Panasonic S1H or Canon 1DX Mark III as a B-Camera for RED Helium

[Matthew Rodriguez]

Hey Everyone,

I own a RED Helium, and most of my shoots consist of corporate/commercial-based projects, with some short films and music videos here and there. I have been looking to get a B-Camera for those projects, and have been looking at the Panasonic S1H and the Canon 1DX Mark III. Any thoughts on these two cameras? Or has anyone worked with good DSLR/Mirrorless-type cameras that worked well with the RED Helium in regards to matching the colors in post efficiently.

Any answers are greatly appreciated.

Stay safe everyone!

-Matthew

 

[Sergio Perez]

Hey Everyone,

I own a RED Helium, and most of my shoots consist of corporate/commercial-based projects, with some short films and music videos here and there. I have been looking to get a B-Camera for those projects, and have been looking at the Panasonic S1H and the Canon 1DX Mark III. Any thoughts on these two cameras? Or has anyone worked with good DSLR/Mirrorless-type cameras that worked well with the RED Helium in regards to matching the colors in post efficiently.

Any answers are greatly appreciated.

Stay safe everyone!

-Matthew

Hi Mathew, I own a S1H and a a Monstro and I have to say it’s Apple and oranges, obviously. I would probably wait for the Komodo for that particular scenario. Bought the S1H as a still and possible B cam, but I knew that you get what you pay for. Not to say the image is not usable in a professional sense, it’s very good, but if you put the Red with the S1H side to side the difference is very perceivable. You know what camera actually cuts reasonably well? The Blackmagic pocket 6K. Done a project with Helium’s, Monstro, Canon 1DX Mark II(Horrible!) and the Blackmagic 6K and was really, really impressed. Haven’t tried the 1DX Mark III.

 

[Andrew Reese]

Right now the best B-cam to a helium or any Red for that matter is a used Scarlet-W as prices are absurdly low right now. Remember that cam shoots 5k/96fps 16-bit redcode and has dragon sensor... and costs the same pretty much as a 1dxiii.

Then I would say Black Magic Pocket 6K is next in line (considering its super cheap) and has some pretty nice IQ considering its price. I have matched it to my Gemini just fine before and remember it takes canon lenses natively and shoots Pro-Res/Raw....

After that I would say a Canon 1dx II (4k/60) used as it has great autofocus and decent raw / canon colors and now with the 1DXiii it finally put the 1DXii in a price range where it should have been to start... The 1dxiii is basically $7,000 and is really not much better than a Pocket-6k spec wise for half the price. Honestly I think the Pocket has higher IQ than the canon anyhow and Canon can be happy its currently selling now because once Komodo comes out no one in their right mind would chose the 1DXiii over Komodo unless they are an existing Canon Fanboy and/or require amazing autofocus (then it makes sense).

But if you are really getting a second camera for "video" as a "b-cam" to match a Red and are not getting it for additional photography functionality, Scarlet-W, Pocket 6k, or wait for Komodo is my recommendation.

 

[AndreeMarkefors]

You know what camera actually cuts reasonably well? The Blackmagic pocket 6K. Done a project with Helium’s, Monstro, Canon 1DX Mark II(Horrible!) and the Blackmagic 6K and was really, really impressed.

I own the P6K too, and find the image has very few issues. Whatever DR you want to quote, together with a few usable fps options and a very flexible codec to normal CFast cards... it offers lots of value.

If BMD can iterate over the physical design and make it more rugged and offer a FF version with similar resolution (perhaps the 4.6K scaled up?). I personally don't need/want higher resolution, but it's nice to use the whole image circle for whatever mount there is. RF would be another nice upgrade...

 

[Jae Solina]

Saw this on reddit. The two cameras compared.

https://youtu.be/kmxNUzEH7oc

 

[Justin Gum]

Hi Mathew, I own a S1H and a a Monstro and I have to say it’s Apple and oranges, obviously. I would probably wait for the Komodo for that particular scenario. Bought the S1H as a still and possible B cam, but I knew that you get what you pay for. Not to say the image is not usable in a professional sense, it’s very good, but if you put the Red with the S1H side to side the difference is very perceivable. You know what camera actually cuts reasonably well? The Blackmagic pocket 6K. Done a project with Helium’s, Monstro, Canon 1DX Mark II(Horrible!) and the Blackmagic 6K and was really, really impressed. Haven’t tried the 1DX Mark III.

I agree with this sentiment. I also own a RED (Helium DSMC2) and S1H. They are very different looks and it's immediately noticeable. I also had a hard time intercutting between the two as I used the S1H as a B cam angle as a back up. Whenever I needed to cut back to that shot, it was a nightmare in trying to make it match with the RED. Granted, I'm no pro colorist, but it was definitely a hassle.

However, in its own right, S1H comes up with some FANTASTIC images.

https://www.cinema5d.com/short-movi...d4CGTURKoB78ufq1UJO1L49GRKKhKgGVK8kJNvE-XXgOc

This article shows what you can do with the right set up/equipment/talent. I don't know if the Ninja RAW capabilities it will get later this year will make it work any better with other cameras, but like what others are saying, wait for Komodo. I'm definitely gonna pick one up.

 

[Matthew Rodriguez]

Thank you everyone for the feedback!

Yeah, that's what I figured for the S1H and Canon DSLR cameras in regards to coloring to match the RED Helium. I mentioned these two cameras because I was looking into getting a B-camera that has really good video and still capabilities, and these seemed to be good on both stills and video.

I am also waiting for the Komodo, but now I'm curious about the BM Pocket 6K. Sounds like it works really well with RED, and is at a really good price.

 

[Matt Beardsley]

Man, I've been using a 1Dx 2 alongside my Gemini and Scarlet-W as a C cam and can really say that the look is just very difficult to match. I've had more luck matching a Z Cam E2.. it's tiny and micro 4/3, but has a wider range of image adjustability. Like everyone else, I can't wait to add a Komodo or two to the kit!

 

[Fahnon Bennett]

So I’m looking for a b-cam to my Dragon, and can’t seem to find a Komodo that’s not in a kit. Is the consensus that the BMPCC 6k does cut well with Dragon? Does anyone have some files shot side by side on both they can point me to?

This is for interviews and narrative where I need a gimbal camera, so it needs to match pretty exactly

 

[Christoffer Glans]

As of now, the best B-cam or complementary cam for any Red is the Komodo. It's the entire point of that camera outside of the ones using it as their main camera.

 

[Fahnon Bennett]

As of now, the best B-cam or complementary cam for any Red is the Komodo. It's the entire point of that camera outside of the ones using it as their main camera.

Good suggestion, but sadly a camera I can't buy when I need it may as well not exist. I was looking for one, but it was unavailable everywhere outside of getting gouged by ridiculous markups or in a $15k bundle. I ended up ordering a BMPCC6k Pro and getting it the next day.

I may migrate over to Komodo when it's buyable, but so far so good with the Blackmagic and as long as I can continue to match colors between it and my Dragon the quality is shockingly close.