Cinema Cameras: Alexa Mini vs Canon C200

Every filmmaker and photographer gets the urge to upgrade, when is the right time?

Gear used in this video (affiliate links)

[yuidfbse]

The biggest problem I have with most anamorphic lenses (except the top end most expensive ones.. and even those..) is that in the grand scheme of things, most are optically mediocre and introduce extremely noticeable aberrations all across the image specially outside the center area. And and no I'm not talking about oval bokeh or the flares or their classic barrel distortions, all of which are desirable on anamorphic. I'm talking about the real kind of chromatic flaws not desirable on any kind of lens. Ironically, the best and cleanest anamorphic lenses that I have ever used (and that's because of the lens to sensor size ratio) are the ones available for the iPhone from companies like Moment and couple others. If you think about it, an equivalent anamorphic lens for super 35 or full frame camera compared to the one on the iPhone sensor/lens to anamorphic ratio, would be an absolute monstrosity.. far bigger than the existing professional anamorphics currently already are for any cinema camera. But with that monstrosity and (completely impractical) larger glass, also comes a much weider optical glass surface and of course, a vastly optically distorted-free cleaner output. The absolute perfect corner to corner distortion and aberration free images coming out of the small anamorphics for the iPhone, is, in the grand scheme of things, unbeatable. And they cost about a hundred bucks. Yeah, of course, you're shooting on an iPhone!..duh. And, do I like to shoot on an iPhone? No! Can you do any sort of professional anamorphic work on an iPhone? I mean.. you "can", but not really. The point here is that its ironic that positively the cheapest way to get into true anamorphic cinematography, is actually the optically most perfect that I have ever used at any price. Tyler, if you've never played with any of these small anamorphics for iPhone, go try one out sometime and get ready to be blown away. You won't believe your eyes on just how good they really are. Cheers:)

[ThisIsTechToday]

Wow. This was masterful. I love the way the Quasars turned out. Too. Great color grade, great music, pacing, and so dang interesting. Thanks for making this. Tyler!

[CalebWojcik]

Totally agree with you (obviously since we talked about on your podcast). Just picked up a C200 to replace the RED I sold. You'll be happy with it.

Loved this comparison video and how you based it more on usability than on numbers/spec sheets. Excited to see what you'll make with a C200.

[woodypaul_]

I think you are to video what Sean Tucker is to photo. Both well spoken, analytically driven, unbiased opinions on the industry and its tools as a whole. Your topics are always interesting, your content is a blend of educated opinion and factual data, and I always look forward to your videos.

[mondobytes]

Thanks for the share Tyler 🙏🏼 love the video, the C200 is a beast!

[PixelGRID]

What camera was used for talking head A-roll of just you only with a bicycle & tungsten bulb in the background? A-roll looked phenomenal.

[wesleychapman]

Tyler has been pumping out some great videos for a while now and they keep improving!

[arsenymun]

"Pulled few models"
woah, easy there dicaprio

[gilleojax]

Great video and thanks for the comparison ... I appreciate you breaking down the differences ... I can’t wait to see what you produce with the Canon

[franxcz]

My recommended videos list is starting to favor Youtubers that upload shorter videos with high production value less frequently. I'm glad that this is a trend but I turned on the notifications for you just to be sure. Don't want to miss anything. Keep it up!

[AndyKunkel]

I really love your content! C200 is my dream camera, hope to get it someday.

[raksh]

Whatever you own, your overall daily rate should be what it would cost to rent the camera/lenses/gear from a rental house, plus your daily rate as a cinematographer. This becomes more and more important as the cost of your gear increases.

[DanielPeacocke]

There is a smaller cheaper way to do Anamorphic! :D Take a look at vintage anamorphic projection lenses! You can easily adapt them to regular cameras, and a really good setup will cost between $1k and $2k

[AngGabriel]

great video. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd recommend you look at Fuji XT3. Closest you'll get to Alexa in terms of color science. 4:2:2 10bit as well and downsampling from 6k to 4k. Soft yet sharp. Really a marvelous camera. But about 2 to maybe 3 stops away in the dynamic range from the Alexa

[wookijun]

oh man. your studio light setup is so nice. which camera are you using right now?

[Maros_Mari]

Thank you for cool video, nice content. Just a sidenote, Sirui make anamorphic on the cheap side, worth to take a look perhaps.

[JamesNixon]

I love my GH5s 10 bit in vlogL, hard to go back to 8 bit once you have tried it!

[flexfitness]

Very cool! What camera did you use for the talking head shots?

[iamivar]

I love how you made an actually fascinating and interesting video around the fact that you just wanted to be rigged up and shoot with the Alexa ;-)

[toesjoey]

Great video Tyler. Curios to see your thoughts on the Iphone Anamorphic lenses made by Moment? Be awesome to see a video review if you can.