
The company still trails Canon and Nikon in outright camera sales worldwide - and by a significant margin, with Sony occupying just 13-percent of sales against Nikon’s 25-percent and Canon’s 49-percent - but the writing is on the wall.

In fact, the company made news last August when its key mirrorless lineup models become the top-selling full-frame cameras in the United States. So rather than restricting an operator’s creative options, it provides a tool for additional creativity and makes full-frame’s shallow depth of field practical for almost any given scenario, from slow-moving period drama through to high-speed sports.Sony is seemingly on the fast-track to world camera domination. Its precision allows for exceptionally shallow depth of field, while also supporting a wide range of creative options in terms of speed and tracking.
#Sony full frame cameras professional
However, with FX9, Sony implemented an advanced autofocus system never before seen on a full-frame professional camcorder. In other, non-scripted applications like documentaries or news, this isn’t practical.Ĭamera operators traditionally look down upon autofocus systems as insufficiently accurate and restrictive of their creative flexibility. For a high-end cinematography camera like VENICE, it’s traditional for a focus puller to manually maintain this focus. The shallow depth of field which is so distinctive for full-frame cameras also creates a challenge for the camera operator in maintaining such a precise focus.
#Sony full frame cameras iso
You simply use the base ISO most appropriate for your light levels without any significant change in image quality or any need to change your workflow. A secondary High Base sensitivity of ISO 4000 excels in low light scenarios. FX9 features a base sensitivity of ISO 800, providing the optimal dynamic range for applications such as shooting outside or in brightly lit interiors. A secondary High Base ISO of 2500 excels in low-light High Dynamic Range capture. VENICE has a base ISO of 500 to provide the optimal dynamic range for applications where on-set lighting is standard. Dynamic range and colour are almost identical and noise is not significantly different.

At each ISO there is very little difference in image quality. Dual Base ISO means the camera’s imaging sensor has two distinct sensitivities to light. To help avoid this, the VENICE and FX9 camera’s full frame sensor has what is termed Dual Base ISO. While grain on analog film, like at ASA 400 for example, might be pleasing and enhance the feel of an image, the introduction of digital noise to an image rarely brings a similarly pleasing result. Increase the gain to make an image appear twice as bright and you’re also introducing twice as much noise to the signal and the image quality is thusly decreased. Adding gain to increase the ISO, or to make the image appear brighter adds noise and in most cases will reduce the dynamic range that can be recorded.

This is because at the base ISO setting, there is no amplification, or gain (voltage), added to the signal coming from the sensor. It’s at this base ISO value you will achieve the optimum balance of low noise, the best signal to noise ratio, and almost always, the widest possible dynamic range. A lot bigger.ĭigital imaging sensors perform best when set to their base ISO. For the next generation of filmmaking cameras, however, manufacturers began to think bigger than Super 35. For stills photography, film travels horizontally through the camera providing the largest of all the popular image formats for 35mm film, with a 36mm by 24mm frame, using 8 perforations on the film for each frame, traditionally called Full-Frame.Īt the turn of the 21st century, digital cameras with Super35 size sensors (including Sony’s revolutionary F35) proved good enough to challenge film cameras and started the digital revolution in Hollywood and across the world. One of them, 3 Perf, uses just 3 perforations in the film per frame equating to an individual widescreen frame of 24.89mm x 14mm, commonly referred to as Super 35mm. In traditional movie-making, film travels vertically through the camera, providing a variety of different image formats.

The physical dimensions of a full-frame sensor date back to the early 1900s when 35mm film emerged as a universal standard for filmmaking and, later,as 135 film for stills photography.
