Pro Moviemaker Spring 2018PMM_SPRING 2018

GEAR MINI CAMERA TEST

These three latest tiny cameras can really put you in the thick of it for a unique point of view MINI MARVELS POV CAMERA COMPARISON

WORDS ADAM DUCKWORTH

T he dramatic footage you can only get from a small action camera can add something very special to your films. Whether it’s helmet-cam footage from an extreme sportsman, an establishing shot from a tight location that would be impractical to mount a big camera, an underwater shot, a simple second camera angle for a quick cutaway or something more creative, a small action camera has fast become a must-have for many filmmakers. While GoPro established the market, there’s been an explosion in affordable cameras. Some are cheap and nasty, just toys for amateurs to post footage on Facebook. But a professional filmmaker’s needs are different, with ultimate quality and control being far more important than consumer-style add-ons and editing. We look at three very different cameras at three price points, offering serious features for the professional.

BELOW Without their cases, all three cameras are roughly the same size and shape

SONY RX0

It looks like an action camera, it’s the size of an action camera and it’s certainly rugged enough to be thought of as an action camera. But to pigeonhole the Sony RX0 as just an expensive action cam is to do it a massive disservice. It’s a mini production camera that might not offer all the consumer-friendly features of the latest breed of action cameras like GoPro but aces them all with its pro video capabilities plus its Zeiss lens and large 1.0-inch type Exmor CMOS sensor: the biggest sensor fitted to any camera of this diminutive size. Best of all it can shoot in S-Log2 tomaximise dynamic range. No other mini camera does that. Essentially, you can think of the RX0 as featuring the internals of one of the Sony RX100 range of cameras, but with a fixed 24mm-equivalent f/4 lens and minus any external control knobs. All those have been left off, leaving it to be controlled via the screen on the back and push-buttons to access the menus which are the same as all Sony’s high-end consumer

cameras. If you’re used to anything like an A7, A6000 or RX-series cameras, you’ll be at home straight away; as long as your eyesight is good. Cramming all the menu information onto a 1.5-inch screen means the icons are tiny and the buttons fiddly, but that’s the price you pay for miniaturisation. The buttons are also very sensitive, and we often found the camera turned on accidentally. You need to be careful and make sure you haven’t changed settings. With Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the RX0 can be controlled via Sony’s smartphone app which is a great way to use it remotely, change settings and even review footage. It’s made from rugged aluminium and is waterproof to 10m/33ft, shock and crush proof without the need for any external case. Add on the optional case and the camera is good to go even deeper in the water down to 100m/ 330ft, but it does cost £930/$900 which is even more than the camera itself. There’s a single, standard tripod mount on the bottom so it works for

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PRO MOVIEMAKER SPRING 2018

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