“…but we can just zoom in in post right?”
It may just be a universal truth that this question has been asked on every set. The truth is, the answer is, “maybe?”, and it all depends on what camera you’re shooting with.
We’re here to walk you through the three major categories, what we’ll call ‘tiers’, of digital cinema cameras, the pro’s and con’s of each, and what each one means for your budget!
Psst! Don’t want to read the whole post, or just aren’t that interested in technical details? We made an easy guide to choosing the right camera, click below to download!
Tier 1
Right off the bat let’s jump into the “Big Boys” of the cinema world, and there’s no shortage of platforms to choose from. Practically every major manufacturer provides an offering in this space: Arri, Canon, Red, Sony, etc. Not to mention the plethora of specialty cameras available, and the multiple platforms that each brand offers!
So why go with one of the “big 4”? Essentially, you will be getting the best picture quality that money can buy/rent, but along with that come some pretty serious considerations:
PrOs
Picture quality
High Dynamic Range. 15 stops and up
True color reproduction
Log Picture
High/Uncompressed Bitrates
RAW recording
Well funded and researched color science, meaning if you’re doing anything VFX related, this is a dream
Versatility
Almost an endless selection of frame rates, from the standard 24fps up to 480fps+, depending on the brand/model
I/O - Need to have an onboard monitor for the cam op, dedicated monitor for your AC, as well as a clean feed for director’s/client monitor? No problem, most of these will handle that with ease.
Accessories - These platforms are designed with customization in mind. They’ll easily take two monitors, a wireless transmitter, timecode, rails, large lenses, follow focus, mattebox, etc.
Resolution - This gives shooters/editors a ton of flexibility when it comes to stabilizing, cropping, re=framing, or future-proofing footage. You can expect to find a minimum 4K resolution in this tier, even going up to 5k, 6k, and 8k in either Super35 or Full Frame formats.
Lens mounts
You’ll have the option of using the best lenses available in either E, PL, EF, LPL, PV/PV70, XPL52, or Leitz mounts
Cons
Support
Typically these cameras require A LOT of support to function at their prime. This includes high watt hour batteries, or block batteries, filters, and cinema rate fluid heads.
Along with accessories for the camera, if you truly want to maximize the camera platform you’ll need a sizable crew. Minimum of a DP, AC and PA, but most commonly a DP, Cam Op, 1st AC, 2nd AC, Loader/Utility, and a DIT. And that’s just for the camera department!
Media
Because of the extremely high picture quality you’ll chew through media quickly, need fast drives to keep up with the offload, and multiple cards to keep production running smoothly. In addition to that, you won’t find a standardized media format here. Arri uses CFast 2.0 cards, Red has the redmag, Sony uses either SxS or CFast, and Canon uses Codex Capture Drive (if you want the option of recording RAW).
Lenses
Yes, lens choice is a pro, and also a con of these cameras. Because of the wide array of cinema glass you’ll be able to pick from, simply choosing a “kit” lens, or inferior glass is going to cripple your image, making your entire selection practically redundant.
Audio
These cameras do not offer standard professional audio connections, although you can purchase/rent various accessories to equip some of them with XLR capability. Most likely you’ll be syncing timecode either through a hardline or a wireless timecode box, while also using a timecode slate to help post verify everything.
Cost
This is usually the biggest factor in selecting a camera package. Right now in Atlanta, an Alexa Mini is going to be priced somewhere around $1,500/day. This typically includes a small amount of media, the camera body, and a few batteries. Keep in mind all the accessories you’ll need to finish your camera build. It’s usually a safe bet to double the cost of the camera body, if not more, as a ballpark daily rental rate. And yes, we’re aware of online camera rental companies (more on that below).
Tier 2
Tier 2 consist of “mid-market” cameras that usually take a couple of good features from Tier 1 and Tier 3 cameras. I’d consider these cameras to be the “workhorse” platforms, and once again, contain offerings from most major manufacturers. The most common platforms you’ll find in this category are Canon, Sony, and Blackmagic. As in Tier 1, each company offers a few different models that suit different needs. Canon has the C300 Mark II (EF and PL) and the C200. Sony offers the FS7, FS7M2, FS5, and FS5MII. Finally Blackmagic has the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and URSA Mini 4K EF. Here’s what you can expect from our Tier 2 friends.
Pros
Picture quality
No, the picture quality is not as high quality as Tier 1, but for the price you’re getting here, it’s quite good. Expect anywhere from 13-15 stops of dynamic range.
Both Canon and Sony offer “log” recording on their platforms here. For Canon that’s Canon Log, and for Sony it’s S-Log.
Canon is the only manufacturer in this space to offer RAW recording straight out of the box via CFast 2.0. Both Blackmagic and Sony offer RAW recording using their respective attachments.
Versatility
Because these are are still considered “cinema” cameras you’ll have no problem outfitting them with various accessories including: rails, wireless video, mattebox, and external batteries.
Built in ND filters! This is actually a huge deal for anyone shooting on a smaller crew/budget. Being able to eliminate a mattebox and external ND filters, and possibly an AC to deal with those can have a big impact on budget. All 3 brands have easily choosable ND filters that can be changed in about a second.
Resolution is still quite good in this field. You won’t be finding the monster 8K here, but you’ll have 4K with all platforms.
