What Cameras are you using these days?

[Delbert Grady]

Back in 2002-2005 I shot a few shorts, never completed them. I used a JVC mini dv and edited it on my laptop. It took a long time and was painstaking. I'll admit I am now far behind you all as far as what's being used today to shoot low-budget films. I've heard of entire films being shot with Androids and iphones. What is the norm today for the independent film maker?

[fortunato]

Originally Posted by Delbert Grady

Back in 2002-2005 I shot a few shorts, never completed them. I used a JVC mini dv and edited it on my laptop. It took a long time and was painstaking. I'll admit I am now far behind you all as far as what's being used today to shoot low-budget films. I've heard of entire films being shot with Androids and iphones. What is the norm today for the independent film maker?

By far, most people are still using Canon and Nikon DSLRs. The Black Magic cameras are another affordable option that people with a little more of a budget are using, and the image yield is quite nice. But prosumer digital video cameras are also becoming more and more affordable, and I think will eventually be edging out the DSLR trend. That was such a fluke in the first place, companies are beginning to see the demand for affordable, high-quality video cameras and things like the 2.5K Black Magic and the Canon C100 and so on will be changing the independent scene trends, I think.

[urgeok2]

we just shot a feature on a Canon 4Ti
I used an adaptor ring and shot mostly with my nikon lenses

[fortunato]

Originally Posted by urgeok2

we just shot a feature on a Canon 4Ti
I used an adaptor ring and shot mostly with my nikon lenses

Urge, I remember seeing promo stuff for your film on Facebook (are you not on there anymore?). Where/when/how can I see it?

[urgeok2]

Originally Posted by fortunato

Urge, I remember seeing promo stuff for your film on Facebook (are you not on there anymore?). Where/when/how can I see it?

I canned Facebook (for the second time) just recently

Words can't express how much I hate it

Our first film - Blood For Irina is available in the us and Europe
Barns and noble and best buy were carrying it - still might be

The second film - queen of blood - is in post right now

I wouldn't recommend Irina unless you like 70s European art house horror
Like Rollin or Franco (without the sex or nudity)

[Tahrgat]

Originally Posted by fortunato

By far, most people are still using Canon and Nikon DSLRs. The Black Magic cameras are another affordable option that people with a little more of a budget are using, and the image yield is quite nice. But prosumer digital video cameras are also becoming more and more affordable, and I think will eventually be edging out the DSLR trend. That was such a fluke in the first place, companies are beginning to see the demand for affordable, high-quality video cameras and things like the 2.5K Black Magic and the Canon C100 and so on will be changing the independent scene trends, I think.

It would be great to see cheaper high quality cameras. DSLR handles darkness pretty well if you keep the iso at 1600 or less, but I would love to be able to just shoot what I want without the limitations or worrying about noise. That is to say better automation and greater light level comparability.

[fortunato]

Originally Posted by Tahrgat

It would be great to see cheaper high quality cameras. DSLR handles darkness pretty well if you keep the iso at 1600 or less, but I would love to be able to just shoot what I want without the limitations or worrying about noise. That is to say better automation and greater light level comparability.

That's the way things are headed, especially with respect to greater handling of low light. The Black Magic handles low light really well, barely any noise. Even the Mark III looks really good even with the ISO boosted. And with new accessories like the Ninja, you can pull great images directly from the sensor (better color subsampling and things, bypassing native codecs). As far as automation, that depends on what you mean. I think one of the biggest issues with current prosumer cinema camera manufacturers is the user-friendliness and likeness to film cameras (ability to control everything manually). Something like the Alexa is great because it's super simple and has everything on the camera body and a simple menu design (unlike, say, many DSLRs and even the RED cameras, which can be a nightmare to operate sometimes). So I think that's where camera designs are headed in that respect. What did you mean by automation?

[Tahrgat]

Originally Posted by fortunato

That's the way things are headed, especially with respect to greater handling of low light. The Black Magic handles low light really well, barely any noise. Even the Mark III looks really good even with the ISO boosted. And with new accessories like the Ninja, you can pull great images directly from the sensor (better color subsampling and things, bypassing native codecs). As far as automation, that depends on what you mean. I think one of the biggest issues with current prosumer cinema camera manufacturers is the user-friendliness and likeness to film cameras (ability to control everything manually). Something like the Alexa is great because it's super simple and has everything on the camera body and a simple menu design (unlike, say, many DSLRs and even the RED cameras, which can be a nightmare to operate sometimes). So I think that's where camera designs are headed in that respect. What did you mean by automation?

You nailed it. The DSLR operation is what I am speaking of. DSLR can handle the dark, but it needs to be set very precise and needs constant adjusting and testing to see how distance reads. Its automatons always seem to work against what I'm trying to shoot, in the way I want to shoot it, so manual is the best atm.