Ty Harper

That's understandable. Other than my XC10, I've only ever used low end DSLRs. Because I love the Canon Log out of the XC10, and since I cannot afford a C100, I've decided I am probably going to get an 80D... for close ups and DPAF. Hopefully I can match the two.
If I was contemplating switching DSLR brands, I would go with a Nikon D750 or D500 before I'd go with a Sony. I get the appeal of the A7Sii, but I'd rather deal with Nikon Flat profile before SLog... But I am not that great of a colorist either. 
So with all that being said, I'd definitely pick the 1DC before the Sony. But that's just me... Or wait a year and get the 1dxii used for the same price the 1DC is going for now. 
The C300ii is beautiful. In the recent C500 thread, Kino recently posted some clips from the internal 10 bit 1080p and it looks amazing. 

I used the C300 professionally for a while and loved it (and the C100), but for my personal projects I'd prefer the option of either building up a cage (I've got the Wooden Camera one) with an external recorder and monitor, or travelling light with just the DSLR.
DPAF is the one thing I really want but not a deal breaker. A7S II just seems like the practical move but again I feel like the 1DC might be one of those unique looks that become vintage in the future.

We replaced our backup 5D3 with a 1DX II: shooting both stills and video. The 1DX II / 1DC are great 'stealth' video cameras. Our main video camera is now the C300 II. PDAF, a swivel screen, pro audio, great 1080p (4K is not need for our current projects and Premiere still struggles with 4K material (each PP CC update is hit or miss- sometimes 4K works better, sometimes worse. FCPX handles 4K fine (even with high quality rendering / no transcoding)). Thus the C100 II really is a great deal right now- fantastic 1080p, pro audio, swivel screen, PDAF, tiny files, Canon color, etc.

Personally I switched from the 5Dmkiii with Raw to the 1DC. And honestly I was a bit underwhelmed. Its a nice image but not that much better than the ML Raw. And not enough imo to justify the extra cost and lack of video features. Not a fan of the ergonomics either, comfortable grip but annoyingly tall imo.
But... I didnt use any of them for stills. If you shoot alot of stills the 1DC is a monster just like the 1DX. 
I also had the a7sii but again, rather have a 5D. Would choose the 1DC over the a7sii as well.

I think they are both great cameras, with their own unique looks. With MKiii you get ML Raw and it's simply gorgeous. With the 1Dc you get Canon LOG, equally gorgeous IMO, just different. Of those options, if you can afford it, I would go with the 1Dc... when paired with the right glass, the image is on a different level. There's just nothing else like it at that price point. But, in all honesty, if I had $4000 to spend, I would probably get a C100 mkii before either of them... DPAF, 60p, small file size, Canon LOG, XLR professional quality audio... a truly professional level video camera. You may be able to find a used C100 mkii and a used A7Sii if you're really interested in the Sony. 

What was most disconcerting with my Hackintosh experience was lack of stability.  Although I had turned automatic software updates off, the version I was running stopped working with Apples cloud services (iMessages, Backup, ...).  I also experienced way too many crashes and apps that ran on vanilla OSX would not work on the Hackintosh version.  I hope your experience would be far better than mine.
BRU has many features and allows you to perform, full, partial or incremental backups and restores.  It allows you to tune its parameters (buffer sizes, read/write blocks, etc.) to get the best transfer rates out of your controller and LTO drive.  It also has a reasonable UI (not as elegant as Apple's) to navigate volumes and archives.  I have been using it to backup my 12TB RAID and make archival backups of my RED mini-mags after shoots.
BRU is primarily a Mac app (they also support Linux), if I were you, I would ask users on reduser.net or Tolis Group if Hackintosh is supported and viable.  They do offer a free trial for their software - you should try before you buy.
Best,
 
Marco

Ty,
You may have better luck posting your questions on reduser.net - there are numerous LTO users (a must for raw workflow backup and archiving) and a handful of Hackintosh users. 
I gave up on Hackintosh many moons ago due to lack of 3rd party driver support and instability caused by OSX software updates.  I have been using the HP LTO5 drive you are considering on a 2013 Mac Pro with BRU software (http://www.tolisgroup.com/) with great success!  LTFS never worked for me - too slow for large directories and somewhat unreliable.
If I were you, I would start with Windows and explore LTFS and see if it meets your needs.
Best of luck,
Marco

I have the Sirui and it's great... Until it isn't. Let me explain... Inside the individual tubes is a plastic piece. The extension and collapse of the legs over time causes the aluminum to bite into the plastic and shave off little pieces that get stuck and mar the aluminum. Also, the twist locks do not work that great after a while. The upper pan section is practically useless. The bottom section is good, but the knob that provides the tension is starting to fail, making it difficult to loosen the tension on the bottom pan/tilt movements. I've had mine for less than a year and these little headaches are forcing me to search for a new monopod. I will probably get the Benro and put lock nuts on the back of the flip locks... If it's possible?

