Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Medium Format / Film / Digital Backs – and Large Sensor Photography => Topic started by: JoeKitchen on October 17, 2025, 06:48:32 pm
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I was in NYC for a backings shoot this week with a big deal film production. If I could share what they paid in location fees alone, your jaw would hit 59th street from all of the roofs we were on. It was me, a VFX guy filming plates, two grips, two PA, two location managers, two art directors, a DP and the lead US producer.
During the shoot I noticed the VFX guy capturing stills after each VFX plate and then using those stills in the same pano software I was using to create a low res pano. I mentioned this and he explained that this software, if you tell it to, will give you a map showing how each image was distorted to form the panorama. This would then allow him to distort the video files of the same vantages to blend into the pano to give movement.
He then lamented the fact that our P1's backs cant take video, because if they could he would just have me capture the plates, which would aline perfectly with the backings.
Now I have been considering for a while to start capturing VFX plates along with the backings photography. I even had a custom part machined for my Acra Swiss so I could mount a cine camera to the top of it for this purpose, and I have been fooling around with adding this to our services as well. However, that would still put the cine camera out of line with the backing, by a few inches. It would be much better if my Phase One back could just capture the video itself, giving a perfect alinement.
Now that I learned of this extra feature buried in the pano software I use, I need to make this part of my business. It is just too big of an edge to ignore. And there is no reason why if Canon, Nikon and Sony can add 8K video to their prosumer cameras that we should accept P1 not being able to add it to their "for the professional" digital backs.
I love everything about Phase One backs, when it comes to stills, especially that it uses a full frame medium format sensor. Likewise, I am patiently waiting to see what the IQ5 systems have to offer when they are released.
However, without a video component, it would be a waste of money to consider an IQ5 system at this point as a professional. I'm not asking for Arri Alexa quality video, but something a bit better then a Canon R5 mark II, which is dropped into background of films all the time, and there is no reason it should not be part of what the IQ5 systems can offer.
End rant.