ewanthomas

I'm really interested in this Richard. (Thanks for the piece Andrew). I've got a Nex-5N and I love it but hardly use it because of the overheating. What happens to the controls at the back? Is the other screen still there so you can slim it down without the extra LCD. Would love to see it in action. Perhaps I can help make a review piece for one / try it in the field (I'm also based in the UK). Whats the price going to be?  Thanks for the info.

As for who will win, definitely the Black Magic. That price point will kick the others into touch. Looks amazing for the price and capabilities. If the image is half decent and the workflow not too killer on lower end machines we could be about to see the true democratisation of 'film' quality cinema cameras.

I think Shawn hit the nail on the head. The Blackmagic does not look like a camera you'll be able to use in the field or for many documentary applications, It certainly does not look rugged enough and the power and memory situation I think would make it very difficult to use for some conditions. It's amazing invention though and I'm sure for a lot of applications will kick the ass of the more expensive Canon's. I've got myself a 5D Mk3 and to be honest I'm fed up of hearing how 'disappointing' a camera it is. It's amazing. I'm cutting together a doc with 7D, 5D Mk2 and 5D Mk3 footage that I've shot and the difference is staggering. Sharpen the Mk3 footage a little and it absolutely sings, the 720p slow motion looks amazing (light years ahead of the 7D). I've watched it on some massive TVs and it really kicks on to a new level, grades beautifully, incredibly cinematic and that lovely full-frame look. That being said even the 7D and 550D footage in the same film looks great (in the right situations with the right lenses!).

Thanks Amro! Really appreciate your comment. I've got a Manfrotto tripod (I think it's the 190 legs with a cheap pan head on it) it's not great for video (bit too light) but it is great for running around with because it's so light. For my handheld shots I just pull the legs out and hold the tripod! I'd love to have the time to get a steadicam up and running but most of the time you'd miss too much I think. It's not an ideal solution but the 5N is so light I find it's pretty easy to hold the camera for a while like this. You should definitely shoot something with yours! Love to see it.

I shot a documentary last week about a Polish, Sussex based Landscape Photographer, Sławek Staszczuk here in the UK. I'd read Andrew's great blogs about the Nex-5N and really liked what I read but this was the first shoot I'd really used it outside on location. And it was brilliant. I got the amazing 35mm SLR Magic F1.7 (which is simply magical) and it was perfect for capturing shots at dawn as we walked to the amazing white chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters. I took my 550D along (and it fell in the sea, smashing a Tokina 11-16mm in HALF!) which was a blow, but by then it was all about the 5N and the best footage by far that I shot was on that. Some shots were a bit soft (absolutely no light before dawn!) but worked to create the atmosphere. I'm blown away by the quality of the 5N, it grades really nicely, even the 16mm pancake that comes with it works a treat and the movable LCD is great. The quality is simply stunning for a small camera and hopefully with the EOS - Emount adapter I'll be able to use all my Canon glass on it soon. Big thanks to Andrew for all the blogs about the 5N, really helped me find a camera that works wonderfully for this sort of film-making. Here it is [url=http://vimeo.com/35988208]THE SHOT - documentary about a landscape photographer[/url] Let me know what you think. Thanks

I think what people have lost proportion with is just what you are getting for that money. About 2 years ago I was regularly hiring a Sony XDCAM HD camera the PDW-700, they cost something like £30-40K to buy! You couldn't buy one! In fact you could only afford cameras like the EX1 and EX3 (wow they disappeared fast didn't they!) The image was not as good as my 7D (although the workflow was far better). 2 years is not a lot of time to now be able to buy a camera far far better (the C300) for what is about a third or a quarter of that price. And that's the comparison that should be made, what these cameras cost compared to what similar cameras cost in the past. Not what DSLR's cost.  I think Andrew is right, for most of us Indie film makers it's the camera to dream about hiring for some projects but not one to buy. There's no way I could justify it. I paid back my 7D and 550D in a about a 2 months of camera charges for the production company I was working for, which was amazing. It would take a hell of a lot longer to pay back a C300. I think it has incredible virtues, but I can't justify it. The FS100 has been getting a lot of praise recently (surprisingly), but I think there's a lot of issues for it. I hired it for a shoot for the 50FPS slow-mo (I now have a Nex-5N for that!) and I was really disappointed with it as a camera, clunky, rubbish for handheld with a very poor zoom lens on it and a laughable LCD, the results I got were almost always overshadowed by the 7D I used as B-cam. And the editing workflow was rubbish (with all the 50fps stuff). But it was okay because I was handing it back! The Nex is a wonderful camera, the results very cinematic and incredibly easy to use, with that E-mount to EOS adapter I think it'll be a serious proposition. And the slow-mo looks wonderful. The LCD is beautiful and people will not realise you are filming. Which is a real consideration as a Canon user these days! The C300 will slot perfectly into the market and it'll do really well, I'll probably hire one in a couple of months (for a project it'll really add something to). I really think the codec, the form factor, the attractive price and the EF lens mount will make it sell by the bucketload. And the exciting thing for GH2 users is that their camera is not a million miles off in terms of image quality! 

I've invested a lot in both gear and creativity. Though I have to say that gear is far more satisfying. It rarely lets you down, it will not ignore your calls and you aren't dependant on other people for your gear to be successful. I find being a film maker incredibly frustrating, especially when you are working from your own pocket because people are often unreliable and lack the commitment that you have yourself. I never find my camera frustrating. And I think this might go a long way to explaining why these pages are more popular with people. We want to know about technology that will help us facilitate better products, be they business, be they a simple shot of sunset. These are known quantities, resolution, lens mounts, card slots. These are fixed things. Making films is uncertain, unknown and frought with danger. Obviously the rewards are great, but the upset, and personal frustration equally so. Camera's excite me because of how they can encourage me to be more creative. Throwing money at another short film project is not something I enjoy in the same way as taking beautiful images or video both for my own work and for business. Making a film with your own money will rarely (if ever) earn you money back, whereas owning the right camera really can. I've had so much work through virtue of earning a DSLR that I simply would not have otherwise. Equally I've been able to do so much work because I can afford to own a camera. "My best investments have been creative projects not kit - thats what brings in the work" Having seen Sam's work I can understand that comment, for a DP definitely. But for me it's been 50/50. I hope one day it'll swing 100 to creative projects. But I'm not there yet.