NFL - Large Sensor End Zone Cam... Your Thoughts?

A little Googling. First page hit.

<smip> - This pioneering new initiative was tested for the first time during the Valencia CF vs CA Osasuna fixture on Matchday 19 <snip>

Technical Specifications

Sony A7S II camera (35mm sensor)
Sony optics (Zeiss) 55mm
Shutter 50 Aperture 2.8 Iso 100 / T. Colour 4800K / Gamma HLG / Colour 709
Zhiyun Crane 3s Gimbal stabiliser

© LaLiga - 2021
Click to expand...

https://www.laliga.com/en-GB/news/l...-football-broadcast-experience-to-a-new-level

Valencia-Osasuna was played January, 21, 2021, so this is pretty new.
 
Just wanted to share my two pence…

I was watching the Masters a few weeks back, and they had a gimbal mounted large sensor cam. It looked absolutely awful, like they had it set to f1.4, and they couldn’t keep anything in focus. Plus, it looked SO different to all the other content that it called attention to itself, and not in a good way at all. I’m not sure it’s worth it for live events to use gear like this, if they can’t get the focus issues figured out. It’s great for those “produced” film-style pieces, but when it sticks out like two sore thumbs, I’d rather not see it.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled discussion. :D
 
Once upon a time ('94 World Cup to be exact) I was one of those intrepid sideline Steadicam operators...

I don't think things have changed that much, but in the multicam live world there are video controllers whose job it is to "shade" cameras (painting them to match each other, and riding iris). Earlier in this thread I passed on the info on the Superbowl large sensor setup which had iris control in the truck. Again from the looks of this clip, whatever camera they were using on this match didn't appear to be set up the same way, perhaps relying on the operator to adjust iris manually which wouldn't happen during a shot obviously. Or someone was just asleep at the knobs, who knows. But either way, the shot would have looked a lot better dialed down a couple of stops. Again, look at the shot immediately preceding it--you can see that the field level shot is significantly hotter. It's just plain sloppy as far as I'm concerned.

That said, there was a gruesome iris pull in the otherwise quite charming opening shot of the Oscars last night. I would hope for the video controller's sake that it was due to a wireless lag, because it was way late and way too abrupt, and even overshot (you can see it clamp back down very slightly a few seconds after it opens up). :20 into this clip. https://youtu.be/l_frEU8LYxM
 
It's funny. This came-up (again) yesterday on a shoot. One of the guys shoots for NFL Films. Even he doesn't like it. Everyone pretty much says the same thing: It doesn't match and fit in, the DoF is far too shallow and nothing is ever in focus(for more than a fleeting, brief moment).
 
lol. Tell them to stop down.

Or hire a smarter cat to come in with an a7SIII (if they are using those kind of cameras). He/she can shoot at f/16 @ISO 12,800 and it would still be cleaner than any camera they have in the building.

And I hear that AF is pretty good too. :evil:
 
Run&Gun said:
Everyone pretty much says the same thing: It doesn't match and fit in, the DoF is far too shallow and nothing is ever in focus(for more than a fleeting, brief moment).
Click to expand...

Everyone except the fans? From what I hear, Joe sixpack is pleased.

Plus, uniformity is overrated. Sure, on many occasions you want seamless edits and indistinguishable cameras. But I get bored easily and variation can be its own goal and reward
 
FWIW, this is how a typical sideline camera operator looks. The photo is almost a decade old but very little has changed since the time Gareth Barry played for Man City.

25rights-1-superJumbo.jpg
 
They weren’t doing it at my game yesterday(which wasn’t exactly an A game), but saw it on the Chiefs/Browns game when I got home. Still distracting to me in the context of 60fps live sports. I can’t comment on focus issues with any real criticality, becaue the overall feed I was getting on Directv/my local CBS affiliate was pretty bad(macro-blocking/pixelating, digital hits and general “fuzziness”/softness with any real movement).
 
DLD said:
Large sensors are back ... but they seem to refocus a lot faster than they did in 2020.
Click to expand...

it could even just be focus settings. on my sony, there are 3 parameters for focus speed and subject switching, each with a spectrum of choices from min to max
 
ahalpert said:
it could even just be focus settings. on my sony, there are 3 parameters for focus speed and subject switching, each with a spectrum of choices from min to max
Click to expand...

What happened - off the NFL YouTube highlights ... which ought to be in 4K but they're not - is that the cameraman gets close enough to the TD scoring player and it looks good ... until someone jumps on top of that player. That produces a double whammy - another person/s closer to the camera, with the original subject buried under his teammates. Then the camera man/woman has to refocus and reframe. Last year that process took a while. Now it's much faster. So, they've either got an AF camera or received a lot of training with the manual glass. Off the article, it's probably AF on Sony and Canon consumer/prosumer and manual on Venice and Alexa.

https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/06/...-here-to-stay/
 
It seems they're doing a lot more AF "area focus" these days and it quickly gets the main subjects back, even if they lose it.

As a side story about what the Germans call zeitgeist. With the MNF game on the main channel, ESPN2 is promoting this Sunday's El Clásico Real Madrid - Barcelona by showing a November, 29th, 2010 contest between those two clubs. But Sunday's match, unlike the revolution, is not going to be televised. Granted, most of the superstars from 2010 - Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, David Villa, Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas, et al.- have either moved on or retired but it's still the showdown between two titans of the global football. But it's 2021 and it's streaming only.
 
A La Liga highlight was just soooo out of focus ... it looked to be a manual operation at .95 ... or something like that.

The NFL probably used whatever Sony they have with the fast prime that wasn't used at maximum aperture, though Fox seems to be having a different approach than CBS.
 
It's 180° from what it was last year in the NFL...not sure what they are doing differently but I haven't been jarred once yet.

Was jarred many times last season.
 
NorBro said:
It's 180° from what it was last year in the NFL...not sure what they are doing differently but I haven't been jarred once yet.

Was jarred many times last season.
Click to expand...

You want to be jarred? Look at the Rafa Mir close up at (1:55-2:02). Phil Barlow, eat your heart out.


 
lol, yeah, that's how it was with football last year (as we all discussed). Totally cleaned up this year though, at least in the games I see in my zone (and then everyone gets the same SNF and MNF).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top