Saturday, April 26, 2025

Why haven't movie cameras gotten smaller and lighter while so many other electronics have throughout the years?

r/FIlm•5 mo. ago

Why haven't movie cameras gotten smaller and lighter while so many other electronics have throughout the years?

As we continue to innovate while the years pass, electronic components become smaller and more powerful at the same time. So why do motion picture cameras remain pretty large and pretty heavy?

And when will components get so small and good that smartphones can be used to film full-on movies?

Crossposts:

r/FilmMakers: r/Filmmakers/s/v8BeqtWbru

r/movies: r/movies/s/c6zbEL28FZ

r/Film: r/FIlm/s/9JKz4JQzLx

r/AskTechnology: r/AskTechnology/s/FHjQKrmGNI

r/Smartphones: r/Smartphones/s/OEcAXy8Pgo

all 7 comments

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[–]Timeline_in_Distress 3 points 5 months ago

They've actually gotten smaller and lighter. It's not like smartphones have gotten that much smaller or lighter since 2007. In fact, they've gotten bigger.

Anyways, some cameras being used on films are smaller and lighter than ENG cameras and early digital cameras. The thing that you can't replicate are the lenses which will add bulk and weight. Cables running to/fro from cameras are not your typical home AV cables or computer usb-c cables. So that adds bulk. There's monitoring that's not always done through the viewfinder so there's more weight in electronics. Then you have grips, handles, etc. for ergonomics.

Films have been shot on iPhones but really, why would you if you can shoot with pro equipment? Unless the movie industry completely tanks (it's heading down a slope right now) and budgets disappear, maybe out of desperation we'll get feature films shot on iPhones and edited with CapCut.