![]() ![]() Still, none of this is new, large format visuals have a long and interesting history in both the art and technology of motion pictures. Part of this “Monstro” line-up back then was a FF35 sensor which we are seeing come to fruition now six years later. RED have been talking for years about the future development path of their sensors, as far back as 2009 even specifying a “Monstro” 617 sensor up to 168mm x 56mm. While DSLR’s have offered full frame video for years, it’s only fairly recently that high end cinema camera manufacturers have actually brought larger sensor cameras to market. Sony, of course as I have already mentioned have taken on a large and growing market share with the A7S, so more and more of us are getting used to the aesthetic and optical characteristics of composing and framing a larger than super35mm format. When it comes to full frame, we are talking about any sensor measuring approximately 36mm x 24mm, so in fact we’ve been shooting full frame video in our DSLR’s ever since the Canon 5D Mk2. The Arri Alexa 65 sensor is effectively 3x ALEV III sensors combined, resulting in the very same photosites and much loved imaging characteristics of the Alexa only at a higher overall resolution and much larger imaging area. ![]() This is a trend that we have started to see with the 54.12 x 25.59mm sensor in Arri’s Alexa65 and the full frame VistaVision sensor of the RED Weapon 8K FF. To take the Sony example further, if we wanted to create a sensor with the same size photosites (and low light performance) as the A7S but with the same resolution as the A7R, the sensor would have to be approximately 61.4mm x 41mm in size, which is well into medium format territory. It seems that you can’t have it all, and this is generally true with current sensor technologies… unless of course you increase the size of the sensor. The A7S has a pixel pitch of 8.3 microns vs the A7R at 4.9 microns, that’s a large difference in favor of the A7S when it comes to the area covered by each photosite. This gives the A7S the edge on low light sensitivity compared to the A7R’s edge in overall resolution. To give a simple example we can all relate to, the Sony A7S has fewer, larger photosites than the A7R. High dynamic range and sensitivity require larger photosites, and simple mathematics dictate that this places limits on overall resolution for a given size sensor. The quest for higher resolution, higher dynamic range and better low light performance often bring about inevitable trade-offs in sensor design. Of all the current trends in digital cinema camera design, one of the most interesting is a shift towards large sensor digital cinema. keyboard_arrow_rightCameras of the Year.keyboard_arrow_rightGear Guides by Type.keyboard_arrow_rightGear Guides by Budget. ![]()
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