Sean van Berlo wrote:I'm sorry but if you think Sony produces 15 (!) stops of dynamic range in 8-bit video on their 1 inch video sensors (a number their technically amazing full frame photo cameras struggle with, and I have the A7RII), then I have a bridge to sell you.
Hmm, lost my post spent hours trying to find the 15 stop references I remember. So, I give up. But you can be happy to know I have an very old hdr still camera I mentioned without screen, that did between 16-20 stops single exposure. I like the stills from that better than the footage from the original pocket, maybe because it's colour filter was not good and accurate like a good Sony sensors. If you look up the meaning of "warmth" which audiophiles prefer, you light pick up on what I think is happening.
Why does everybody think 15 stops is so wonderful? I've seen sensor technology getting 16 stops in around 1976. There has been numerous hdr sensors last decade. 16 stops native is more difficult, not using hdr technologies. At least one elcheapo pocket hd video camera from last decade I have use such chips. So, anybody is welcome to make 15 stop one inch sensors. Sony undoubtedly could put simular pixels into a 1inch sensor. But, if you buy their bridge, then you might believe they can't.
Pity, a related chip in that old camera was rated 70 megabytes person second, enough for 720p24 (there is a lot of data and frame padding in those things) butnI didn't like the signal to noise ration being in the 30-36db range from memory. I think.the company that had that technology was bought by the company that supplied the Arri Alexas sensors years before they came out. Which might mean that technology went up on price (there was other technology acquired by that company before hand too). Actually, it makes sense, improving the colour and signal to noise ratio, might have been done with a less aggressive dynamic range of the Arri. Some of these non-multiple exposure hdr scheemes suffer from noise and artifacts and other quality issues from the hdr circuits itself. The Red boss once ruled out using some of them on quality grounds. The smalsensor company chips definitely had some noise and low quality/featureless hdr zones at the top end (I don't think I had much trouble in real world ussage, but the security stuff was funky. But there was another tech (the 16 stop 1976 one) which could do over 30 stops with good colour balance eventually (colour constancy with increased brightness us a real big problem with hdr) over a decade ago I think. There is also a new technology in development similar to my own proposal years ago, which counts photons (or charge) promising big dynamic ranges without highlights. Hopefully that will pan out in higher resolution video. I don't think that 15 stop is so precious.