Camera Comparison – Arri Alexa, Panasonic EVA1, RED Dragon, Canon C300 m-II, BM Ursa Mini, Sony FS5

Head to head: Arri Alexa, Panasonic EVA1, RED Dragon, Canon C300 mark II, Blackmagic Ursa Mini and Sony FS5 Intro: There is a big chance you have a preference in terms of the “look“ of a certain camera system as a camera operator, DOP or director. Some cameras and brands like Arri, RED and Canon are known for their particular characteristics. Most of these results are based upon the untouched footage that comes straight out of the camera. Tests rarely get graded by a dedicated colourist. We wanted to find out how different professional cameras from a wide range of price points compare in a test setup. The test setup: We decided to light it quite flat with a big diffuser. We included a bare lightbulb in the background. While this isn’t as scientific as a dynamic range chart it still gives a rough idea of the dynamic range of the cameras. To check the noise characteristics in shadow areas we put a black frame in the bottom right corner. We used the following equipment: