Which camera should I rent?

Hi everybody,

This week I am gonna shoot an event in a big convention center. I need some advice about camera choice. The ceiling and the walls of the place are made of glass from which comes the harsh sunlight. And there are also different light sources (tungsten bulbs, flourescents, different coloured led lights, panels, screens etc.)

So I need a camera with a high dynamic range and which can deal with the colors in the different color temperatures in the scene.

I can rent Sony A7s II, Blackmagic 4k or Canon Mark 3. Or would you recommend something else?

10 Comments

If you are planning on shooting under many different types of lighting, you will probably want to shoot in RAW format so you can correct the color from any type of lighting. Otherwise rent a color-meter and go with the color of the main lighting falling on your subject.

May 6, 2017 at 10:35AM

Guy McLoughlin

Video Producer

32751

Blackmagic 4k if you can deal with its weight.

May 8, 2017 at 5:27PM, Edited May 8, 5:27PM

Andy Tokarski

Director, Editor, Colorist

1194

I agree with Guy in that shooting RAW would give you more options later. I'd recommend a BM camera as well. Specifically the Ursa Mini 4.6K. It has better dynamic range than the 4K model. If it were me, I'd want the camera with more flexibility in post so that I can have a better chance at recovery should unforeseen lighting changes affect the shots.

May 10, 2017 at 12:50PM, Edited May 10, 12:50PM

RJ Ortiz

Cinematographer

296

I know this isn't a normal comparison but I am renting a camera to film with in the Arctic this summer. Due to quite a small budget I can rent either a 4K XC10 (but fixed lens) or a 1080p C100 (with Dual Pixel AF). Please do reply if you have ever used either of these cameras - all responses greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Ed Peacock
Travel / Adventure Filmmaker

May 10, 2017 at 12:58PM

Ed Peacock

Travel Filmmaker

212

Camera is an device,with which we can take the photos of all the occasion in our life.event photography abu dhabi are the leading photography team in the World.

May 16, 2017 at 2:11AM, Edited May 16, 2:11AM

worldphotography

Stay away from the Blackmagic 4K. With it you will need to shoot at 400ISO because it's highest rating (which is 800ISO) is filled with nasty fixed pattern noise. I assume for your event you may need a higher ISO. Higher ISO's don't just make it easier to see in low light. They also help with highlight protection so your highlights don't blow out as easily. However, the Blackmagic 4K also has rather low dynamic range. BM's marketing says it has 12 stops of DR but many tests have proven otherwise. I personally owned and operated with a Blackmagic 4K for over 2 years and found it to be a VERY limiting camera. An event will certainly be difficult to shoot with this because you won't have much control over the lighting. It's also a heavy camera, is kinda useless without a rig and V-Lock battery setup and you'll need plenty of card space just to shoot in ProRes. In the entire time i owned it i never shot in RAW because it only shoots 4K Raw and my super fast maxed out 5K iMac still couldn't handle it.

I havent much experience with the other two cameras but I'd strongly suggest look for something other than the Blackmagic 4K.

I can suggest however you look into the Sony FS7. This would be my choice of camera for the job you have described.

Hope that helps.

Ben Kumanovski
Director | Cinematographer
www.globalpictures.com.au

May 22, 2017 at 6:23AM, Edited May 22, 6:25AM

Ben Kumanovski

Director | Cinematographer

307

The Canon C300 II is an excellent camera for this situation. I have one and when you shoot in 12 bit RGB 444, you get excellent color rendition that allows a lot of latitude for color corrections, especially in DaVinci. Get even better results when outputting to prores or converting to prores in post.

June 5, 2017 at 5:36PM