Most film-like image?

[Dustin Tran]

Anyone extensively shot on both Gemini and Raptor?
I owned Dragon X 6k and Komodo. I loved the Dragon image. Komodo image looked a little more digital to me. Looking to pick up a Gemini or Raptor next but I haven’t shot much on either. I could rent both but I figured I’d ask here if anyones had experience with both systems and what your opinions are in terms of IQ as well as which sensor has a more film like look.

 

[Marc Wielage]

The degree of "Cinematic" (I find myself hating that word these) lies more in how the image is lit and exposed, plus the lenses, and then the amount of time taken in post. I think beyond a certain level, I don't think the cameras matter anymore. I think if you take a $50,000 Red camera a $50,000 Alexa, or a $50,000 Sony Venice, and light them well, a good colorist can make them all look good.

Film emulation is a nebulous area and you can chase your tail for a long time there. I have no problem with a beautiful digital image that doesn't necessarily try to "look like film." Just get the art direction right and the lighting right and the lenses right and all of that stuff, and the rest of it practically takes care of itself.

If you want it to vaguely resemble film, you can look at the following plug-ins (and shoot tests first):

https://pixeltoolspost.com/
https://colourlab.ai/look-designer/
https://www.dehancer.com/
https://www.demystify-color.com/shop
https://www.filmcomposite.com/film-products
https://videovillage.co/filmbox/
https://www.filmconvert.com/nitrate
https://www.invizipro.com/invizigrain
https://juanmelara.com.au/products/filmunlimited-flexible-film-emulation
http://www.live-grain.com/contact/
https://ravengrade.com/S
https://www.reverator.com/
https://www.spectrafilm.co/

Each of them has pros and cons. None of them (to me) look 100% like film, but if a client asks for it, usually I reach for Filmbox first.