What do I want in a camera?

Not a lot actually.

I want to be able to use it without a caravan of kit and crew.

I want to be able to take it out of the box and be able to shoot within 5 seconds.

I want preset colour temperatures to be accurate.

I want the indicated ISO to be accurate.

I want a camera that has a simple recording system that doesn’t require contacting the NSA or GCHQ to get my rushes!

I want a camera that doesn’t veer from magenta to green or vice versa with exposure.

I want a camera that doesn’t do weird things at the extremities of exposure at either end of the scale

I want to load it into a post program and get good images without having to fiddle around.

ACEScct should do this, if the camera is good it will give me a “correct” image at between 22 and 28 on the offset dial in Resolve.

That shouldn’t be hard.

The only problem is that with a few exceptions it seems to be bloody near impossible!

Price has no reflection on the issues.

I find myself getting more and more angry with manufacturers who keep on making the same mistakes year after year.

I’m pausing the camera evaluations to go off on my bike and cycle along canal sides through beautiful countryside and watch ducks and swans and storks and geese and wildlife generally.

2 thoughts on “What do I want in a camera?”

  1. I also want a well designed, comfortable eyepiece equal to what I had on film cameras 20 years ago, with a reasonable + and – diopter range capable of handling the reality of the eyesight of young through to mature DP’s and operators.

  2. It’s not that hard, but it sounds expensive. Except at the Hollywood corporate level, price is a major factor. And, it’s much easier to sell autofocus, high frame rates, and stabilization than a solid basic professional camera.

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