Sony Venice 2

Venice was built for scenes nobody can light. A second, higher base sensitivity means a night exterior records clean rather than noisy.

The colour came from Sony's work on skin, and it renders warmer and more saturated than the sensor before it did.

The sensor is full frame and records up to 8.6K, with Super 35 modes for lenses that do not cover the whole width.

Two base sensitivities are built into the sensor. The camera switches between them rather than amplifying the signal, so the higher one stays clean.

Eight stops of neutral density sit inside the body, so a stop can be held on a bright exterior without anybody fitting a filter.

Use it for night exteriors, for candle and practical lit interiors, and for large format work that has to stay clean.

Skip it when the scene is bright and simple. Nothing it does best is visible in daylight.

An ALEXA 35 is Super 35 and renders a little flatter and cooler. Venice is full frame and warmer.

A RED MONSTRO wins on resolution and loses on low light. The test is shadow noise in a dark scene.

Sony's Rialto extension splits the sensor block from the body on a cable, which lets the camera sit in places a whole body cannot. Six of them were fitted inside the cockpits for Top Gun: Maverick (2022).

The model returns a bright, evenly lit scene, which wastes the reason to name the camera. Put the shot at night or in a dark room.

The other failure is video noise in the shadows. Say the shadows stay clean at high sensitivity.