Ikonoskop has temporarily stopped the production of the A-Cam

https://vimeo.com/71230008

made with ikonoskop A-CAM DII. Images that are unmistakably beautiful and compelling. I think images like these are very hard to come by in this age of digital HD video cameras. Very sad if the company does not survive, the look it produces is unique and distinct.
 
https://vimeo.com/71230008

made with ikonoskop A-CAM DII. Images that are unmistakably beautiful and compelling. I think images like these are very hard to come by in this age of digital HD video cameras. Very sad if the company does not survive, the look it produces is unique and distinct.

It's pretty but:

"Dailies were processed in DaVinci Resolve. Online color correction was done on a Baselight system at Nice Shoes by colorist Donato Boccia. "

I think that's probably a bigger part of the look than the particular camera used. I'm thinking if I give these same people some good raw footage and they use the same post production software it's going to look very nice.
 
It's pretty but:

"Dailies were processed in DaVinci Resolve. Online color correction was done on a Baselight system at Nice Shoes by colorist Donato Boccia. "

I think that's probably a bigger part of the look than the particular camera used. I'm thinking if I give these same people some good raw footage and they use the same post production software it's going to look very nice.


I agree talented people make great images but my point is this does not look like red or alexa and certainly not canon or sony. It has a unmistakable, different quality. Can great images be made by these people from most cameras, yes. My point is that there will not be anything like this look once A-CAM is gone unless you dare to shoot 16mm film (or buy a dbolex). BMC does not look like this just because the sensor is small its something in the CCD. And please understand that Im not saying CCD is better either. just different. And in todays saturated digital camera market different is good.
 
I agree talented people make great images but my point is this does not look like red or alexa and certainly not canon or sony. It has a unmistakable, different quality. Can great images be made by these people from most cameras, yes. My point is that there will not be anything like this look once A-CAM is gone unless you dare to shoot 16mm film (or buy a dbolex). BMC does not look like this just because the sensor is small its something in the CCD. And please understand that Im not saying CCD is better either. just different. And in todays saturated digital camera market different is good.

Yes, the Kodak CCD's have a higher fill factor than CMOS, and their patented Bayer color filters are unique. They can reproduce a broader and more accurate color gamut than most sensors, especially saturated reds. One reason they are still the first choice for critical scientific apps like the Mars Rover cameras. The images from them to me have a more solid appearance and texture, and the refined tonal range playing with raw files is quite remarkable. They reproduce color more like Kodak's own print and reversal film stocks. No body knows more about color filter dyes and technology than Uncle Yellow does.
 
Yes, the Kodak CCD's have a higher fill factor than CMOS, and their patented Bayer color filters are unique. They can reproduce a broader and more accurate color gamut than most sensors, especially saturated reds. One reason they are still the first choice for critical scientific apps like the Mars Rover cameras. The images from them to me have a more solid appearance and texture, and the refined tonal range playing with raw files is quite remarkable. They reproduce color more like Kodak's own print and reversal film stocks. No body knows more about color filter dyes and technology than Uncle Yellow does.
Sorry, but you keep spouting the same nonsense without a single source. Having worked for 5 years for NASA and DOD contractor, your statement is simply not true.
 
Razz, I have no doubt that Kodak knows a lot about color filter array and sensor design. But apparently the main driving factor in the Rover's camera design was the technology that was available almost a decade ago. http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/0...-with-Malin-Space-Science-Systems-Mike-Ravine

There are other factors that favor the CCD's for scientific apps. Very refined control of gain and noise on the analog side vs no control with most CMOS "camera on a chip" type sensors. True global image capture, every pixel of the entire frame is captured and stored at the moment of exposure as an analog voltage charge for each pixel, then read out during the dark interval between shutter activation. You get a complete time coherent frame for the full length of exposure. Not sure CMOS does that even with global shutter as they don't store analog voltage charges at the pixel like a CCD.

Industrial processes that require critical color matching, like dye runs on textiles, use Kodak CCD's too. Personally I haven't seen any CMOS video cameras that can reproduce deep saturated colors especially reds, or capture fine differences in color the way these do. CMOS images in under $20k video cameras always look thin to me. Sony does better than anyone else with good color, but it is better in their 3-chip small sensor cameras than the single chip "cinema" cameras. The low end codecs have a lot to do with it too. Very unrefined cartoonish color palettes with AVC codecs in under $10k cameras.
 
IM sure there are scientific reasons why CCD looks better. I do not claim to know why or how but I do have eyes and very nuanced taste in images and CCD looks different and more organic IMO. IF you dont think so thats fine. I personally feel like if we lose the option of ikonoskops A-CAM we will be losing a real alternative to the norm and something that has a similar bloodline to film.
 
Interesting thread! wow... I can't believe I'd never heard of the Ikonoskop A-Cam DII.


Undoubtedly a very different look. A more organic, fuller, more rounded look. DSLRS and CMOS based cameras have always looked different to me, even looking at the RAW footage from the 5D, I find it sharp and detailed, but "videoish" and thin. Why videoish? For the same reason that an overly detailed picture looks too much like a photograph. Too sharp and dull, when compared with a painting. It's "reality" vs "fantasy" or "the film look" I would say. A short film or music video, should look like this, and not like an Ultra sharp news broadcast.
 
Yah, if Ikonoskop had spent a little more time and effort on marketing they probably would not be in the predicament they are in. The best little camera nobody ever heard of.

I am in love with the look of the Kodak CCD's. Nothing in the under $10k price range has that organic dense film like quality and rich color reproduction IMO.
 
Magic Lantern should try hack the HPX170 ( the last prosumer CCD based cam? ). Can you imagine A 4:4:4, 10 bit, 3CCD Hacked HPX ?

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It's called marketing. It got people talking and watching the video all over again...
 
"Know what needs to be done" doesn't sound very artistic or passionate or inspiring. It sounds like you're fixing a fence. My clients would laugh you out of the room with that attitude. There's an expression: "Rent-A-DP". That's what you sound like. Except people don't pay much for that. They pay for unique vision and artistry.

And what exactly is the problem with being a gun for hire? Thats pretty ignorant of you callin us freelance DP's out like that - The clients I work for love that I can get the job done on time and within budget because I "know what needs to be done". Do you really think Creativity and "unique vision" are key aspects of being a highly paid professional?
 
And what exactly is the problem with being a gun for hire? Thats pretty ignorant of you callin us freelance DP's out like that - The clients I work for love that I can get the job done on time and within budget because I "know what needs to be done". Do you really think Creativity and "unique vision" are key aspects of being a highly paid professional?

I think this was in response to the criticism that the Ikonoskop deserved to fail because it emphasized aspects that aren't deemed as important in most production workflows where you can just plug in a look and call it a day. That since reality shows are shot on HDV who cares about the color fidelity of a CCD captured 12bit raw file.

I actually find it a very versatile camera. I would shoot music videos on it (working on one now) narrative features (someone just rented mine because their lead requested it) and documentary which I have a number of projects ongoing including one that involves the incredibly inhospitable jungles of the Congo. I've seen it used for long form corporate in Europe and pair it with a Pix240 and you can shoot all day for live event coverage. I've had mine for 6months and i'm just now starting to really appreciate it.
 
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