KINEFINITY MAVO EDGE 6K GEAR REVIEW.
Essentially, you set the crop you want – full-frame, Super 35 or Super 16 – then set the resolution to 6K, 5K, 4K or 2K. Everything is recorded from the sensor in Open Gate 3:2 ratio, so if you choose a more typical 17:9 or 2.4:1 for full anamorphic, then it’s basically a crop of the middle of the sensor. In full-frame 6K 3:2 it goes up to 48fps, or at 17:9 reaches 60fps and anamorphic 75fps – these are the headline specs. Likewise, full-frame 4K oversampled is 48fps, or 17:9 at 58fps, and anamorphic at 75fps. Go to 3K Super 35 at 17:9 and it’s 144fps, or 2K 17:9 200fps cropped in Super 16. Or set 2K anamorphic at 290fps. Confused? It’s easier than it sounds, really. Top line is for 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, it does “Footage appears filmic, natural and smooth, with perfect contrast... it is an excellent camera”
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 that look 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.
SMART POWER The camera comes with an innovative battery plate, which supports standard V-Mount units
Conclusion Cinema cameras focus on one main thing above all: image quality. The Kinefinity Mavo Edge 6K isn’t in the 16-bit Raw league of high-end rivals, but still delivers stunning quality from its ProRes codec. Kinefinity is chasing an Arri look, doing a job that’s good enough for all but the most critical and experienced cinematographers. Rolling shutter makes it less than ideal for fast whip pans, and there is no autofocus, image stabilisation or autoexposure. But it does have a very modern variable ND filter that’s great to use, as well as Wi-Fi and all the other tools a high-end pro camera needs – like genlock, timecode and a variety of monitoring and powering options. It’s relatively small and light, but the solid metal build makes it heavier than the 8K. Yet it’s not a do-it-all machine like a full-frame Sony FX6. The Mavo Edge 6K is a relatively affordable, pure cinema camera for when image quality is everything.
67. JULY 2022
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