Interview: Why David Winters Upgraded to the Sony BURANO

To stay ahead of the curve and be an asset to his clients, Winters discovered he needed a tool that not only captured great images but could also work efficiently on time-sensitive, news-material. 

"I've always worked as an owner-operator and tried to maintain two tiers of cameras," Winters explained. "Not necessarily budget-based, but more workflow centric."

"The FX9 was my first mid-range 4K UHD capable camera, and then over the last couple of years, everything has pivoted for me away from [other cameras]," Winters continued. "My whole client base now [is all] Sony pipeline and workflow.”

As his commercial and broadcast work evolved, Winters leaned on the Sony ecosystem to help his clients unify their projects between himself and other freelancers. By using almost all the Sony Cinema Line, Winters created a workflow-centered approach to his toolkit, allowing him to support large projects with bigger crews and even run solo with a stripped-down FX3 or FX30.

"I work for a lot of producers that will fly into my location, they hire me as a local shooter, and they may hire another local shooter in, say, Seattle or New York [that also shoots on Sony]."

"[Other systems] don't have a little mirrorless solution that I can go shoot guerrilla or throw on a small gimbal and get kind of stealth documentary-style coverage," Winters said. "So now I have an FX3, FX30 and an FX9. The piece that’s missing for me is the VENICE."

The Sony VENICE wasn't something Winters could fit into his toolkit due to budget and workflow constraints, as he often works as a solo operator. However, with the BURANO, the freelancer can capture images matching the VENICE but maintain the workflow of an FX9. 

“[The BURANO] looked like the perfect camera for me because it could replace the high-end stuff that I was shooting," Winters said. "But then also on all my other jobs, it's just another color-matched camera body to my FX9, FX3, and FX30."

The biggest surprise for Winters was how much the BURANO became his go-to tool. By pairing the camera with Sony E-Mount lenses, it became a lightweight solution to shoot almost any project.

"I thought I would hold it in reserve…and it would just go out on the higher-tier projects," Winters explained. "And instead, it's become my default camera for the majority of what I shoot.” 

"It's easy on my back as I'm getting older and then having the IBIS, variable ND, and the XAVC codecs…when I hand off footage, it's the same as an FX6 or FX9. It was just a seamless upgrade for me to go from the FX9 to the BURANO, and I'm hopeful that this year I'll be able to pick up a second one, so I'll have two matched cameras for interviews."

As Winters shot more with the BURANO, the versatility and price point allowed him to shoot more assignments with that one camera, even if it might have been too much for the job.  

"I'll get comments in the field from other shooters when I'm shooting news that the BURANO is overkill," Winters said. "[But] to have the same camera, to come off a high-end corporate [documentary] and then roll in and do live shots and a little bit of news gathering, the same camera, already built—I just changed frame rate and resolution for the project—it's so much easier on my blood pressure, and I get more sleep."

"I found it's just better to use the premium camera, even on the jobs that don't necessarily require it, because it gives me more free time to be engaged with my clients and focused on the story instead of being buried in technology."

Interview: How Winters Works with the BURANO's Firmware Version 2.0

After spending a week with the upcoming firmware update, Winters discovered a refinement in the feature set that made his assignments easier and put the BURANO at the center of his workflow. 

"The big [update for me] is having two consistent SDI outputs across all the frame rates and resolutions," Winters said. "And then having the ability to cycle the overlays on and off over SDI, project to project. For commercial jobs, I usually want frame lines and some of the other info up there. And then when I'm doing a live feed for a TV network, I need to send them clean."

"So, I've got just presets saved on an SD card so I can jump between my different clients," Winters continued. "I just load up the settings and don't even have to get into the menus to switch between jobs."

The addition of the new anamorphic recording formats is also opening a lot of new creative opportunities for Winters. Even though most of his work lies in the broadcast world, the affordability of modern anamorphic lenses, paired with the upcoming Firmware Version 2.0 update, is making Winters think more about how he can bring a cinematic touch to his assignments.

"I'm really excited to shoot with more low-cost anamorphic lenses," Winters said. "As an owner-operator, it's now attainable for me to own my own set of anamorphic [lenses], so I'm looking forward to this year with the 2.0 firmware, shooting in Super 35 4x3 in anamorphic."

Using the BURANO with an E-Mount lens has also changed how Winters approaches his work. By leaning on Sony's industry-leading autofocus and E-Mount lenses, achieving sharp focus, with fast apertures, as a solo operator, has become much more doable. 

"For me, it's all about simplicity. I despise camera rigs, cages, and bolting on a bunch of accessories. I want just a body, battery, and a lens and go," Winters said. "The FX9 and now the BURANO have given me the confidence to shoot on E-mount, stills-style glass."

"Now I shoot a lot of interviews at f/2.0 and f/1.4 aperture," Winters added. "Apertures I would never have risked doing when I was manually focusing, are now just standard workflow."

"Going to those little E-mount lenses, the [BURANO] is just so much lighter than running a PL mount and a traditional cine, compact zoom. So, I'm getting more coverage, and I'm not exhausted and in pain the next day after the shoot."

Winters elaborated on a recent project where he had to fly-in on day one, shoot an assignment, then shoot again on day two, and fly out again the same day. With the new setup on the BURANO, Winters completed his days without needing recovery time.

Interview: David Winters’ Future with the Sony BURANO

For the next project, Winters will travel to Antarctica. Out of his entire camera collection, Winters is choosing the BURANO to be his A-Camera, with the FX3 shooting additional footage.

While he can still shoot on the FX9, FX3, and FX30, the BURANO’s versatility has made it his camera of choice, no matter the project. 

Learn more about the Sony BURANO and the upcoming Firmware Version 2.0 here.