nahua

There's  something Freudian about FF sensor obsession ...
:)

Look it really is time to nail this argument down so hard it can never get up again.
 
By your logic Super 16mm which is a 2.7x crop is also ludicrous. OK but didn't stop The Queen, Black Swan and Moonrise Kingdom being made on it. They're some of the best looking films I've seen in the past 2 years if not THE best looking.
 
Remind me of the advantages of a full frame sensor. So you can defocus everything apart from a tiny sliver of hair? Oh please... It looks rubbish. This is not cinema. In low light at fast apertures, my 5D Mark III makes focus unmanageable at close distances. You cannot shoot a film this way.
 
Like I say if a 2.7x crop is good enough for Darren Aronofsky then 2.3x is good enough for you. Super 16mm films have won multiple Oscars throughout history and nobody complained about the lack of shallow DOF or the film stock being ludicrous! Do you realise how silly it sounds?
 
It isn't even a 2.3x crop factor over the C300. It is a 1.6x crop versus the C300 which is what you are comparing it to, not a photographic camera with a video mode tacked on the back.
 
Super 35mm - the cinema standard - is not the same as full frame.

You can't compare the 'ludicrousness' of 11 stops of dynamic range recorded in 8-bit at 50Mbps to 13 stops of dynamic range recorded in 12-bit raw at 1.1Gbps.  Sorry, you just can't.

[url="http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/bmcc-rewo-1.jpg"][img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/bmcc-rewo-1-660x439.jpg[/img][/url]

Above: ReWo caged Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Review of the cages for the BMCC is coming soon (click image to enlarge)

[url="http://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Test/Blackmagic-Cinema-Camera---Teil-3--Die-Schattenseiten-und-unser-Fazit.html"]SlashCAM[/url] here in Berlin have been putting their expertise to work on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. They also had the opportunity to compare their regular test shots with new shots from the Blackmagic. As you can see in the example after the break, the blacks are far cleaner in post than material shot on the Canon C300.

SlashCAM have tested an enormous range of camcorders and cameras over the last 10 years. Here they've tested all the important aspects of the BMCC's performance in detail, such as rolling shutter, dynamic range, etc.

[url="https://vimeo.com/54325017"]https://vimeo.com/54325017[/url]

This footage looks better than anything I've seen from the FS700.

But, BMC still kicking both their asses.

[quote name='endlos' timestamp='1354194534' post='22628']
And where is the evidence of that? Your not referring to the tired and outdated arguments against Final Cut X are you?
[/quote]

Right in front of your eyes!
DVD Studio Pro has been discontinued. Logic hasn't seen an update in years. Same for Aperture. There hasn't been a proper Mac Pro update in what, 3 years??? The iMac is their fastest machine at the moment!
They're obviously focusing all their efforts on iPads and iPhones and consumer stuff, I don't think you need any further proof of that...

The Alexa has become a favourite in film due to its amazing picture quality, and in broadcasting due to its picture quality AND prores support.
The RED didn't have prores until very recently and on paper it's always been better than the Alexa, but that wasn't enough for many top cinematographers.
I'm afraid these specs are more closely evaluated by people like us than actually top cinematographers, because they just hire one of each and run a bunch of test shoots, and in the end their decision is based on the image quality when they run the tests on a big screen. High fps will hardly be a deciding factor unless the film in question relies heavily on it. I've worked on films where the RED was only used because it's easier to use for stereo shoots, not because of image quality, so that has been a huge advantage for them.
Sony will have to deliver in image quality too if they want to succeed, these cameras are not cheap enough for the spec sheet reading enthusiasts and for the pros it doesn't really matter if they're slightly cheaper than an Alexa or RED. If they deliver though, then it might shake things up even more, and who knows soon we'll even be able to afford one!

Canon's C series cameras are great at what they do, you could almost say they're perfect for a bunch of different tasks, including indie filmmaking (maybe 60fps would make them even more perfect), but looking at what everyone else has on offer at the moment, I don't think I'm being unrealistic when I say that all their C cameras should have their prices dropped to half.

