DSR 300

freddie bonfanti · March 11, 2007

hi all,

i am in preproduction for a short film based here in Scotland. the look of the story for the first half of the film is supposed to be extremely low key and clean. i can get hold of a very good old DSR300 with a superb Fujinon zoom.

the camera makes very clean and sharp images but i am worried this choice is a bit weird, considering the fact that we got a Z1 and a 35mm adapter available.

i dont like the look of the Z1 and i feel that using the adapter would be too much, as the story doesnt require a slick look.

however, for drama reasons it would help to have a "progressive" or film look, which the DSR doesnt have. i was thinking of shooting with the shutter at 25 but i am not sure if it would look good

is it a silly choice?

Matthew Buick · March 11, 2007

Wouldn't a HD camera be a better choice in this day and age? Leaving this production at least slightly future-proof.

I'm not really an expert in this field. But that's what I would do. :)

freddie bonfanti · March 11, 2007

if the production had enough money to afford one, i would get one.

when you work with HD you also have to think about a proper post production workflow which as you know is quite complicated and expensive for us...i believe that the camera would perform better than the Z1, the overall image quality is more muted, less contrasty. it serves the story better

David Bradley · March 12, 2007

Hey Freddie.

I'va had similar problems as I generally use a dsr 570 wsp or a Z1E.

Have you considered that the 300 will only shoot in 4:3 aspect ratio and as far as I'm aware the shutter in the 300 doesn't dip below 1/100 (pal) or 1/60 (ntsc).

The Z1 has a very slow shutter speed if you want it, I have shot with a shutter of 1/25 second but to be honest it didn't create amazing results. The cineframe function on the Z1E is amusing at best but its never going to produce true proggressive high quality images.

The Z1E has 1/3" CCDs. The 300 has 1/2" CCDs. The 300 is much clearer particularly with a good lense on it.

The 35mm adapter would help the Z1E but if the project doesn't require that look then its not really necessary.

Just beware that the DSR 300

(Negatives)

-shoots only 4:3

-has a minimum shutter speed of 1/100

but it also has

(positives)

-1/2" CCDs (allows for shallower depth of field)

-and a better lense by the sound of it

The Z1E

(positives)

-Has a very slow shutter for a 'film look'

-is versatile and works nicely with a 35mm adapter

-shoots 16:9

-can shoot high def and then down convert

but it also has

(Negatives)

-1/3" CCDs

-a very average stock lense

I don't know if you need it but I would choose the Z1E simply because it will allow for 16:9 capturing. With a decent 35mm adapter I would shoot high def then down convert. That ofcourse is assuming you need a 16:9 aspect ratio and typically faux film look. If not then choose the DSR 300, the 1/2" CCDs with a good lens will outperform the Z1.

My knowledge regarding the 300 may be flawed, I haven't used one for a while so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Best

David Bradley

freddie bonfanti · March 12, 2007

David,

i am aware of the 4:3 issue, however me and the director both agree that 1.33 would suit the story better as its all set in small environment and there wont be a widescreen feel to it.

as i said i believe that any adapter on a Z1 looks really bad, and the main problem is that when you project the footage on a big screen it falls apart all the time.

ill test the both of them on our location tomorrow so ill be able to make a choice soon

thanks a lot

p.s- is there a way to transform any interlaced footage into progressive in post?