Orangenz

Just get a 5D3 then..... Honestly. If that's what you think will get you a foot in the door (it won't) but if you think it will go for it. There are reasons why 5D3's are recommended and it's usually down to ignorance (MOST -not all- of the time it's due to someone heard "this camera is gud".. NOT because it's regarded as the pinnacle of DSLR video performance............) In some cases people are still shooting Canon due to the popularity of the 5D2 (why change when you already own gear?) Canon also offers very good upgrade path with the Cinema EOS system.
 
It's not like you're going to be covered in jobs just because you own a 5D3 (in-fact I'd say you'd be lucky to even get 1 job just because of the gear you own) That said, a good "camera operator" should be able t shoot with a whole range of cameras, any decent job will supply you with cameras and anyone hiring that has slightly more knowledge than just a consumer who's best friends uncles pro videographer buddy told him "this camera is gud".

I might be missing something by not knowing what IMAG is (is it live playback?), but no one has yet pointed out the obvious - if your output is 720p, then you will have a lot of crop options with the GH4 in 4K mode. Couldn't you therefore do without a long tele?
 
The MFT cameras are not great in low light - even the new sensor in the GH4. I'd still choose a GH4 over a 5D3 for what you're doing, without hesitation. But I would buy a Speed Booster and some fast primes or the Sigma 18-35mm.
 
If you're buying this camera to learn 'real' filmmaking, MFT lenses are not the way to go. You want to use manual focus. The only advantage of Lumix glass for you is stabilization.
 
Personally I would go for:
 
GH4
Speed Booster (Nikon>MFT)
Sigma 18-35mm
A couple of these Nikkor AI-S primes: 85mm f2 / 105 f2.5 / 135mm f2.8 / 200mm f4
Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 if you need a wide angle.

The rolling shutter that I really can't stand is on the GoPros. They are horrendous, and with the kinds of action people shoot on them, even more horrendous. It feels like the video is fed into some kind of hallucinogenic warp program. I know I am watching GoPro footage because I start to feel sick.

Sony A7 what again? :)

Sure, will do one tomorrow.

That's why you gotta take what these hired "filmmakers" say with a grain of salt. You'll never get the real low down until someone like Andrew and some others point it out. I got excited too about the A7s too, then I heard it was only 8-bit, then realized it was still only 8-bit even in 4k with a recorder and then a price gets tossed around, $4100.00 USD and now this rolling shutter issue. It's a speciality cam, lock it down and shoot in the dark if you absolutly have to and you'll do fine with it. If you take to heart what these showcase filmmakers say, you'll be kicking yourself down the road. Hey if it was under 2 grand I wouldn't even write this post but after hearing what they'd like to charge I had to chime in.

By the way.... just got this in ;) on loan.. sadly.
 

I have already tested it. It doesn't.

That's not rolling, that's twisting.  They outta see if Chubby Checker music is available for the tv commercials. 

"The admin" haha as if like there's anybody else here. Amusing. I'll call the guys behind EOSHD and ask them if they can change my title from admin to filmmaker.

I'd love to see a win version ;)

Believe me, A7s isn't "everything we ever asked for". If it was, it'd have 10-bit at the least. Have you ever worked with a true 10-bit video image as opposed to 8-bit? It's a world of difference. Anyone that tells you otherwise simply doesn't understand colour-science, colour-precision, dynamic-range preservation, nor colour-grading.

Further, every one that goes on and on about "the benefits of full-frame" either doesn't realise that full-frame is very hard for precise focus-pulling, nor do they understand that, when shooting 4K, your focusing better be on point. Full-frame is actually very unfriendly for filmmakers - especially "one-man-army" type filmmakers. In indie filmmaking, a small sensor is actually your friend.

F4 is very shallow on full-frame - usually one has to stop down to F5.6 to even make the focusing manageable (and by doing so, you'll be pumping up the ISO to compensate for closing your aperture down), let alone viewable. For some strange reason, shallow depth-of-field has become synonymous with "cinematic". For me, when I see ultra shallow depth-of-field, especially the overuse and abuse of it, it simply screams "amateur", "novice". Especially when it is accompanied by God-awful jitters and micro-shakes.

People need to concentrate on composition more than shallow DoF - and in my humble opinion, light and shadow gives a sense of depth far more than shallow DoF, or the Z-Axis benefit that comes with full-frame sensors (which is a concept I've never really agreed with). Light and shadow is far more important when creating the illusion of three-dimensions through a two-dimensional medium such as film.

But to each there own. For me, tha A7s will be something I buy more for my street photography than video. I'll throw my old Canon FD and Nikon-F glass on there. I don't need auto-focus. In fact, I detest the hell out of auto-focus.

For those that go A7s, be sensible in your composition. The last thing anyone wants to see is 95% bokeh like we did during the 5DMKII days.

