GEAR | Why I bought the KINEFINITY MAVO 6K in 2020

I bought a new cinema camera, the #Kinefinity #MAVO6K, and here's why.
TAGS: #RedKomodo #Sonya7sIII #SonyFx6 #Vlog #mattiasalegro #cinemacamera #bmpcc #zcam #canon
TIMECODE::
00:00 Preamble
02:36 My Camera History
05:59 The DSLR Revolution
08:25 What I Wanted in an Upgrade
09:18 Sony a7sIII
13:34 Fx6 (An addendum)
16:07 Kinefinity MAVO & Specs
19:06 Additional Kit
23:10 Interchangeable Lens Mounts
25:57 A KOMODO Note
28:26 Color Space & Example Footage
30:11 Conclusion
32:45 Outro
ABOUT MATTIAS::
Filmmaker, Actor, Writer, and Editor living in Austin, TX USA.
On this channel you'll find behind-the-scenes vlogs and documentation of my life in film. I also sometimes talk about life, relationships, or just filmmaking in general. The goal is to continue making things and getting in front of the camera as much as I am behind - hence a few acting scenes or monologues as well. As my interests expand, especially concerning content creation, you might also find gaming, tutorials, or other collaborations in the future.
Be sure to check out my production company Royal Misfit Studios at www.royalmisfitstudios.com if you need any video services.
INSTA: / mattias.alegro
TWITTA: / mattiasalegro
WEB: www.mattiasalegro.com
GEAR LIST::
Kinefinity Mavo Kit: kit.co/mattiasalegro/mattias-...
Content Creator Kit: kit.co/mattiasalegro/mattias-...
Lighting: kit.co/mattiasalegro/mattias-...
Sound: kit.co/mattiasalegro/mattias-...
On My Desk: kit.co/mattiasalegro/on-matti...

[@Welcome2It]

Really love the look of these cameras. Thinking this might be my next move! Thanks for the insight.

[@LeonGSNP]

Thank you for your detail and sincere explanation. Summing up how so many "Videographers" feel. Lead the way!

[@kmshairstay]

Loved the video man! Areas of discussion were well thought out and nice. My only gripe is that I would’ve liked to see some b roll of the Mavo a little more and also earlier in the video. Good stuff overall cheers

[@LeoMaverick]

Man I'm watching your video at 12:55 and I'm like Netflix feelings... just keep doing it haha

[@hippawable]

YES! you listed every reason i want to upgrade to the mavo! kinefinity is giving small timers a way in with cinema quality cameras.

[@mattiasalegro]

More people should be paying attention.

[@hippawable]

Mattias Alegro what do you think of the sony a7siii or ax6 thooo??? ax6 looks pretty crazy for being 6 k

[@mattiasalegro]

@@hippawable 9:18 of the video I talk about both. Of the two, for my purposes, I think Fx6 is the better choice. If this were my first camera or just getting started with videography, A7siii is the more appropriate option. Neither of them beat out the Kinefinity Mavo in my opinion.

[@cdfexi]

Thanks for this video❤️ I have the same mind set right now and I have been using the Sony a7iii for about 2 years and want to buy the mavo s35 for the same reasons you have and because it makes clients feel like there being shot on a more professional level your just making my choose feel more correct.

[@mattiasalegro]

Great point about clients. It also helps to justify certain rates if they realize you are bringing equipment that is used for higher end productions. Now if only Netflix could add Kinefinity as one of its approved cameras so I can flex even more.

[@doncampbell1101]

@@mattiasalegro - don’t get snagged on the Nf approval list item. Make a good a film and they’ll all want it.

[@mattiasalegro]

@@doncampbell1101 haha as long as I can make youtube videos with it I'm good. ;)

[@GarCorStudio]

Very good video. And though I am now a Zcam E2S6 user (moved from the Sony A7iii), I thoroughly enjoyed your content. You should have more subscribers....keep up the good work. Subscribed.

[@mattiasalegro]

Appreciate it. My good friend just got the same Zcam and we're thinking of doing a comparison soon. Keep on the lookout.

[@GarCorStudio]

@@mattiasalegro Wow, that would be awesome to see a comparison like that. Not much 6k "cube" comparisons out there as the smaller (Chinese) brands are overshadowed by the Sony, RED, Canons, and Black Magic. Will definitely look out for more stuff from you. Cheers mate.

[@Avalon6ix]

I just cried in the inside watching this video. I literally have a similar back ground story and my FX6 arrives today. If I would’ve just seen this video 2 days ago, I would’ve purchased this camera.

[@mattiasalegro]

If the FX6 was announced sooner then I might not have bought the Kinefinity. Even RED is announcing a new camera today that might rival the Kinefinity Edge. There will always be something new. If you enjoy Sony, then I would still feel really good.

