Quirky

Bombshell? News about the camera have been hyped (leaked) for a couple of months now.

Although got to admit, they did not mention H265...

Sounds like an interesting new camera, and a welcome addition to the enthusiast grade mirrorless camera range but...

4K Recording at 24 fps, UHD Recording at 30 fps and 1080p Full HD Recording at up to 60 fps. 

Umm... what about 25p and 50p?

Apparently Samsung have adapted their regional policy from Victoria Nuland, the spokeswoman of the US State Department, and just like she, they're still going to "fuck the EU" with this new flagship model as well. 

Oh well, adapting a new lens mount system would be a bit of a chore, anyway, so whatever.

The above is a much better approach. Good luck. 

Again, agreed. ;) 

This second revision is better. But then again, isn't it actually just a long winded and a bit more confrontational way of asking the "What are your plans for video in near future products?" suggested by Olly above? 

But indeed, whichever way you see it, this version might even lead to a conversation of some sort, and reading/hearing about the answer to that would be much more interesting than to those thinly veiled tantrums listed in the blog post.

Unlikely or not, it would be so nice to be in Köln tomorrow. 

To geek out in the fair centre during the day, and then enjoy a pint or three of Kölsch on the other side of the river during the evenings. 

Those of you who can do it, enjoy, and have one on my behalf, too.

And pack very comfy shoes, if you're a first timer at Photokina. 

Anyway, to get back on topic, I wonder what would be the point of a 4K Leica S system in the first place.

The only question you need to ask Canon and Nikon are:

 

"What are your plans for video in near future products?" .... and go from there. Those 20 other questions I would totally forget. Don't waste your time  ;)

Exactly. I agree about concentrating on asking about their near future video policy and simply forgetting about those 20 nerdy ones.

Getting their views on that would be actually interesting. We can draw our own conclusions from what we hear/read.

The only thing I know they definitely 100% won't answer for sure, is questions relating to future products.

But you expect them to give you a good answer to "Is it a business failure that Canikon did not do this or that?"

M'kay.

You could rephrase the questions about their future plans for better results, just like you could rephrase the question above.

If Canon want to please video users they need to at least catch up with the competition.

As long as their brand recognition in the mainstream has as much inertia as it still does, and as long as their mainstream product line is still selling and dominating the supply chain, they don't need to please the (niche of) video users. DSLR's are first and foremost made for photography, anyway. They do also have a video camera line, the C series, along with a long line of camcorders. 

 

Ideally Canon should be better than the competition. 

"Ideally" you are projecting.

'Better' is a subjective term. So is the idea of what Canon should or should not be. "Ideally" you can of course project any sort of ideals and wishes onto any given brand, as they are not restricted by reality. Actual reality is another matter, though.

In reality, Canon are just one big Japanese electronics giant that make office and industry appliances like printers, scanners and stuff, and they happen to have a camera division, too. 

But they are just one of several camera makers. They have no patent for superiority, nor exclusivity for "better," whatever that means to each of us. If you don't like their offerings, there are other brands to choose from. 

This camera was made for photographers, not videographers or both. 

...Was?  :huh:  ;)

Quite. After the obligatory fiddling and playing period, I think I've set the recording format to standard ProRes, too. At least for now. That's what I usually get from the Ninja, too.

But I still think that those big and fast cards won't remain just oddities to omg about. I bet they will find buyers, anyway. Like with many other stuff, what people actually need is another matter, it won't sell the stuff. What matters is what people want. There are plenty of people out there who are where you were a half a year ago, Axel, and as we know, bigger is better...

Suppose I could see myself buying at least one 256 or maybe even 512GB 95mb/s card, mostly for possible urge to shoot RAW, and wanting to be agile whilst doing so. I know that under normal circumstances I don't really have any urgent need for one, but I might get one, anyway. Just for the heck of it.

We'll see.  ;)

Which leads to another (rhetoric) question, this being a video-centric forum, why are we discussing, and even agonising over a mostly stills-oriented dSLR which in practical terms doesn't even exist yet?

Just wondering out loud.

And so the thread sinks :)

 

There goes Canon's biggest launch of the year...

...and the damn thing hasn't even been launched yet! 

Oh the cruelty of the geeky rumour mill.  ;)

Seriously though, did/do the Canon geeks really expect the 7D Mk2 to come with 4K? 

I understand that this is very video centric website, but it also comprise of many hybrid shooters who are still photo and video shooters.

I understand why the A7S makes more sense. But it does not mean that the other HDslr don't have their place, when they can achieve as good of the quality of the promo video I posted above.

