Why do Hollywood filmmakers need huge cameras when simple DSLRs and even my phone can record 8k video now?
In: Technology
There is more to image quality than pixel count. There is pixel size, signal-to-noise ratio, color bit depth, depth-of-field, frame rate, bit rate, video codec, audio recording interface, time sync, global shutter vs. rolling shutter and other things I’m forgetting.
It’s like the difference between owning a Cessna and a 747.
This is actually a good question, because in principle you could get near-cinema quality out of a MUCH smaller camera than what currently gets used for big budget feature films. Most of what cinema cameras are made of is a thick heavy metal body, cooling fans and manual button controls, surrounded by loads of optical accessories, cables, batteries, handles etc. Basically all stuff that doesn’t really improve image quality but more so improves usability on the film set. Only the lenses really affect the image’s look in a way that can’t really be miniaturized.
The Hollywood camera companies actually don’t get to take advantage of the economies of scale that are provided by mass-manufacturing in the way that smartphone makers do, because they address a tiny customer base to begin with. For that reason alone, small cameras and smartphones have improved exponentially over the past decade in terms of video quality, while cinema cameras hardly provide any improvements in image quality over what was available 5-10 years ago.
Ultimately, color quality and dynamic range are what sets those professional cameras apart from consumer cameras. The gap is quickly narrowing though.
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Mainly it is what is possible in Post Production, nice little video below has a good ELI5
The RED camera being referred to probably cost around $6k-$8k. This is a lower end camera in their line. Standard Red camera used in an independent film costs about $15k-$20k
[iPhone vs RED camera](https://youtu.be/kyItrFoBm1o)
What you just did is basically the equivalent of saying that two cars with 300hp each are supposed to be the same, without taking other very important factors into consideration.
Besides the fact that the amount of pixels means pretty much nothing, what ‘huge’ cameras are you talking about? Just look at a red camera for example, those are barely bigger than a human hand and pretty much the same size as a DSLR.
The reason why the entire construction often looks pretty big is the fact that they put on better/bigger batteries, different lenses, huge tripods, some sort of camera stabilizers etc.
* 8K refers to the resolution of the camera sensor.
* Technically it’s 7680 × 4320.
* That’s 33177600 pixels of information at the same time.
* But imagine you have huge room with a large elephant standing in the middle.
* On one side there are 33177600 professional artists painting the subject using the best brushes and paints money can buy.
* On the other side you have 33177600 elementary school kids using finger paints.
* Just because a device can capture in 8K doesn’t mean it’s the same as every other device that captures in 8k.
* Movie-set cameras need a place to attach super high quality lenses.
* They also need a place to be attached to very very precise mounting equipment.
* For cameras to be able to move smoothly and not distract the viewer they need to be attached to insanely expensive dollys and other types of mounts.
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