SONY VENICE 2 REVIEW
Cortesia Cinematography World
TRIED AND TESTED
Sony Venice 2 Review
By DP Matt Lewis
Way back in March 2020, just prior to UK lockdown caused by the pandemic, I was lucky-enough to use the original Sony Venice on a feature film I shot called Boiling Point.
The premise of that film revolved around executing a single, continuous, handheld take over the course of 90-minutes, which came with some unique challenges. Specifically regarding which camera to choose, some of those challenges from my perspective included: could it record for 90-minutes at a resolution of 6K?; would it be sensitive enough that we could light with almost all practical lighting?; and, would it be possible to rest it on my shoulders for 90-minutes without it dislocating both my collarbones?
Through months of testing with Canning24, the Sony Venice was the only camera that answered all of those with a ‘Yes’. The Sony Venice enabled us to shoot at 6K/24fps for as long as we wanted by being the only camera we tested that didn’t cut when the other card slot was emptied mid-take. Because the camera would hop back-and-forth from one card to the other mid-recording, allowing us to pull and exchange the full card, it immediately became the camera for the job. We
used three 1TB cards in two card slots to shoot the film.
On Boiling Point, the original Sony Venice also offered its higher native ISO of 2500, which put us in good stead with the more stripped-back lighting plan we had. But, best of all, the camera could be split in half using the Rialto configuration, which allowed us to balance the weight of the camera when it was built onto an Easyrig. It was truly the only camera for the job.
“The clarity and detail this camera provides, gives you so much information to work with in post”
Through the success of the film and the generosity of the folks at Sony, they very kindly offered for me to take a look at the new and improved Sony Venice 2. I used the opportunity to shoot a music video for a band called Wildfront, directed by Alex Fountain, that allowed us to take the camera to a number of very different interior and exterior environments, and to shoot at different times of day and night around Portsmouth and the local coastline.
It was, admittedly, a lower-budget production than was probably fair for a camera designed for shooting top-tier feature films. However, I feel it taught me much more about using the camera than standing gawping at it in a studio, shooting against a lens chart covered in fairy lights would have done. Hopefully all this gives me a fairly well-rounded opinion and a perspective that’ll be useful to fellow cinematographers and operators out there.
I’ll start with the two most eye-catching qualities of the new camera from my point-of-view: the sensor and the low light improvements. The Sony Venice 2 can shoot 8.6k 3:2 when using the full sensor. Now, 8.6k is a pretty massive
resolution for most applications, and is certainly too much oomph for a lot of smaller productions, but I think it’s also an incredible tool if you have the infrastructure to handle the file sizes.
In the music video we were only looking to output a 4K end-product, but we were able to use the extra frame size to do full rotations of the frame in the edit. What you end up with is something less organic than spinning the camera on the day, but, that being said, it’s a flexibility you could have only dreamt of a matter of years ago; and the final effect still looks very impressive.
In terms of the look from the sensor, the Sony Venice 2 looks as good as the original Venice 6K sensor with fantastic latitude and colour rendition. It’s so identical to the 6K sensor that you can cut between the two cameras with, in theory, no tweaks in the workflow, which is a great option to have if you have two cameras on the go. I wasn’t able to test this, but it’s a great nugget of knowledge to have on future projects with this camera.
As expected, in the edit the images looked stunning. The clarity and detail that this camera provides, with its 16-stops of dynamic range, gives you so much
information to work with in post, and the skin tones in a variety of challenging situations still look beautiful. That is something I recall noticing from the original Venice, and it is great to see it hasn’t changed with this bigger resolution sensor.
Next up, can this camera see better than my own eyes? This is something I was pondering as we sat at the new dual base ISO option of 3200, upped from 2500 ISO, with very little perceivable grain or noise. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed this phenomenon with another cinema camera before, and it really was an exciting feeling.
Looking at the footage in the edit there is definitely some extremely low-level grain in there that, if you're a clean freak, you may not appreciate. However, if you are like me, where you’ll likely be grubbying-up your frame with all sorts of diffusion anyway, then this subtle grain is very live-able, if not welcome.
“Being able to flick from 800 to 3200 ISO is the most powerful feature of this camera”
Being able to flick from 800 to 3200 ISO really is the most powerful feature of this camera. For example, it allowed me to light scenes by just shaping the existing street lighting without having to sit at T1.5, and praying some of the unplanned blocking would end-up sharp.
I could also work less intrusively in the darker scenes. The cast didn’t step onto a much brighter set than would be realistic for the story, which I’m hoping creates a better space to perform than having a sea of lamps burning dots into your vision. Whatever way I look at it, having the option to bring the lights down and not stress as much about retaining detail in the shadows is a good thing.
A big thing for me, and how I like to operate, is having a camera that works just as well in my hands or on my shoulder as it does on a head or Steadicam. One thing I noticed with the original Venice is that its size and weight didn’t put it to the top of my list of ‘Cameras I’d Like To Have On My Shoulder’, especially when compared to other high-end cameras of a similar vein.
This time round the camera body on the Sony Venice 2 was noticeably lighter when I pulled it out of the flight case, and considerably shorter. This has been achieved by squeezing what used to be the AXS-R7 recorder into the main body of the camera, saving around 4.5cm in length.
That really doesn’t sound like a lot does it? But it does make all the difference when you start running around with this thing. It makes operating this camera off-the-shoulder a really enjoyable way to work. Paired with the Zeiss Supremes, and built with the usual transmitters and monitors, the rig we made up felt very balanced and much more nifty than its predecessor.
Sony have retained their streamlined, separate on-board displays around the body of the camera, one for what the operator needs to access – ISO, shutter angle, NDs – and one for all the main menu functions for the camera assistant. The operator side monitor can be a tad fiddly to reach when the camera is on your shoulder if, like me, your right eye is weaker than your left.
While I was getting used to the layout of the buttons I had to tip the camera away slightly to see what I was doing. I should imagine that after another half-a-day of using these buttons I’d have the layout memorised, so for me, that was not too much of an annoyance.
“Sony has made a camera that will be most at home in high-end feature film and television”
The incredible 8-stop ND wheel being easily-reachable to the operator is still such a win for this camera. If a cloud rolls along as you're about to go for a take, you can make those last minute adjustments to avoid slowing the day down, which was a lifesaver for me on more than one occasion during our promo shoot. The only downside is that because the internal ND moves so quickly, no one will notice how reactive you’ve been in saving the take and you’ll have to give yourself a pat on the back instead.
Final thoughts? I naturally came towards this camera with an amount of adoration because of what the first Venice enabled me to achieve, but I’ve tried to give the Venice 2 an honest assessment.
I feel that Sony has made a camera that will be most at home in the high-end feature film and television world. Most importantly, I think they have, by-and-large, listened to users of the first Venice and made a smaller, more versatile camera that meets the resolution needs of the biggest productions.
It is, however, a camera I might second-guess bringing onto every job for that very same reason. It requires more storage and a more advanced workflow than what might be available on certain budgets/timeframes.
For me, however, if the resources are available or the output requires it, it’s a no-brainer. The Sony Venice 2 is a truly excellent camera from a company who’ve listened to their users and continue to rock the boat.
PS: I’d like to thank Jake Gerrard, who operated Steadicam, my gaffer Oli Brotherhood, as well as Hamish at Artefact Creative, who helped supplied lenses and other essential bits of equipment for the shoot. The final music video will be released this summer.