Posted by: Joshua Moore 19th Dec 2011 0

AMS Pictures recently purchased a Sony F3 PMW-F3K camera system from Abel Cine in California.  We acquired this versatile camera for a variety of reasons. We have an ever increasing need to shoot with faster cameras. We also appreciate the Sony F3′s ability to control the depth of field, especially when paired with certain lenses, to deliver film-quality picture and sound.

We are pairing our new Sony F3 PMW-F3K with various zoom lenses like the Angenieux Optimo 24-290mm and the short Angenieux 17-80mm zoom lens, Arri Master Primes and the Cooke Panchro/I primes.  We are now using our Hot Rod modified Canon 7D as our second unit camera and on smaller budget productions.  All of these various lenses when paired with the various PL cameras we use allow us to achieve images that represent the depth and breadth of the traditional film cameras.

Prior to 2010, PL digital solutions from Sony and Panasonic that allowed you to use a PL lenses did not exist.  This is also the era in which you saw so many productions switching to the Canon 5D and Canon 7D cameras that have been modified by companies like Hot Rod, allowing you to use PL lenses on the DSLR camera.   We can all remember when we started seeing the images from the modified DSLR cameras, right?  They looked really nice and definitely didn’t have the 2/3” focal plane.  I personally feel the DSLR cameras were one of the great catalysts to help move our digital industry forward.

Now, it’s true you can achieve very nice images with the DSLR cameras but you have to wrap a DSLR with several supporting accessories to make it a useful camera package.  You also have to be very aware of the camera’s innate challenges, like the overheating problems and the limitations of the Canon H.264 format in color correction. Even with some of its issues, we’ve found these to have their place in our workflow. I know several DPs as well as our DPs at AMS Pictures that utilize the DSLR format. They have a clear understanding of the limitations, and they make beautiful images with that camera.  One thing is still true: no matter how advanced digital cameras become, you are still at the limitations of the skilled DP operating that camera.

The key to leveraging the digital camera evolution is to ensure you are testing each format out to truly understand each format’s limitation.  For example, our new Sony F3 PMW-F3K is amazing without a doubt was the right camera for AMS Pictures to purchase at this time, but I would never use the Sony PMW-F3K on a green screen without recording to an external device like the Gemini or the AJA KiPro Mini.  Why? Simply, the MPEG-2 MP@HL, 35 Mbps codec of the Sony F3 PMW-F3K is inferior to our Panasonic AJ-HPX2700 recording format of AVC-Intra 100/AVC-Intra.

So remember, the key to your success in the digital acquisition age comes from experience. Experience comes from extensive testing and hours behind the various digital camera systems to ensure you understand the digital camera you’re using on your production.