[Kevin Shaw] "EX1 should have noticeably better DOF than any HD camera with a 1/3" sensor"
I think it comes down to aesthetics... and what one's definition of "noticeably" is.... and whether "noticeably" and "sufficient" are the same thing.
I'll compare 1/3" cameras and their big brother 2/3" cameras. The 2/3" camera will have a DoF that is
noticably shallower. But it's still going to be extraordinarily deep compared to, say, 35mm DoF. That's one of the reasons that even super high-end HD cameras (except for big-sensor cameras such as RED or Genesis) still look "videoy."
Will the 1/2" sensor yield shallower DoF? Certainly. Will it be
noticable? Probably, especially at long focal lengths. Will it be
sufficient? Well, that will depend on the desired visions of the DP and the director. For some, it will be plenty. For others, not nearly enough. Guys who have been used to shooting 1/3" will probably find it enough of an improvement to make great use of it. DPs who come from a larger sensor or film background (especially 35mm) will no doubt find the DoF still extraordinarily deep, and cannot be made shallow enough for their liking (especially in shots where shallow DoF is the goal... of course that is not always the case).
I'm certainly not knocking this camera... it has a lot going for it. I just think that there might be some people out there with false expectations that believe that the slightly larger sensor is going to make a dramatic difference in depth of field. And yes, it will make a difference, but no, I don't believe it is going to be a dramatic or gigantic difference, especially with normal-to-wider lenses. If the desired result is super-shallow DoF at anything other than long focal lengths, I don't believe a 1/2" senor is the panacea.
I think the 1/2" sensor is a great thing... and will no doubt improve image quality. I'm sure that's what Sony had in mind. You might think of the slightly reduced DoF as "value added," but it's certainly not the primary reason for the bigger sensor... and not the sole reason to look at this camera if super-shallow DoFs are your goal.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