Frame rate. Again, not as agile as Tier 1, but you’ll get anywhere from 24fps to 60fps in 4K.
Simplicity
If you are on a small to medium sized set with a smaller camera department than normal then you should be able to attach a lens, and be good to go. Shooting docu-style or handheld, these are a great choice!
Media
Canon and Blackmagic give you the choice of recording formats, but both support UHS-II SD cards! Sony, on the other hand, only offers XQD (yay more proprietary media!) recording on the FS7’s, while the FS5’s have SD.
Audio
All of the above models include XLR inputs and mix controls on camera. The C200 has been my go-to recently for modest budget interview/b-roll projects. There’s no need to sync time code, either run XLR straight in from your boom or lav, or receive a line from your Audio Mixer.
Support
Because of these cameras’ lighter weight, and smaller need to accessorize, you can get away with lighter duty support gear, which can be a big budget saver!
Cost
Although not as expensive as Tier 1, nor as inexpensive as Tier 3, most find these cameras to be relatively affordable. A C300 MKII body is around $500/day but comes with 2x CFast 2.0 120gb, card reader, 3x batteries, and a charger. That’s really pretty reasonable. Add a lens and if you’re a solo op, you’re good to go!
cons
Batteries
Both Sony and Canon offer their own batteries for their respective platforms. Blackmagic requires either a AB or V-mount plate. On Sony/Canon you can get plates that attach via rails and power the camera via D-Tap. Remember though, one of the “pros” is simplicity and external accessories can negate that!
I/O
Canon and Sony offer both SDI and HDMI output, Blackmagic is SDI only, but you’re not going to find as many dedicated I/O ports as a Tier 1 body.
Lens mounts
Sony is only E-mount, while Canon gives you the choice of EF or PL. Blackmagic is EF only. Sony and Blackmagic have many adaptors available for PL, EF, F, and B4,
Lens choice
Because you’re essentially limited to EF or E mount lenses, your selection of cinema quality glass will be much smaller than Tier 1. Canon is the only one that offers standard PL mounts.
Resolution
If your final product is 4K, you’ll be hard pressed to stabilize, crop, or re-frame during post as you’re already shooting 4K on most of these cameras.
Tier 3
And finally we come to the last, but certainly not least, tier. These cameras will be familiar to most anyone, and just about everyone in the film industry has shot with this tier at some point in their career. Enter the DSLR/Mirrorless body. Their form factor is familiar, they look like a standard photography camera… because they are. Some pack serious video punch though, so let’s take a look!
Pros
Cost
I was struggling with what to put as the first “pro”, and landed on cost. This is mainly due to the fact that most of the time that’s what these cameras are chosen for. Cost. A Canon 5D Mark IV can be all yours for around $150/day. A Sony “A” series will run about the same.
Size
Depending on what you’re shooting, these cameras can make either a nice “A” camera or an excellent “D, E, F, whatever” camera.
Support falls under the size category here too. You can get away with a lightweight tripod/head combo and still capture great footage. These are also easy to mount on handheld gimbals.
Lens mount
Canon and Sony, so it’s the familiar EF and E mount. Sony’s mount is especially adaptable though and you’ll have no problem finding a PL adaptor for Sony.
Video quality
These won’t shoot above 4K and you’re not going to get crazy frame rates out of them either. Expect 24fps-60fps in 4K, while stepping up to 120fps in 1080p, for Sony that is.
Both offer “log” color profiles as well, A welcome addition for post-production!
Cons
Recording formats
Your footage is going to be shot in a compressed wrapper here, no matter what. Expect .mov, .mp4, or Motion JPEG. No RAW no matter what.
Dynamic range
Even though these cameras can capture up to 15 stops of dynamic range, because of the compression limitations it will hardly be noticed. You will receive an HDR “look”, but as soon as you start to push this footage in post, one way or another, it can fall apart pretty quickly.
Versatility
These cameras aren’t meant to be used in the same way that Tier 1 or 2 cameras can be. Accepting accessories is awkward, the battery life isn’t great, and the menu systems can be confusing and frustrating!
I/O
You won’t find any SDI connectors here, or full size HDMI for that matter. You’re looking at mini/micro HDMI, 1/8” audio in and that’s about it. Sony does offer a neat hot shoe XLR attachment though, which I highly recommend!
Battery life
These batteries are small, almost expendable for how cheap they are, and have very limited run time. Be prepared to chew through at least 10-12 batteries for an 8-hour shoot.
Well, there you have it! That’s our rundown of the 3 Tiers of digital cinema cameras. Hopefully this helps next time you’re looking at a budget and trying to decide what camera your project needs.
Oh, and one last thing. As promised above, I wanted to quickly address renting from online camera rental companies. The lower the tier camera you choose, the more realistic it becomes, Try to keep in mind that usually each item is a stand alone rental. I.E, if you want to rent a RED from an online rental house, you’ll most likely need to rent the body, the lens mount, LCD screen, side handle, media, batteries, baseplate, rails, SDI cables, and battery charger(s) as individual items in your shopping cart. You’ll also lose the support of having your local camera house relatively close by in case you forget an accessory or have an equipment emergency on set. If you rent online and any of this happens to you, you’ll need to wait for shipping, or place a separate order with your rental house. I’m all about saving money where possible, but I’m also a firm believer in the relationships you develop with rental houses and the service they give you in return!
Happy Shooting,
-Nathan