Lenny Manfred

I just saw a clip of the new show "Still the King", with Billy Ray Cyrus. I liked the look, the graininess, the texture. I tried watching the behind the scenes to see what cameras they used, i think i saw a glimpse of Arri (maybe Alexa or Mini) but then other shots had something that looked like C300s. Anybody here in the know? No guesses necessary, i can do that myself, but if someone actually knows, that would be great. thanks.

Cinematically speaking, I think you have to include the F65 on any list. And I would rate it right next to the Alexa. Ease of operation would push it down a bit, unless you have a big crew. I do a lot of handheld work, and to me, it's all about ergonomics and simplicity, so that pushes the Red cameras down the list. I tried all kinds of rigs on the Red One, and nothing was ever comfortable. Haven't work with the Epics, but even though they are lighter, they look like it will be the same. The F55, even though not as cinematic feeling as the Alexa and F65, can balance quite well with the right gear, and it's relatively easy to use. The F65 did not have bad ergonomics, but it was quite the monster on your shoulder. Also missing from this list are the new Panasonic cameras, the Varicam 4K and the LT. These cameras will be contenders, as their image is very cinematic, the skin tones are second only to the Alexa ones, and their low light capabilities are nothing to sneeze at (since you are shooting indoors, that can be very helpful). They are also not bad on the shoulder. The big sister can be a little heavy, but it's a "good heavy". Regarding the F5, it's almost identical to the F55 physically, and the image is decent, but the F55 is on another level for skin tones and feel. I would consider the F5 image more of a video/news quality than as a cinema camera. The F55 is very close to the F65, but you can definitively see a difference. Since you said to ignore price, I'm not going to bother with the others on the list. Don't get me wrong, I have seen beautiful images from most of them, but if money is no object, then go for the best. If I was to make my list, cinematically speaking, it would be: Alexa F65 Varicam 4k Red Epic F55 the rest but it's not set in stone.

I read some of the posts, a lot of different opinions. Mine is, get a camera. the whole point is to learn, and the more you shoot the more you learn. if every time you felt like shooting something you had to rent a camera, you would end up shooting less. who cares if technology will make that camera a paper weight in two years, you got to shoot tons of stuff in those two years. and yes, the lights, or the lenses, will last you longer, especially since they will be sitting on a shelf not being used waiting for you to rent a camera.

a similar package, without the lenses, sold on ebay for $6,100 last month. it included a few more things: A-Minima Camera (S/N: 010) w/ Power Base (S/N: PB20) and integrated video tap (S/N: V5014) (2) 250 Ft. Magazines (S/N: AM249; 025) (4) 3V Lithium Batteries i myself want to get a a-minima to play with, but waiting until i find one with a price makes that makes sense for me. the problem is that s16 is barely working these days, so to buy one of these would be a purchase of love, not business. lennywood@mac.com

the 10-100 is fantastic, but as expensive or more than the digizooms, so i would instead recommend the fujinon 15x7.3 cine style lens. it has a constant 2.0 aperture the whole length of the range. the canon 21x is also good, but it ramps at the long end. some people say they rather have the extra reach of the 21x, that they can live with the ramping in the long end, but i prefer to work with a lens that is at its best the whole range. if i need to go in tighter, i can just dolly in, and not be tempted to be lazy and compromise the quality of the image. the fuji is just flawless on it's limited range.