SONY BURANO TOOLKIT
SIDE SHOW The Sony BURANO comes with two full-size XLR inputs, USB-C, plus a host of other I/O options
to swivel mounts, brackets and more. It’s a shame Sony didn’t do a better job, as the actual screen and the way it displays shooting info around the edges of the frame is very good. You can also change settings on the touchscreen. Or you can hit the menu button – or push it in for a few seconds to open an expanded menu and use the mini joysticks. Sony’s menus often come in for criticism, but this one is about the best of the bunch. To review your shots, push the Clips button on the side, as you’d imagine. One foible is that it will only let you see and play back clips that have been shot in the same codec as the camera is currently set to. This is not perfect, and rebooting after codec changes takes a few seconds each time. Not bad for a heavyweight cinema camera, but still a pain. Booting the camera up also takes a couple of seconds, which is very quick. One good accessory with the camera is the side handle remote control, which bolts on using a standard rosette and makes the camera decent for on-the- shoulder use. But you will likely need
some sort of shoulder pad, since it’s not especially comfortable without one – especially for a boxy, heavy camera- and-lens combination. The BURANO comes with a Sony E-mount on the front with a solid lever-lock to fasten on lenses. But this is actually hidden behind a lever-lock PL mount that uses six captured hex-head bolts to cover the E-mount. So you have full PL and E-mount capability, which is changeable in a minute or so. Both pass through metadata, too, as long as compatible lenses are fitted. Using native Sony AF glass unlocks the phase detection system. This will be a revelation to anyone that hasn’t encountered it before. It’s fast, predictable and sticks to subjects well. The transition and speed of operation can be adjusted in the menus, too, as well as human body and face detection. You can even tap the screen to set focus points. So having PL and E-mounts gives the best of both worlds – the latest AF or tactile, old-school MF. A world first for a camera of this type is the inclusion of in-body image
stabilisation. Used with a Sony AF lens, this is a five-axis system and works very well. When used with a PL or other manual lens, it is a three-axis system that also does a fair job. Given that this camera is targeted at indie production, this is a real bonus as you don’t have to be using a gimbal or tripod all the time. In yet another nod to the latest tech, the camera can also be set to have a prerecord function of between three and 15 seconds, depending on the codec. This is ideal for wildlife shooters who know that they have captured something before they press down on the nice, illuminated red record button. The BURANO also offers focus breathing compensation and monitoring tools like zebras, waveforms and histograms. There is no false colour monitoring, although you can upload a false colour LUT and deploy that. If you know what you are doing, there are ways to set this camera up to accomplish just about anything, with no compromises. It’s like a mini VENICE at half the price.
More information: sony.com
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