In my opinion, A7s is probably the more "fun" camera. I think it benefits still photography more than it does video. The GH4 is by far the more sensible video/film camera - 4K 10-bit at up to 30FPS, 1080P 10-bit at up to 60FPS, a sensor-size with manageable DoF - especially for "one-many-army" type filmmakers.

But like I said, to each their own.

I honestly don't see it this way mate.
 
Trend is to go smaller and lighter.
 
This goes in complete opposite direction.
 
We already have the same 4K capabilities and likely even same sensor in the Production Camera. Rig a monitor up to that and you have Ursa without the bulk.
 
Also those ProRes HQ 4K files are virtually unmanageable when it comes to archiving footage. Be prepared to delete and compress a lot of master files if working with those. I am already dreading it with the A7S... And will be begging all the recorder manufacturers to come out with some lighter codecs for it.
 
The URSA doesn't suit me as a filmmaker but that's not to say I haven't considered the possibilities and who it WOULD suit.
 
I just don't think it's well conceptualised or designed to be honest. A massive heavy screen on a little hinge? A 7.5kg camera body? No thank you.
 
It smacks of greed to go after the production market before you have even satisfied the indie crowd... who are constantly asking for basic features and updates.
 
I'm afraid I don't be shooting any Blackmagic in 2014. What a shame.

Many in same boat as you, simply edit in 4K and deliver as 2K. Many benefits to it.
 
Difference is a click of a button and that is it.

I can guarantee that the internal XAVC-S 1080p from the A7S will not look as good as getting 1080p from the 4K output and doing your scaling in post with all that processing power available on your desktop.
 
8bit 4K 4:2:0 = 10bit 1080p 4444 remember. If the maths have complications and gotchas, the image to my eyes does not. The GH4's 4K looks like 10bit when you grade it and when you look at it on a 2K display. Gradations are smooth. Colour is fantastic. Sampling shows no signs of pixilation or jaggedness at 2K. At 1:1 at 4K you do see some aliasing and jaggies from 4:2:0 sampling. They disappear when scaled correctly to 1080p or 2K.

Moire-free? Don´t think so.
Rolling shutter? No shots on demo video.
8Bit? Sounds familiar ...
 
 
BUT:
 
It is so much better than Canons way! And we all are a little bit to petted with all the news from BM and Panasonic in the last year.

Hands up if you thought Atomos had got into the mic business?!

As a Sigma aficionado, I doubt very much they would use a Foveon sensor, as good as they are in still photography.  As a purist, Foveon does sensors right, it samples light in horizontal layers, blue, green then red.  It means you don't need any debayering, all you have to do is combine those values and you have a true 3-color pixel.  In theory ;)
 
In practice, the red layer gets so little light, sitting beneath the other two, that it's signal must be amplified and luma information from the top two layers must be used to negotiate a true color for the three.  There is also a problem that when light angles into the sensor it creates distortions.  I don't know the half of it.  What I do know is that the video on Foveon cameras is worse than the worst video you can imagine.  Why they even put video onto the camera is a mystery to me.  The write times of RAW images on those cameras, or at least the latest one I have DP1M, with the best Sandisk card, is around 11 seconds! And though you can still take photos until the buffer fills up you can't preview images, etc.  The write time is long, most theorize, because a lot of computations have to be made before converting the analogue signals to digital.  Other research by Bill Claff shows that the nothing changes in the sensor from a change in ISO.  Everything is shot at 100, the metadata is used, if you set higher, by post-processing.
 
Recently, Sigma/Foveon is coming out with a new camera that has a more detailed top layer.  Again, stuff to make your head explode.  I could see something similar in sensor design from Sony, maybe a top layer of pixels for focus, who knows!  But a Foveon sensor... inconceivable :)

On the snipers, it isn't so much the fact they point out an error as the sheer hatred and bitterness in which they do it. I don't want a forum full of people like this, therefore both users have been banned permanently.

There's no need for petty sniping. Seriously. If you think someone made a mistake, and you feel like you can offer a correction, there are far more civil ways to open a dialogue, ways that might actually be of benefit to the discussion as a whole.

You need to chill out.

Because it is shown at 720p on a 4Mbit Vimeo stream. Hell that is really letting the Alexa's wings stretch isn't it  :rolleyes:

Like I said in the blog, the sunny shots and highlights are not optimal because I exposed too far to the right. Very little is blown out but they could have benefitted from coming to the left a bit.
 
Believe me the roll off is smooth and the dynamic range is very wide on this cam.
 
The pink comes from my grade. If I wasn't in such a rush to show it to you, I'd have spent another 6 hours on it and put it through Resolve or something  :)
 
Furthermore, still experimenting with what picture profiles to use, though I love what CineLike D is giving me so far, despite having a name like a vitamin supplement.

Looks iiiinnnncredibe. Wow. Fantastic job.

Refreshing to get a camera that is actually exciting.