8K CAMERAS GE AR .
T here are few aspects of filmmaking quite so it’s become a real buzzword and, in many ways, the definitive sign of quality. Those within the industry share more informed, but no less mixed views. For streaming services in particular, it’s become – to take a cynical perspective – a means of quantifying which of them is most deserving of your money. Truly, though, there is a lot to be said for the use of more and more pixels. Not least future-proofing – especially with continued developments in at-home viewing. Still, the more pertinent question is, where are we now? If recent developments are anything to go by, the answer ubiquitously contentious as resolution. For enthusiasts,
FILMING PROCESS Cinematographer, Erik Messerschmidt,
“Early users have said the Mavo Edge’s 4K image is actually better than its 8K image, because that downsampling process is so good”
captured David Fincher’s visual
masterpiece, Mank, in 2:1 8K Redcode Raw using the Red Ranger Helium Monochrome, but the 2.2:1 aspect ratio requirement and resulting 20% centre extraction meant a true capture of around 6.5K
category, with Blackmagic Design’s Ursa Mini Pro 12K topping any other industry offering. Sony’s UHC-8300 delivers 8K broadcasting potential, although the brand is yet to offer comparable figures on the cine side – so who knows what’s in store there. Kinefinity’s most recent addition, the 8K-capable Mavo Edge, added yet another manufacturer to the ever-growing list of runners in the race. Carl Yates, head of technical marketing at ProAV, sheds some more light on the camera itself and broader potential. “Kinefinity is an interesting case, as it hasn’t really been pushing the Mavo Edge’s 8K capabilities as a stand-alone feature. For a large part, the brand developed it to get better 4K – that’s what it’s all about. It lets you shoot oversampled 4K ProRes in camera, and 8K does that so well because it’s exactly four times the number of pixels. “Many early users have said the Mavo Edge’s 4K image is actually better than its 8K image, simply because that downsampling
is in the middle of an 8K boom. This article is being written hot off the back of Red’s V-Raptor announcement, with the flagship hailed as the brand’s most advanced camera to date. Hardly new to the high-resolution race, it boasts 8K, like the Helium before it, but offers appealing Redcode Raw frame rates of 150fps at 8192x3456 – and an undeniably massive 600fps when dropping down to 2K 2.4:1. The camera joins Panavision’s large format DLX2 in the 8K
Did you know? The 35mm film used on Citizen Kane – which serves as the subject matter of Mank – is said to have a resolution comparable to digital 4K.
33. OCTOBER 2021
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