Oron Cohen

Thanks for all the info, was thinking to get this myself to use with a few different cameras, just not sure if to get the Tilta instead as it looks more well build and I only need it for power. Any chance you could post a link to the ebay seller you got it from? Thanks!

I think the first question should really be where are you based? (which country, city). If you are based somewhere central I think the best way to actually learn is to go to the nearest rental house that have a super16/35mm cameras and ask if you can learn a bit about the cameras or even work there or help them out for free. Then rent a super16 camera for a weekend and shoot 1 roll of film maybe asking for someone a bit more experienced to give you a hand in the shoot. The reason why I personally not go super8 (I love super8) is because the cameras and film cartridges are not similar to the professional cameras where as super16 cameras resemble much more the way of working in the industry and actually being used to shoot feature films even today. I guess if you're not close to a rental house so your best bet will be super8 after all. It is a good idea to learn more about exposures using a still camera like Luke has suggested but it wouldn't give you the full effect of learning about shooting cinema film IMHO. Learning how to work with film is a great idea in any case!

I think we're missing (or me) are missing some details, first, I consider a classic short anything in between 10-20min , this is what most film festivals consider a short as well, are you after making a 15min or so short? if you are, I think the approach is somewhere in the middle, you pay for whatever you feel you can't get for free or might damage production if not payed for, well it be an actor, a camera, lights, location etc. usually it will be one or two things. for example some lights, one major location that most of the film is set in and 1-2 crew members that will usually get something for their contribution but not industry rates. From my experience it will usually come out to something around 10-20K in USD, but I'll recommend to try and secure some locale film fund or someone to invest a little bit and take it from there. The 100K shorts do exist, but they are usually made by very experienced filmmakers not someone that want to break into the industry. just my 2c

No, that's not correct. There were plenty of Arri SR2 super16 cameras, most of them got converted at the factory or by professional camera tech and are rock solid, still haven't seen SR1 super16 so I'm not 100% sure about it. One point that Will raised and is very true, is that it's much easier to find parts and repair an Arri as it was a favourite of Rental houses (did I mention it was build like a tank).

Both are great cameras, loading the Arri is as easy as it can get, the Aaton is lighter/more comfortable on the shoulder. I also think Arri is build like a tank and with a bit of care will last more or less forever :-) In the end of the day Just go with the best deal you can get, my advise is to try and get a bundle that includes Camera+good zoom(like canon 8-64 or similar)+some accessories (on board Batteries are especially important as it not always easy to find). Also stay away from regular 16 cameras, you could always crop the sides if needed for 4:3 ratio, and the prices are as low as they can get at the moment, just saw a 416 on the forum for 9K which is a joke considering what you getting...

Another lab that people overlook and I've used recently is http://www.film-photo.com. they're still do black and white and reversal. The guy that runs it is a really nice chap, he was really helpful and gave us a good deal for developing. The lab itself is not far from i-dailies.

I think the F5 & F55 Raw is not practical for your kind of stuff as it takes too much space (about 500gb for one hour of footage), Red have much smarter way to compress the Raw files, and the size and wight of the camera body are also a bonus. What about getting a Scarlet Dargon instead of an Epic? It should be around 25-28K including all necessary accessories.

No, it's still a Negative, just a processed one. Positive is different emulation all together.

Looks great! Very interesting you choose to shoot this on 5222. The grain looks so like..well..grainy...which to me in 2013 looks a bit like 7218 level or even more grainy...after seeing so many super clean Alexa and RED footage this looks (to my eyes) much more organic. What did you use for lights? Seems like very minimalistic kit. Also, what speeds where u shooting for slow motion and what iso you rated it? Cheers, Oron.

I didn't try the pocket yet (really looking forward), but I think a good combo could be MFT 2.5K Cinema Camera + Metabones Speed Booster. check out some tests online, you basically gain about a stop in sensitivity and also shallower DOF and better sharpness...for about $6000 you can have a nice BMCC package.

I think David idea about a used RED ONE MX is actually great for a feature. still, even a basic functional ONE MX will be around 8-10K, but its a great camera, better than Blackmagic picture wise. However, its big(was killing my back while on the shoulder) so he'll need to get a heavy duty tripod head and other heavy duty stuff, it's better off to go with a smaller camera if one is on a budget, also with a smaller camera you can "steal" those shots needed...(on the train, public spaces etc).

Hi Ernie, I'm a big fan of RED Cameras, I love the fact that they're versatile and you can configure them in many ways, I also think RED compression is smart. As for jumping from DSLR, If you're not making money day in day out from your equipment, I'll suggest to go with something cheaper. With RED Scarlet, it doesn't end with the brain, for a decent package you'll need to spend around 20K, maybe more... As for Blackmagic, no one has even seen footage from the 4K, I've made some tests with the 2.5K Cinema Camera(there are many tests online), and I think it looks great, much better than DSLR, and it shoots RAW, real RAW not only Prores. Depth of field is not super35, but I think it still looks really nice! much cleaner than DSLR. the price is also fair ($2000), why not consider that? maybe you should go to a rental house and rent one for a day, and see how you feel with it. you could use some PL glass with the MFT mount version and adapter. Hope I helped a bit :-)

