> If you had a digital camera that perfectly mimicked output of film camera, you could take a "filmmaker" from 70s, give them the digital camera and they will s

> If you had a digital camera that perfectly mimicked output of film camera, you could take a "filmmaker" from 70s, give them the digital camera and they will successfully create a film of equal quality. Yes, one needs to understand that e.g. focal length changes depth of focus, but it's all about controlling the output. One does not really need to understand the inner workings of a system, all they need to understand is which parameters affect output in what way. This paragraph tells me you don't understand how cameras work, because what you said is not true. The study of photography, and from it cinematography, is FUNDAMENTALLY about understanding the relationship between light, color, and the camera. This dates back to the beginnings of photography, and is the /primary/ topic written about by many of the world's best photographers (and famously a key area of focus for Ansel Adams). Photography, and from it cinematography, is almost entirely about lighting and exposure, and it requires a deep technical understanding of the inner workings of the camera to do it at a professional level. A cinematographer working on feature length films is not an amateur recording video clips, every element of the frame affects the mood and context of the story that is being told, and controlling for light and exposure is essential and goes beyond merely adjusting settings on the camera until it looks good in the viewfinder, it requires adjusting the actual environment you are recording (e.g. artificial lighting, light control, shadowing) in conjunction with technical details of the camera system, the lens choice, and things like adjusting aperture. To have no understanding of the basic principles of light and its relationship to the camera, which is the core principle of a camera's operation, makes it impossible to produce professional quality work.