GEAR REVIEW. KINEFINITY MAVO EDGE 6K
CLOSER TO THE EDGE A full-frame modular cinema camera is even more attainable, thanks to Kinefinity’s new 6K Mavo
WORDS. Adam Duckworth K inefinity is clear on who its Mavo Edge 6K is aimed at. It’s for independent production companies wanting a modular cinema camera with a full-frame sensor that produces incredible colours, but who can’t – or won’t – stretch to the eye-watering sums charged for an Arri, Red or Sony Venice. These are the cameras that totally dominate the big movies, and scoop up Oscars, Baftas and Golden Globes every year – and any other big-name award you can think of. Prices for these flagship cameras are high, however you look at it. The similar-spec Arri Alexa Mini LF is more than five times the price of the Kinefinity Mavo Edge 6K, for example. The Venice is around four times, and even the latest Red V-Raptor – which shocked the world at around half the price of older full-frame Reds – is more than double the Mavo. The Chinese-made Kinefinity is £10,200/$10,499 body only, or £16,902/$16,699 for the Pro Pack. This adds the five-inch monitor, OLED EVF, a variety of batteries including V-Mount, chargers, Movcam rig and a pair of 1TB SSDs, all in a case. That’s not
cheap by any stretch, and you really should budget for the extras; without these, the camera doesn’t actually function. Buy that lot for an Arri or Red and you’d be adding far more to that price, too. The most dominant cinema camera brand for decades has been Arri, with cinematographers drawn to the beautiful colours it reproduces from Apple ProRes or Arri Raw files. Kinefinity knows this, and it’s blatant that the camera tries to come as close to Arri colour science as possible. The Kinefinity also shoots in ProRes and its own KineLog setting or standard Rec. 709. It’s no surprise that the best LUT you can use on the Log footage is an Arri-C LUT. Kinefinity wants you to believe this is an Arri Alexa Mini LF you can afford. And in many ways – in terms of the look of the footage – this isn’t too far from the truth. An Arri-C LUT, followed by a bit more tweaking of highlights and shadows, creates footage that is detailed and definitely has an Alexa-like look to it. We didn’t have one to compare the two directly, though. But with a simple LUT or just some highlight, shadow and
“It’s blatant that the camera tries to come as close to Arri colour science as possible”
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