[@Avalon6ix]

@@mattiasalegro Red dropped the ball. I highly doubt anyone is going to pull the trigger on the Raptor without considering other cameras. It made Kinefinity 8K look like a dream come true lol

[@mattiasalegro]

@@Avalon6ix honestly yeah that price point is WOOF! I think Red users will enjoy it, especially being the new flagship, but for those of us not getting those big budgets it's just not accessible.

[@christiansong227]

Hi Mattias, I wholeheartedly agree with you on everything. I'm waiting for Mavo Edge. I thought about purchasing Red camera, partly because how some uninformed clients consider you not professional by not having Red cameras, but your points about Kinefinity having edges over Red made total sense to me. Also, I'm not willing to be a sucker for spending $$$$ on Red's SSD. I really like Kinefinity not following Red.

[@albertcurielx]

1) FANTASTIC Audio! 2) Great lighting 3) Awesome Hair You hit the nail on the head with everything you said. BTW your Kine is WAAAY better than the FX6 for cinema, the raw/codecs/formfactor/bitrates/media/resolution/ bitdepth, the fx6 is a glorified A7Siii. You sir definitely know more than 99.6% of KZbinrs that claim to be DPs'. I will definitely be subscribing and following!

[@mattiasalegro]

I'll assume this is for the hair above all.

[@rezaVfx]

thx ! what do you think about Terra 4K? I have limited budge, still need a pro cinema camera for documentary and short films!

[@mattiasalegro]

If you have a limited budget I would look more towards the new Blackmagic Pocket 6K Pro for your uses. I think the Terra 4K is great, but considering Kinefinity is just releasing their new 8K camera, and they are still a growing company, the Terra is going to start becoming more outdated. For doocumentary stuff I think BMPCC is definitely a better choice. I still don't like the form factor but it is an amazing piece of hardware and has already surpassed the Terra probably in specs. Though I haven't done a complete comparison.

[@red9829]

Hi, I am currently shopping for a camera and having a though time choosing between the FX6 and the komodo. You say that there are a few things that you are not a fan of on the FX6, can you please elaborate on them?

[@mattiasalegro]

Hey thanks for checking this out. In terms of the FX6, I think it's a great camera and definitely worth considering, but when comparing it to the MAVO, for one - the FX6 only shoots 10-bit internally (as far as I know.) My ability to shoot 12-bit Prores on the Mavo is definitely a plus in terms of my being able to grow into that format professionally. I'm no expert on comparing codecs so it's possible this doesn't really matter, but I really want that color information for major gigs so it's a factor for me. Also, while 4K is MORE than enough, the fact that I can shoot up to 6K is also a score for the MAVO. Your tradeoff there is the fps you can shoot, but I've rarely had reasons to go above 120fps anyway, and to be honest I've slowly moved away from needing even that much for most applications, so it's really up to the user. One tiny factor is the user interface. Getting the settings I need on the MAVO is SUPER easy. Granted, I also believe any UI is good enough once you get used to it, but this one is so straightforward it makes shooting a breeze. Anamorphic (4:3) shooting is another plus, as well as other aspect ratios that the Fx6 doesn't offer. All that to say, those things only matter based on my personal needs, and it's possible your needs differ greatly from mine, making the Fx6 OR the Komodo better options for you, making these takeaways non-issues for what you want. There are plenty of reasons why one would choose the FX6 over the MAVO as well. XLR inputs on the handle, and included screen, and ability to use cheaper batteries are probably some of those hardware reasons. Catalyst browse stabilization support and lowlight capabilities on software is also a plus for SONY. All-in-all, the reason I wouldn't have gotten the FX6 over the MAVO is the same reason I didn't choose the Komodo, and that's because it's seemingly giving me everything a more expensive cinema camera would give me at a more affordable price. I have more options for lens rentals with different mounts as well, without adapters, and I just love the image straight out of the camera - so it was a no brainer for me.

[@momentostudio5904]

There aren’t many videos about the Mavo or Kinefinity in general. I've always thought that is a little Arry made in china, but with a great quality. Zcam, that is in the same price range, doesn’t look like this, look very cheap to my eyes. Also the terra 4k is amazing with her little m43 sensor. I hope to buy the Terra next year 🤞🏻

[@mattiasalegro]

Z cam has possibility of being a much better contender in future years, as for present moment I still prefer Kinefinity.

[@ScottDavey]

Why I bought the Mavo LF last week... Woop Woop

[@mattiasalegro]

Jealous

[@ScottDavey]

@@mattiasalegro Excited about shooting with it

[@costa_konstantinou_dp]

Canon C300mk3 and C500mk2 do have interchangeable mounts (ok it’s only EF, locking EF and PL - but it’s interchangeable!)

