Why CBS' Survivor Chose Sony's PXW-Z750 Camera to Capture Season 43

Doug Jensen

Doug Jensen

Carbonite Member
Nice interview with executive producer and post supervisor John Heard. Survivor has always been one of the best-looking reality shows on TV, and now the Z750 and S-LOG take things to a whole new level. The more I use my Z750 the more I love it.

 
110% understand where he is coming from. For totally unpredictable shoots where you need massive parfocal constant aperture zoom capability, sensitivity and a really strong rig that can take a pounding with no fragile built-up rig problems with cables everywhere, these types of camera are very hard to beat. They also deliver great images from their global shutter 2/3" chips that many other cameras struggle to match. But then that's what forty years of ENG/EFP evolution gives you I guess. About $33K plus about $41K for the Fujinon UA23X7.6 I believe? Superb camera. Gets my vote.

Chris Young
 
If I had to buy a 4K (real) ENG camera today, that would be the one.

It’s a shame that “everyone” wants s35 and larger sensor cameras for everything today, as so much of what we actually still do, we would be much better served shooting it on 2/3” ENG cameras. Don’t get me wrong, my F55 and Amira and all the nice Canon CN-E glass that I own, all make beautiful images, but all too often, the wrong tools are being forced onto the wrong jobs.
 
I agree completely woth those thoughts. Fortunately, the price of good FF and S35 cameras (A7 series, FX3, S1H, FS7, etc.) has come down to the point is easy to bring a couple of cameras. A big sensor camera for interviews and other stuff where shallow DoF is desired, and an ENG camera for everything else. That is the what I'm doing these days and I don't see that ever changing. There's no way to merge those two types of cameras into one.

If you need a sports car and a pickup truck, you're never going to find a single vehicle that can satisfy both needs.
 
You think an electric Ford 150 is going to handle like my 6-speed Mini Cooper, or even better, a Porsche Cayman or 911, or Audi TT? I don't care how much power it has under the hood, it is not the same thing at all. Do you drive? I think you live in NYC, so it's a serious question. :)

On the other hand, you're going to need a truck to haul gravel and lumber or go off-road. Different vehicles for different needs.
 
I think you're not gonna be able to bring both cars with you on the road and switch off between them on demand. Unless maybe you tow the mini Cooper with the f-150.

We moved to the burbs in 2016 and I bought a sentra. Our 3rd kid was born 2 days ago, so we added an AWD Toyota sienna minivan earlier this year. I'm not in a place in my life to care about my driving experience. (But I sorta doubt I ever will anyway. Although my sentra feels pretty shabby in the interior compared to our leather seats, sunroofs, etc of the sienna)

I agree with your point about horses for courses. But I never pass up a chance to play devil's advocate, and I saw an opening. Personally, I don't shoot much where covering the action is more important than lens/format choices, so I don't need a real ENG camera. But that's neither here nor there

The sony 28-135 is the closest thing I have to an eng lens and I haven't used it in about a year and a half. Mostly I use primes. But that being said, I'll often bring multiple cameras/gimbals rigged with different lenses just to make switching between lenses faster, similar to what you recommend with different rigs for interview/beauty and coverage
 
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ahalpert said:
I But I never pass up a chance to play devil's advocate, and I saw an opening. /QUOTE]

Yeah, I hear you. I like the back and forth sometimes when there is nothing at stake and it's just opinions. In all honesty, I traded the Mini Cooper in for a Land Rover Defender a few months ago because I wanted to go back to a 4x4 truck. I also have a Dodge Caravan for work and stuff, but I get no joy from driving it. I gotta have a vehicle I enjoy driving.
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I'm really not a car guy, and most automotive analogies on this forum go over my head. But it has been interesting to me to see what people in general are saying about electric cars, especially trucks since we don't associate that vehicle class with rapid acceleration or precision handling. I don't know what the camera equivalent would be. Maybe what canon is doing with their zooms, especially the 15-120 where it has a pretty big range, is relatively light, relatively fast, and can cover large sensors and thus makes you rethink what you can do with those cameras. Sure, it's bested by 2/3" lenses in some important regards, but nevertheless it opens up opportunities for tackling more courses with a single horse
 
I'm not really a car guy either, but I like to have a ride that I actually enjoy driving. I do look forward to having a 100% electric vehicle some day, but nothing on the market interests me at this time. Maybe my next vehicle. I think it will be as revolutionary as it was going from tungsten to LED. I thought I'd miss tungsten lights and now you couldn't pay me to use them professionally or in lights around my home.

The summer is over, so I'm drivng from Boston to Cape Canaveral tomorrow. I wonder how much time I'd have to waste sitting around charging my batteries if I had an electric vehicle? Might not even be able to make it in one day if I had electric.
 
Looks like a supercharger can add 200 miles of range to a tesla in 15 minutes. What's more interesting to me is overnight charging for my trips into the city. I rarely do more than 150 or maybe 200 miles per day. Maybe I'd never have to go to a refueling station again.

I am afraid of dying in a battery fire, though. Those suckers burn hot. I'm definitely not going to be an early adopter, and most manufacturers are still in their first couple generations of EVs.

I was also excited about self-driving cars until I actually saw footage of this maniac asleep at the wheel and realized I would never, ever do that (and you won't be supposed to anyway.) Would my life insurance even pay out if I died while intentionally sleeping at the wheel? It would be immensely valuable to sleep or edit while my car drives itself, but I don't think it's for me.

actually, now that I looked for the link, I see a bunch of videos of tesla drivers asleep at the wheel
 
I have no interest in being a passenger while the car does the driving for me. I enjoy driving and I hate being a passenger no matter who is at the wheel.

I am, however, looking forward to a self-driving autonomous car that I can have drop me off at the airport and then drive back home and put itself in the garage until I summon it back to the airport. I'd also like to have the car drop me off someplace like Times Square or certain places in Washington DC and have it circle the block a few of times while I shoot b-roll. All a pipe dream, though. If they ever have self-driving autonomous cars the traffic congestion will 10x worse than today because nobody will want to park.
 
I doubt they'll allow you to send a car away without a person overseeing it. But maybe within certain zones, like robotaxis in NYC. I dunno
 
Doug Jensen said:
I have no interest in being a passenger while the car does the driving for me. I enjoy driving and I hate being a passenger no matter who is at the wheel.

I am, however, looking forward to a self-driving autonomous car that I can have drop me off at the airport and then drive back home and put itself in the garage until I summon it back to the airport. I'd also like to have the car drop me off someplace like Times Square or certain places in Washington DC and have it circle the block a few of times while I shoot b-roll. All a pipe dream, though. If they ever have self-driving autonomous cars the traffic congestion will 10x worse than today because nobody will want to park.
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Uber? I was later than most finally starting to use it, but once I did I was using it for the most simplest tasks to not have to park or sit in traffic. I haven't driven to the airport or a major city in 6-7 years.

But that wide-open driving, those long-distance scenic trips is the best, love it.
 
Run&Gun said:
If I had to buy a 4K (real) ENG camera today, that would be the one.

It’s a shame that “everyone” wants s35 and larger sensor cameras for everything today, as so much of what we actually still do, we would be much better served shooting it on 2/3” ENG cameras. Don’t get me wrong, my F55 and Amira and all the nice Canon CN-E glass that I own, all make beautiful images, but all too often, the wrong tools are being forced onto the wrong jobs.
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Here! Here!

Chris Young
 
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