Brent Barbano—co-founder of camera rental community ShareGrid—recently took a trip to Flashbox Films in Hollywood to meet up with co-owner Will Kamp and do one of those “affordable camera vs crazy expensive camera” tests the internet seems to love (and hate) oh so much.
So what did they test? They put the $ 2,500 Sony a7S II, an affordable filmmaking favorite, up against the $ 50,000+ ARRI Alexa Mini, a professional-grade filmmaking monster. Here’s how Brent introduces the comparison:
The Sony a7s II has been a game-changer for filmmakers and creatives across the world. Cinematographers and photographers have been creating amazing images with this mirrorless camera that can rival some of the best. So, we thought we’d put it to the test and do a side-by-side comparison of the Sony a7S II and the ARRI Alexa Mini. Can you tell the difference?
Well… can you? Check out the video above to watch the footage, or scroll through the slides in the gallery below:
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Brent and Will were obviously impressed by just how similar the final footage turned out to be, and if you’re curious how you did on this ‘test,’ you’re in luck: ShareGrid was kind enough to give DPReview readers the answer key early.
The initial plan was to update it in the video description on YouTube this Friday, but if you’ve made your picks, you can scroll down and see which slide was which down below.
Answer Key
Some of you may have noticed, others may not, but the cameras didn’t actually switch sides between shots. The Sony was always on one side, and the ARRI was always on the other. But… which was which? It turns out A was Sony, and B was ARRI:
SLIDE 1
A: Sony a7S II
B: ARRI Alexa Mini
SLIDE 2
A: Sony a7S II
B: ARRI Alexa Mini
SLIDE 3
A: Sony a7S II
B: ARRI Alexa Mini
SLIDE 4
A: Sony a7S II
B: ARRI Alexa Mini
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)