Digital much better for night shooting?

[Joe Citizen]

I almost put this in Square's thread but I didn't want to hijack.

I read a couple threads elsewhere about "film vs. digital" and among lots of discussion I didn't understand, I got the impression that digital cameras can shoot in far less light. Is that so? How much less are we talking here? I read here that shooting at night is expensive and difficult (I guess from all the lighting work?) unless you do day for night.

Which leads me to another question, how good has day for night gotten? Are there any movies I should watch where I'd be surprised it was shot day for night? Or is it still like the 70s, when it was always pretty obvious?

I was bummed to hear it's so much more trouble shooting at night is all, so I'm curious if digital might wind up changing that.

I'm also curious what people here think of film vs. digital. I'd love to see some examples of movies shot on digital that look as good as film but Wikipedia wasn't much help. All the examples seemed pretty limited (e.g., it said Book of Eli used digital all over the place, then threw it all out and used film instead).

 

[PaulGriffith]

As far as a Film vs Digital comparison, you need to watch Zacuto's shootoutwhere they film in the same set/lighting conditions on different types of film and digital cameras so you can compare results.

As far as day-for-night, my favorite exame is Mr and Mrs Smith. Most of the exterior house shots at the end (including when it blows up) are day for night.

I still prefer shooting at night instead of day-for-night. The DSLR line-up with a fast f/1.4 or f/1.2 lens can do wonders. The 1D MkIV is the best at it, though most expensive. If I had to pick between a 5D or 7D for it I'd choose the 7. It has deeper depth of field than the 5 and when you're running wide open you need it. It's pretty stinkin hard to hold focus on a 5 that open.

Then for a bigger budget, the RED does even better.

 

[Joe Citizen]

Ray, for a moment, pretend that I don't know anything about metallurgy, engineering, or physics, and just tell me what the hell is going on.

Just kidding. Thanks for the tips.

 

[polfilmblog]

DAY SHOOTING:

The dynamic range is what you want to look into.

Alexa currently has about the same as film (14 stops).

The Red Epic with HDRx is supposed to surpass that, but it may add strange motion artifacts. The jury is out.

Some film may get even higher, 15-16 stops is what I heard, but I haven't tested this.

All this applies to daylight, bright sunlight situations. So, my preference so far has been with film in bright daylight -- but things may be changing.

NIGHT SHOOTING

For low light, digital may have better characteristics than film at this point. ISO 3200 is now usable. Film suffers when trying to push it like that.

There is still the dynamic range to consider (with cheaper systems) because if you want bright high-contrast highlights they can blow out easier with digital. If you're hitting a rim light on an actor, the white edge shouldn't blow out to white, or you lose that quality and it looks like cheap video.

The way film blows out to white is what makes it more attractive. It has a gentle curve as the crystals edge toward total white. This looks more organic. That's why direct sunlight works better on film, up until now with HDR type systems.

There is also film grain to consider, which massages the retinas as the film projects. The film grain gives a texture to the images that isn't found with digital. The digital can look like plastic or more artificial. These aesthetic choices are what to consider when one actually has a choice in the matter and isn't shooting whatever they happen to have bought or borrowed.

Some experiment with adding grain patterns to digital footage, which can look okay. It's all subjective and open to interpretation.

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

The large sensor digitals like the 5D MIGHT exceed film in getting an image in low light just because the 5D can potenially get up into crazy 1600 and 3200 ISO range with a pretty clean image. Film at an ISO that high is going to be pretty grainy. It's amazingly enough actually in the highlghts where digital falls down. It blows out WAY before film would still give you detail.

Day for night is easy as long you never show the sky, and watch the shadows.