The Battle of Esteemed Cameras in Zacuto's 'The Great Camera Shootout 2011'

After the Emmy-winning series "The Great Camera Shootout 2010," Zacuto was back with 2011s latest breed of esteemed cameras with "The Great Camera Shootout 2011," a documentary of the Single Chip Camera Evaluation (SCCE) tests featuring large-scale technical camera comparisons administered by Robert Primes, ASC. This event highlight from the 2011 NAB Show provided a detailed presentation of a dozen of cameras ranging from affordable DSLRs to high-end digital cinema cameras, along with footage shot using 35mm film cameras. This project involved over 60 industry specialists, consultants, and technicians who tested the cameras in a span of four days.

Footage compared during the presentation included those from 35mm Vision 3 films (Kodak 5213 and 5219), Arri Alexa, Sony F-35, RED ONE M-X, Weisscam HS-2 and Phantom Flex high-speed cameras, Panasonic AG-AF100, Sony F3, and Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D, Canon 1D Mark IV, and Nikon D7000 DSLR cameras.

Using controlled conditions to maintain accurate comparative details and side-by-side comparisons, the series consisted of live-action and instrumented tests with in-depth technical and creative analyses of each camera's sharpness, resolution, exposure latitude, low-light sensitivity, highlight detail, shadow detail, color space, color quality, flesh tone reproduction, compression losses, and shutter artifacts. All footage were processed according to the Academy Color Encoding Specification (ACES).

While people behind the project readily cleared that they weren't able to utilize the RAW footage from the Weisscam and Alexa prior to NAB, the presentation was still undeniably helpful for an overview account of each camera's strengths and weaknesses. They also cleared that the shootout was not a contest to determine which one is the "best camera" or which manufacturer produces the "best cameras." Rather, it's a thorough collection of professional tests geared towards evaluating the varying capabilities of the industry's most-renowned cameras today.

With technology consistently evolving, it's very interesting and informative to personally see the results of the shootout and hear the reactions and insights of both the speakers and the audience. This worthwhile event would be for anyone interested in filmmaking, any camera buff, or just about anyone directly working in the film industry. In my case, as I was able to use the AF100 a month ago for a series of projects, seeing it perform side-by-side the other cameras was very helpful. Also, checking the latest camera models from Sony's CineAlta line and Canon's and Nikon's DSLRs was also very informative, especially because I was able to work with many of the older versions of these camera lines.

Overall, the shootout clearly showed how digital filming still doesn't beat the latitude offered by celluloid. Yet, it's quite convincing with how far digital technology has already improved through the years that it wouldn't be a surprise if in the next few years, digital cinema cameras would already reach the latitude of the film format.

As an independent filmmaker who also works in project-based commercial productions, I had my own preferences from the test. For the more high-end options, Alexa and F35 were my personal favorites. The F3 and AF100 were also impressive in the mid-range offerings. For DSLRs, I was quite surprised and impressed with the performance of the D7000. Of course, these were only based on what I saw during the presentation. Anyone wanting to buy any of these cameras should take into consideration a variety of factors including each one's features and how these would help the type of productions the camera would be mainly used for.

Interestingly, considering the DSLRs' mobility, affordability, and practicality for amateur or even professional use, they weren't really "left out" from the roster's overall performance.