Sharpest Image from Dragon 6k

[Thomas Wallis]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking to shoot some lens tests for an upcoming project where a client wants to pull 1080 and 720 resolution frames from a Dragon 6K image. I'm looking for some prime cine lens suggestions to get the sharpest possible image at the wider end of the spectrum (somewhere in the 15-21mm range) for this application. Looking to rent something in NYC for a few days at the end of this month. Any insights/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Patrick Tresch]

If your end resolution is HD or even 720p down scaled from a 6k frame you have a big choice of lenses (all modern lenses).
But if you are going to zoom in and cut a 1080 frame from the 6k this is another story. You'd probably go with some Master/Standard Primes or Leica Cine.

Pat

 

[Matt Ryan]

Shot on classic Super Speeds wide open at t1.3, in 6K, no post sharpening: (Right Click- open in a new tab to view in 6K)

Like Patrick states, if you are only planning on grabbing 1080 and 720p stills, pretty much any lens that is in focus will give you sharp results. Once you grab a still, sharpen it, then downsample if to 1080p, it will look sharp. The key is to nail focus

Canon stills primes can get you close to the resolving power of Master Primes... It's all about focus.

Also, two years ago we shot a High Speed Cinema lens shootout that included the following lenses:

You can check out the samples and results here: http://matthayslett.com/salt-iii-high-speed-lens-shootout-wfo/

 

[antoine carpentier]

Really interesting!
Master primes and summilux c seems to be a step over... They are so clean..
Does someone compare summilux to summicron?

 

[Matt Ryan]

Really interesting!
Master primes and summilux c seems to be a step over... They are so clean..
Does someone compare summilux to summicron?

Summilux's are sharper...

 

[Thomas Wallis]

Thanks everyone.
To clarify, I'm looking to pull a portion of the 6k frame, not downscale the whole image.

I'll probably go with the 16mm Master Prime for this first test.

Anyone know where to get the Simmilux-C in NYC?

 

[Nick Morrison]

Thanks everyone.
To clarify, I'm looking to pull a portion of the 6k frame, not downscale the whole image.

I'll probably go with the 16mm Master Prime for this first test.

Anyone know where to get the Simmilux-C in NYC?

To pull optimal 1080 and 720 crops from 6K (these are probably close to 80 to 90% reframe/zoom ins) you should also consider shooting as CLEAN and UNCOMPRESSED as possible - as you'll be cropped in tight on any potential noise. Optimal/perfect exposure will also be a major asset.

 

[Björn Benckert]

Why would you do such thing, curious?

Cropping out such small portion, I mean.

 

[PatrickFaith]

Thanks everyone.
To clarify, I'm looking to pull a portion of the 6k frame, not downscale the whole image.

I'll probably go with the 16mm Master Prime for this first test.

Anyone know where to get the Simmilux-C in NYC?

I've done some recent tests with MP's for this kind of thing, they are awesome. Remember to have a low red code number if your reframing a small chunk of the entire sensor and probably have the iso at 250 if using the skin tone olpf.

 

[Nick Morrison]

I've done some recent tests with MP's for this kind of thing, they are awesome. Remember to have a low red code number if your reframing a small chunk of the entire sensor and probably have the iso at 250 if using the skin tone olpf.

Exactly. 250 ISO on Skintone with super low compression is probably safe way to go.

 

[Paul Russell]

Remember that if you're cropping into a 6K image that a true 1080p image will be 20% less sharp than 'sharp' due to debayering.
Also, shutter speed needs to be taken into account, depending on your tolerance for motion blur.

 

[Tommaso Alvisi]

Thomas, even if using 250 ISO, in this case ETR (Expose to the right) is very much your friend if you are not blowing out the HL too much.

Unless you want a bit of texture which in fact can even increase the apparent sharpness in some circumstances so...