As of tonight, the new iMacs are finally officially available for ordering from the Apple store. The maximum configuration looks something like this:
[list]
[*]3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
[*]32GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4X8GB
[*]768GB Flash Storage
[*]NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5
[/list]All for about $4,500.
 
Opting for 8GB of RAM (to upgrade later) and a 3TB Fusion Drive instead bring the cost down to about $3000. 
 
Also, the Cubix Xpander is an external peripheral that allows for the use of second GPU, and the 10GB/s Thunderbolt connection allows for additional drives to be hooked up externally -- including the 12TB Thunderbolt RAID.
 
This all sounds impressive, but how future-proof (i.e. ready for the next five years) is this setup? I suspect that it can handle 4K ProRes, but what about 4K RAW (and Davinci Resolve)?
 
I have also been communicating with a custom PC builder on eBay who is going to spec out a workstation specifically designed to work optimally with Adobe CS6 and Davinci Resolve 9. I'll post the results of that when I get them.

Andrew you're on a roll, some of the best analysis to date! It'll be very interesting to see who's left standing after the dust settles. There is a very bright future for Sony indeed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LO7rxitFLZg

Thanks for [url="https://twitter.com/SmackChopG/status/273979426075713536"]G Xiong on Twitter[/url] for this one :)

I would like to see these on your Black Magic Cinema Camera
Andrew get intouch with Hawk and see if they will loan you some to test / review!! .....they are a German Company ....
[i]'If you dont ask - you dont get!!'[/i]

Hey guys,

I've run a recording studio for about 15 years now, and find myself running into the same issues over and over again. I've also been giving the same speech for about as long, and thought I'd compile it into a short "how to" video for YouTube.

Bring your sense of humor, as I don't pull any punches.

Shot on a GH2, ISCO Ultra-Star, and 37mm Mir.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw25dOC7H9M&hd=1

Many people find that a 2x (3.55:1) aspect ratio is just too narrow for their liking. The good news is that if you are using a 2x lens and you have a DP4 monitor, you can compose and shoot in 1.5x. This allows us to enjoy all the benefits of 2x glass (greater availability, lower prices, more dramatically stretched bokeh) with none of the headache. Here's how to do it:[list=1]
[*]Choose a Preset number so that you don't have to make these adjustments every time (just scroll back to the Preset).
[*]Under the [i]Advanced Menu[/i], go to [i]Scale[/i] and select [i]2.35:1[/i].
[*]Go to [i]Custom Scale[/i] and input the following values:
[/list]
[indent=1]HSTART: 706[/indent]
[indent=1]HSIZE: 94[/indent]
[indent=1]VSTART: 500[/indent]
[indent=1]VSIZE: 600[/indent]

Now you are set to monitor in 1.5x.

I have created an Apple Compressor setting that I just drag-and-drop onto incoming footage that squeezes AND crops the footage to 1.5x before I even begin my edit. It helps keep my render time down and I don't even have to deal with the trimmed footage area if I don't want to.

These values [i]may[/i] also work on the DP6, but I haven't tried it.

No, 4K is not worth it. In fact, digital projection is a disaster and I believe the only reason the movie industry gets away with such inferior quality is because people don't care about it and, of course, there's no competition to the media. Every movie I've seen -including Skyfall - at AMC which blasts its Sony 4K notification at the start - suffers from color loss, brightness loss and poor dynamic range (Xiong's bulb turned down??). I do far better on my cheap Mits projection screen with an old Cinemascope production (viewing distance??). There's a reason why this particular form of entertainment is - or was - called the dream factory and that's because the medium's "limitations" were a way to present a story that, even in its most "realistic" tone, still had a dreamy, not of the day-to-day reality quality. That is simply not there with digital anything because neither of the ???'s or any of the new limitations, were an issue "back in the day". Without significant change in this current situation, the digital madness at theatres will only accelerate the advent of the home theatre as more people finally realize that the price they're paying for non-quality isn't a value proposition. And, with an aging population, that's a more serious problem that it might seem.

If this camera is using the 5dmkII sensor, well then I can't believe the moire. Worse than even the t4i. I am seriously ditching Canon. I love my 5dmkIII, but it'll be for photos only from here on out. Thank you Panasonic, can't wait for my GH3!

