Zacuto Camera Shootout (5Dmk2, 7D, 1DmkIV, T2i, D3s, GH1 & Film)

[Ben Denham]

Originally Posted by Kevin Dooley

It's hard to go wrong with any of them (though the non-Canon choices definitely had some drawbacks I didn't like in compression and latitude). They each had their own set of strengths and weaknesses.

I think the "baked-in look" of the GH1 is really quite limiting. Also the banding around the light bulb with that camera doesn't give you much confidence in the codec. While there are strengths and weakness in the other comparisons the GH1 seems to be a clear loser.

[Stan Chase]

Originally Posted by Bryan McCullough

So blame Mr. Bloom. :D

Oh I blame Philip..blame him for making me spend good money on stuff I don't really need, dreaming I could get results as good as his. ;D

[Terry Lee]

Someone in a post below the shootout video brought up an interesting point that I may not have enough experience to know weather or not it would be critical to the camera's preformance itself. They noticed that there was very little motion in any of the clips. Thus there was no motion of say cars, or people walking etc.. Like I said, I don't necessarily have as much experience with many camera as most people here but I would like to know if this should be an issue to be tested.

[Leonard Levy]

My impression was that the test was not designed to catch the weaknesses of the DSLR's very much - No motion, and especially no detailed surfaces likely to create moire. The latter is a big one. Someone told me yesterday about a 2 camera corp CEO interview with EX1/Letus combo and a 7D. There was a barely noticable pattern to the CEO's shirt that went beserk on the 7D and was completely unusable.

[Kevin Dooley]

Ummm... I thought it was pretty clear what was tested. At no point did they mention testing motion, yet several times they mentioned that they were testing latitude versus film. From what they said I'm pretty sure the next part of the shootout will test color rendition and their ability to be used in Chroma keying...

[Ben Denham]

Yes I don't think we can pass judgment on the tests until we've seen all three episodes. If movement and complex patterns haven't been covered then maybe we can rip into Zacuto for not giving us all the relevant test material.

Having said that I think most people who have been following the DSLR thing have seen the jello effect and moire issues and we know that while film may still stutter on a pan it won't give you any moire whatsoever. It should be mentioned but I think it would be kind of pointless to do extensive testing to show us what we already know.

[Terry Lee]

Originally Posted by Kevin Dooley

At no point did they mention testing motion

Exactly, thats why i'm interested in if whether that particular aspect could be an issue.

[Régine Weinberg]

u got it
the XL H1A is a thee CCD
The 5D has a 24x36 3744x5616 pixel CCD

We are using here 1920x1020 just the center
so all glasses are damm sharp, no wonder

the yello hmm there is an after effects workaround not bad

please keep in mind in the beginnig in the consumer market
there was 1 CCD with all the problems like with movement

here we have 1 CCD made for stills and we are using the Center
got it there is a reason for a 3CCD

the hype, DOF, Zcuto, focus pulling and the entry price is low

pimp it up and u have 4K like a XL H
and focus pullig u can do with her too
have other glasses too
all ergonomics and a viewfinder
in a position I'm used too

using a 5D rigged for foto why for
just for stills on the scene a D300S is great
even a D 90 can do the job

sorry for the typos strange keyboard

guess what it is a still camera, and all I can tell u
movements, like crowds of reds here are no job for this beauty.
As i do not own the 5d nor the 7d not
all this stuff pimped her up wait for Zacuto LOL
he is allowed to do this I don't have a relation to Mister big B the 5D guru
have a nice day

[Evan Donn]

Poetic, almost, but inaccurate. The 5/7D don't use 1920x1080 in just the center of the chip - they use the entire chip area, but skip some of the lines. With a chip of this size and resolution I don't think there'd be any advantage to having three chips, there is plenty of resolution to handle all three colors on the single chip. The problems with aliasing/moire are due to the chip having too much resolution for the hardware to process it all properly.

And sure, with motion and resolution tests these cameras will fall far short of film... but it won't really matter. The fact is they're good enough to actually make a shootout like this worthwhile, and despite their shortcomings they can be used to produce images that an audience will love - all at a price that many people can afford.

[Bryan McCullough]

Does anyone know what the release schedule is for the remaining parts?

[Kevin Dooley]

They mentioned on their Twitter stream that part 2 would be released on April 7th.

[Manus Sweeney]

"Each webisode of the series features various controlled camera assessment tests which include: resolution, latitude, sensitivity, speed & ultra high speed, noise, color & green screen. "
the episodes will be every 2 weeks on fridays

[Terry Lee]

Everyone is waiting for the T2i tests. I am anyway..

[Terry Lee]

They are releasing the 2nd episode at 3pm today. They are rendering the final footage now.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

It was nice to see the incredible "filming in the dark" capability of the Nikon D3s in the second part of the Zacuto shootout using only a lighter flame to film the actor's face in total darkness. This just shows what the wonderful Nikon D3s (and the Canon Mk IV) can do...beyond the limits of film-motion cameras:

The Great Camera Shootout 2010 | Zacuto