[@mattiasalegro]

Ok I'm curious about this. Is it interchangeable but requires a screwdriver? And can you buy the mounts separately from the camera? I can find the locking EF replacement but nothing else. (Also these are different price ranges but I'll still count them as a comparison.) I know that it's technically "possible" to change mounts on all cinema cameras, but not very many give you the ability to easily swap those mounts on the fly. Interchangeable then becomes a loose term. I would love to look more into this because on my Kinefinity I can change the mount as quickly as I can change a lens and that's the important factor here I think.

[@costa_konstantinou_dp]

@@mattiasalegro you would need a screwdriver, but as I wouldn’t do it in the field anyways, it can be done in a couple of minutes. By the way, I own an Alexa Classic, where I can change the PL mount for an EF too - in about 3 minutes with 6 screws.

[@costa_konstantinou_dp]

@@mattiasalegro and yes, you can (have to) buy the Canon mounts separately.

[@mattiasalegro]

@@costa_konstantinou_dp I would hope that any camera that retails over $10K has a way of changing a mount. I left those out specifically because we're talking about the $5-7K and even cheaper cinema cameras on the market, which are more interesting to me at the moment. That said, there are very few cameras that offer as many mounting options, as well as an easily swappable design, that Kinefinity does. Compare the Alexa or Canon's you mentioned earlier to the Mavo LF, or even the upcoming Edge 8K, and then I think we're getting closer to a good comparison. However, in terms of entry level cinema cameras, I'm still disappointed that more of them don't have this flexibility.

[@nickgrant5800]

Did I hear you say the Komodo only records 8bit? How are you linking the Mavo? I am in your shoes right now, curre tly looking at Mavo and Komodo for am upgrade Into the cinema camera world. Cheers

[@mattiasalegro]

If I said 8-bit then I definitely misspoke. According to the specs it does 10-bit 422. RAW recording probably gets you more "bits" but I still don't understand RAW there. As a kaveat, while the mavo 6k does have 444 12-bit, it was only added in a software update earlier in 2020, so that doesn't proclude the Komodo from acquiring 12-bit in a similar manner. I'll be honest, I'm confused on the differences between "bits" and how they relate to prores, since 444 is not always 12-bit and 422 is not always 10-bit, etc, but maybe I'll figure that out eventually and pass that info along. Anyway, still very much enjoying the Mavo and think it was a great choice for my workflow. It's my first foray into cinema cameras and I'm a big fan.

[@nickgrant5800]

@@mattiasalegro I could be mistaken, I am sure I picked that up as since then I have been in search for answers. I love the looks of the Mavo but the Komodo also looks great. The bit rate and foundation of the image is, along side dynamic rage - which both have a great deal of - are what's most important to me. Are you able to send me the specs for the Komodo regarding bit rates as I can't find them anywhere? I am beginning to think they don't exist yet! I have been told its 16bit? It's hard to find anything bar KZbinrs talking about how great the form factor is (I get it tell me about the sensor please) :) P. S your image of the gentleman in the car was sick - Nice job!

[@brianchilds]

I relate to this video SO MUCH! Im about to buy a MavoLF after a year of saving & like you, I HATE the word "videographer", no offense about the word to anyone but, I personally hate it. I tell me "im the video guy" cause that word makes me cringe hahahaha. I mostly relate to wanting a camera that I don't have to worry about all these new cameras coming out every 3 months, it gives me a headache. I felt the exact same about the FX6, I for about 15mins really really considered it, but the handle being the only way to record audio was a deal breaker for me. Its awesome to see more Kinefinity's in Texas. Im based in Dallas.

[@mattiasalegro]

Lemme know when you get it would love to collab. Gonna make a video about "videographer is a dirty word" soon.

[@brianchilds]

@@mattiasalegro for sure man! I wish I had time to come to Austin to get a feel of the camera but with Black Friday coming up I have to jump on buying it this week.

[@brianchilds]

@@mattiasalegro I did it! just bought a MavoLF on sale for Black Friday =D most expensive thing i've ever bought lol

[@mattiasalegro]

@@brianchilds haha that's how I felt. Well worth it though. Welcome to the club.

[@brianchilds]

@@mattiasalegro do you have any VMount suggestions? I didn't get the handgrip & this is my 1st VMount camera.

[@llio2643]

any thoughts on sigma fp?

[@mattiasalegro]

Very interesting little camera. Never had my hands on it. For specs and functionality, could be used as a great little backup cam, bts stills cam, or even a scouting camera for locations, but until it gets some upgrades I wouldn't consider it a main competitor. It'll have a niche audience and it seems more like a personal choice than a completely objective one. If you love sigma or leica you should be happy with it. Compare it more to the old Sony a6000 line than the full frame cameras.

