Donnell Henry wrote:6k would be a nice sweet spot for 4K deliverables, along with better dynamic range and higher cleaner ISO.
I'm certainly no expert in sensor design, but I've seen it stated elsewhere by those with far more knowledge than myself (and forgive me here as I'm about to state my limited understand of things that are likely vastly more complicated) that there are inherent trade offs between the size of a photosite and dynamic range + ISO. The more photosites that get packed into a s35 sensor, the smaller the size of each photosite, the less light each photosite can gather, which means increased noise and lower total dynamic range. This is why, for example, the Sony a7s has a lower megapixel count than the Sony A7r, but it has higher native ISO and better dynamic range. Same story with the s35 Red Gemini verses the s35 Red Helium. Gemini has lower K count, which means larger photosites that provide the benefit of lower noise at higher ISO (this recent video comparison by Vincent Laforet is worth viewing:
) And when Arri finally released a their latest camera with a 4K+ sensor, that sensor is larger than s35. In order to maintain the lovely image that the Alexa is known for, Arri had to increase the sensor size to be able to increase the K count without compromise.
Based on all that, it would seem safe to logically conclude that if BMD were to produce a 6K s35 sensor, they would face the same set of trade offs. Or, perhaps there are technologies on the way that will be able to get around those limits.
Anyway... back on the thread topic. Color 4 looks absolutely great! Can't wait for it to be released on Ursa Mini Pro and Ursa Mini 4.6K