CHICAGO, IL — (Marketwire) — 04/10/12 — The Zacuto 2010 Emmy Award winning and 2011 nominated three part web documentary (Midwest Region) is back with a new twist. “The Revenge of the Great Camera Shootout” is set to premiere June 15th, 2012 at . The shoot was conducted in February 2012 at the Tribeca Flashpoint Academy in Chicago. With this documentary, Zacuto aims to prove that it doesn-t really matter which camera you use. Instead, it is the DP-s mastery of his camera and the overall artistic ability to light, which makes for beautiful images. The results promise to be astounding, informative and entertaining.

The test was administered by Bruce Logan ASC and a specialist DP/DIT was brought to Chicago to assist with each camera.

“Most camera tests these days are very careful to say that they are not -shootouts,-” says Bruce Logan ASC. “The Zacuto test that I was asked to administrate is unashamedly a shootout. It was thus necessary for us to create the most level playing field possible. I think the test we devised did just that. It created a series of three shots with myriad challenges for each and every camera. Each camera was put through exactly the same tests, was shot at a T Stop, and approved by the camera DPs and the manufacturers when participating. All of the cameras used 4k rated zoom lenses to compensate for sensor size. The DPs were then given the opportunity to relight the set under strict perimeters to get the very best out of their cameras. The data from every camera was -imported- into Baselight at native resolutions and color corrected to look as closely as possible to the original set. The resultant TIFF files were then resized on the Baselight and the resulting TIFF sequence was used to produce a 2K DCP package in jpeg 2000. I am excited to view the results of this very fair test.”

The cameras involved are:

1. Sony F65 — Sony Representatives
2. ARRI Alexa — Rodney Charters, ASC
3. RED Epic — Ryan Walters
4. — Den Lennie & Mick Jones
5. w/slog — Nancy Schreiber, ASC
6. Canon C300 — Polly Morgan
7. Canon 7D with Technicolor settings — Michael Negrin, ASC
8. Panasonic GH2 (hacked and non-hacked) — Jonny Zeller & Colt Seman

“-Revenge- is unlike any other camera test that I-ve ever been involved with,” says Zacuto producer, . “I believe that the tools available to us are all capable of creating great looking images, but only if you know how to use them. The big challenge for us was creating a test that would bring out the real world differences between these cameras. You can shoot charts which will give you scientific results, but that environment is not the real world. What we wanted to know was how cinematographers creatively solve the limitations of their camera. There are going to be some great discussions when this test gets released. People are going to be blown away.”

As in the past, Zacuto will also have 35 theatrical screenings of the test footage worldwide between April 16 through May 15, starting with the Zacuto/Kessler booth at NAB Show followed by the AFI in Hollywood, New York, Chicago, Nashville, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, India, Australia, Japan and potentially other countries. Check the Zacuto website to get registered for these screenings.

To enhance the web experience, each screening will be recorded so web viewers can hear the opinions given by those at the test in 2K. In contrast to previous Shootouts, viewers will watch the test blind, meaning that the footage from each camera will not be labeled. Viewers will be required to write down their favorite shot on paper before being informed what footage belongs to which camera. A discussion will ensue. The scenes will then be played again and Zacuto will reveal which camera is which. A second discussion will follow.

“Everybody has been asking for this test, it really doesn-t matter what the numbers say, what matters is how much talent you have to make your camera look great and how it looks on the big screen, TV screen or web screen — whichever you are going for,” says Steve Weiss, Director, The Great Camera Shootout 2012. “It will be interesting as to what the audience will say when seeing this screened in a 2K P3 theatrical environment, I can-t wait.”

ABOUT ZACUTO
Zacuto, located in Chicago, Illinois, is known for their “Made in the USA” brand of high quality, originally designed camera accessories. Their house division builds custom camera packages and delivers nationwide. Zacuto Films produces original programming numerous awards including a 2010 Emmy Award for The Great Camera Shootout and a 2011 Emmy Award for their webisodic series, FilmFellas (midwest region). For more information, visit or follow on Twitter.

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