Full-frame

Full-Frame Heritage

The physical dimensions of a full-frame sensor date back to the early 1900s when 35-mm film emerged as a universal standard for filmmaking and, later, as 135 film for stills photography. In traditional movie-making, film travels vertically through the camera, providing a variety of different image formats.

One of them, 3 Perf, uses just three perforations in the film per frame equating to an individual wide-screen frame of 24.89 mm x 14 mm, commonly referred to as Super 35 mm. For stills photography, film travels horizontally through the camera, providing the largest of all the popular image formats for 35-mm film, with a 36-mm by 24-mm frame, using eight perforations on the film for each frame, traditionally called full-frame.

At the turn of the 21st century, digital cameras with Super 35-size sensors (including Sony’s revolutionary F35) proved good enough to challenge film cameras, and started the digital revolution in Hollywood and across the world. For the next generation of filmmaking cameras, however, manufacturers began to think bigger than Super 35. A lot bigger.

Wider Field of View

Since a full-frame sensor is bigger than a Super 35 mm sensor, it naturally captures a wider image. Shooting from the same position with the same lens, a full-frame camera allows you to see more of the scene, which can be helpful in certain situations. The below images help illustrate this.

Creative depth of field

Full-frame sensors offer the opportunity for narrow depth of field by maximizing the creative possibilities of large-aperture lenses. By using both a lens with a large maximum aperture, and a full-frame sensor, it is easy to achieve a very narrow depth of field in the image. A narrow depth of field means particular objects in the scene can be picked out, pushing everything in front and behind out of focus. Audiences can be subliminally directed to look at certain objects in the scene as part of the screen play or story-telling process.

Format Flexibility thanks to Full-Frame

The use of a full-frame sized sensor, in particular one with 6K of pixels, allows the camera to support many different shooting formats by selecting different scan areas. A 6K full frame sensor can provide a native 4K super 35 mm as well as a multitude of anamorphic modes*¹ including 35­mm open gate. This means that with one sensor you can choose whether to shoot with dedicated full frame lenses, traditional super 35­mm cine lenses, or anamorphic lenses. When using 4K super 35­mm scan the camera will perform without compromise compared to any other conventional 4K super 35­mm camera. Sony’s Venice camera supports a particularly large range of user-selectable imager modes and aspect ratios. The FX9’s also supports a 2K super 16­mm scan mode*².

*¹ V3.0 firmware will support view finder de-squeeze and frame-line display for anamorphic lens
*² V3.0 firmware will support a 2K super 16­mm scan mode.

Highly detailed image reproduction by starting with 6K of bayer pixels

Dynamic Range & Exmor R 

Dynamic range is normally measured in stops, a measure of the aperture or iris in the lens. A better sensor is able to differentiate more stop levels of gray between black and white. For instance, the human eye has a dynamic range of about 10–15 stops. 

Full-frame sensors can provide enhanced dynamic range with a relaxed design space and larger photosites. Sony’s Exmor R sensor, adopted by FX9, extends this benefit by radically realigning the pixel structure as shown below. Consequently, Sony full-frame sensors can achieve dynamic ranges equal to, or even exceeding, what the human eye can capture. 

Dual Base ISO

Digital imaging sensors perform best when set to their base ISO. It’s at this base ISO value you will achieve the optimum balance of low noise, the best signal-to-noise ratio, and almost always, the widest possible dynamic range. This is because at the base ISO setting, there is no amplification, or gain (voltage), added to the signal coming from the sensor. Adding gain to increase the ISO, or to make the image appear brighter, adds noise and in most cases will reduce the dynamic range that can be recorded. Increase the gain to make an image appear twice as bright and you’re also introducing twice as much noise to the signal, and the image quality is thusly decreased. While grain on analog film, like at ASA 400 for example, might be pleasing and enhance the feel of an image, the introduction of digital noise to an image rarely brings a similarly pleasing result.

To help avoid this, the VENICE and FX9 camera’s full frame sensor has what is termed Dual Base ISO. Dual Base ISO means the camera’s imaging sensor has two distinct sensitivities to light. At each ISO there is very little difference in image quality. Dynamic range and color are almost identical and noise is not significantly different.

VENICE has a base ISO of 500 to provide the optimal dynamic range for applications where on-set lighting is standard. A secondary High base ISO of 2500 excels in low-light High Dynamic Range capture. FX9 features a base sensitivity of ISO 800, providing the optimal dynamic range for applications such as shooting outside or in brightly lit interiors. A secondary High Base sensitivity of ISO 4000 excels in low-light scenarios. You simply use the base ISO most appropriate for your light levels without any significant change in image quality or any need to change your workflow.