A couple weeks ago Zacuto released their Revenge of The Great Camera Shootout, which pitted the Apple iPhone 4S, Panasonic GH2 (Hacked), Canon 7D, Canon C300, Sony FS100, Sony F3, Sony F65, RED Epic, and Arri Alexa against each other. This year, however, there was a twist -- they didn't tell you which was which. I ran a poll asking folks which camera they liked the most, and with over 600 responses here are the results, by camera letter:
We'll have to wait for Part 2 of the shootout, coming July 13, to know which letter corresponds with which camera. However, it was interesting to see Camera B come out on top, as to my eye it looked like one of the most "artificial" electronic images in the test -- but the masses have spoken and my own opinion is not what this post is about! The methodology to this not-very-scientific survey was as follows: I gave 5 points for a camera getting a vote as a 1st choice, 4 points for a 2nd choice, 3 points for 3rd, 2 points for 4th, and 1 point for 5th.
Keep in mind that this particular test in the shootout was not a test of pure camera performance. Each camera had a different DP working from a base lighting setup that they were allowed to change to show off their own camera's strengths (and hide a camera's weaknesses). As such, some cameras were shooting a scene with a 14-stop dynamic range and other cameras were shooting that same scene with a lot more fill light to counteract a dynamic range that exceeded the camera's latitude. In part three of the Zacuto shootout we will see the exact same lighting setup shot with each camera -- and the results of our poll will likely change.
For more of our own thoughts, see Joe's thoughts on the shootout.
Disclaimers: we did not post this poll anywhere other than on this site (we also referenced it in the comments of Zacuto's shootout page). It was open to the public. The vast majority of poll-takers are members of the daily No Film School audience and their opinion is strictly their own. One voter could be a qualified professional cinematographer and the next could be Some Guy on the Internet. I compiled the results with 602 votes; there may be more now. If you go to the original poll and take it, you can see the unfiltered results. Our posting of this poll does not represent an endorsement of one camera over another. Also, this poll does not mean that anyone at No Film School (or Zacuto) thinks that your choice of camera is going to make or break your movie! It is simply here to educate and to inform.
With those disclaimers out of the way... did these poll results agree with your own interpretation?
Link: Zacuto's Revenge of The Great Camera Shootout
Disclosure: Zacuto is a No Film School advertiser.
Ryan Coogler’s letter following ‘Sinners’ box office successCredit: Ryan Coogler 
