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“The Sigma fp is a fantastic professional tool that was adapted for use inmany different ways”
really takes the shakes out for handheld shooting when we wanted to work off the tripod. With the Sigma fp, you can use it successfully in so many different ways. For some shots, the camera was locked down to a tripod and used in manual focus, like a traditional movie camera. For others, the autofocus tracking was used to lock onto the subjects as they were panned from the tripod. Sometimes, the camera was used handheld in autofocus almost like an ENG camera for ultimate flexibility, especially when getting in close to the action on the 45mm Sigma lens. The camera was incredibly good at combatting rolling shutter, so there were no worries about whip pans ruining the footage. The delivery of the final filmwas to be in 1920x1080 FHD, so 4K wasn’t essential. This FHD delivery meant we could shoot 119.98fps, then slow it down in post for incredible super-slowmotion in fantastic quality. But for some of the interviews, we did shoot in 4K so we could crop in to the subject during the shot to make it look like we had two different cameras shooting. That flexibility is a big benefit to small production units and one-man operators. Of course, one of the biggest benefits of the Sigma fp is that it can shoot CinemaDNG Raw for the ultimate quality and control in 8-, 10- or 12-bit depending on how the footage is recorded. For 10- and 12-bit, this means recording to an external SSD drive via the USB-C socket. But our tests showed the 8-bit footage was still
rate, shutter angle, ISO, colour and white- balance proved to be no problem at all. It’s fast and easy. One of the key elements of the Sigma fp is that it can be adapted to all sorts of different shooting, and the open system lets you use not only lenses from other manufacturers, but also accessories, too. This proved vital for shooting interviews and B roll before the racing started, for which we added an Atomos Ninja V monitor/recorder via the mini HDMI socket. The bolt-on HU-11 hotshoe unit is included with the camera and has a clamp for making sure the HDMI doesn’t pop out, and we used its hotshoe to mount the monitor. For audio in the interviews, we used a Sennheiser wireless system linked to a lapel mic. The metal body of the camera has standard ¼-20 threaded holes into which you screw the included strap lugs or for fastening accessories, like the wireless receiver. With face detection and precise contrast detect autofocus, the camera nailed focus every time on our interviewees. For action shooting, we removed the monitor and wireless mic and quickly adapted the Sigma fp by adding a lightweight rear Zacuto loupe on the viewfinder, and a Rode DSLR video mic onto the hotshoe that plugs right into the camera body. The camera has professional tools like waveforms, zebras and focus peaking to ensure exposure is perfect, and also has built-in image stabilisation that
stunning as it records in up to 2000Mbps, and the camera could write it to SD cards. So that was our preferred choice when we wanted to shoot Raw at Weston. We actually used the USB-C socket to plug in a powerbank when the camera was in the rucksack being ported between locations to keep the battery topped up. Raw really helps when there is a very high dynamic range that’s difficult to expose for, such as when there is bright sunshine and dark shadows. Or a backlit motorbike at speed ploughing through dark mud, which is when we selected the CinemaDNG option. In post, this meant the maximum detail could be extracted from the file. As the final filmwas not excessively graded, but relied on the natural colours of the event, it meant the internal MOV All-I in 4:2:0 8-bit files were easily up to the job for the majority of the shoot. Even when light levels dropped, the control of noise was incredibly good. One benefit of shooting NLE-ready MOV files is that they are fast to edit, even on a laptop. Within minutes of the end of the race, we quickly downloaded the SD cards and edited a quick one-minute video of some of the highlights of the action to get out on social media. This was then followed up with a full highlights edit, which seamlessly mixed MOV files with CinemaDNG files, in a whole range of frame rates. The quality is stunning, with bright yet faithful colours showcasing the event we filmed in all its madcap glory. For a camera that is full-frame and shoots CinemaDNG Raw, yet costs just £1999, the Sigma fp is a fantastic professional tool that was adapted for use in many different ways for our Weston film. With the range of Sigma L-Mount lenses now available, it’s a camera that can be used for lots of different purposes and can form the heart of a truly professional cinema camera systemwith the unique advantage of its small size.
More information sigma-imaging-uk.com
ABOVE The Sigma fp may be tiny and easy to tuck into a camera rucksack, but it still packs a punch when it comes to filmmaking and it can shoot CinemaDNG Raw
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WINTER 2019 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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