Cinema Camera WCG Capability

Shane Mario Ruggieri, in his podcast with Mixing Light, said that not all cameras with high dynamic range can capture very saturated, accurate colors at high luminance levels. The diagrams illustrate the light gathering ability of a few cinema cameras capable of recording between 11 and 12 stops of dynamic range (Imatest). The OG Sony Venice and Sigma fp tests were conducted by Pawel Achtel, ACS of the Technical Committee at the Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA) and the Sony FX9 and FS7 tests were performed by members of the ACS Technical Committee. Keep in mind that the diagrams only tell us what light the sensor is gathering, not what the camera does with that data afterward.

“The choice of the tiny color filters on the sensors—whether narrow spectrum or wide band—has a significant effect on the dynamic range and color saturation of the image captured. A wider-band filter leaves the sensor more sensitive to light, yielding a wider dynamic range and higher native ISO. But the color recorded by that wide- band filtered sensor is less true and less saturated.” – American Cinematographer Manual, 10th ed.