera that shoots RAW
or offers high bitrate and bit depth external recording.

 

[abreu-canedo]

I was hoping F35 users would know and have used something with their F35. I can't rent all sony DSLRs to test. I have unusual situation where I need shoot with 3 cameras. No chance of get 2 more F35. I thought about canon but I rented C300 and hated the look. Too video. So maybe if I can match sony DSLR with F35 is better. Try to film as much as possible with F35 and other shots with sony DSLR. I think S35 is important. Match 16mm to F35 will just make it even more hard match. FF can be cropped to S35 at least. Yes RAW is good. But not if 16mm sensor for me. Sorry.

No need to rent, just go to the rental house and do some tests for free. But spending a few hundred bucks in rentals will ensure that your thousands of dollars (or whatever currency) is well spent.

Using an ACES workflow you can get cameras to a common place and matching is not really a problem. It's the whole reason it was created. You just need files robust enough to handle the push and pull that ACES will do to get the images in the common starting place.

Sensor size will only impact FOV and DOF characteristics. This can vary from focal length and T-stop. A 24mm lens at T4 on a s35mm sensor can look very close to an 18mm lens at T1.8 on a s16 sensor...for example. All to say is that those FOV and DOF characteristics can be altered. Also, speedboosters are very light. They don't add any significant weight at all.

The only other thing that a smaller sensor may affect is grain size, but F35 being s35 and a s16 4K camera will mostly offset this difference.

Older a7 models will not be any closer to F35 than newer A7 models. Different CFAs, different gamuts and I'm not sure if they even have the same log curves as F35. Plus, I find the 8bit files of the A7sII to be very thin and colors are not complex like you'd get with S-Gamut at 12bit from F35.

In short, I think there are great options laid out here, but you seem like you are rejecting them based on theoretical priorities that may be misguided.
For example:
-must be larger sensor, but the differences in sensor size are easily dealt with by lens parameters or speedbooster that is not significant extra weight at all. I use them all the time, never notice a difference.
-Certain cameras or models look nothing like F35. But no camera is going to give you that out of the box. If you want a lighter weight camera to match, you need to make compromises and the priority needs to be robust file size...or use a heavier camera.
-Not all cameras can be matched. But that is not true. ACES is a color management system that is specifically designed to match different cameras. Perhaps A7sII can't match the color complexity and highlight roll-off of the Alexa, but if you don't clip your highlights and stay above the noise floor on the A7sII, you can grade the Alexa down to match the A7sII. So instead of crippling your F35 to any DSLR, get a camera that has robustness to get as close to F35 as possible.

If weight and matching to your F35 are your top priority, then you are going to have to make some compromises. You need robust files. If you want light weight, you have to go smaller sensor. Otherwise, just get any DSLR with large sensor and just cripple your F35 to match it. It's very possible.

You can do 5D with magic lantern, but it's a hack, and the DR of the 5D is not good...so it's still a compromise.

 

[KrocanX]

I cant comment anything related to F35, but since I own original A7s and new A7III, I can safely saythat there is no difference in image quality. If you are not looking for extreme lowlight, than A7III will be much better choice because of ergonomics, new battery and usability of A7III is much better compared to A7s.

Matching A7s and A7III is easy.