Gawddamn Canon. There's moire in the damn brownies.

DONE.

48fps wont be the new standard, 24fps has always been the staple and I dont see that changing. On the other hand, if cinema's wanted me to pay a premium, it'll be for watching a screen thats not horribly projected(bulb turned down for cost reasons) and being seated with actual polite audience who dont bring their kids/baby's to a Rated-R movie, and having people use their phones during a movie.

So I'd rather pay for a more polite humanity haha :D

[quote name='markm' timestamp='1353881982' post='22276']
Mike Why'd you do that? I need to see people different places lighting conditions focal lengths NOT closeups on stained glass! Please try again!
Have you got some 16mm lenses to test with a monitor plugged in or maybe even a prores recorder?
[/quote]

geeez dude, it's his camera, he can shoot whatever he wants lol

The painful thing is the 1D C is a great artistic tool. A dream camera for me.

Canon seem to be able to charge what they like and pros will not see it as a problem. Most of them rent any way.

Now let's talk about the non-pro market.

This is the one I am most interested in because of the philosophy that being a cinematographer should be like being a musician. You pick up the instrument and if you are talented you go far.

A shame none of this talent will be picking up a 1D C.

A shame Canon continue to look at professional niche markets with huge margins rather than changing the world.

Changing the world seemed to work well for Apple's bank balance. I guess Canon just lack the imagination.

Their profits are down.

All I can say is... Good luck from now on.

Man, am I excited about this. This is the first camera since the hacked GH2 that has gotten me to geek out over some tech.

I think that this essentially confirms what everyone expected: the BMC is well beyond similarly-priced cameras and anything that is cheaper. As some have said before, the real test will be when it is run head-to-head with Arri, Red, and other uber-cameras.

That's not to say this test was pointless, though. It gives us a hierarchy at all price points, while also showing us the possible ways to save money based on our shooting. I know that I am not the only guy who's walking away from this with a different value perspective.

I am curious, though. How much storage do you, Andrew, estimate you will need to work with this camera? I mean, 45 minutes per quarter-terabyte is a number that scares the shit out of me.

Pile of crap, there you can say it. But you're wrong. The DSLRs are still as good and as exciting as they always were it is just that the Blackmagic Cinema Camera is EXTREMELY good and has raised the bar at the $3000 price point. You can blah blah blah about Red all you like, they are not $3000. Big difference for most of us.

I'm totally sold on the BMCC, i'm a postproduction guy and 12bit 4:2:2, 2.5k resolution for green screen work, the BMCC is a bless for compositing.

The 1D C in my opinion looks very nice.

But it is $12,999 (maybe even $15,000?) and that is the problem. The Blackmagic is $3000. Shoots 12bit raw. You may have heard of it :)

One of the better quality GH3 videos so far. Review coming soon.

I know YouTube compression will hide it a bit, but that video looks really clean for a 1250ISO video. Also kinda flat (but there's always crushed blacks in the very low end, unlike Canon's Cinestyle), yet it lacks a bit of detail. Perhaps it's about finding a balance in the custom settings.

As for moiré, I watched it twice and didn't find anything, but then again you didn't encounter any difficult textures.
Still, this is getting a bit pointless to me. I want to see a final version of the GH3 head to head against a GH2. I'm tired of looking for ghosts.

/Edit: Uploaded new video with correct contrast.

Here you go. Not the best test situation, had to go to iso 800 to shoot at f/2.8.
Included some footage I shot before as well in the end (with 12-35mm X)
Didn't bother to include +5 contrast, probably nobody wants that anyway.

I used a 50mm Minolta MD Rokkor f/1.7 @ f/2.8 which I bought for €5 on eBay. You get some free moire included. Safe to say More is not a 12-35mm X only thing.

Settings:
1080P MOV ALL-I 72Mbit
25 fps
50mm Minolta MD f/1.7 @ f/2.8
ISO 800
1/50 sec

I left out the Custom profile. It just saves one of the other profiles with your contrast/sharpness preferences as a preset. It's not a different profile.

Here some HQ Screengrabs straight from Sony Vegas: