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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

SI-2K vs. SCARLET

George D.

George D.

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I just became aware of the existence of the SI-2K Digital Cinema Camera. I talked to one of my best friends, who's an Academy Award winning DP, and he just worked on a feature film using this camera. He says they were all very happy with the results. It was also used to film most of Slum Dog Millionaire, the latest Sherlock Holmes, and others.

I realize it is 2K as opposed to Scarlet's 3K sensor, but it looks to me, by what I've learned so far, that it may be a better choice for "television production" than the up-coming, soon-to-be-hopefully-released interchangeable lens Scarlet.

I'd be very interested in your opinions and/or anyone's experiences in using the SI-2K Camera.

Thanks.
 
i did shoot a lot with the SI-2k the last 6 months.
we gave her the name SI-Shit-K. We used the slumdog back pack variation.

the software is windows based and we had a virus...? the AC didnt went to porn sites he told us.

when you turn on a LUT (rec 709) the cam didnt record.
we had the same rental house which rented the cams to slumdog.
but this cam so fucking stressed me...didnt work 3-5 hrs without a obvious reason sometimes, then suddenly it worked.

it was a single cam shoot....and one day we had 3 Si-2k cams as back up cams, still none of them really worked flawlessly.

you know what every single day happened?
i had my RED in the car...and it was like:
we need the RED!

(as information, it was a handheld shoot with 20 minute - 30 min. takes, we decided to use the SI2K because the RED can get really heavy fully loaded, we had 10-12 hour shooting days....)

the si2k didnt need as much light as the RED M and it was much more lighter (not heavy). beeing lighter was the main factor
I wish we had epic.

NEVER AGAIN SI2K.


guess everybody has different experiences though.
edit: i forgot...pictures look lovely from that cam
 
After that tale CK, I better appreciate and support Red's insistence on getting the new cams fully debugged and bullet proof before release. At least as far as is possible with any digital processing system.
 
the backpack had a touchscreen, it worked pretty well to navigate through the systems of the cam, although the whole system freezed sometimes while playback.

they have a 2,7 inch monitor too, which really didnt make sense...you can hardly frame with it. we used a bigger one.

and its such a frankenstein cam.....the back pack is connected to the body with a gazillion cables, some of them are usual USB 2 connectors...
 
Charles Angus said:
While I haven't used the SI-2K, I am very sceptical of it after its poor showing on Slumdog. I found the noise unpleasant and distracting...
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A good deal of "Slumdog" was shot on 35mm film. Are you aware of what was shot on what when making that statement?
 
M Most said:
A good deal of "Slumdog" was shot on 35mm film. Are you aware of what was shot on what when making that statement?
Click to expand...

All of the flashback sequences were shot on SI-2K. Everything else was 35.
 
Tim Hole said:
All of the flashback sequences were shot on SI-2K. Everything else was 35.
Click to expand...

Hence my statement.

One of the biggest problems we now face is when a project is shot on multiple formats, but generates enough publicity for one of them that the impression is left that the entire project was on that one format. At that point, people form opinions based on that mistaken belief. That's how people like the previous poster come to believe things like "Slumdog Millionaire was shot on SI2K" when only parts of it were, or "Entourage was shot on Red" because they used an Epic prototype in a scene as a prop. One has to be careful when one draws conclusions these days.
 
i know they also shot on 35mm check 1208 AC Mag for more info..
Cuneyt is this the company you talking about?
ekranalntsmm.png
 
Tim Hole said:
All of the flashback sequences were shot on SI-2K. Everything else was 35.
Click to expand...

Except the game show itself, which was also shot on the SI-2K. Articles have said that about 60% of the movie was shot on the SI-2K. However, Anthony Dod Mantle said that almost every low-light and night scene was shot on 35mm because he didn't feel that the SI-2K was sensitive enough.
 
M Most said:
Hence my statement.
Click to expand...

Aha! Got ya. Sorry ;) I mis-took the statement for a question.

David Mullen ASC said:
Except the game show itself, which was also shot on the SI-2K. Articles have said that about 60% of the movie was shot on the SI-2K. However, Anthony Dod Mantle said that almost every low-light and night scene was shot on 35mm because he didn't feel that the SI-2K was sensitive enough.
Click to expand...

