Digital cinema camera

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Arri Alexa 65 - camera
Sony F55 - cinema camera
Canon C300 camera
Red Epic Dragon in space
"Panavized" Arri Alexa
2 Arri Alexa as a 3D setup

Digital cinema cameras are professional , high quality digital video cameras for filming and are used in all types of film productions. Since the early 2000s, they have increasingly been used as a supplement or replacement for conventional, i.e. H. Analog, photographic film material working 16 mm - or 35 mm - video cameras are used. Instead of conventional film material, these cameras use electronic image sensors and digital storage media to record images. The information 16 mm or 35 mm is used with digital cinema cameras as well as with conventional mechanical, analog film cameras to identify the exposed area and are usually compatible with the corresponding lenses of the film cameras.

Resolution comparison for the 16: 9 aspect ratio

The following graphic shows a comparison of the resolutions of different systems:

  • SD resolution
  • 1080p resolution (common HDTV resolution in the consumer sector)
  • 4K UHD resolution (Arri Alexa SXT, Sony F65 / F55, Canon C700 / C500 / C300Mk2, Panasonic Varicam)
  • 8K UHD (Red Weapon Vistavision, Red Helium)

UHDTV resolution chart.svg

Reasons for use (for and against)

Even if there is still a lot of uncertainty and controversial discussions regarding digital cinema production, especially in Germany, the pros and cons are easy to separate. The concerns about the transformation from chemical-mechanical methods to digital ones are classic criticism similar to, for example, the transition from traditional photography to electronic, from tape to hard disk recorder, from metal type to desktop publishing , from grooved record to compact disc etc.

The main reasons for using digital cinema production are

  • Immediate checking of the result on location. When recording on negative, it is only possible to check after development and scanning whether the recordings are technically and content-wise correct.
  • Noise development. Due to the moving film material, analog film cameras sometimes generate significant noise, which can be very annoying when making sound recordings.
  • Greater production security. Digital data can be duplicated immediately.
  • More efficient workflow . Certain work steps are omitted entirely (film scanning) or move closer together in time (video samples may already be available on the set ).
  • Reduction of recording costs. Film negative as raw material is relatively expensive compared to video tapes. The same applies to further processing (development, video scanning, copying, editing, etc.).
  • Longer term. Due to the finite roll length, recordings on negative material are limited in time. When recording on 35 mm negative, for example, recording times of approx. 11 minutes (4-perf) up to 22 minutes (2-perf) can be achieved without interruption. With digital recording, significantly longer recording times of up to 50 minutes are possible (for example with the Sony SRW-1 field recorder). In practice, longer times are still common, especially on hard drives, and are often used, especially for documentation. The best-selling 35 mm camera in 2008 and 2009, for example, is digital and currently offers 320 minutes in 4K and around 1200 minutes in 2K resolution of uninterrupted recording capacity per digital magazine.
  • Archiving. While film material can neither be copied over without loss, nor can it be saved as an original permanently in parallel in different locations, digital cinema cameras (like all digital data systems) enable a master that can be copied infinitely and identically and decentrally at the same time. Aging processes of the carrier material, which are unavoidable with chemical film, do not exist in this form with digital material. Furthermore, originals of digital recordings can also be made accessible to third parties without affecting the original, which is not possible with film.
  • Higher contrast range; Special cameras such as the Spheron HDRv offer a brightness range of 20 f-stops, considerably more than a typical 35 mm film negative.

The main reason against using digital cinema cameras is the different visual aesthetics. Many well-known directors and cameramen still prefer the "look" of analog film material over digital images. Even if the technical image quality of modern digital cameras now even surpasses that of analog film, they cannot completely reproduce the aesthetics of chemical film. Many people perceive digital cameras as “too clean”. Famous directors who continue to shoot exclusively on analog film for this reason are Steven Spielberg , Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino

It is often noted that, in practice, significantly more material is often shot digitally, as the costs and work interruption when changing material are negligible. Some filmmakers, e.g. documentary filmmakers, often welcome this, although more material that has been filmed can not only be an advantage: an important recording can be digitally recorded, but more material usually also means increased costs in post-production .

Provider and market situation

The business models of the camera manufacturers differ significantly. Panavision rents its own Millennium DXL camera as well as digital cameras modified by them from other manufacturers (Arri, Sony) exclusively through its own rental houses. Arri , Sony, RED Digital Cinema and Canon sell their cameras.