[@mattiasalegro]

The FP L is more interesting in that it can also record RAW video internally, but again it lacks a few framerate options and even only doing 4K at this point isn't enough. Sigma seems to be innovating, but at a slow pace, so it all comes down to if you are a personal fan

[@llio2643]

@@mattiasalegro both fp and fpl shoot 4k 8-bit raw internally and 12-bit cdng raw externally, though not compressed (apparently due to a red patent). they are capable of producing richly detailed images with texture and depth comparable to some high-end cinema cameras. (by contrast, sony images, regardless of camera models and specs, have always seemed somewhat superficial and videoy to my eye.) btw, how would you compare the image quality and color science of kinefinity with blackmagic and red cameras?

[@mattiasalegro]

@@llio2643 I don't. Other people compare color science, but that is too detailed for my eyes. I love the image coming out of the Kinefinity and I only have limited experience with image coming out of Komodo. All images can be great depending on how you light your scenes, and it's understanding how to control light more than anything to achieve quality. I can't compare, but there's nothing that Arri/Red could do that the Kinefinity shouldn't be able to do.

[@jfilmzstudio3470]

Man I really love the Movo but dame I feel like it aim more on Apple users. All this ProRes is good for Apple and not so much for PC users(Can't export in Davinci Resolve PC)

[@mattiasalegro]

It also does RAW cinema DNG which is supported by Davinci. I haven't worked in raw though so not sure what that workflow is like. Sounds like you definitely wanna lean more towards a Blackmagic camera or the RED Komodo. Even the Fx6 might be a good option for you.

[@jfilmzstudio3470]

@@mattiasalegro yeah I heard bad things on the raw side of things but it sucks leaning towards the other cameras when deep inside Mavo Lf is the one lol but hey you might be right who knows... thanks for the feedback

[@mattiasalegro]

@@jfilmzstudio3470 this video was really about how everyone has different needs and that should always be considered when buying any camera. I probably wouldn't have considered Mavo had it not been one of the few with an E-mount, then as I did more research I just loved what it had to offer. You'll love something that fits your workflow more than anything based on specs. Good luck!

[@jfilmzstudio3470]

Anything possible and likewise! 💯💯

[@robertm3951]

Z Cam has interchangeable mounts as well

[@mattiasalegro]

That's good, I wasn't aware. This should be standard of all cinema cameras. Still no E-mount as far as I can tell 🤷, and unfortunately that was a big component of what I needed.

[@robertm3951]

@@mattiasalegro There is one from Viltrox. www.soltyscameras.com/product-page/viltrox-sony-e-mount-for-z-cam-flagship-body-cameras

[@mattiasalegro]

@@robertm3951 will you look at that. I suppose it never showed up in my research since it's a pre-order. I'm sure that will help a lot of people who are on sony cams transition to an affordable cine-cam. I will have to bring this up when I do my zcam and kinefinity comparison soon.

[@robertm3951]

I am not so comfortable with videographers thinking that they need cinema cameras but as prices come down that might not matter so much.

[@mattiasalegro]

I'm glad we got three - relatively - affordable cinema cameras announced this year, but as always it depends on your needs. I grew out of the one-man-band wedding/event videography a while ago and moving into more professional spaces has justified the need of a cinema camera, for me. But I would never suggest it for every videographer.

[@Mr_Frequency]

Lol, now you can have the Sony a6000 for $200 on Ebay. Boy have times changed.

[@mattiasalegro]

Normally I'd say it's still a decent camera (it is) but technology moves so fast even iphones have far surpassed it.

[@adamtemple9417]

too bad they can't rec in ProRes Raw anymore because it's too close to Red's patent, this knocks the camera out of cinema market in my opinion, getting stuck in ProRess XQ is meh... for grading

[@mattiasalegro]

I disagree. RAW may be great for grading, obviously, but Prores is nothing to sneeze at, and in my experience majority of productions in my field aren't utilizing RAW all that much. It does suck not to have it, but I don't think it knocks it out of the market at all.

[@adamtemple9417]

@@mattiasalegro With the new Bmpcc pro and the Red's new komodo I feel like these aren't going to be able to compete unless they start offering crazy fps specs. Needing an external $1k+ monitor for extra detail competes with more expensive brands. I'm glad you don't need Raw but I have to live in it.

[@mattiasalegro]

@@adamtemple9417 Fair enough. As mentioned in the video, there are many reasons to buy or not buy a camera, all depending on the user and their needs for it. It's fair to say that Kinefinity is out of the running for you, especially based on what you need it for, but I still wouldn't say it cannot compete depending on someone else's needs.

[@davewerner7609]

🤦🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

[@gxrsky]

man, buy a teleprompter, you babble too much 🙏

[@mattiasalegro]

Good tip.