Zacuto Camera Comparison Test

Joseph Stunzi said:
There you go squig. You should have seen us (well the Zacuto guys plus me) before we started shooting the test itself. We didn't know how to setup the scene. How to light it. How to run each camera. What exactly we wanted people to get out of the footage... or potentially get out I guess.

Anyway... do what you can with what you have. Jarrard recommended that I check out the movie White Red Panic and that was shot with Home Depot lights and a HV20. It's phenomenal. You really should vimeo it! In the world of RED cameras, affordable CG, and recent articles on indie filmmaking even state thoughts like this, I feel like we can loose sign of the "indie" attitude. I dunno. I just wish I saw wires more often in indie films! *wink*

Is any of your stuff online? I'd love to see it.
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It's awesome!
 
How come 90% of the comments on this thread seem to be about the 5D or the D90?
What about the HPX170?
Was I the only one surprised at how the HPX performed against the Canon HDV model?
 
EDV said:
Was I the only one surprised at how the HPX performed against the Canon HDV model?
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What surprised you? I knew that the Canon HDV and Sony EX had higher resolution imagers, so this was no surprise to me. I thought the overall look of the HPX170 video held up quite well against the competition.
 
Personally the HPX and the Canon are very close IMO which is a testament to whatever Panny does to their pixels. It's amazing. Aside from that, it's a matter of taste between the two formats. Both have advantages and disadvantages and both are killer cams in their own way. I think more so, people are looking at some less than perfect conditions / settings for the RED, Canon 5D and Nikon D90 cams, which is why you're getting so much in the thread. As for performance of the HPX vs. Canon XHA1, I think it's a moot point. Also proves the "noise issue" in the HPX that so many complained about isn't any worse than any of the other cams it was put up against.
 
I really liked the way the HPX rendered the scene, particularly skin tones and the brick wall, it was sharp, clear, and cinematic. But the Canon in my view, had the advantage because of the low light performance, and color accuracy. Even so, it seemed to add an orangy tint to the scene which wasn't present in the 35mm film version and some of the other high-end models. Skin rendering also wasn't as pleasant. Perhaps the Canon XLH1a would have performed better?
Well okay, that means Panasonic has some stiff competition from Canon. From what I've read and heard, Canon XLH1a has a much steeper learning curve than the Panasonic HPX or HVX, which is why people that rent it for a day usually obtain disappointing results. In the hands of an expert, it looks like the Canons can mix it up with the best of the best though.
 
Chenopup said:
Personally the HPX and the Canon are very close IMO which is a testament to whatever Panny does to their pixels. It's amazing. Aside from that, it's a matter of taste between the two formats. Both have advantages and disadvantages and both are killer cams in their own way. I think more so, people are looking at some less than perfect conditions / settings for the RED, Canon 5D and Nikon D90 cams, which is why you're getting so much in the thread. As for performance of the HPX vs. Canon XHA1, I think it's a moot point. Also proves the "noise issue" in the HPX that so many complained about isn't any worse than any of the other cams it was put up against.
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The hardest part about these tests is that everyone has their own idea of what's the perfect settings. But... you're right. The majority of talk is centered around the 5D, RED, and D90. I think part of that is due to the fact that these new DSLRs are a "hot item." And they wanted to see how these new hot items compared to the RED a new industry standard in the digital age.


EDV said:
I really liked the way the HPX rendered the scene, particularly skin tones and the brick wall, it was sharp, clear, and cinematic. But the Canon in my view, had the advantage because of the low light performance, and color accuracy. Even so, it seemed to add an orangy tint to the scene which wasn't present in the 35mm film version and some of the other high-end models. Skin rendering also wasn't as pleasant. Perhaps the Canon XLH1a would have performed better?
Well okay, that means Panasonic has some stiff competition from Canon. From what I've read and heard, Canon XLH1a has a much steeper learning curve than the Panasonic HPX or HVX, which is why people that rent it for a day usually obtain disappointing results. In the hands of an expert, it looks like the Canons can mix it up with the best of the best though.
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Well considering that the test was completely lit, I don't know how low-light performance would have factored in. Keep in mind that this footage was color corrected so some of the tints and tones you're seeing may be resultant of that. We didn't rent the Canon XL camera, Zacuto owned it and knew how to use it. But you're right they're a different series of camera than the HPX/HVX. But the StillMotion guys certainly know how to use them!


EDV said:
How come 90% of the comments on this thread seem to be about the 5D or the D90?
What about the HPX170?
Was I the only one surprised at how the HPX performed against the Canon HDV model?
Click to expand...

See my first response above


TheDingo said:
What surprised you? I knew that the Canon HDV and Sony EX had higher resolution imagers, so this was no surprise to me. I thought the overall look of the HPX170 video held up quite well against the competition.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
If I were to base my decision on which camera to buy solely from this video without ever seeing footage from any of the cameras before, I would say that the Red and d90 looked the worst.
Obviously I know better that the Red would kill most of these cameras, which makes this test not really hold any water for me.

It is still interesting, nonetheless, and I appreciate the effort.
 
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