Sony, who first entered the market in 2000 and were also involved in the development of the Panavision Genesis, play a rather subordinate role in movies these days. The majority of all digital cinema films are shot on digital cameras from Arri or RED. Sony's current flagship camera, the F65, has few references in the big Hollywood blockbusters apart from the films Oblivion and After Earth . Sony's cheaper CineAlta cameras are also popular with semi-professional users and are very successful in this market.

The start-up company Red Digital Cinema Camera Company , which entered the market in 2005 , was able to establish itself on the market very quickly. Their first camera RED ONE was able to capture one or two Hollywood blockbusters ( Pirates of the Caribbean - Stranger Tides , The Muppets , District 9 ). With the RED EPIC, however, they achieved their final breakthrough ( The Hobbit , Elysium , Pacific Rim, The Great Gatsby , The Amazing Spider-Man, Prometheus etc.) This camera is particularly popular for 3D films due to its compact size.

Arri is very successful on the market with the digital Alexa cameras. The majority of all international TV series and TV feature films are now shot on Alexa cameras. Many big Hollywood blockbusters in recent years were shot on the Alexa ( James Bond 007: Skyfall , The Avengers , Iron Man 3 , Hugo, Gravity , World War Z , Thor - The Dark Kingdom and many others).

But the camera is also very successful in the advertising sector. All films nominated for Best Camera or Best Picture at the Academy Awards 2014 were shot on digital or analog Arri cameras.

Panavision were represented in the digital market early on with the Genesis camera (developed in cooperation with competitor Sony ). After other manufacturers brought more modern, more powerful systems onto the market after a few years, the Genesis was completely pushed out of the market. As a result, Panavision no longer had its own camera and instead concentrated on lending their competitors' cameras. Since 2017, Panavision has again had its own digital cinema camera, the Millennium DXL, which can only be rented exclusively through its own rental houses. The camera was developed in cooperation with the competitor Red Digital Cinema .

Canon also entered the digital cinema camera business in November 2011 after the great success of its SLR cameras with video function in the amateur and semi-professional sector. For feature films and series productions as well as commercials, however, the cameras dubbed “Cinema Eos” could never really establish themselves as the main cameras. However, they are very successful as documentary film cameras or as EB special cameras (with a shallow depth of field) and with semi-professional users.

Modern digital cinema cameras

The digital cinema cameras listed represent over 95 percent of the current market.

The criterion for inclusion in the table:

  • Use by several well-known directors as an A-camera for large international film productions in the current time / market situation

Special cameras (e.g. high-speed cameras, consumer cameras, DSLRs, etc.) are not listed for the sake of clarity.

