Andrew Reid

Are you forgetting the lens?

You could probably get away with 24mm or 25mm on an Iscorama 36. New options to try. I need to test this!

[quote name='nigelbb' timestamp='1345811610' post='16400'] That the 5D3 has a woefully soft image is just a stupid Internet myth promulgated by people who haven't used the camera. The image straight out of the camera it is no softer than the 5D2 that most everyone loves. Add a bit of sharpening in post & it looks better than the 5D2. It's not usually possible to add sharpening in post to the 5D2 due to aliasing problems. [/quote] That it has a soft image requiring work in post isn't the only problem people have with the 5D3. 5D3 sits on my desk in front of me. It is soft. Yes it does sharpen up a bit in post. But still not as much resolving power as a $700 GH2. The codec on the FS100 is better. I could go on...

There's ZERO advantage to using an external recorder with any DSLR, other than the D800 and even then the difference is small. It isn't raw or anything approaching that, just less compressed. However on DSLRs the HDMI is usually compressed or interlaced, like on the GH2. You won't get better results from it than you would internally with the hack and AVCHD intra 80Mbit.

[quote name='HurtinMinorKey' timestamp='1345823666' post='16417']The Alexa and pretty much any other camera is much more vertically stable than the BMC. This puts the BMC at a big disadvantage for handheld shots. But with all the money you save you can buy yourself all the stabilization equipment you would want.[/quote] Haha, seriously you try handling both the Alexa and BMC handheld with no rigging. You won't get far. Both are designed as picture making boxes, the BMC being smaller and lighter has the more flexibility with rigging, in my opinion. Hardly a disadvantage for handheld work.

The DSLR is designed to be handheld only for stills. Video handheld with it is jittery and rubbish looking. The Blackmagic camera may lack a rubberised grip out of the box but it is a heavier camera, so it may actually even be less wobbly in two hands than a lighter smaller camera. The Alexa is also a brick. Nobody complains about that do they? Actually they do - those who think it is too heavy, especially front heavy, and are considering going for a Blackmagic rig for handheld work to save their arms. (The Alexa is not great for handheld work just as Rodney Charters on Shameless)

[quote name='tehgeek' timestamp='1345790944' post='16377'] Really love the idea of this camera but wish it wasn't so much of a 'B' camera ergonomically. I'd love a more hand held body as I can't see this being usable without buying a lot of extras. But I still love what they have done and the footage out of it looks fantastic and the price is amazing. [/quote] How is it different ergonomically to a DSLR? If you need to a rig a DSLR you will need to rig this. The only thing you need extra is a battery base plate. You can still hold it barebones like a DSLR or put it on a tripod.

I'm not just listing everyone who bought a Canon at all, in each of those groups there are very knowledgable customers who want the best most sophisticated video tool they can get their hands on, for an important project which will make them money or pass them a university course. You don't get it I'm afraid. Just like Canon's management, who have underestimated a lot of their customers.

Looks pretty. Maybe they'll fix the video mode on this one! http://photorumors.com/2012/08/24/this-new-fuji-x-e1-mirrorless-camera-will-not-have-a-viewfinder http://digicame-info.com/2012/08/x-e1xf18-55mm-f28-4-r-ois.html

Regarding raw and associated file size and data management. You want H.264 4-4-4 10bit long GOP? Well you have it with raw, just convert. You don't need to archive 10TB of raw files if you don't want to. The only thing that takes more time with raw is transcoding it to an editing proxy. You don't need to grade it all if you don't want to, just bake a DSLR style picture profile into it at the transcoding stage then do the normal light 5D Mark III grading with the Fast Colour Corrector in Premiere. Also you conveniently forgot to mention the internal ProRes recording option. The 5D Mark III at ISO 12,800 is incredibly soft. The noise on the BMD is not destructive like it is on a DSLR. You are getting less than 600 lines of res at ISO 12,800 on the 5D Mark III and all the Neat Video or turning NR off in-cam will not bring it back. Because the noise is blotchy and compressed and the sensor is skipping too much data to deliver its faux 1080p. I mention the sensor downscaling because it is absolutely KEY in where the 5D Mark III fails. Downsampling if you do it well is actually beneficial, nobody not even you would claim it helps the 5D Mark III's video quality. Downsample one of the 22MP JPEGs in Photoshop and compare it to a video frame - and do it to a wide angle shot with lots of trees or something not a close up shot. You will see a huge difference. I don't see this mystery IPB codec advantage some claim over the ALL-I codec. It just looks a bit more compressed. Because it is. I am convinced some people may actually be a little bit blind or at least imagining pixels! Do you have a link to Jason's chart test of the 5D3? If you don't it is no problem, because I think it proves nothing. Use eyes. Point them at screen.

