Tull_Power

Thanks for your detailed reply, you have managed to answer all my concerns clearly.  The fact that a knowledgeable user such as yourself sold his 50D in favour of the Pocket Cinema Camera convinced me to go for it.  I've also followed the link you've included and was quite surprised with your results from the Nikon.  I wonder why they haven't released a video 'hybrid' camera yet, since they do have the technology and marketing means to blow everyone out of the water.  If they could get around implementing continous raw shooting that is.

Would appreciate your feedback on which lenses work best with the BMPCC for handheld shooting, although I assume the Lumix 12-35 is the one to go for.  Thanks again for your help cantsin, looking forward to watch the work with your new camera!

Tull*Power

My 50 cents: Because of the scaling artefacts of the 50D, the Pocket produces a much cleaner video image, even in ProRes - unless you shoot your 50D video at 1:1 sensor crop/5x digital zoom or build a third-party anti-aliasing filter into the camera. For a comparison, see here (and click on the images to view them in full 1920x1080 resolution). Besides, the 50D can't record sound, and the MagicLantern version needed for shooting raw video is still experimental, complex (although the EOSHD guide helps), and (in conjunction with maxing out the write speeds of not-so-reliable CF Cards like the Komputerbays) less reliable for critical work.

 

I sold my own 50D after obtaining the Pocket and frankly don't see much of a niche for it anymore aside for people on very tight budgets, very constrained needs of shooting (since a 128GB CF card for about 30 minutes of footage costs you 140 Euro), greater investments into Canon lenses, and generally a love for technical experimenting and tinkering - it's great as a hacker cam, since Magic Lantern makes it fully programmable. Magic Lantern raw video really shines on the 5D Mark III though.

Dear Andrew,

thanks for one of the best resources on the internet for camera and video enthusiasts.  I've appreciated your blog since the GH2 heydays, it has always been an insipiration to me as well as a driving force to improve my skills and equipment.  As Maxotics rightly pointed out, the Pocket Cinema Camera is much cheaper then the Canon MkIII, also factoring in the expense of multiple fast CF cards, so they're definitely not in the same league price wise.  However, I would appreciate your opinion on how the BMPCC compares to the Canon 50D, a camera you've championed on your blog in the past.  Consider that the 50D is also a good 15mp photo-camera (which the Pocket camera is not), offers better autofocus and has a wider selection of stabilized lenses, and of course features 14bit raw video through Magic Lantern.  Would you consider it as a better alternative to the Pocket Camera?  Of course taking into account both the longer workflow for the 50D, and the fact (as you've mentioned in your review) that raw video can end up giving you too much flexibility making editing harder.  The total lack of audio is not much of a concern, as it seems the Pocket Camera's sound is barely usueable, except as a scratch track to help synching.

All the best, and thanks again for the well written review!

Tull*Power