Camera Evaluations

To ensure that I use the right camera for my films I wanted to make sure that I tested out a few different types of camera so that I could get the look I wanted to achieve for each film.

After a lot of research and deliberation I managed to get it down to two choices; the Canon XF305 and the Canon 5D Mark iii. I should also mention some of the other cameras that were in the running for me to use during these productions. This includes the Sony FS700 and The Black Magic camera, however I decided not to use these as although they are both very good cameras; I have never used them before and as these films are both part of my final project, I decided that I was going to use a camera that I had used before and was confident could produce the image that I wanted for my films.

Canon XF305 vs. Canon 5D Mark iii

Canon XF305		Canon 5D Mark iii
Pros	Cons	Pros	Cons
Made for video	Heavy	Lightweight	Primarily used for photos
Edit colour before shooting	Cannot change lenses	Changeable lenses
Shoots at 50fps	Big and bulky	Shoots at 50fps
1080p shooting		1080p shooting
Fits some accessories		Fits a lot of accessories
Better for tracking subjects		Can change depth of focus
Can plug mic straight into camera		Can achieve bokeh method of lighting

As you can see I have analysed both of these cameras and made a list of pros and cons relevant to the production of my film.

For the XF305 it is clear that there are a lot of benefits to using this camera, however it is very big and heavy, and does not have any option to change the lens size. This is a problem as during both of these projects, Fifteen and Tug of War, as I want to use a lot of different accessories so that I can get a variety of cinematic shot types. Although the XF305 fits a lot of these accessories, it would be unpractical to manoeuvre, specifically when used in conjunction with a shoulder rig or Steadicam, due to the weight and size of the camera itself.

The Canon 5D is a lot more practical when it comes to size and manoeuvrability as the camera is very lightweight and fits onto a lot of the accessories that I was planning to use for these projects. This camera also has one up over the XF305 as it has changeable lenses, and therefore changeable depth of field, something that is very important to me when choosing the camera for my projects. Although, the 5D cannot change the colour of the image prior to shooting like the XF305, and it also was originally made as a photography camera, as oppose to the XF305, which is primarily made for video shooting.

I also used the XF305 on one of my projects last semester, Dinner, the prequel to Tug of War, and myself and the team were not happy with the footage it produced, also shooting with it was not as practical as shooting on a DSLR.

After looking at the pros and cons for each of the cameras I have decided to use the Canon 5D Mark iii as I think that the pros outweigh the cons, as it is a lightweight, easy to use DSLR, perfect for fitting onto other accessories to achieve the look I want to achieve in both of my films, specifically the shoulder rig and Steadicam, both pieces of equipment that I would struggle to use with the XF305.