Panavision DXL-M

[Misha Engel]

External one.

Not according to Sony.

Built-in electronic Variable ND Filters

The FS5 features Sony’s unique built-in electronic variable Neutral Density (ND) filter, further expanding the depth of field capability of its large format sensor. Unlike conventional optical ND Filters, the electronic ND Filter on the FS5 can be controlled from 1/4 ND to 1/128 ND linearly. ND Filters can also be set to auto.* This makes the FS5 ideal for fast-moving shoots in changeable environments — there’s no need to change filters as lighting conditions change, and variable control makes it easy to keep depth of field under control.

 

[Hrvoje Simic]

Not according to Sony.

Please re-read the previous posts.

 

[Blair S. Paulsen]

BTW, Sony is notorious for having a spiel for the marketing department that omits technical details that could be seen as negatives. That is potentially forgivable, most companies stick to the positives for obvious reasons. What is irksome about Sony, is what appears to be a deliberate strategy to bury certain specs.

Cheers - #19

 

[Jacek Zakowicz]

BTW, Sony is notorious for having a spiel for the marketing department that omits technical details that could be seen as negatives. That is potentially forgivable, most companies stick to the positives for obvious reasons. What is irksome about Sony, is what appears to be a deliberate strategy to bury certain specs.

Cheers - #19

I'm pretty sure everyone does that as much as they can get away with- Sony is no exception what so ever.... Sometimes they get caught but they know very well that uneducated consumer has a short attention and memory span so they don't seem bothered much with the occasional "busts". We have all the power in our wallets and absolutely refuse to use it....I have not been able to comprehend that and probably never will....

 

[Tom Gleeson]

Interesting. I tried DXL2 LUTs with my Monstro, didn't seem to work out so well (overly saturated, heavy green tint, too contrasty) but maybe i did it wrong? I chalked it up to part of the equation being the custom OLPF.

Alex,

Panavision have modified the optical path on the DXL. The Colour Filter Array (CFA) that sits on top of the CMOS Monstro chip has been Panavised and changed for a "better" one. Michael Cioni said Panavision could afford to build a better CFA as cost was not a factor. This means that the chip is seeing colour in a different way to a Red Monstro. Like you I also assume that Red has a different configuration of lightwave frequency cuts built into their bespoke OLPF? This means the "out of the box" Light Iron science will not work in a Red Monstro. People can build LUTs that emulates the LIcolor2 LUT and they may get close to the look but it could never be exact as the two cameras are seeing a different balance of "colour" in any scene.

 

[Sabovic Adis]

BTW, Sony is notorious for having a spiel for the marketing department that omits technical details that could be seen as negatives. That is potentially forgivable, most companies stick to the positives for obvious reasons. What is irksome about Sony, is what appears to be a deliberate strategy to bury certain specs.

Cheers - #19

Sony maybe has an NDA with itself.

 

[Brian Merlen]

Well will the dxl M have a custom Olpf?

 

[Brandon Veen]

Well will the dxl M have a custom Olpf?

That’s a pretty good question, I imagine having to only design LiColor2 to work optimally with one OLPF and three sensors (excluding the DXL2) is a lot easier than 3+ OLPFS for each sensor.

 

[Blair S. Paulsen]

Sony maybe has an NDA with itself.

That would explain a lot ;-)

Cheers - #19

 

[Blair S. Paulsen]

Alex, Panavision have modified the optical path on the DXL. The Colour Filter Array (CFA) that sits on top of the CMOS Monstro chip has been Panavised and changed for a "better" one. Michael Cioni said Panavision could afford to build a better CFA as cost was not a factor. This means that the chip is seeing colour in a different way to a Red Monstro. (snip)

I was under the impression that the CFA was laminated into the sensor "sandwich" and not a swappable layer. Interesting...

Cheers - #19

 

[Peter Lyons Collister ASC]

????????

I really don't think that it is that complicated...... I think the DXL 2 is the same as the Monstro with a Cioni/LightIron Secret sauce LUT.

