what camera are using for motion pictures? at DVinfo.net

Wajahat Abbasi · May 20th, 2009, 07:31 AM

Hi guys .. i am a miniDV camera user and just saw a crew shooting for the movie SALT , they had 3-4 large camera .. was just wondering what kind of cameras do they use .. i tried searching it online and wasnt sure how to look for it ... what camera are used in motion pictures? what price range?

Adam Gold · May 20th, 2009, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wajahat Abbasi

what camera are used in motion pictures? what price range?

35mm Film. A few hundred grand per.

Usually it's something like this:

http://www.panavision.com/product_de...de=c0,c3,c4,c5

Sometimes they use video, in which case it might be something like a Sony F950, F900, or F23:

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-HDWF900R/

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-bro...a/product-F23/

Many TV dramas and some comedies (comedies are usually shot on tape but some still use film) use something like this:

http://www.panavision.com/product_de...c100,c101,c102

Wajahat Abbasi · May 20th, 2009, 01:46 PM

wow these are expensive. .. why r they THIS expensive ..compared to some very cheap camera like Canon xl2 ... which claims to do pretty good job at film look... ?

Adam Gold · May 20th, 2009, 01:59 PM

For the same reason a Ferrari is more expensive than a Yugo.

But your point is well-taken ... there is some amazing technology available to us that was unheard of ten years ago.

Wajahat Abbasi · May 20th, 2009, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Gold

For the same reason a Ferrari is more expensive than a Yugo.

But your point is well-taken ... there is some amazing technology available to us that was unheard of ten years ago.

is there differnnce in media too ??? dose that matter a lot too on price? what make these camera sooo dammm expensive?

Brian Drysdale · May 20th, 2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wajahat Abbasi

is there differnnce in media too ??? dose that matter a lot too on price? what make these camera sooo dammm expensive?

The lenses are also expensive. A number of factors come in such as build quality, the size of the market. The high end professional market is a lot more demanding and is a lot smaller than the mass consumer market. There's a lot of R & D which has to be spread over a smaller number of units and specifications are demanding.

The RED camera costs less, but it doesn't have the expensive specialised VTR, rather it uses computer technology which has it's R & D costs spread over a larger number of units such as hard drives which also have a market in IT.

Most productions rent their 35mm film cameras, you can't buy a Panavision camera.

Tape stock for the high end cameras is more expensive, but so are other costs.

You can get a lot for your money on the consumer camera and prosumer cameras

Wajahat Abbasi · May 21st, 2009, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

The lenses are also expensive. A number of factors come in such as build quality, the size of the market. The high end professional market is a lot more demanding and is a lot smaller than the mass consumer market. There's a lot of R & D which has to be spread over a smaller number of units and specifications are demanding.

The RED camera costs less, but it doesn't have the expensive specialised VTR, rather it uses computer technology which has it's R & D costs spread over a larger number of units such as hard drives which also have a market in IT.

Most productions rent their 35mm film cameras, you can't buy a Panavision camera.

Tape stock for the high end cameras is more expensive, but so are other costs.

You can get a lot for your money on the consumer camera and prosumer cameras

thats a lot of information.. ! thanks !

TingSern Wong · May 29th, 2009, 10:22 PM

I think there is something else left unsaid ... the picture quality, the depth of view (or rather, lack of) that comes with the large 35mm film / sensor size - that you cannot get using a smaller sized sensor. Therefore, the Canon XL2 will most likely represent the pinnacle of performance that you can EVER get out of a mini DV format. Even HD cameras using 1/3" CCD or CMOS are unlikely EVER to approach the quality of a 35mm Panavision film camera. You can only push electronics so much. Panavision also has 70mm film as well - how does that compares with a tiny 1/3 inch "film"?

May 20th, 2009, 07:31 AM	#1
Wajahat Abbasi Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NY, NY Posts: 138	what camera are using for motion pictures? Hi guys .. i am a miniDV camera user and just saw a crew shooting for the movie SALT , they had 3-4 large camera .. was just wondering what kind of cameras do they use .. i tried searching it online and wasnt sure how to look for it ... what camera are used in motion pictures? what price range? __________________ Canon XL2, 20X zoom and 3X wide-angle, , Sony Wireless UHFs UWP-C1 and UWP-C2 , Manfrotto 503 head on 351 tripod , Glidecam 4000 Pro w/Glidecam Smooth Shooter

May 20th, 2009, 01:46 PM	#3
Wajahat Abbasi Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NY, NY Posts: 138	wow these are expensive. .. why r they THIS expensive ..compared to some very cheap camera like Canon xl2 ... which claims to do pretty good job at film look... ? __________________ Canon XL2, 20X zoom and 3X wide-angle, , Sony Wireless UHFs UWP-C1 and UWP-C2 , Manfrotto 503 head on 351 tripod , Glidecam 4000 Pro w/Glidecam Smooth Shooter

May 20th, 2009, 01:59 PM	#4
Adam Gold Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Posts: 3,467	For the same reason a Ferrari is more expensive than a Yugo. But your point is well-taken ... there is some amazing technology available to us that was unheard of ten years ago.

May 29th, 2009, 10:22 PM	#8
TingSern Wong Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Singapore, Rep of SINGAPORE Posts: 749	I think there is something else left unsaid ... the picture quality, the depth of view (or rather, lack of) that comes with the large 35mm film / sensor size - that you cannot get using a smaller sized sensor. Therefore, the Canon XL2 will most likely represent the pinnacle of performance that you can EVER get out of a mini DV format. Even HD cameras using 1/3" CCD or CMOS are unlikely EVER to approach the quality of a 35mm Panavision film camera. You can only push electronics so much. Panavision also has 70mm film as well - how does that compares with a tiny 1/3 inch "film"?