A dSLR is as clumsy a choice for hybrid shooting as it is for pure video, if not even more so. Certain niches of photography may be a bit more dSLR-friendly. For now. If you're happy with your dSLR, good for you. No one is telling you to dump your beloved Nikon and adapt something else. If you fancy the new D750, by all means go and get one. Whatever floats your boat. 

Quite a few people have found the latest release(s) from Nikon rather underwhelming and pricey, that's just a simple fact. But if that doesn't include you, don't worry, no need to grab the pitchfork. Nothing is stopping you from using your Nikon gear as long as Nikon are still in business and making dSLR's, or until you kick off. Each to their own.

That looked very nice indeed.

Well, so did the 4K slo-mo of the FS7, though. 

 

The Sony FS7 is more of a workhorse all-rounder which could pound the CION into submission on the market, given they both share the same price point.

Suppose it could, but how likely is that IRL remains to be seen. I bet those two are attracting slightly different niches, despite the seemingly small difference in price. To the most likely buyer of the CION the FS7 might not be attractive enough. But we'll see, eventually.

OT

Speaking of similar yet different options, here's a totally unrelated and off-topic question for you Andrew;

Now that the BMPC 4K is apparently available with PL mount, too, let's imagine Blackmagic brought up yet another version of their 4K production camera with a Sony E-mount (which should be feasible in theory, as the E-mount is open source, too). 

Let's also assume that BM lowered the price of the E-mount version to the same level as the A7s, would you consider going for the BM 4K instead of the A7s? Just curious, and this is purely theoretic.

/OT

What the hell kind of camera does raw to SD card apart from the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera?

Apparently the BMPCC is the only one today, who knows what the situation will be tomorrow. But that's beside the point. RAW, ProRes HQ, 4K, whatever. They'll all eat up the card space, at an increasing pace.

The point was that the overall demand for SD cards that are both fast and large capacity is likely to increase in the near future. Despite the slightly more compressed recording formats like XAVC. The BMPCC with RAW was just the most obvious example today, but I don't think it will be limited to that. Smaller cameras with high quality video capabilities are becoming increasingly popular, and for such cameras a mighty SD card sounds like a feasible choice, doesn't it.

Well there's a more positive way to look at it... FS700 has been out a few years now and you presumably got some nice shots which wouldn't have been possible had you not invested in one. Then if you sell it on eBay I am sure you will get a nice chunk of your original investment thrown right back at you by eager punters. I'd do it now if you plan to go FS7 though as the price is gonna go south pretty quickly judging by what my FS100 is now worth (around £1k!!)

this rumour only confirms the existence of the firmware and not the actual release, which could still be delayed, changed or saved for a different model to come.

However I really do have to repeat that this is a rumour and until this firmware sees the light of day, it will remain so.

And yet, the header of this thread boldly claims "Here it is."

Um, quite.  ;)

Hmm, a super 35mm 10 bit 4.2.2 XAVC Intra 2k/4k, 180fps in HD and 60 fps in 4K onto XQD cards, E-mount, reasonably sized body you can use without a rig or shoulder mount, too, yes, I think I call that an interesting camera.

But with $8k body only, I'm afraid it's a bit above my current pay grade. But interesting nonetheless. Hopefully there will be more cameras like this between the A7s/GH4 and this FS7.

The new card is aimed at film-makers shooting in the high-quality 4K format.

 
...and in RAW. To those shooters the 512GB card makes perfect sense, and is likely to become the 'new normal.' Despite the high price. The BMPCC being a prime candidate such a card. If only there was something similar to take care of the battery swap drill.

Yeap, that'll be the new normal. 

Pretty soon the 64GB 95mb/s card will be the new minimum.

So the question is - If comments for articles were enabled on the blog posts (Facebook login required) would you use the forum less?

It depends. I skip any online service and comment section that requires Facebook login. 

If this forum required FB login, I wouldn't post here, either. Being able to post anonymously is not the issue here, but being able to post without a Facebook account is. There are other popular 3rd party identification alternatives not tied to Facebook or Google, like Disqus, for example.

Are you looking for ways to get rid of this forum, perhaps?  ;)

The forum side of things looks familiar enough to the old one, and no doubt the eyes will get used to the new look in no time.

But on the blog side the new look is a clear step backwards. The reversed white text on black background is quite straining for the eyes. Therefore without the Reader button in the Safari browser, the blog posts would remain unread by many people, including me. At least on the regular computer and screen. I do wish the layout of the blog was the same black text on white background as it was until yesterday, and as it is over here.

