Would you shoot a corporate movie with the Sony Z90?

see-mann

see-mann

Active member
Hi,
i got hired for a low budget film, in which we have to explain a few things. It's all about the information, not DOF, not Hollywood lighting.
With my new Z90 i am very pleased and after a few tests and comparisons to my FS7 i think it's an underestimated cam. Of course you CAN see the differences, but it's not worlds apart...
I am thinking about taking this cam for the shooting and not its big brother. I would shoot in slog3 with the gamma assistant display (about 1-2 steps brighter) and i would use it just like my FS7, with tripod, careful framing etc. What do you think? It's much lighter, this time the autofocus could be very helpful and at least i am very curious about such a "real world" experience in the field.
 
IMO, at the end of the day, expectations are all that matters.

If your client doesn't know any better then you can easily shoot anything with a Z90 and make it look decent with talent/skills/any additional equipment/etc.

But if you show him/her the same video shot on a FS7 at its best, which one do you think he or she will prefer?
 
I'm not familiar with the Z90, but I'd bet you could absolutely get footage that will please the client.

However, I'd probably still bring the FS7, mainly for the impression it makes on clients (and the client's bosses). "Oh, this big camera means he's serious. Impressive." There's always theatrics in our work, and I find that the less familiar people are with production and capabilities of modern smaller cameras like the Z90, the more they think bigger is better. The corporate marketing people often know that you and not the camera are the key element, but the corporate executives who walk by (and often end up on camera), would rather see a Mercedes-Benz than a VW. :-)

And it's not a matter of overcharging or fooling clients. Just making them comfortable, take your direction/input seriously, and staying quiet when they need to. But if you've worked with these people before and they know your work, then perhaps you could just roll with the Z90.

So if your budget and timeline can handle it, maybe bring both cameras, lock down the FS7 and do some handheld b-cam stuff with the Z90? Then either cut between the two or decide in post if the "locked" angle or the handheld look better fits the message.

Just one opinion. I look forward to hearing what others think and reading about what you end up doing.
 
I wanted to do what you're thinking about many times in my career every time I would get tired of heavy rigs, or complicated setups, or changing lenses, etc/etc, and just wanted to use a light and small point-and-shoot camera, but I knew deep down inside that the quality would suffer compared to everything I had at my disposal, and I always chose to "suffer" instead.

Fortunately - at least for me - mirrorless cameras are getting so good that I have used them 100% over anything else in the last 2-3 years.

If you like Sony, an a7III has one of the best AF systems in the world and its quality is on par with the FS7 (arguable in certain ways) while being light and just an awesome camera to work with.
 
@ Jim: Thanks - well, i don't know yet. But the batteries for the FS7 are charging right now... just in case :) Ok, it's not a big company/corporate movie i am talking about. For Mercedes & Co i would take the FS7 for sure. It's a kind of social thing- a film to inform the local government about some issues... but of course regardless of the client, quality for me is always an important point and i won't deliver some garbage.
@ NorBro - thanks. Yes, you say it! Absolutely, i know those thoughts and also choosed the "suffering" every time. But here is a point where my light cam is not worlds apart from the heavy brother. It's not my old Nikon vs FS7... well, i guess, 1 hour before shooting i will take the FS7 - again...
 
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mcgeedigital said:
I would have no hesitation in using my Z90 for a corporate gig.
Click to expand...

I agree with Matt, I use a Z150 and often rent a Z90 for corporate gigs when travelling. Great little camera and excellent images. So much of what many of us do these days is web based, meaning viewed after much compression and blah blah we all know the drill. A well shot piece will definitely stand up from the Z90.
 
I hope this is not a deviation.

But what about a z90, doing audio and 'coverage' (running around with a zoom) and somehing like a Gh4/5 with a 25/.95 for doing some more controlled shots too (if interview you run the Z90 too as 'scratch' for the GH4/5)

S
 
What is the corporate distribution on?

I've never found one corporate client who could tell the difference between footage shot on anything 720 and above. Some ask for copies on DVDs, in standard def. Nobody has ever queried the quality. I really think the success of a video is what the video contains - how it's shot and the sound. My pro camera mixed in with a Panasonic old handicam SD9, 1080 from tiny sensor and a softening wide angle add on. The mixed invisibly. The expert can see difference that the layman cannot.
 
"Corporate movie" was maybe a bit misleading. A "social company" wants to get support from the local government for better equipment. And instead of making a boring powerpoint presentation or giving a lecture, they hired me to explain the issue in a little movie. This will be shown in a hearing. No public showing, no distribution. Of course some nice pictures can not hurt either...
 
see-mann said:
"Corporate movie" was maybe a bit misleading. A "social company" wants to get support from the local government for better equipment. And instead of making a boring powerpoint presentation or giving a lecture, they hired me to explain the issue in a little movie. This will be shown in a hearing. No public showing, no distribution. Of course some nice pictures can not hurt either...
Click to expand...
Update: i will take the FS7, again ;)
I just got a call for another shooting (another client) the day before. Too much stress to care about that Z90, too. I can handle the FS7 with closed eyes and i know it won't disappoint me. But I still think the small Z90 is capable to more than just as B-cam or Run&Gun to use. Perhaps next time ;)
 
Since we're on DVXuser, I'm pretty sure the Z90 would be up to the task;)
That being said, I would always choose the better camera to shoot with, if there aren't any obvious reasons not to use it.
Happy shooting with the FS7!
 
Used the Z90 on a series of 20 physio training videos where there was a lot of running around for different angles during the massage sessions. In conjunction with a Sony VCL-HG0872 0.8 zoom thru wide angle and using the 90's active steady shot the 90's great auto focus I could push in and out almost with impunity. Almost as good as a stabilizer but much faster to work with. On that series of videos the FS7 was used as a wide shot. The Z90 has made a lot of jobs much easier for me and the quality of the image is quite amazing for the size of the tool. Cuts well with the FS7.

Chris Young
 
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