Others are gravitating toward the digital cameras because of their aesthetic qualities. Dion Beebe, the cinematographer for Miami Vice, said that he and the director, Michael Mann, chose a camera from Thomson Grass Valley called the Viper to create a particular look for the movie.
“We made use of the Viper's amazing depth of field,” Beebe said. “You're seeing clearly from 2 inches to infinity.”
But Beebe says that film cameras are still superior to their digital brethren for capturing bright sunlight in a more nuanced way, and other cinematographers acknowledge that digital cameras do not have the resolution found in film.
Dean Semler, who shot Click and Apocalypto, a Mayan historical adventure movie directed by Mel Gibson, said he was impressed by the Panavision camera's sensitivity in low-light situations when he was in the Mexican jungle. Some cinematographers may hold out for higher-resolution digital cameras, Semler said, but then added: “I'm looking at my images, and it doesn't matter. It looks fabulous on the screen to me.”
Still, executives at Panavision and Thomson Grass Valley are not expecting an abrupt fade-out for celluloid. The bulk of Panavision's US$233 million in 2005 revenue came from renting film cameras and accessories to movie and television producers. Panavision does not sell its cameras. (The company is controlled by the investor Ronald Perelman, who is in the midst of taking it private, Beitcher, the chief executive, said.)
“We've got 1,000 film cameras in our warehouse, and we expect to be renting them for a long time,” Beitcher said.
Thomson Grass Valley is a division of Thomson, the French-based media products and services company, and is a corporate sister to Technicolor, which develops film for motion pictures.
“It's not our job to push the market,” said Mark Chiolis, senior marketing manager for Thomson Grass Valley. “It's our job to provide tool sets for the market to select from. If you like the look of film, shoot film.”
Thomson Grass Valley and Panavision also face a cattle call of new digital movie cameras, some being sold for much lower prices.
Red Digital Cinema, founded by Jim Jannard, a billionaire who started the sunglasses company Oakley, is developing a higher-resolution digital camera that will sell for US$17,500.
“For the cost of a few days' rental of their products, you can own ours,” said Ted Schilowitz, a Red Digital executive.
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