maxotics

Of course you can spend a huge amount of money for an external monitor and some ultra expensive Zacuto stuff, OR you can make the perfect setup for less then 50 €!!
 
All you need is this
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Viewfinder-Extender-2-8x-Canon-Mark/dp/B009SXO5BK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397841866&sr=8-1&keywords=v1+viewfinder
 
and this
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/CowboyStudio-Shoulder-Support-Camcorder-Camera/dp/B0036NMQ7S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397842085&sr=8-1&keywords=shoulder+mount+Cowboystudio
 
I can assure you, I'm shooting with d800 for more the one year now, in every kind of situation and this is a super reliable setup.  With this kind of shoulder mount you can grab the camera with your right hand like when you shoot stills and use the left for focusing, very stable even when you're moving. The viewfinder has a x2,8 magnification factor and is perfect. Another great feature that the d800 has is the removable screen protector, you can buy a second one and put the viewfinder frame on it, as I did (see below). I can't believe people spend a bunch of money for a zacuto vew finder, it's crazy. Unless you're rich of course... Believe me, there's no need to buy an expensive rig, all you need is training. I can track focus on a 50mm f1,8 with no problem, all you really need are good lenses and a good tripod (a Manfrotto 055xprob with the hd 501 head is a perfect and cheap combo). And if you want to spend money buy an Atomos Ninja for hdmi uncompressed, that is a good purchase.  Don't listen who will say "this is a cheap rig, it can't be good", check the Musgo trailer on the web, is a film made with an hacked gh2 and this shoulder mount.   And look how is cute my d800 with viewfinder!    

I can't help but think using something like a C100 would give you a better quality image with a similar price and setup with a lot easier workflow. The full-frame look is hard to beat, though. 

Personally, I can't compare any 4K image that i've seen to a full frame sensor DSLR camera. There's really nothing to a 4K image, in my opinion, that is cinematic. 4K is all about resolution, and a full frame sensor just has a look all of its own. I almost ordered the Panasonic GH4, but after listening to some NAB interviews, I completely changed my mind. I'm definitely in the market for a full frame sensor.

Hi Richg101, My focal reducer looks exactly like the one in your link.  My feeling is it is, and it is either a bit off, or the BMPCC. 
 
I tried screwing out the lens, but it makes no difference.  However, I see that I can remove the Nikon mount part, then the lens, so could then file down the flanges a bit without worrying about the lens.  So will try that next.  And thanks for the tips!
 
UPDATE
 
THAT WORKED!  I unscrewed the Nikon mount part from the MFT mount.  I then unscrewed the lens and took it out.  With a dremel I sanded a bit off the underside of all 3 flanges.  It now seems to fit perfectly.
 
As I mentioned before, the Nikon 24mm 2.8D, does not fit on until clicking into place, but enough that I don't worry about it.
 
Anyway, THANKS richg101, your ideas got me to the fix!!!

it really is a wonderful stills camera, I just can't get that excited about it for video.   I've moved on. 

I think the D800's externally recorded image is really quite lovely. A couple examples (both can be downloaded):
 

Shooting weddings on a BMPCC? I'd easily take a 5D for that... Better battery life, low light, easier workflow for quick turnaround, easier media storage, onboard mics that are functional (in case of emergency), more lens options w/ IS. 

I am upgrading some members to moderator status. If they choose to exercise their newfound abilities, this upgrade comes with the ability to delete and lock posts as well as the all powerful, all conquering ability to ban members who misbehave!
 
Thanks for their positive contributions to life here at EOSHD I am promoting RichG101, mtheory and jonpais to moderator status for the main forum and all sub-sections.
 
It carries no extra work or obligations - exercising their privileges will be entirely at the discretion of the moderator. I'll continue as the main admin. But I think having extra eyes and ears plus a few more trusted people with the ability to clean up posts and ban members will help me a lot.
 
Also since they expressed an interest, JohnBarlow will moderate the Anamorphic forum and Andy Lee will get his own sticky thread on lenses and lighting which may build into it's own forum section if it is successful.
 
I'll create the moderator privileges later in the week. Any objections or any opt outs please have your say on this thread!

I would say in first place it depends on what you are going to do with the camera...
I have a GH3 and an OMD em5 which are absolutely enough for my needs (my customers don't have an idea of 4k and raw) - I don't
produce big stuff just for the web and some corporate stuff.
 
