GEAR
KINEFINITY MAVO EDGE 6K
super-quality 6K or 4K in a standard 17:9 widescreen crop, and that goes up to 60fps. 3K with a crop is 144fps for slow motion. Kinefinity marketing says 16-bit Raw should come to the camera in the future, but Red’s litigation with Nikon over video Raw makes this far from certain. For now, 6K or oversampled 4K in 12-bit ProRes 4444 XQ is just incredible. There are lots of ProRes options and all of them are edit-ready and packed with colour information. The sensor is dual base at 800 and 5120, and as it’s full-frame, does a very good job of controlling noise – certainly a couple of stops above 5120. Crank it really high and you’ll need some noise reduction in post. Here’s the rub. In 6K it’s stunning, but there is a significant amount of rolling shutter. Shoot in 4K and it’s better. There’s no line skipping or pixel binning, so the 4K, full-frame quality is detailed – with accurate colours, similar to an Arri. Footage appears filmic, natural and smooth, with perfect contrast. Of course, Arri files are known for their lovely highlight roll-off, which nothing else really gets close to, including the Kinefinity. But for shooting narrative work or commercials that call for high resolution and a beautiful colour palette, the Kinefinity Mavo Edge 6K is an excellent camera that doesn’t break the bank. “Footage appears filmic, natural and smooth, with perfect contrast... it is an excellent camera”
SMART POWER The camera comes with an innovative battery plate, which supports standard V-Mount units
THE VERDICT High-end cinema cameras
Yet it’s not a do-it-all machine like a full-frame Sony FX6 that can be used for lots of things. The Mavo Edge 6K is a relatively affordable, pure cinema camera for when image quality is everything.
focus on one main thing above all: image quality. The Kinefinity Mavo Edge 6K isn’t in the 16-bit Raw league of its very top-end rivals, but still delivers stunning quality from its ProRes codec. Kinefinity is chasing an Arri look and does a job that’s good enough for all but the most critical and experienced cinematographers of today. Its rolling shutter doesn’t make it ideal for fast whip pans, and of course there is no AF, image stabilisation or autoexposure of any kind. But it does have a very modern variable ND filter that’s just great to use, plus Wi-Fi and all the other tools a modern, high-end pro camera needs – like genlock, timecode and a variety of monitoring and powering options. Relatively small and light, the solid metal build does make it heavier than the 8K version. It can still be stripped down for gimbals or rigged up for serious cinematography.
HOW IT RATES
Features: 8 Still no AF, IBIS or Raw footage, but the variable ND is a treat Performance: 9 Footage is very filmic Handling: 8 Add on the Movcam kit and it’s a joy to use, but quite heavy Value for money: 8 Cheap compared to an Arri OVERALL RATING: 8/10 Incredible image quality from a very capable cinema camera Pros: That footage! And variable ND Cons: Needs rigging up
More information
proav.co.uk
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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