That's my only negative feedback. The reversed layout is not just a matter of taste, it's quite a practical issue for many. 

When I reviewed it earlier this year I found the RX10 to be an excellent shot getter - but it was also a shot loser as well due to the weak AVCHD implementation. Many of my images suffered from too much mud and a break-up of detail in certain situations. So this is very welcome news from Sony. The V2.0 RX10 firmware adds 50Mbit/s XAVC-S codec and just as excitingly 120fps for slow-mo, making the RX10 a very interesting creative prospect because of the very effective stabilisation, long lens range, built in ND filter and a sensor with a full pixel readout.

Read the full article here

You might wish to update your blog post a bit, Andrew, or at least the download link in it. Your link leads to a Windows only file, but I believe in 2014 over 50% of your readers with the camera will prefer the OS X version. 

Thou shalt not be woeful, RX10 brethren, for Thou need not to enter the Dark Side, just to be able to install the firmware update.  :)

BTW, looks like even Sony's own 50mb/s cards are too slow for XAVC-S, so after the update they'll be good for photos or AVCHD only. Those 60MB/s cards might be fast enough without dropping frames, haven't tried one, but the difference in price to the Sandisk Extreme 95MB/s and especially to the Sony's own 94MB/s SDXC/SDHC cards is not significant enough. So I see no point in buying anything lesser than those any longer.

Yes I have always wondered why mirrorless cameras leave the sensor exposed even when turned off. Why doesn't the shutter come down when turned off? 

Actually, Ricoh GXR mount does keep the shutter blades closed when powered off. But that is indeed all the more reason to wonder why most of the MILCs don't do the same. It doesn't seem to make much sense.

No.. I realised over the past few days that every camera has its drawbacks. Even the Sony a7s with its bad rolling shutter. If people on Vimeo are able to achieve such atmospheric/beautiful videos with the G6 then why do I need a better camera? I'm no more skilled than any of those guys.

Congratulations, you have just grown out of the gadget nerd stage. Or reached step 3 (or should it be step 4?) of GAS Anonymous, as mentioned above. Or maybe it's completing step 1 on the path to enlightenment.  :P

Good luck with the new toy and with new filmmaking projects. 

Don't the rx100mk3 and the rx10 all have full pixel readout? Granted, not APS-C sensors, but still...

The RX10 was $1,200 camera when it launched less than a year ago. It has a smaller sensor in a much beefier body. Even the full frame A7s is reading a 12-megapixel sensor. Yes, the RX100 Mk3 is under $1k, but it still has the same 1-inch 20-megapixel sensor, whereas the a5100 has a 24-megapixel APS-C one. Oh well, suppose we'll just have to wait and see, as usual. 

Does not having a Mic In bother anyone, considering how well it shoots video (a tually the codec).

Yes, but the whole point of even considering a lower end consumer pedigree camera like the a5100 for video shooting revolves around the price. Good video performance in an inexpensive consumer camera would be a 'happy accident' of a sort. Which is rare. Provided that the a5100 actually does deliver that. If it indeed does, great, one can always use an external audio recorder. No biggie, if the price/performance ratio is good enough.

Case in point, the BMPCC. No one is buying it because it has an audio in plug. People are buying it despite its crappy audio performance, lack of an EVF and several other quirks. 

You must have missed the part saying that I have some lighting already. I didn't specify but right now I've got four halogens with soft boxes(a bit weak in brightness but hey, they were cheap) and two LEDs. One larger with 600 LEDs and one smaller with 160 LEDS. I think that will be adequate for the most part.

Yes, so it seems. After taking another look I noticed it in your list. My bad.

What to add to, or rather how to improve your existing gear list, well, suppose that's a matter of taste. Looks like you've already got most of the usual stuff, and whatever works for you is up to your personal preferences. Suppose the sensible route would be to start working with those, and then improve them item by item on the run, based on your personal findings. Pretty much as suggested above by some.

The Canon DSLR aside, where I might start tweaking that gear list would be the video tripod, which doesn't have to be the fanciest and priciest around at first, and maybe a nice monopod to accompany it.

As for the lenses, those are a matter of taste, too, but I would also consider a wideangle prime lens. As long as you're shooting with a crop sensor camera, that would be at least 16mm or wider. The 24mm of the 24-105mm is not terribly wide with your 60D. You might also wish to consider some cine lenses, like the reasonably priced Samyang ones. Remember that during summer you may need an ND filter or two, too, along with a step up ring or two.

