DRAGON 6K VS HELIUM 8K: Are we trading higher frame rates for higher ISOs?

[Jason Han]

A candle isn't a smaller light, it's a candle. A smaller light is a 650 instead of a 1K.

What it allows me to do when I don't have access to a 2K or an HMI is to use a 650 through a silk and still get a good exposure, or using a 1K as a bounce fill for a room where I'd require at least 2K with a less sensitive camera.

That's agreeable, it just sounded like you were talking about people not lighting at all

 

[Rakesh Malik]

That's agreeable, it just sounded like you were talking about people not lighting at all

I'll leave that to the a7s dongles, and continue lighting the scenes that I shoot

 

[Brody_B]

From the Stormtrooper I played around with the extra SNR and cleaner shadows are absolutely worth the framerate loss and narrower crop for overcranking. For any of my clients/jobs where 6/7/8K RAW is an issue the scaled 4K prores/DNxHD will be the best choice anyway. The extra EI flexibility will mean I can light more naturally and not have to fear underexposing or noise creeping in. I've sucsessfully shot my Dragon as high as 3200 but it needed some good post NR. The Helium seems to be able to handle this EI similarly to the Dragon at 1000 or 1280.

And the fact that I can pull billboard sized stills from my footage. It was a clear choice for me. The Helium highlight limitation is a little annoying, under certain circumstances really annoying but manageable with proper blocking/light control mostly from the sun. The Helium footage is really incredible. Anyone who complains about having noise on Helium just cracks me up, its not a non-issue all of a sudden, its just better.

 

[Björn Benckert]

I like the extra punch in the lowlights. Nuts what you can do with the Helium camera that before would demand helium balloons.

A002_C003_11289I by Björn Benckert, on Flickr


6800ISO white balanced on the snow on the ground nothing else in the process, old color processing, redgamma4. This street is really dark I tested it with MX, I tested it with dragon and with weapon. Helium beats them by far when it comes to the clean lowlights.

Here is another one, a bit too much added grain/filmlook and sharpens but still renders a nice image I think even though it´s hardly any light there then the car lights and the poor tempered streetlights. Kelvins at 2800 or such.

A002_C003_11289I by Björn Benckert, on Flickr

Here is the same processed differently:

A002_C003_11289I by Björn Benckert, on Flickr

And one before I blagckshaded developed at 12800ISO old color processing.

A001_C003_1128A6 by Björn Benckert, on Flickr

 

[Nick Morrison]

For night work, Helium looks amazing.

 

[John Brennick]

I shot some sunset stuff of LAX and the ocean this weekend that I'll post tonight or tomorrow and it's amazing what helium looks like texturally. I shot it on a 35mm 1.4 AE Contax with the STHO and shot after the sun went down and I actually like the noise that you get in it. It's nominal but actually pleasing when you push STHO to 2000/2500. That was never really possible on dragon for me.

 

[Björn Benckert]

For night work, Helium looks amazing.

I would say for daylight it´s amazing. But at night it´s simply more than amazing. Check this clip this is a 2,8 canon zoom at 16mm. I think I shoot 33.333 frames or such. Ruined it a bit i RCXP by hitting unsharp mask and film look by old habit... would not need to do that it kind of got over sharp. But still the bright light at 6800ISO together with the clean blacks. Looks helium balloon light to me even though the street was really really dark.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Wow that was at a 2.8?

Geez.

8K?