Gary Rogers
Director of Photography
I run my own media company called Pixel Perfection Media specialising in everything from TV commercials to music videos.
Well I think this is a really exciting innovation. As a professional myself I too have a variety of kit ranging from 4k RED down to a Canon 5D MkII.. Most of the pictures I take however are off my Sony Xperia Z2! I love being able to whip the Z2 out and capture real nice quality photos (just check out the FB page 'Camera Phone Photographer' for how good they can be!). Of course you are limited on such devices with zoom and low light and a lack of control, auto focus on the video is a nightmare! I love photography and videography but never want to carry my DSLR around with me just incase I come across an interesting photo opportunity! It's a case of there are different tools for different jobs... I rarely use my RED camera for corporate work I will use my ageing Sony FS100 because it's still a great HD camera. This is another tool that will suit a variety of jobs. It certainly grabs my attention as something I want to carry around with me that will exceed the capability of my camera phone to a DSLR level. The price will need to come down though i think 1700 is a lot to ask for new unproven tech.... I will be following this development with great excitement!!
Ok this guy clearly knows his stuff and I pretty much agree with what he is saying for the most part. Yes story is everything as is the acting... if you don't have either of those then yes what the point of shooting it at 4k, 6k or 8k! But I brought an old RED One MX not because it was 4k but because it was a seriously well sorted, tried and tested tool designed to get as close to traditional cinema 'film' as possible.
So what am I saying? It is nothing to do with the 4k aspect it is to do with the colour science, dynamic range bit rate etc. that the camera uses. It's these things that make a camera stand out from the competition.
Kodak worked out many years ago that to scan film to digitise the image you only needed 2k of resolution to get the same quality of a 35mm projection.
Having RED made me up my game of filmmaking, it made me shoot a scene as if I were using a 35mm film camera. RED needs to be lit properly to get good images, unlike my Sony FS100 where you can shoot in ridiculously low light and still get a reasonable image.
So from a filmmakers point of view, correct you don't need 4k! BUT shooting on top end cameras CAN help you improve your cinematography skills which in turn can help in your storytelling..... If your really into owning kit to go and make movies, buy the best camera you can afford and don't worry about it!