Manufacturer model Storage medium Sensor
format / size 		Sensor
resolution 		Output
resolution 		Refresh
rates 		Lens
connection 		Viewfinder
options 		format Contrast range sensitivity since
Sony Venice external recorder Full frame CMOS 6048 × 4032 6K, 4K, 2K, HD max .: 30 fps (6K), 60 fps (4K) Arri PL electronically 16 bit RAW, XAVC 15 f-stops ISO 500 & 2500 (native) 2017
Sony F55 external recorder 16: 9 S35 CMOS 4096 × 2160 4K, 2K, HD max .: 60fps (4K), 280 fps (2K) Arri PL electronically 16 bit RAW, XAVC 14 f-stops ISO 1250 (native) 2013
Arri Alexa 65 Codex SXT Drive 5-perf 65mm CMOS 6560 × 3100 6.5K / 5K / 4K max .: 60 fps Arri XPL electronically ARRIRAW 14 f-stops ISO 800 (native) 2014
Arri Alexa LF Codex SXT Drive Full frame CMOS 4448 × 3096 4.5K / 4K / 2K / HD max .: 90 fps Arri LPL electronically ARRIRAW / ProRes 14 f-stops ISO 800 (native) 2018
Arri Alexa SXT W Codex SXT Drive 4: 3 S35 CMOS 3424 × 2202 3.4K / 2.8K / 2K / HD max .: 120 fps Arri PL electronically ARRIRAW / ProRes 14 f-stops ISO 800 (native) 2017
Arri Alexa Mini CFast 2.0 4: 3 S35 CMOS 3424 × 2202 3.4K / 2.8K / 2K / HD max .: 200fps Arri PL electronically ARRIRAW / ProRes 14 f-stops ISO 800 (native) 2015
Red Monstro RED Mini Mag Full frame CMOS 8192 × 4320 8K Max. 60 fps Arri PL, Canon EF,
Nikon AF-S / D, Leica M 		electronically Red RAW / ProRes 14 f-stops ISO 800 (native) 2017
Red helium RED Mini Mag 16: 9 S35mm CMOS 6144 × 3166 8K Max. 60fps Arri PL, Canon EF,
Nikon AF-S / D, Leica M 		electronically Red RAW / ProRes 14 f-stops ISO 800 (native) 2016
Red Gemini RED Mini Mag 16: 9 S35mm CMOS 5120 × 3000 5K Max. 96fps Arri PL, Canon EF,
Nikon AF-S / D, Leica M 		electronically Red RAW / ProRes 14 f-stops ISO 800 (native) 2017
Canon C700 FF CFast 2.0 Full frame CMOS 5952 × 3140 5.9K / 4K / 2K Max. 60fps Arri PL, Canon EF electronically RAW, XF-AVC 15 f-stops ISO 850 (native) 2018
Canon C700 CFast 2.0, Codex Capture Drive 16: 9 S35 CMOS 4622 × 2469 4.5K, 4K, 2K, HD Max. 120fps (4K RAW) Arri PL, Canon EF electronically RAW, ProRes, XF-AVC 14 f-stops ISO 850 (native) 2017
Panavision Millennium DXL 2 RED Mini Mag Full frame CMOS 8192 × 4320 8K Max. 60 fps Arri PL, Canon EF,
Nikon AF-S / D, Leica M 		electronically Red RAW / ProRes 14 f-stops ISO 800 (native) 2018
Panasonic Varicam 35 external recorder, SDXC card (UHS-II) 16: 9 S35 CMOS 4096 × 2160 4K, UHD, 2K, HD Max. 120fps (4K & 2K) Arri PL electronically RAW, ProRes 14 f-stops ISO 800 & 5000 2015
Panasonic DC-S1H external recorder, 2 × SDXC card (UHS-II) 16: 9 full format CMOS 6000 × 4000 6K, 4K, UHD, 2K, HD Max. 120fps (2K) L bayonet electronically RAW 14 f-stops ISO 640 & 4000 2019

Artists and pioneers

The use of digital moving image production is often promoted by cameramen, directors and producers. In addition to lesser-known filmmakers and independent production companies, numerous well-known representatives use digital cinema cameras, for example:

The six filmmakers James Cameron, Robert Zemeckis, David Lynch, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Tim Burton and Anthony Dod Mantle made use of the special advantages of digital cinema production and thus demonstrated its versatility. Annaud mixed 35mm film and HDCAM . Burton produced animation with an extremely cheap digital SLR camera, and James Cameron took 3-D underwater footage. David Lynch produced with a small digital camera. Robert Zemeckis produces his films with motion capture . Anthony Dod Mantle produced authentic images of real scenes on Mumbai's streets with the particularly compact camera head of the SI-2K from P + S Technik .

Spread and perspective

Since 2007 the majority of all 35 mm cameras sold and since 2008 the majority of all 35 mm cameras supplied have been digital. In 2009, the Oscar for the best cinematography was awarded for the first time to a film shot largely with digital cinema cameras. In 2010, a film shot with digital cinema cameras, Avatar , became the best-grossing film in cinema history. In terms of new sales, digital cinema cameras now significantly outperform mechanical cameras, especially in the 35mm segment.

In 2011 the two most important film camera manufacturers, Arri and Panavision, ended the series production of film cameras. Both now only manufacture digital cinema cameras, but both still have mechanical cameras for hire.

In cinemas, the displacement of film by digital reproduction is now almost as advanced as in photography, over 99% of all projectors sold are digital, and the majority of existing cinemas have either already been converted to digital projection or are currently in the process of digital projection Retrofitting.

See also

literature

  • David Stump: Capturing the Shot. Fundamentals, Tools, Techniques, and Workflows for Digital Cinematography . London: Routledge 2014. (Kindle Edition.) ISBN 978-0-240-81791-0
  • Carolyn Giardina, Gregg Kilday: Cinematographer Roundtable: Film vs. Digital, Working With Scorsese and Which Phone Takes the Best Pictures . In: The Hollywood Reporter. January 6, 2017. online

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Panasonic S1H certified for Netflix 4K productions , slashcam.de from October 28, 2019, accessed on July 20, 2020
  2. ↑ a b LUMIX DC-S1H Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera , panasonic.com, accessed July 20, 2020
  3. ^ "Avatar" at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 15, 2011 .