StivVid

Well...  You've nearly got me convinced to jump ship too.  I've been holding onto my 7D despite not having much work for it anymore because I keep hoping that Canon will come to its senses and issue meaningful firmware upgrades to those of us using these cameras to shoot video. I understand that the 7D is first and foremost a still camera, but a major selling point of this camera was its video capability.  It was developed and released hot on the heels of the success of the 5D Mark II which came as a complete surprise to Canon.  It was so much of a shock, that several years later they still don't understand what they've discovered and how the pro video landscape has irreversibly changed forever. I don't want to go back to shooting on small sensor cameras--not even the 2/3 inch chip cameras I've used for 20 years now.  And unlike yourself, Andrew, I actually think APS-C is the perfect size for filmmaking.  What's so utterly frustrating is knowing that Canon has intentionally hobbled these cameras--they are capable of much better video performance.  The 7D resolves bags of detail when shooting stills, but switch to video mode and fine detail goes to mush.  That's not the hardware.  That's Canon's poor implementation of a poor choice of video codec, and the method Canon employs to downsample 18 mega pixels of information down to the roughly 2 mega pixels needed for HD video.  Surely those things could be improved in a firmware upgrade? I don't see any difference at all between video shot on the 7D, 550D, 60D and now 650D.  As far as I can tell, they perform identically.  There is a big difference in build quality and handling, though, and as far as that is concerned I can find very little to complain about on the 7D.  It's a lovely object to hold and to shoot with and its build quality and weather resistance is top notch--as it should be.  After all, this is still currently the top of the line Canon APS-C offering.  It looks as though the 7D might sit at the top of the range for a while longer as well in light of news of a long awaited and very welcome firmware update.  I'm afraid it might be too little too late, though.  It's great that Canon have finally activated manual controls for audio, but if it doesn't sound any better than a Zoom H4N I'm not likely to use it even though it would be much more convenient to do so. People are all fired up about the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Sony's FS700.  I'm pretty excited too.  Problem is so few people are really ready for RAW or 4K.  (And before you say anything...  Yes.  I do know that you don't HAVE to shoot RAW on the Blackmagic camera and you don't HAVE to shoot 4K on the Sony camera.  Actually you can't shoot 4K on the Sony yet.)  The amount of storage space needed to shoot in these formats is staggering, let alone the additional space needed for backup and archiving.  HD is fine for me right now, and I think Canon already has the answer to these cameras in its APS-C line.  Especially the 7D with its dual processors which, as far as I know, aren't used for processing video at all--just stills.  I can't help but think those processors could be tasked to improving the 7D's video performance. In fact...  I would be willing to pay for a video-specific firmware release that would effectively give those that would be interested--i.e. filmmakers--something akin to a 5D C, or 7D C.  Improved fine detail resolution, decreased moire and aliasing, peaking, zebras...  Yep.  I'd pay for that.  I've enjoyed shooting with the 7D, but if Canon don't do something soon, it's time to give it up and buy an FS100 or something that might actually help me pay the bills.

[quote author=jlev23 link=topic=613.msg4389#msg4389 date=1334878315] though if Canon really wanted to shut everyone up now, the only right thing to do is release a firmware upgrade next week that gives us clean HDMI out. that is the only answer. NIkon has it, its foolish we dont. this way we can still have our still camera and for 1500 bucks get a recorder of our choice and make us be able to shoot professional quality video. then we would have professional photography and videography in our hands, that beats the black magic camera in my mind, especially as far as a prosumer market. [/quote] That's exactly what I've been thinking.  If Canon wants to derail the launch of BM's new camera, all they have to do is release a firmware update that gives us the features we've all been screaming for--not the least of which is a clean video out.  Maybe derail isn't the right word, but it would give Canon some time to figure out what to do next.  Canon would sell a boatload of their existing product, and those of us who already have 5D, 7D, 550D, 60D cameras would have pride of ownership for a little while longer. But Canon do have to figure out what's next.  I'm not asking for the performance of a C300/C500 or 1D C for my 1200 euro investment, but I am asking for a reason not to shop around for awhile. I'll hold off for now on the Blackmagic offering, but it sure is appealing.

Magic Lantern and the GH2 hack have shown us just how much manufacturers have intentionally hobbled their cameras.  If Canon wanted to slow down the hype and potential sales for the launch of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, all they'd have to do is release a video specific firmware upgrade for their line of video enabled EOS cameras.  If they really pushed it, I bet they could do this before the release of BM's camera in July. I've always been curious about the potential of the 7D with its dual digic 4 processors.  As far as I can tell, the only real benefit of the dual processors is the ability to shoot 18 mega pixel raw photos at a rate of 8 frames per second.  I don't think the dual processors are being used for any video functions at all. If Canon could add some of the choice features offered by Magic Lantern, improve fine detail resolution, reduce moire and the jello effect, and send clean video out from HDMI, they'd already have a Blackmagic killer on the market in the 7D.  It's got a super35 sized chip, does fantastic time lapse, and is built like a tank.  Where they're lacking is on the software side.  Let's face it, Canon's cameras are just not very post-production friendly. Any thoughts?  Am I nuts, or naive, or both? By the way... I started pestering Canon about these issues a couple months ago.  So far all I've got in return are some automated responses and a promise to bump my concerns up to someone higher.  Not holding my breath on that one.  Blackmagic's camera came as a complete shock and I'm so glad someone is finally shaking things up.

[quote author=unconsenting link=topic=596.msg4031#msg4031 date=1334604709] There is probably not much margin in this camera. I think it is to get people hooked on DaVinci free for post and in the long run, when people do well enough financially, they will upgrade to the larger DaVinci system. In fact, you can only do 1080p in DaVinci free, I believe. An exec for Adobe once stated that they were excited that Photoshop was the most pirated software in the world, because it got people hooked on their workflow. Then when they establish a business in need of legit software, they buy the full version. Like a crack dealer who gives you the first rock free :) [/quote] I think you've misread what's included with this camera.  It includes the full version of DaVinci Resolve 9.0 as well as Blackmagic UltraScope.