But when I want to make something special I grab one of my filmcameras choose appropriate stock and decide carefully on my motiv, subject, cinematography. That is a totally different approach and absolutely worth a consideration. Sometimes I have got the feeling the people who film are much more focussed on an artistic and creative work rather then tech-specs. And keep in mind for film you get a 100 year "warranty" (good storage needed)  :)

Well... I downloaded the A6000 mts videos from Cameralabs review and the iso tests. Comparing to Nikon, to previous Sony NEX models and to Panasonic M43 cameras my conclusions are:

The A6000 does not show aliasing which is pretty good.
There is very small moire, not disturbing enough, possible to live with (I saw it in the beach shoot).
The noise in high iso does not show chroma noise which is great.
The noise in high iso is very fine and charming compared to previous NEX and to Panasonic.
The iso up to 1600 does not need denoise.
The iso 3200 is clean after denoise.
The iso 6400 is clean after denoise with small trembling in shadows, not disturbing.
The iso 12800 is not usable.
The resolution is a little gross compared to Panasonic, Panasonic is more cinematic, razor sharp.
If you want that razor sharp look which is desired to compete in tv broadcast and cinema theaters Panasonic M43 is the way to go, but the low light performance and E-mount with focal reducers allowing 1.16 crop factor is amazing on A6000.
The gross in A6000 resolution is more perceived in wide shots showing buildings, in low light it is not annoying, but still much better resolution than Canon APS cameras.
The resolution is on par with D5300 and I think A6000 is better because does not show halos in contrast edges. Low light is better than D5300.
The highlights are recorded above 100 IRE and can be recovered in post production and this is amazing. There are textures and tonal range hidden in the cliped highligts, something like 1 fstop of dynamic range can be recovered in post, something like HTP in Canon cameras.
The 5 levels of DRO to lift shadows combined with recovered highlights can deliver a great dynamic range.
With a RJ lens turbo to increase light by 1 fstop and reduce crop factor this camera will be a new low budget Queen for low light and for use all kind of lenses. The 1.16 crop factor with the lens turbo just avoids the soft and dark corners from the full frame lenses.
If you can record audio outside camera the A6000 is great for indie cinema. Also there is the option to buy the expensive bluetooth mic.
I hope Sony give us mic input in A7000 and maybe S-Log2 in the A7000 also.
The auto focus is accurate and smooth and does not show hunting, this is great.
I like the A6000 a lot!
I have the dream of Sony give us S-Log2 in the A7000 to increase dynamic range 1300%
That's it.
 

+1 for an ask Andy Lee sticky about lenses. 

I can understand that. For anyone, who is used to *shoot video* with a classic camcorder, it's terribly unpractical. The same was true, back then, for shooting with a bulky 35mm adapter or later with a DSLR. But as the bible knows, you love the prodigal son the most.
 
Imho it can best be compared to ancient mechanical 16mm cameras, with which people also had their trouble. To achieve good results, you had to know them by heart, to a point, where knowledge about stock sensitivity (and characteristics) in correlation with aperture and the (mostly fixed) shutter angle turned into intuition.
 
 
I don't use a light meter, and according to some comments in other places, only few still do, even in professional cinema. You can learn to judge correct exposure with the Pocket by doing a lot of tests and comparing them to what you saw during recording. Here are my rules of thumb:
 
1. ISO 800 offers the best possible DR for ProRes. To have a fixed ISO also facilitates things, less factors to be calculated on the fly by your CNS.
2. ETTR is also - partly - valid for ProRes. Fill the well, avoid the noise floor. It's 10-bit, so you are not simplifying skin tones by slightly overexposing, like with 8-bit codecs. Use 95% zebra then.
3. For RAW, use 100% zebra. If the image appears too bright on the display, lower the ISO (has no influence in RAW). 
4. When I still had a MFT system lens that set exposure automatically when I pressed IRIS, I realized that I always was in the same ballpark manually. No wonder: The automation uses ETTR as well.
 
My suggestion regarding your trip to far east:
 
1. Make at least ten test shots every day, document them, evaluate them, you will improve your intuitive skills. 
2. Buy a used GH2 or G6 (ridiculously easy cameras compared to the Pocket). They can use the same lenses. Compare, as I did, these cameras in the same situations. At first, the results with these Lumixs will be three times better. But not for long. 
3. Learn when to use RAW (seldom) and when ProRes (almost always).
4. Learn how to use Speedgrade. Not just in an afternoon. Watch whole video trainings by Lynda or the like, and delve into CC.
 
As I wrote before: The Zacuto Pocket finder (quite affordable) makes you see every single pixel on the muddy display and helps only a little bit as far as focussing is concerned. But you need it anyway when you shoot in daylight. And it adds a comfortable stabilization point. What you also need is some kind of additional support. Mine weighs below 100g and cost 14 € (new!).

People have been saying similar things in the GH4 threads. You really have to look at the context of the video, because at the end of the day, video that isnt made to look cinematic will indeed just look like video. The sensor is only part of what makes an image. For example, in the Gordon Liang video, the weather is overcast with neutral colours, he's using the kit lens and Program priority (meaning it may not even be the right shutter speed). And to top it off, he's shooting at 50 fps. It's just going to look like video no matter what.

