Cinealta Shutter Speed Settings And Why Am I Not Happy?

Brandon McCormick · November 25, 2006

I've been filming with the Cinealta for about a year now, and don't get me wrong...I love the thing. BUT, I've been pretty unhappy with the image shot at 1/48shutter I just looks kinda dead, when I jack it up higher, I get an image much more comparable to film like look.I've noticed that a higher shutter speed is nicer, even for dialogue shots and slow moving shots, not just action. I know 1/48 is the standard, but it just doesn't look all that great. Are more and more movies being shot at a higher shutter these days? Or am I just missing something

David Mullen ASC · November 25, 2006

I've been filming with the Cinealta for about a year now, and don't get me wrong...I love the thing. BUT, I've been pretty unhappy with the image shot at 1/48shutter I just looks kinda dead, when I jack it up higher, I get an image much more comparable to film like look.I've noticed that a higher shutter speed is nicer, even for dialogue shots and slow moving shots, not just action. I know 1/48 is the standard, but it just doesn't look all that great. Are more and more movies being shot at a higher shutter these days? Or am I just missing something

Which direction do you mean by "higher"?

A number of people find that an electronic shutter is too crisp (instantly off or on compared to a moving shutter blade) and therefore shoot at a slightly longer time like 1/32nd to increase blur and reduce jitter / strobing, at the expense of more motion smearing (but at the gain of a half-stop more exposure.) I've done that many times, especially for scenes without a lot of movement. But too much smear and it starts to remind you of interlaced-scan photography.

Conversely, it is not unusual to shorten the exposure time to 1/60th, 1/100th, or higher to increase strobing and making action scenes more jittery, crisper. Or when you plan on making the footage slo-mo in post. But as for that making HD look more "like film", that is highly debatable. Many people find that 24P at 1/48th already looks too crisp compared to a film camera at 24 fps with a 180 degree shutter, and shortening the exposure time only makes the motion even crisper, more strobey.

Brandon McCormick · November 25, 2006

My apologies, I meant shorter shutter. I seem to like an image that comes out at 1/60, popping more, seeming more vibrant although it does strobe a bit. I'm trying to shoot a very "big fish" type movie, with vibrant and crips images and colors, and 1/48 on the Cinealta still looks a little "video" to me. Maybe it's just my inexperience, and maybe it's just a taste preference. (although I'm sure decades of 1/48 can't be wrong!)