Beautiful work! After watching this, the first thing came into my head is when the hell I shot something on digital and the images made me excited, and just looked beautiful "out of the box". I feel as a DP, I'm most of the time in constant fighting with digital cameras, trying to make them look more organic, give them some "soul", and to be honest it never works. Recently did a test for a feature on 35mm 5222 and Fuji Vivd 160T, we where stunned from the beauty of the images, it actually looked better from what we saw in our own eyes, and it was all natural light. For me this is magic, and cinema is in a way magic.

why would you want to do that? you have super16 or 35, if you didn't you needed to invent them. In film the bigger the better :-)

You're talking about tech spec etc, I'm talking from a dop point of view that usually need to cut super8 with 4K or 35mm/super16. It's not rocket science to tell what is super8 "look"; this is the look that is perceived by the audience as those old home movies from the 60s-70s. it's a bit choppy(no crystal sync etc), a bit scratchy, it's jittery, it's grainy, soft and a bit(or not a bit) dreamy looking because of that...most super8 cameras could replicate it. I do agree though that this look is more reversal than negative, but even with negative you can get cool results.

It's a bit off topic, but I do need to ask. At the moment super16 cameras and 16mm cameras are sold for dirty cheap prices. On top of it, you can get good deals with labs on dev+telecine on super16, so good for that matter, that last time I calculated it (yesterday) shooting super 16 was actually cheeper by a small margin than shooting super8, which for me leaves super8 as a format I would use just for the look of it, not to try and match lager formats picture quality. You can watch a 7min documentary I made on super8 here: http://oroncohen.com/Films/director/film2/DavidKing.html

The footage from the 6D will look a bit soft and the colour will be a bit washed out, and black usually wouldn't look black enough etc. I'm not sure where you located, but do yourself a favour and try to push for a normal cine camera. For ultra low budget, you could probably get a good deal now days on a RED Scarlet. They are not so popular with the rental houses as oppose to C300/Epic/Alexa etc, so if you're renting for 4 weeks it will make it easier on the rental house to give you a good deal. Try to remind the director that for an extra 2000$ he/she will have a much better footage to work with. Usually they get convinced at the end. :-)

it does compare to Canon and Ziess in sharpness, especially the 35mm and 85mm. about the focus marking, in the past 3-4 years so many indie films and even some big budget stuff were shot on Canon still glass that are much more problematic to pull focus on than the Samyang. I mean it's not the best solution, but it is an option :-) I think for the price, and if you are after primes, the Samyang for the moment are the best bang for the buck.

You should check out Samyang/Rokinon lenses, I really like the 35mm and the 85mm Cine version, they're cheap and fully Manuel lenses for EOS mount and in the future you could use them for other cameras in the digital world. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/887052-REG/Samyang_sycv35_c_35mm_T1_5_Cine_Lens.html

Really good and informative list that Adrian has put together for you :-) I'll add, that if you see Lenses add to much to the package price, Just go for a good zoom. My favourite is the Canon 8-64 but the Ziess 11-110 is great as well.

Hi George, I've shot plenty on Arri SR2, SR1, Aaton, Kinor, 16mm and super 16. I think it's great to shoot film, even today! it's a very good way to learn about the art of cinematography as you need to observe, to view and to think before you shoot( also because it cost plenty to run film through the camera). At first, if you never shot film, I'll advise you to rent an Arri super16 camera for the cheapest price you can get it in your area (rent prices now are as low as they can get). so spent about 200£, and rent for a long weekend (Friday to Monday morning), plan something you actually want to shoot, and instead of spending money on a camera use the money for film stock & processing. Then take the time to carefully review what you shot, and also enjoy the actual process of filming. later on, if you feel you want (and can) shoot on this camera every month or every other week, buy one :-) This my opinion anyway, hope it helps. P.S - most SR2 super16 conversion are fine, as they were usually done by true pros.

Hi Matthew, If you like to buy new, I would recommend Filmgear, a very high quality Chinese maker (not quite the same like Arri of course). I actually saw plenty of rental houses use Filmgear lights. The other way is to buy used. Arri lights and Mole Richardson lights last more or less forever :-) what I usually do is call my local rental house and ask them if they have older lights for sell, as they need to keep everything look in top condition, they usually get rid of some stuff from time to time. if they say yes, I just send an email with the lights I'm interested in and they give me a quote. remember that many rental houses will not publish every piece of equipment they have for sell, they just have to much stuff to handle. Hope it helps.

Looks great, all the stuff I've seen from this camera looks really organic, film-like. Could you please share the lenses used?

Just reviving an old topic 7 years later, does anyone have other favourite shoes (new models that came out?) he/she could recommend for standing 12 hours on set? :)

Hi anton, Like what you said about Art and about taking photos on film rather then digital, I still take 90% of my photos on film.(this is my flickr link: My link . I also think working with a physical matter and within the restrictions that it gives you, can create interesting artistic result. I also try to push Super16/35mm in my work, sadly it's hard to do this days and I usually try to explain first and for most the difference in the work itself, when you work with different materials it could lead you into a different path/way in your search for the end result.