[quote name='FilmMan' timestamp='1345771203' post='16354'] It'll be interesting how the Goliath's respond to Davey! Will they let BM get firmly off the ground or will they attempt to try to disrupt the landing? Will it be late nights for the engineers for Canon, Sony, Panasonic, etc., trying to develop a quick fix? Stay tune...it could get fun... [/quote] First they will have to fix the management. As soon as these cameras start shipping in volume at some point probably with the release of their 2nd generation model when the awareness is out there and the v1.0 bugs have been ironed out, they are going to be unstoppable. I already know a lot of Alexa people who need a raw camera to intercut, but one that is smaller and lighter for handheld work. The BMD is that camera. It will be popular at rental too. Who really wants to shoot with a DSLR now? The A99, GH3 and full frame camcorders from Sony have a chance. The D800, 5D3, 7D, etc. have now peaked and they are on the way out for video. At least they still have a purpose for stills so they are not completely dead!

Really, how many people bought a 5D or 7D for video? We're not just talking indie filmmakers here Bruno. - Students - Consumers - Hobbyists - Small studios - Indie filmmakers - Freelance journalists - Corporate filmmakers - Music video directors - Hollywood filmmakers - Even Philip Bloom That is a pretty big list from the smallest guy to the very top, a VAST slice of the imaging market. I believe Canon should do their market research and try to realise what they are about to lose. I hope it is giving them sleepless nights. A bit of a fright is the only thing which will get them innovating again, in my opinion they have had it far too easy so far.

You sound positive about the 4K EOS. The problem is I don't [i]need[/i] to spend the $15,000 it may cost and I don't [i]want[/i] to spend it. Since it isn't $3000, the 4K EOS isn't really a Canon DSLR but a commercial industry tool made for Hollywood. I care about price, I really do. Not just because I am a tight arse but for the accessibility and change it brings to the art of cinematography and I will continue to champion that cause, and live by what I write. For paid jobs - all that is moot of course. Who cares about the cultural stuff and accessibility when you just want to deliver for a client? However $15,000 for a camera with no 25p, articulated screen or peaking is a lot of dosh. For that much money it needs to be practical, available, cost effective and a good image. So far the 4K EOS ticks only one of those boxes and that box has some disclaimer about being MJPEG and 8bit! Then there is a further question - do I even need 4K yet? Right now 4K is for the future. If I was gunning for an immediately cinema release on the big screen, and I'd spent $250,000 on my content it would be silly not to get the best camera I could afford. So the 4K EOS might well be that camera in its finished state. I certainly wasn't blown away by the prototype's image last time I looked though. As you said - even the 5D2 is good enough for a theatre screening. DSLRs looks good in an actual cinema. Surprisingly a 65 foot screen is far less demanding on the viewer and per pixel perfection than a sharp monitor on your desk, eyeballed up close, peeping at each individual pixel. Projection is softer. You cannot see a visible pixel pitch. The viewer doesn't notice the flaws in a theatre screening as much. But if you showed them two images side by side, raw 12bit and 2.5K vs the 5D2 would be a no contest in the cinema. The raw image would look even better and by a considerable margin. Besides, a cinema screening is not my immediate aim in 2012. My immediate aim is your 2.5K display right, or your laptop screen, or your television. Many of us have a far better chance of becoming better known via putting our work online. My audience at the moment simply don't have the displays to view my work in 4K. If the audience can't see it, what is the point? I'm still not convinced the 4K EOS will have much going for it at $15,000 relative to the competition when it eventually comes out. Everything else about it apart from 4K resolution (and it doesn't come close to real 4K resolution from what I've seen) is sub-par compared to the best of the competition. Sony have full frame camcorders on the way. They have the A99 as well. Under $3000. Blackmagic have this cinema camera you may have heard of. And I don't yet need 4K, and it is probably rather soft 4K which is probably more like 2.5K in reality so not exactly a USP. My $15,000 is safe for the time being, the lower priced options are just TOO DAMNED GOOD!

Get an Iscorama. They kill the focussing barrel on the prime and you focus with the anamorphic. Zero breathing. And 16:9 is for television anyway :) Remember the sensor is larger than Super 16mm, if you put a Zeiss S16 cinema lens on the Blackmagic it will vignette.

[media]http://vimeo.com/48091268[/media] Shipping in 'a sizeable volume' of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera is due to start in 1-2 weeks time. In addition, Dan Chung reports, new features such as a double-tap punch-in focus assist and ISO 200 have been added.

You can guarantee that when Blackmagic discover that pot of gold, Canon will jump in and attempt to copy them and grab a share of the market. Where innovation leads the way, a corporate giant follows. You are damned right they have a risk aversion. They probably even have an entire risk assessment department! I have been telling Canon via this blog for 2 years that they are not making the best of the golden opportunity they landed as backwards in with the 5D Mark II. If they think hiving it off to Cinema EOS is making the most of the opportunity, they are wrong. A mass market price point makes waves. They will have to take a hit eventually, either in their margins or market share.