The GH2 was the last GH Panasonic will ever sell me, the last DSLR/Mirrorless I'll ever buy to shoot anything but stills with.  I find nothing appealing about the GH4 or the Sony.  I'll never buy another compressed camera (lossy, h264 or variants), one that tops out at 422 or needs another box to shoot RAW.  BMD has done nothing to sway my interest in their products and these new cameras only solidify my resolve that if I can't have an Alexa it'll be a Blackmagic.  

@Andy, or anyone, will do whatever tests you'd like.  My pleasure.  In Nikon, I have a 24mm 2.8D, 50mm (both D and AIS), and an 85mm rokinon.  I'm a bit stuck between the Rokinon 16mm cine and Nikon 16mm (which would work on my d600 I believe).  No plans to get either but thinking...   The 7mm Vivitar I have has too much barrel distortion on the BMPCC.  Thoughts Andy?
 
@ZEBRAWORKZ  I would be surprised if the gx7 has better sharpness in good light than the GH3 because though the Achilles heel of APS-C size sensor is the amount of pixels they must skip to get a 1080p frame, and line skipping creates moire, pixel binning, while improving that, doesn't change the fact that you would probably get more sharpness from pixels that are physically closer to each other.  

Andy's not going to cheat on his g6 with just any broad, so I'm thinking the a6000 might be a winner.  I thought the 11fps burst very good.  If you can get that continuous on a 95mbs card then you have a poor man's 4K.  Unless you're filming people in dialogue, that kind of motion is often desirable anyway.  I've noticed I can shoot continuously with my GF3 on newer cards (but 3fps).  
 
The only reason I sold the Nex 7 was the proprietary hot shoe and, admittedly, slow focus. Seems like both those have been improved.  I don't mind the lower res EVF because the problem I had with the Nex 7 in that regard wasn't resolution but responsiveness.  It would black out, hesitate.  And getting APS-C size IQ.  
 
I wish it had all-I though and a higher bitrate, though, I have to admit, I can't see the difference between the g6 and Gh3 with the latter is shooting 70mbs.
 
BTW, Andy, bought that focal reducer from China for $100.  Going to pair it with my Nikon 24mm 2.8D on the BMPCC

"I think what he is saying is Panasonic actually finishes their low end products before pushing out newer high end products."
--------------------------------------------------------------
I always thought this place was for the artist? The guy who will jump through hoops to get a beautiful image? The guy who will use a $200 Nikon to get a taste for 4K/Raw/60p?
 
Now, all of a sudden, a couple of firmware glitches (that I also want fixed, but don't live or die by) coupled with the news of them pushing on with a new camera and they are "turning their back on the indie community"?
 
In a perfect world, my £650 cinema camera would show me how much SD card I have left, but I just work out my GB per minute and guesstimate, erring on the cautious.
 
As long as BM keeping giving me huge bangs for bucks, they'll keep getting my bucks... A bit of firmware angst and some new cameras wont change that. They are still firmly the great shining light of the indie community.

spec wise it ticks all the boxes
super 35mm size sensor 4k and global shutter in a usable body form like an Alexa -
what more do you want
Blackmagic have listened to all the feedback off their other 3 cameras
 
indie film makers will jump all over this - superb!!

Why would you sell you BMPCC which records 1080p in RAW?  The a7s will offer higher resolution, but record video in 8bit, which means, if  you don't nail your exposure perfectly there will be no fixing it.  And, you won't be able to grade color like you can with BMPCC RAW dngs.  This 4K stuff is like a shiny Xirconian diamond.  Real diamonds are RAW :) Different cameras for different needs.

Did you look at the 5000iso footage ???! sooo clean ! 
Looks moiré free, sharp and clean.... 
Personally I don't care about 4K. 
1080p full pixel readout full frame at 50mbps is perfect for me. With an amazing sensor for stills as well... Can't wait for the summer. Disappointed that they did not give a precise date.. gonna be late like august or something, and no price :(. 

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 :)

My experience with sony products has been of getting ripped off, almost always I had a better choice from Canon, Nikon or Panasonic, even a blank DVD costs more if it has a sony badge.
The thought of having 4k on a full frame sensor is amazing, even with a 1.3 crop, I woud drop every gear I have in an instant for an FX 4k.
I doubt this will happen, there must be a catch if they give 4k right now, it will eighter be very very expensive or have some basic features cut off, maybe some bad codec that breaks up, who knows.
At least I know I won't be buying anything from sony until I see 10 reviews discussing every litte thing and maybe waiting even half a year to see user impressions :), that's how bad I see sony products.

Yes I can confirm that using AF for video is f***ing stupid

I bet it'll be a rolling shutter monster. but they may surprise us. 

Dafranking - Can we up the quality of posts please.