Pro Moviemaker Spring 2018PMM_SPRING 2018

CAMCORDER COMPARISON

T here’s been a revolution going on in cameras, with large-sensor Super35 size cinema cameras stealing the headlines (those headlines that haven’t been about large-sensor mirrorless cameras). You’d be forgiven for thinking the traditional fixed-lens camcorder was yesterday’s technology – and certainly not for the serious filmmaker. But all that has just changed, thanks to a pair of spookily similar cameras from two of the giants in the market, Canon and Sony. The idea struck on by both simultaneously is to take a relatively large 1.0-type sensor capable of recording 4K and put it into a small and lightweight all-in-one body. Add a removable top handle with twin XLR inputs andmake sure there are twin SD card slots and a viewfinder, plus a touchscreen which is

all. But for ENG users used to small-chip cameras, AF has often been a necessary evil – occasionally the camera may get it wrong, but with both the new Canon and the Sony, it is far more reliable and useable than ever before. The Canon, in particular, has impressive touch-to-focus technology as well as lots of parameters that can be adjusted to suit the subject, such as focus speed. Using the touch-to-focus system, it’s wonderfully easy to do beautifully smooth focus pulls between different points on the screen. You can alsomove the focus point around, so you’re not stuck to the cameras focusing on whatever is in the centre of the frame. Trackingmoving subjects is also a bit of a revelation, although of course it can and sometimes will go wrong. There’s face detection, too. The art is to understand

used for major setting changes rather than lots of external buttons. And because the large sensor size means depth-of-field can be kept quite shallow, calling for precise focus, fit the camera with the very latest, super-advanced autofocus technology. This is precisely what both firms have done with their latest palm-sized camcorders. In the case of Canon’s XF405, it is the first camcorder to come with the Dual-Pixel technology used in the cinema range of Canon cameras. For Sony, it’s the extensive phase-detect technology like that used in the incredibly fast A9 mirrorless sports camera. In both cases, they transform the focusing ability of their respective cameras beyond belief. Of course, autofocus is always a sticky subject with serious filmmakers, many of whom totally reject any automation at

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SPRING 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER

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