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Helium VS Monstro

Rodrigo Violante

Rodrigo Violante

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I'm considering upgrading to a Monstro VV but I was wondering if there are any reviews out there about the Monstro, or comparison between the Helium sensor and Monstro Sensor besides the .5 Stops. Low light images comparisons?

Also since its almost $80,000 I was wondering also what are the difference between ARRI and a Monstro.

I love RED brand, but I have been getting a lot of feedback that I should get an ARRI for that kind of money.

Any feedback will be great.

Thanks

Rodrigo
 
The Monstro is a stop better in the highlight retention and the noise is better in the shadows in comparison to the Helium. I am saying this because I have tested both the cameras side by side with the same lenses.
 
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But is it $80,000 better is another question?
 
Rodrigo Violante said:
I'm considering upgrading to a Monstro VV but I was wondering if there are any reviews out there about the Monstro, or comparison between the Helium sensor and Monstro Sensor besides the .5 Stops. Low light images comparisons?

Also since its almost $80,000 I was wondering also what are the difference between ARRI and a Monstro.

I love RED brand, but I have been getting a lot of feedback that I should get an ARRI for that kind of money.

Any feedback will be great.

Thanks

Rodrigo
Click to expand...

Might want to wait and see what new camera / sensor Arri drops soon.
 
sreenivasa reddy s said:
The Monstro is a stop better in the highlight retention and the noise is better in the shadows in comparison to the Helium. I am saying this because I have tested both the cameras side by side with the same lenses.
Click to expand...

is monstro a stop better than dragon in highlights?? i have heard that helium is a stop less than dragon in highlights....
 
My take: Monstro has a noise floor similar to Helium, but with more retained detail in near black. Monstro has similar highlight handling to Dragon, perhaps a little more with the right IPP2 selection.

If you aren't looking for the larger target area of the Monstro, then it's really 8K Helium vs 6K Dragon.

I am a big fan of the highlight characteristic of the Dragon sensor. Color rendition - particularly with color temps over 5000 - has good separation and nice skin tones. Underexposure can get you in the noise floor, which can be an issue for docos/night exteriors/etc. With proper lighting and some finesse in RAW development/color grading the Dragon shines.

Helium is at least a full stop (I'd say 1.5 stops) better in the shadows than Dragon, but clips quicker in the highlights. If you mostly shoot on S35 glass and need good results even when the lighting situation isn't optimal, hard to beat the Helium sensor. Helium would also seem to be the best option for sports/wildlife/etc where the smaller target offers better depth of field and more reach on tele lenses.

The Monstro is clearly the most advanced sensor tech, and can be windowed to 6K (or 5K) to accommodate S35 lenses and match Dragon formats. The VV target opens some creative doors - particularly with big vistas and making narrative master shots/wides able to carry portions of takes that might otherwise only work in singles/MCUs. The best way I can describe it is that a shot with the same frame as on S35 seems to be a step closer to the viewer.

From a purely financial perspective, I feel like it's more about fitting your business model than some theoretical ROI. Horses for courses and all that.

Cheers - #19
 
Will anyone pay 30k difference from a Helium to a Weapon? Isn't it with IPP2 all sensor should look the same? I mean in theory its just .5 Stops more.
 
Rodrigo Violante said:
Will anyone pay 30k difference from a Helium to a Weapon? Isn't it with IPP2 all sensor should look the same? I mean in theory its just .5 Stops more.
Click to expand...

With a Helium and a Monstro camera running IPP2 I would expect the cameras to intercut. In a well balanced and properly exposed scene it would be hard to tell the difference but frankly a Dragon sensor could be thrown into the mix and I would expect it to match. Taking this further a MX sensor* can still be massaged with effort to intercut. But if you push these sensors in terms of dynamic range and exposure you will begin to see the limitations of previous sensors.
While I have not done quantitative tests I'm seeing the Monstro having an edge over Helium and each generation sees some improvement that really begin to add up over generations. While Monstro should see some gains in terms of dynamic range and colour fidelity its biggest advantage has to be its increase in physical size to VistaVision. If VistaVision floats your boat then Monstro makes sense if not then Helium or even Dragon will serve you well.

In terms of ROI that is a question you can only ask taking into account your turnover, client demand and your particular marketplace. I suspect Monstro only makes sense to people working in a fairly rarified atmosphere.


* While happy to shoot Monstro, Helium and Dragon as a main unit camera I would no longer include an MX chip camera on my "good enough" list.
 
Tom Gleeson said:
While happy to shoot Monstro, Helium and Dragon as a main unit camera I would no longer include an MX chip camera on my "good enough" list.
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It's fascinating to me how subjective this all is. To my eye, DSMC1 MX and Dragon have an intangible quality that I sometimes prefer to the newer, cleaner, sharper image that comes out of the DSMC2 body. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some outstanding visuals from the newer Red cameras, but what constitutes "better" is definitely in the eye of the beholder.
 
Alex Sandman said:
It's fascinating to me how subjective this all is. To my eye, DSMC1 MX and Dragon have an intangible quality that I sometimes prefer to the newer, cleaner, sharper image that comes out of the DSMC2 body. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some outstanding visuals from the newer Red cameras, but what constitutes "better" is definitely in the eye of the beholder.
Click to expand...

I still like my bloody old Scarlet-MX...still makes nice redcode.
 
In a controlled light enviorment and in the hands of someone with the right know how, using some good glas, a scarlet mx can look smashing. But in comparison, Monstro has a much wider scope, it pretty much looks freaking amazing from the moment that you turn it on. You need less skills, lights and luck to succed with it simply and thats difficult to put a value on.
 
Björn Benckert said:
In a controlled light enviorment and in the hands of someone with the right know how, using some good glas, a scarlet mx can look smashing. But in comparison, Monstro has a much wider scope, it pretty much looks freaking amazing from the moment that you turn it on. You need less skills, lights and luck to succed with it simply and thats difficult to put a value on.
Click to expand...

Well said.
 
My bad, you are right, is it worth the 30k more between Helium and Monstro. That you can actually tell there is a big difference in Image.

The issue with me is that they compared Dragon vs Monstro, and never Helium vs Monstro, that might be a marketing strategy?
 
Rodrigo Violante said:
I'm considering upgrading to a Monstro VV but I was wondering if there are any reviews out there about the Monstro, or comparison between the Helium sensor and Monstro Sensor besides the .5 Stops. Low light images comparisons?

Also since its almost $80,000 I was wondering also what are the difference between ARRI and a Monstro.

I love RED brand, but I have been getting a lot of feedback that I should get an ARRI for that kind of money.

Any feedback will be great.

Thanks

Rodrigo
Click to expand...

I think it's smarter to spend that money on becomming a better DP(try to work with one of your favorite DP's for a couple of months).
Most of today's camera's are very good, so it's not the camera that makes the picture.

(Lewis Hamilton is faster on the circuit in a 200 hp car than an average racing driver in the same car with 250 hp).
 
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