Thanks David! The 2/3" sensor lends itself to TV game show easier than 35mm, plus is cheaper. A logical move rather than a purely artistic one, I wonder?
 
Tim Hole said:
Aha! Got ya. Sorry ;) I mis-took the statement for a question.



Thanks David! The 2/3" sensor lends itself to TV game show easier than 35mm, plus is cheaper. A logical move rather than a purely artistic one, I wonder?
Click to expand...

There is sort of a smoothed "plastic" look to the quiz show scenes that is appropriate for the setting, and a show like that would have been shot on video in reality, so it can be justified. A little like how the final match in the last "Rocky" movie was shot in HD for an ESPN look.
 
David Mullen ASC said:
There is sort of a smoothed "plastic" look to the quiz show scenes that is appropriate for the setting, and a show like that would have been shot on video in reality, so it can be justified. A little like how the final match in the last "Rocky" movie was shot in HD for an ESPN look.
Click to expand...

All adds to the authenticity.

On a completely different note as I soon as heard that Tron was going to be 3D I thought it would be a perfect move to only have the 3D within the mainframe, and they are. The use of different formats to play to the story is a powerful tool.
 
Is the SI-2K really a choice vs. Scarlet? I don't think so...

Is the SI-2K really a choice vs. Scarlet? I don't think so...

Back in 2007, I quoted a complete SI-2K package and when it was all said and done, I ended up ordering a Red One package instead (I had originally set out to buy an Aaton A-Minima package, mind you). When it was all said and done, it was roughly about the same cash outlay, if not less, for the R1.

Now, if Scarlet were out today, I'd still choose Scarlet over the SI-2K for a great many reasons, which may be obvious to those who already use RED technology on a regular basis.

With all due respect to the fine folks at SI, their current SI-2K solution just falls short on many grounds when compared directly to RED's current and future offerings, hardware, software and accessories alike. Oh, did I mention 3rd party support? Yes, 3rd party support.

That been said, I have and am still waiting for whatever SI has coming down the pipes for the d-cinema market, if anything (just like with RED's now ready to become infamous Spruce-Goose league Scarlet, mind you). To that end, I always check SI's site for announcements and updates, but none have been forthcoming. Not for a long, lengthy time. So my take is that SI may have just surrendered to the pressure coming from RED/Arri/Vision Research and Aaton on one end and Canon/Nikon/Panasonic/Sony on the other. Or else (read: hopefully), they're busy and quietly working on something that'll knock our socks off, totally by surprise, to up-end everyone one more time.

So, Ari? Jason? You guys out there? Care to comment?
 
M Most said:
Hence my statement.

One of the biggest problems we now face is when a project is shot on multiple formats, but generates enough publicity for one of them that the impression is left that the entire project was on that one format. At that point, people form opinions based on that mistaken belief. That's how people like the previous poster come to believe things like "Slumdog Millionaire was shot on SI2K" when only parts of it were, or "Entourage was shot on Red" because they used an Epic prototype in a scene as a prop. One has to be careful when one draws conclusions these days.
Click to expand...

You're absolutely correct. It's hard to know what to believe now days.

Some production companies ARE mixing formats, not only for feature films, but for television. This makes it hard for others to really be able to know and evaluate which scenes were done with which camera and why.

It is my understanding, and according to RED, all the films they have listed on their website were shot entirely with the RED-One. I hope that's true. Peter Jackson is a very impressive director and one not to be ignored.

According to the responses I've been getting to the original question on this forum and others, the SI-2K does NOT have a very good reputation.
 
George D. said:
You're absolutely correct. It's hard to know what to believe now days.

Some production companies ARE mixing formats, not only for feature films, but for television. This makes it hard for others to really be able to know and evaluate which scenes were done with which camera and why.
Click to expand...

I've worked on at least four different tv series and pilots that were shot with the Red One as the "A" camera. All except one also used other cameras (primarily Canons) during the course of production. And not just as crash cams.

It is my understanding, and according to RED, all the films they have listed on their website were shot entirely with the RED-One. I hope that's true. Peter Jackson is a very impressive director and one not to be ignored.
Click to expand...

Based on personal experience, I would take the "entirely" with a bit of salt. Of course that's also true of other cameras, even film cameras. Today more than ever, with the availability of such stellar specialty cameras like the Phantom.
 
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