While it's not available all over the world yet, the Kinefinity KineRAW S35 has made some serious noise across the filmmaking community, because it's poised to disrupt the industry in a similar way as the (not yet shipping in volume) Blackmagic Cinema Camera. At a base price of $6,000 ($7K-$8K for a working package), the mostly non-proprietary 2K 12-bit Super 35mm uncompressed and compressed RAW camera is matched in specs (in this price range) only by the no-longer-available RED ONE MX. Specs are really only part of the equation, however, and it's the actual image the camera produces that is arguably more important. Thanks to Matt Allard at DSLR News Shooter, we've got a fantastic idea of what this camera is capable of with his short film The Iron Psyche.

Here is Matt's description of shooting the The Iron Psyche. The footage was all recorded in Cineform RAW and the slow motion shots were with the Sony FS700, not with the KineRAW:

The camera used was an engineering sample and not a production model.

It was edited in Adobe Premiere and the sound mix was done in pro tools.

It was very lightly graded, just the odd bit of contrast, saturation and black levels changed. We did this on purpose so people can see what the Kineraw image looks like. We did zero noise reduction or sharpening on any of the footage.

The camera itself does no in camera noise reduction. So what your seeing noise wise is exactly what's coming off the sensor.

This short was filmed over two days in Cronulla, Rockdale and Lewisham, all suburbs in Sydney, Australia.
Lenses used were the Zeiss ZF2's. 21mm f2.8, 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.4. Additional lenses used were a PL modified 11-16mm f2.8 and a Samyang 24mm f1.4

I'm really liking the image coming out of this camera. I don't think it's perfect by any means -- and I still personally think the Blackmagic Cinema Camera is the most cinematic looking camera in this price range -- but there is no question you'll be able to achieve some pleasant results. I think the skin tones are looking great so far, and of course with RAW, some of it will be up to you in post. I always harp on the importance of actually liking the image coming out of the specific camera you're using, because in the end, that's what matters more than straight specs. In my opinion, this camera has both going for it right now.

As far as the flaws, dynamic range looks like it may not be as high as RED's MX sensor, and it's certainly not as high as the BMCC. This may or may not be an issue depending on how you're shooting and the look you're going for. Since you'd be shooting RAW, however, you've definitely got a bit more wiggle room in terms of exposure, so you could underexpose a little bit to save those highlights from blowing out in certain instances. With all of the new cameras coming out, I think this is going to be one to watch, even with its various quirks.

Dan Chung, also of DSLR News Shooter, had a great in-depth video with the KineRAW, so if you missed it, you can check it out below:

As far as the footage goes, what do you guys think? Besides the lack of real slow motion capabilities (max is 720p 60), is this a camera you've got your eye on? Might you consider a purchase sometime in the next 6 months even with all of the other options out there? If you want to play around with some sample clips, you can find some links at the bottom of this previous post.

Links:

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