Camera Snobs

Don’t believe the hype.

All the time filmy types can be found huddled in corners talking pixels, bit rates and sensor sizes, drooling over the increasingly bigger numbers and then convincing clients that they must therefore be the very best camera for their film, whatever the price. But that’s really not necessarily true.

The first golden rule is that by far the most important factor is the person operating the camera and lighting. Van Gogh wasn’t known for being a man who used the best paint, Jimi Hendrix couldn’t only get a tune out of the greatest guitar, and Gordon Ramsey doesn’t insist on the finest ingredients…  Actually maybe that one’s not true but you get the point. A good director of photography will know what his camera is capable of getting great images from it.

Of course the flip side is when people tell you you can shoot the whole damn thing on an iphone – which you can but it’s certainly not ideal – especially from a sound point of view (which is whole other piece) but the point is that the best camera for every job… is the one that is designed for that job.

We know this because we’ve made high end commercials and promos that need high end cameras, discreet observational documentaries that need lightweight, inconspicuous cameras and everything in between.

And finally, it’s not just about the camera, it’s the lenses that often really make the difference. It doesn’t how good your eyesight is, if you’re looking at the world through a misty old pair of scratched glasses, it just won’t look as good.