Kinefinity KineMAX 6K, 4K, 3K and 2K Resolution Comparison Video

If you recall last week, Kinefinity Europe announced that the dedicated free transcoding software KineStation, which comes with the 6K KineMax and 4K KineMINI cameras, already officially supports Apple ProRes. This means that now Kinefinity users can effortlessly transcode the proprietary compressed raw format Kineraw to different ProRes flavours using the KineStation. In addition, the european distributor for Kinefinity HDVideoShop Berlin recently released a video in which they compare the different resolutions the flagship KineMAX camera is capable of – 6K, 4K, 3K, and 2K.

For those unfamiliar with the KineMAX specs see them below:

CODECS AND FRAME RATES
Frame Size Format Resolution MAX FPS Cineform KineRAW CinemaDNG
S35 6K HD 5760×3240 25
6K HD Wide 5760×2400 30
Golden 3K 2880×1620 25
Golden 3K Wide 2880×1200 30
HiSpeed S35 4K HD 3840×2160 80
4K HD Wide 3840×1716 100
3K HD 2880×1620 80
3K HD Wide 2880×1200 100
2K HD 1920×1080 80
2K HD Wide 1920×864 100
M4/3 4.3K 4:3 Anamorphic 4320×3240 25
4K 4:3 Anamorphic 4096×3072 25
4K 4096×2160 44
4K Wide 4096×1716 56
4K HD 3840×2160 44
4K HD Wide 3840×1716 56
Golden 2K 2048×1080 44
Golden 2K Wide 2048×858 56
Golden 2K HD 1920×1080 44
Golden 2K HD Wide 1920×858 56
HiSpeed M4/3 2K 2048×1080 120
2K Wide 2048×864 144
S16 3K 3072×1620 59
3K Wide 3072×1280 75
3K HD 2880×1620 59
3K HD Wide 2880×1200 75
16mm 2K 2048×1080 88
2K Wide 2048×860 110
2K HD 1920×1080 88
2K HD Wide 1920×860 110

From the video test above we can see that the pixel density in 6K and 4K is technically the same, the only difference in image size being the crop factor – in 6K it is Super 35, and in 4K it is more akin to Micro 4/3 or 2x compared to Full-frame 35mm. 3K and 2K are different stories here as they are derived from the 6K and 4K images via pixel binning and line-skipping – a method that generates moire and aliasing and is less preferable to a full readout with a crop.

In addition acquiring in 4K and then scaling the image in post to 2K will produce a better image than acquiring 2K native in-camera due to the pixel binning which occurs at 2K resolution, as opposed to the full readout at 4K.

Image by HDVideoShop Berlin

Image by HDVideoShop Berlin

KINEMAX_6K_Resolutions

Features

  • S35 CMOS Sensor 5760 x 3240
  • 16 stops Dynamic range (at 3K resolutions)
  • 14 stops DR at 4K
  • 100fps at 4K resolution
  • Micro 4/3 crop and S16mm crop with up to 100fps at 2K; 3K at 60fps; 4K at 50fps.
  • Sports mode – reduces rolling shutter in 4K/3K/2K/1080p
  • HD-SDI out x 2; HDMI out x 2
  • CinemaDNG Raw and Cineform Raw in camera
  • Uncompressed CinemaDNG 6K to Two KineMAG
  • Compressed Cineform raw to One KineMAG
  • 3rd-party LUT upload to camera support, live view with custom LUT
  • KineAudio, Dual XLR recording is now available
  • HiSpeed option: 4K@100fps and 2K@150fps with full sensor read-out

All in all, from the tests I’ve seen I find the Kinefinity KineMAX camera to produce very nice footage and a serious “bang-for-the-buck” savings compared to other alternatives like the RED Epic for example if  you want to shoot 6K that is. Tom Antos reviewed the KineMAX here, check it out if you haven’t already.

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