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Most Filmic Digital Stills Camera?


Max Field

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Hey everyone,

I know we usually talk about motion pictures, but I figured there would be some crossover in disciplines since a lot of corporate gigs will require video and stills done on the same shoot.

I have not looked into digital stills cameras in about 10 years. Are there any with awesome digital 35mm sensors which avoid ugly RGB clipping and have a lovely highlight roll off? If my only job is still I usually bring out film and scan 4K however that isn't always time-friendly.

Thanks for any thoughts!

Edited by Max Field
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  • Max Field changed the title to Most Filmic Digital Stills Camera?

The nature of digital means that at least with raw files there is going to be no roll off built in. But of course the method of processing within the editing software of your choice can add curves or highlight recovery to your file when debayered which can help with highlight roll off. And to be completely honest in terms of sensor performance stills cameras has plateaued in the last 10 years, all the fullframe sensors have been on the 14 stops range since the original nikon d800.

So it's more about the functionality of each different camera, like autofocus, burst speed, ergonomics etc. And since most modern cameras are so clean, I personally underexpose 3-4 stops when shooting at base iso of 64 or 100 to preserve more highlight detail like film. And convert the raw files from my stills camera to DNG and grade them in davinci as I can debayer it in log and do much more in terms of grading and film emulation.

I'd say if you are attracted to the film workflow, look at second hand Fuji gfx cameras as they have gotten pretty cheap, and of course has film simulation that are very pretty, the larger sensor is also cool, with some FF vintage lenses being able to cover it as well. Also I believe metabones and kipon sells speed boosters for the gfx cameras to get a full 645 fov, so u can fully utilize medium format glass if you're into that.

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Since you're talking corporate gigs, I'm amazed they even get you time sometimes to shoot film, process and scan. Personally I'd stick to it if I could. Nothing my Minolta can't handle. 

 

If not, look up the Fujifilm GFX 100S and Leica M10-R. Those two always give excellent stills, especially, Fujifilm’s Film Simulation modes (such as Provia, Velvia, and Astia) have incredible resemblance to classic film stocks.

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11 hours ago, Karim D. Ghantous said:

If you want my opinion, shoot RAW and underexpose so you never clip the highlights. Then bring it up in a RAW editor of your choice. Don't worry about pixel hygiene. 

I've been shooting raw but have still ran into RGB clipping with party gels
a7d1d7cf7d42368b4d5678b566622b22.jpg

 

Versus when I shoot hard party gels with film and the rolloff is magnificenta52a26c54f8932b63f32c5622c22f976.jpg

Edited by Max Field
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6 minutes ago, Max Field said:

The digital camera is Canon 5Dmk2
The film stock one is Kodak Gold 200 (2 decades expired)

Ohhhh Hmm, the 5DMKIV is a way better imager, night and day. The R6MKII is an even larger jump forward, but the "filmic" aspects, is kinda tough with the new Canon color science. I find we have to do a lot more post work with the R5 (same color science as the R6) vs the 5D's. Tho I will admit, I haven't shot with the MKIV before. Only the 2 and 3. 

This is an example of the edge of highlight clipping, but notice the details in the warmer tones with the R5. 

image.thumb.jpeg.afdb874474e7429a4af08afb97632081.jpeg

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5 hours ago, Max Field said:

I've been shooting raw but have still ran into RGB clipping with party gels
a7d1d7cf7d42368b4d5678b566622b22.jpg

 

Versus when I shoot hard party gels with film and the rolloff is magnificenta52a26c54f8932b63f32c5622c22f976.jpg

In terms of latitude, most modern sensors will be at least 2-3 stops better then the 5Dii, both in highlight and shadows you will see much more range. But the nature of the digital formats means that once you go out of gamut or clip one of your channels it's still gonna inevitably going to look harsh. But having a newer camera with more range means that you can underexpose a lot more to avoid that from happening. Rolling off the curve in post also helps with the appearance of the clipping. 

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