Silicon Imaging SI-1920 Mini used on 48 Hour Film Project at DVinfo.net

David Newman · July 18th, 2006, 11:32 AM

Please read my latest blog here (http://cineform.blogspot.com) regard this shoot. I will be writing up all the technical details shortly. For those in San Diego, you can see the SI shot production on the big screen tonight (see blog for details.)

Yasser Kassana · July 18th, 2006, 12:15 PM

Good news David! Also I think there is a typo you wrote - The results are stunting. Do you mean stunning?

David Newman · July 18th, 2006, 01:19 PM

Thanks I just fixed that typo. We just did the 1080p version; WOW!

Eric Gorski · July 18th, 2006, 03:57 PM

can you post the film after it runs at the festival? i'd like to see. and btw, what is the 'mini'? how is it different then the main unit?

David Newman · July 18th, 2006, 04:14 PM

Yes we will be posting it. The mini is the SI_1920HDVR without the camera body, just the camera head on rails. Very flexible to shoot with, although is need to be tethered to a fast laptop (we used a 2.1Ghz Core Duo Sony VIAO.)

Jason Rodriguez · July 19th, 2006, 10:14 AM

The "mini" as we affectionately call it is also a lot cheaper than the full-blown DVR :)

Michael Totten · July 19th, 2006, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Rodriguez

The "mini" as we affectionately call it is also a lot cheaper than the full-blown DVR :)

What's the price on the mini?

Ari Presler · July 20th, 2006, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Totten

What's the price on the mini?

SI-1920HD Mini $12.5K

Andrew Sibley · July 20th, 2006, 09:28 PM

I just watched the vid and I have to say I'm quite impressed, especially by the indoor stuff. This will go a long way in convincing my associates that this is a good purchase.

To both the teams at Cineform and SI- keep up the good work. This camera is definitely a winner.

edit: I just found the other thread and it answered my question. Nevermind :)

Noah Yuan-Vogel · July 22nd, 2006, 04:50 PM

May I ask what lenses were used for this video? I noticed vignetting on most of the shots and chromatic aberration on a few. I assume neither of these can be attributed to the camera, but rather to a cheap lens. c-mount machine vision lenses perhaps? Intended for 1/2" sensors? One of the lenses in a behind the scenes photo i saw looked a lot like a really horrible computar c-mount zoom lens I have. Other than that, I'd say the dynamic range and color rendering subjectively looks way above anything in a 1/3" consumer HD camera. I think it's selling this camera a bit short to be showing video shot with low quality lenses and where no time was taken to clean the sensor/lens (there were some smudges that looked like dirt on the sensor). But I guess this project is a good testimonial to prove wrong those who might think this camera wouldnt be good for rushed shoots.

David Newman · July 22nd, 2006, 09:21 PM

The main lens used was a Canon 12.5-75mm CCTV Zoom.

This video wasn't put together to showcase the camera -- it was done completely for fun, it happened to be good enough to win an award so we decided to show everyone. If we were doing a camera demo we wouldn't have shot it under such demanding conditions, nor would you have software engineers doing the camera work. The fact that is comes out looking so much better than using good lenses on a smaller sensor, in the hands of an inexperenced crew, shows the flexibilty and power of this camera.

Mathieu Kassovitz · July 22nd, 2006, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Newman

This video wasn't put together to showcase the camera -- it was done completely for fun, it happened to be good enough to win an award so we decided to show everyone. If we were doing a camera demo we wouldn't have shot it under such demanding conditions, nor would you have software engineers doing the camera work. The fact that is comes out looking so much better than using good lenses on a smaller sensor, in the hands of an inexperenced crew, shows the flexibilty and power of this camera.

I completely agree.

July 18th, 2006, 11:32 AM	#1
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	Silicon Imaging SI-1920 Mini used on 48 Hour Film Project Please read my latest blog here (http://cineform.blogspot.com) regard this shoot. I will be writing up all the technical details shortly. For those in San Diego, you can see the SI shot production on the big screen tonight (see blog for details.) __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

July 18th, 2006, 01:19 PM	#3
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	Thanks I just fixed that typo. We just did the 1080p version; WOW! __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

July 18th, 2006, 04:14 PM	#5
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	Yes we will be posting it. The mini is the SI_1920HDVR without the camera body, just the camera head on rails. Very flexible to shoot with, although is need to be tethered to a fast laptop (we used a 2.1Ghz Core Duo Sony VIAO.) __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

July 22nd, 2006, 09:21 PM	#11
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	The main lens used was a Canon 12.5-75mm CCTV Zoom. This video wasn't put together to showcase the camera -- it was done completely for fun, it happened to be good enough to win an award so we decided to show everyone. If we were doing a camera demo we wouldn't have shot it under such demanding conditions, nor would you have software engineers doing the camera work. The fact that is comes out looking so much better than using good lenses on a smaller sensor, in the hands of an inexperenced crew, shows the flexibilty and power of this camera. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

July 18th, 2006, 12:15 PM	#2
Yasser Kassana Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UK Posts: 223	Good news David! Also I think there is a typo you wrote - The results are stunting. Do you mean stunning?

July 18th, 2006, 03:57 PM	#4
Eric Gorski Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Western Oregon Posts: 138	can you post the film after it runs at the festival? i'd like to see. and btw, what is the 'mini'? how is it different then the main unit?

July 19th, 2006, 10:14 AM	#6
Jason Rodriguez Trustee Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 1,095	The "mini" as we affectionately call it is also a lot cheaper than the full-blown DVR :)

July 20th, 2006, 09:28 PM	#9
Andrew Sibley Tourist Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 1	I just watched the vid and I have to say I'm quite impressed, especially by the indoor stuff. This will go a long way in convincing my associates that this is a good purchase. To both the teams at Cineform and SI- keep up the good work. This camera is definitely a winner. edit: I just found the other thread and it answered my question. Nevermind :)

July 22nd, 2006, 04:50 PM	#10
Noah Yuan-Vogel Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 613	May I ask what lenses were used for this video? I noticed vignetting on most of the shots and chromatic aberration on a few. I assume neither of these can be attributed to the camera, but rather to a cheap lens. c-mount machine vision lenses perhaps? Intended for 1/2" sensors? One of the lenses in a behind the scenes photo i saw looked a lot like a really horrible computar c-mount zoom lens I have. Other than that, I'd say the dynamic range and color rendering subjectively looks way above anything in a 1/3" consumer HD camera. I think it's selling this camera a bit short to be showing video shot with low quality lenses and where no time was taken to clean the sensor/lens (there were some smudges that looked like dirt on the sensor). But I guess this project is a good testimonial to prove wrong those who might think this camera wouldnt be good for rushed shoots.