I might also consider upgrading the "cheapo Røde Videomic copy" to a real Røde Videomic, or some other quality mic. In fact, get two different types of mics. Good audio is important.

As for the other acute needs, I noticed that the NLE in your list is Premiere Elements. Whilst the Elements is fine for basic editing, I believe you will end up frustrated with its limitations pretty soon. Therefore one of the first items to invest in would be a mightier NLE app, something like Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas if you're using Windows, or FCPX or Adobe Premiere if you're using a Mac.

On the other hand, starting out with the Elements is perfectly fine, too. I know people have been doing pretty nice videos with Elements and iMovie. Just plan around the possible shortcomings and try to avoid stuff that will need some fancier editing capabilities.

What SleepyWill mentioned about the little items, and those are pretty essential, too. Clamps, clips, tape, extra batteries, cards, diffusers, reflectors, waterproof container for your cards, a Swiss army knife or a Leatherman, light stands, etc. 

As for shooting hunting videos and business commercials, those may not actually be too different from each other. Sometimes they might even be the one and the same thing, if your client happens to be in the hunting gear, recreational or a hospitality business, for example. You don't necessarily need too big and fancy a gear list to shoot commercials for online usage. Try to plan ahead and work around your biggest hurdles. Personal projects are a nice way to practise and find out what you need the most. Like SleepyWill said above, treat them as they were real business assignments.

The renting tip is also good, though unfortunately I live in a small town and I'm sure we haven't got any film making rental business here(Yet...).

Yeah, I know, that is a clear disadvantage for us small town boys, and the rental business is nowhere near as advanced like it is in, say, in the US.  But just out of curiosity, which small town would that be? Do the big chain stores over there rent out gear via mail?

Anyway, these are just my additional 2 öre, and no doubt you'll find a system that works for you.

Good luck with the new endeavour. 

Firmware update Ver.2.00 for DSC-RX10 (Windows)

Windows... Windows? WTF?

C'mon Sony, it's 2014, give us a  proper firmware update, please.

 

 

I was surprised to find the 35mm noticeably sharper than the 24mm wide open. I had originally planned to make the 24mm my “go to†lens, but now I’m going to return it. The FOV isn’t different enough from the 35mm to justify needing them both.

Well, a couple of different lens testing sites have tested the normal versions of these a while ago, and both indicate that the 35mm one is the sweet spot of the Samyang FF-compatible lineup. Clearly a nudge or two above the others, and also marked as such, at least in the stills versions. Not surprisingly it's the priciest of the bunch, too.

As for the FOV difference between 24mm and 35mm, suppose that's a matter of taste, I think there's enough difference, but if I was to buy just one of those Samyang lenses, the 35mm one would probably be my choice, too. For the aforementioned reason.

So, I'm thinking about starting a small business besides my ordinary job and help other small companies with some graphic design and photo/video ads. 

 

At the same time, it really feels like I'm missing something really important here. 

Indeed. Trust that feeling.

 

What's your thoughts on this? What should I prioritize? 

 

What should I complete my gear with?

Experience.

With actual shooting mileage.

I know this may sound pompous and blunt, even patronising perhaps, but it also happens to be true. Many people here have been there and done that, you know. You're kind of asking the wrong question.

Many/most of us seem to go through that stage at some point when we're just starting out. We get blinded by all the glorious gear out there. We start obsessing about gear first, and not about the craft and the actual shooting gigs. But unfortunately that's like trying to climb a tree with your arse first. 

My point being, the world is filled with all sorts of fancy gear, but you don't really know what you actually need the most and what works best for you until you've got some shooting mileage under your belt. But after you do, you don't even have to ask these questions. They become obvious. Having a thick pile of cash burning a hole in your pocket, probably GAS, too,  and not knowing what you really need is a 'dangerous' situation. Or at least it's often a sure way to waste a lot of money. 

So I sort of agree with Ebrahim, don't buy anything yet. Don't wait for the new 7D or 5D, either.

You already have plenty of gear to get started. Use it to start practising. Learn to use the gear you already have. Including your editing gear. Remember that many other aspiring filmmaker have started and made sellable stuff with less gear. 

Ask your friends and acquaintances if you can do some practise gigs with them, then produce as good a film for them as you can, as if it was a real paid gig. You'll learn a ton whilst doing that, and after a few gigs you'll know what you need, rather than what you want.

Just my 2 öre.

PS.

You already have a long list of gear, but the only lighting gear mentioned is a flash. That is, no continuous lights for video. Those might get handy at some point, when you start working with the small companies at their premises. A proper video tripod is a nice to have right from start, too.