Why we still test every camera before a campaign begins

Half a day, every campaign, no exceptions. Before a single frame of your film is shot, our camera team runs the full kit through its paces: sensor checks, lens charts, codec trials, and the exact lighting setups from the treatment boards.

It sounds fussy until you have lived through the alternative. Sensors drift between bodies. Lenses breathe differently at close focus. A firmware update quietly moves the goalposts on colour science. Any one of these, discovered on shoot day, costs more than the half-day we spent ruling them out.

The ritual also settles the creative questions early. Which lens renders skin the way this story needs? How far can we push the shadows before the night exteriors fall apart? We answer with footage, not opinions — the director, the colourist and the client all look at the same frames and agree before pressure enters the room.

So yes, we still test every camera. Not because we distrust our kit, but because the shoot day belongs to the story — and anything that can be solved in prep should never be allowed on set.