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Full Frame Cameras


Jinuk Lee

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Could anybody explain to me how the Red Monstro body is so small and compact compared to the Alexa LF and Sony Venice? I realize that the sensor size of the Monstro is wider than the 4:3 sensor of LFs and Venices but this doesn't seem to be a factor (unless my understanding is flawed), and it blows my mind how Red is able to keep the body small. Anything to do with the fact that red code raw defaults to a 5:1 compression while shooting 8k?

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RED cameras stay small for a couple reasons:

 

- In RAW, they don't need to do heavy image processing or encoding, so they don't need as much CPU/processing hardware power.

 

- RED cameras aren't designed for good thermal performance. This is why they can overheat, why the fans are loud, why you need to black balance the camera, etc. Arri doesn't need black balance, doesn't make noise, doesn't easily overheat, etc. because the bodies are larger and have better cooling systems in them.

 

- RED cameras tend to have noisier images than Alexa because their photosites are smaller, less efficient, or of inferior quality. All of those tradeoffs allow for a smaller camera body.

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The main size trade-off is due to heat management -- moving camera sensors generate a lot of heat compared to still camera sensors (and once you start shooting video with still cameras, the heat issue rears its head). ARRI cameras are double-walled to allow airflow around everything and to keep dust out of the electronics, but that makes them a bit heavier. There are other factors like having room for more connectors on the body, etc. -- Red cameras get a bit bigger once you add modules that have more connectors.

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I was going to say the same thing - quite a lot of it is down to the fact that a basic Red body, with nothing on it, is actually not a usable camera. Add on all the bits and pieces, and even in a minimum configuration, it's much more akin to its competitors in both bulk and price.

 

Bear in mind also that Alexa is really very bulky for what it is. It's built like a tank, but it has significantly less actual imaging power (if that's the right term) than something like a little Sony FS7. We can argue about the quality of the sensor, but that doesn't affect physical size. Much of it is design intent.

 

I don't think the acoustic noise level produced by Red cameras is really very acceptable but that's the tradeoff for tininess.

 

P

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Thank you for the responses, I've been working with the Red Monstro back to back for the last two months and got my hands on an lf and venice at a camera test at keslow the other day and I've been wondering ever since. Seems like a lot of productions want to save money on cameras and are opting for the monstro these days. (atleast in the commercial and music video world that I'm currently working in)

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The Red Monstro is a good camera -- someone the other day told me they did some comparison testing of the full-frame cameras and he liked the image from the Monstro second-best (the ARRI Alexa LF came in first).

 

I can't speak on the consistency, robustness and reliability issues because I've only been shooting on the Alexa for the past eight years, but the Alexas have been nearly bulletproof, I don't really think about the camera itself much when shooting. Same goes for color-correcting Alexa footage, it's goes fairly smoothly.

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This video by Linus shows how they make it so small and also why the fans are so loud. Everything is super tight in there. Barely any air flow compared to even an alexa mini

 

https://youtu.be/qFrK-l3VSzY?t=395

 

The new Red Ranger (for rental houses) looks very interesting. As it has an integrated rear module, the cooling area is increased and the fans can be made larger. All this adds up to 10db quieter running (according to the team at BSC this year). It's still smaller than the venice and has all the ports for integrated power supply.

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someone the other day told me they did some comparison testing of the full-frame cameras and he liked the image from the Monstro second-best (the ARRI Alexa LF came in first).

Do you happen to know if that test was saved? I'd love to see it if it was

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