 

[Jacek Zakowicz]

I was under the impression that the CFA was laminated into the sensor "sandwich" and not a swappable layer. Interesting...

Cheers - #19

It is
I think we have another urban legend in the making- got to nip it in the butt...

 

[David Groves 1]

Alex, Where did you find the dxl2 luts?

 

[Alex Bros]

H.E. Double hockey sticks, I didn't mean to start a debacle. Wasn't there literature about Light Iron Color involving a custom OLPF? (Wasn't there also a custom OLPF for using Primo 70's on Dragon? I recall it was thicker?) Could be the CFA, that could make sense too... all i know is something's different. The LUTs I tried were the real deal and before you ask, no i won't (can't?) share them.

 

[Jorge Hernandez VII]

Commenting here so I can check out this thread later:coolgleamA:

 

[Peter Lyons Collister ASC]

OK let's stop this..... The DXL2 is a Monstro with unbelievable beautiful Panavision packaging, an EVF that is the best in the world and Cioni's secret cool LUT. So then when you want the DXL M it has a Monstro with the cool Panavision expander and the LUT and works alongside the DLX2.

This partnership with Panavision is the best thing to happen in years. Academy Award nominee John Schwartzman has shot 2 features with the DXL and loves it. Now maybe people will stop automatically fawning over the "Alexa look" and consider DXL2/RED Monstro for big features. I thank Jarred/Brent/Kim (president of Panavision) and Cioni for helping to legitimize Red to the higher end DPs......

 

[Mike S.]

OK let's stop this..... The DXL2 is a Monstro with unbelievable beautiful Panavision packaging, an EVF that is the best in the world and Cioni's secret cool LUT. So then when you want the DXL M it has a Monstro with the cool Panavision expander and the LUT and works alongside the DLX2.

Sure, your scenario is what every RED user would love. But since nobody knows what the deal between RED and Panavision is, we just don't know. RED as far as I know doesn't make their own sensors. It's entirely possible Panavision is just getting the sensor from the same supplier but with a different CFA. The fact again is nobody knows. So you spreading your rumors is not any better, helpful or more true than what Panavision is saying.

This partnership with Panavision is the best thing to happen in years. Academy Award nominee John Schwartzman has shot 2 features with the DXL and loves it. Now maybe people will stop automatically fawning over the "Alexa look" and consider DXL2/RED Monstro for big features. I thank Jarred/Brent/Kim (president of Panavision) and Cioni for helping to legitimize Red to the higher end DPs......

This would be great. Some balance at last. But unfortunately not bound to happen. Now with the Alexa LF, the dominance will continue. No DP who loves the Alexa look will change. The only reason was 4K and now that is finally covered.

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

I really don't think that the LF is going to dominate. It doesn't make sense. The Alexa Mini is more useful for commercials and music videos, to start with. If 4K didn't matter then, it doesn't matter now. Alexa 4K isn't just more resolution, it's a lot of baggage.

 

[rand thompson]

 

[Phil Holland]

Just for the record stuff.

Panavision DXL2 and DXL-M are Monstro based (other sensors/camera bodies work well with DXL-M btw).
Each feature Panavision's custom OLPF, which is slightly different from the Standard, Low Light Optimized, and Skin Tone - Highlight.
All feature Light Iron Color if you want to use it.

The hardware and Panavised features separate it more from the RED lineup than anything however. DXL2 has some pretty big processing power under the hood to do all it down, which is why it's more expensive to produce than say a standard DSMC2 body and why it's got a bigger cooling system. As Peter mentioned, the EVF is currently the best in the business.

The full size DXL2 is from the ground up desired into a form factor w/ a menu system that's pretty day-by-day friendly on set towards Panavision's design intentions. You can build out a DSMC2 body in a fairly similar way if you so desire. DXL-M is just a DSMC2 body with the OLPF/Color Filter and all the PV goodies.