Before that we had small chip or very PITA 35mm adapters. Indeed it is all about balance. Small chip is too deep, gives you no creative control, full frame is abused. It is like anything in film, known how to use it, know when to use it - judgement is key. If your actor is going constantly in and out of focus and your location is always a bland creamy one-tone background it looks rubbish. Gale Tattersall on House knew how to make use of a full frame sensor and extremely shallow depth of field in the framing of peoples eyes (showing the emotiveness of their eyes) and small interior spaces in low light. Many filmmakers, Orson Wells for example with Citizen Kane knew how to use a deep depth of field where it was most appropriate. It isn't one style which is better than the other, it is about having the choice and assigning them correctly. I am glad we have the choice. The people who give DSLRs a bad name by shooting poor work with them should not detract from this.

I'm happy the DSLR community has had this [i]opportunity[/i] to wake up from compressed footage, you forget we had no choice for under what it cost for a Red!

I agree the 5D3 (and 1D X for that matter) are nowhere near AND they cost more. It has been such a relief to be liberated from Canon's let downs by other companies which have chosen to keep a good thing going, unlike the ones who started it all with the 5D Mark II under $3000. - 5D3 is 720p at best. It is nowhere near a 1080p camera let alone 2.5k - The codec has tons of mosquito noise in the lows and mids - The 8 bit codec has banding and stepped gradation - The fall off from highlights is sudden and not smooth - In the shadows, when you boost the black levels they fall apart - The image is noisy even at base ISO because of the poor compression engine - The sensor still skips too much data - Colour sampling is only 4-2-0 - The mirror gets in the way of my lenses - can't use anamorphic OCT 19 on it - If you get your exposure or picture profile wrong at time of shooting you can't fix it later - The noise grain is blotchy - At high ISOs there's even less detail even with high ISO noise reduction on minimal Great stills camera though. I honestly feel the Canon DSLR era is now official at an end. Unless they can find a way to jump start it quick.

[color=#333333][font=Helvetica, arial, sans-serif][left]I was running the beta, maybe that could have something to do with it.[/left][/font][/color] [color=#333333][font=Helvetica, arial, sans-serif][left]Here are my specs for the curious. It's only a Macbook Pro 17" but a high end one[/left][/font][/color] [color=#333333][font=Helvetica, arial, sans-serif][left]Quad 2.2GHz Core i7[/left][/font][/color] [color=#333333][font=Helvetica, arial, sans-serif][left]Radeon HD 6750M 1GB[/left][/font][/color] [color=#333333][font=Helvetica, arial, sans-serif][left]OCW 256GB SSD 6G (550MB read, 525MB write)[/left][/font][/color] [color=#333333][font=Helvetica, arial, sans-serif][left]8GB RAM[/left][/font][/color] [color=#333333][font=Helvetica, arial, sans-serif][left]Thunderbolt[/left][/font][/color] [color=#333333][font=Helvetica, arial, sans-serif][left]OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion[/left][/font][/color] [color=#333333][font=Helvetica, arial, sans-serif][left]Professionally, Resolve isn't really designed to be run on laptops, is it? So I'll be using a AE / Premiere workflow as a stop gap before possibly upgrading to a dedicated workstation for Blackmagic Cinema Camera projects.[/left][/font][/color]

With grain this fine at 2.5k raw, running Neat Video if you want a smoother look is no problem. Detail will be intact unlike at high ISOs on a DSLR. The C300 also has nice fine grain but 50Mbit 8bit has its limits versus mighty 12bit raw with 13 stops of DR. C300 has archival advantages and is good for people doing commercial jobs in a tight time frame though, with a lot of Canon glass. Archiving 5 years worth of raw footage if you shoot a job a week is going to be costly in storage and physical space to store the drives on shelves. HurtinMinorKey did you watch the footage on a 2.5K display? Makes a huge difference over 1080p.

I'm early in my Resolve adventure but it was impressive at first glances. However I don't get smooth playback of CinemaDNG in it.

I've seen the original files straight off the camera many times. The BMD looks better in my opinion. More film like and 12bit.

The C300 is good. But it just doesn't excite me. We're looking beyond an industry tool with the Blackmagic and DSLRs. It is changing filmmakers, especially aspiring ones and newcomers. The C300 is just a good 1080p cam. Anyway, why pay $15,000 for an 8bit MPEG camera when you can now get this kind of 12bit raw for $3000? If image quality is a priority (under ISO 1600) I'd go for the Blackmagic based on the footage I have witnesses from both that and the C300. The BMD is more filmic. It's raw. End of story.

When you consider how films are actually shot, extreme shallow depth of field and fast wide angle are gimmicks. I actually am starting to find too much bokeh distracting. It was nice to have when the 5D Mark II came out 3 years ago. We've moved on. Besides the sensor in the Blackmagic is hardly what you'd call small chip.