I also must add, I've been lubricating the leg sections and it has helped to slow the breakdown of the plastic. 

Woah, good to know!
I've had mine for less than a year with no issues but I can totally see how all those connecting parts could become a problem over time if it wasn't constructed well.
Thanks for putting this out there!

I highly recommend the Sirui P204S. 
I had the Manfrotto video monopod for years and it was good for what it was at the time.
I actually sold it on kijiji for more than I bought the Sirui for new. 
Manfrotto was great for breaking new ground with the video monopod concept but the Sirui has built on that template and is just better, with much more features.

Good to know!
No question Zoom's pre-amps have gotten consistently better over time (I was down with Zoom for a minute. Had the original H4 and then the H4N), and what they lack in sound quality they make up for in very practical features and portability.
But if audio quality is your priority then the Marantz PMD661 (Version 1 or 2) and the Fostex FR2-LE are still the best bets in the sub $500 price range imho.
Unless you really need 2+ XLR mics.
And actually the Marantz goes for like $300 used nowadays. I just got a 2nd unit with the Oade Mod for $300 (which makes the amp's even better).
It's interesting cuz these two units hardly get mentioned on video-centric blogs, even though they've out performed Zoom's newer H line releases on sheer sound quality over and over again and have maintained their rep (particularly the Marantz) in the pro audio/run n gun radio broadcast world.
All that said, I wouldn't mind seeing some proper F8 comparisons to the PMD661 and the FR2-LE because I'd love to downsize + have more than 2 XLR mic channels at my disposal.

Ty Harper, the H4n had shit shit pre amps. But the H5/H6 pre amps are a leap forward.
 
And the F8 preamps are better than anything Zoom has ever made before!
And the F4 pre amps are the same as the F8.

I know the Zoom line has pretty much become the go-to recorder for prosumers, and even a lot of pros, but the preamps on these units have always been disappointing imho. Then again I'm looking at capturing audio that sounds great as part of a larger visual/soundscape and equally as great solo for radio broadcast where there's nowhere to hide. I still recommend the Marantz pmd661. Its amps are way better than the Zoom line, the sound is broadcast quality level, but it isn't as big or expensive as one of the Sound Devices units.
 

The 35-70 2.8 AF was a top-line pro Nikkor back in the day and they're reasonable and have an aperture ring. Just have to watch the veiling flare on those, use a good hood and make sure your copy doesn't have haze internally. I shot several music videos with that lens. Pro-build, all metal, 2.8 all the way through.
I really liked it for stylish music vids - I could use the top flag on my matte box to dial in (or out) flare from visible lights, had a cool look. Replace with the 28-70 2.8 though.

Try to get the constant f3.5 version, it's is ahead of the other Nikon 35-70 lenses in ways including distortion.

Just buy 'n try. It's not like it's going to lose its value should you decide it's not your thing and put it up for sale again.
Two fun 35-70mm I always keep an eye out for are from Angenieux and Leica. But you might need to wait a century for a real bargain to cross paths... I think the Nikon will do fine though, it's good value. The 24-105mm is a practical lens, mostly for stills, but I understand you'd want to spice it up a bit, so really go and explore your options... you might even want to think about replacing the Canon with the same range Sigma... that might change things up enough for you as well.

Had it at one point and it was good, but ultimately replaced it with the Olympus 35-70mm f/3.6, which may be sharper and doesn't rotate when focused.

Short EPK I did for Toronto activists/musicians LAL, who are close friends of mine.
Constructive criticism is welcome.
Shot, edited and produced by Ty Harper.
cameras: Canon 5D III, Canon 5D II
lenses: Canon 50mm f/1.2 L, Canon 100m f/2.8 L, Canon 28mm f/2.8 IS, Canon 80-200mm f/2.8 L, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
audio: Sennheiser G3, Marantz PMD661, Sescom line out to mic in audio cable with attenuation
additional equipment: Lowel Rifa-Lite EX88, Konova K5 slider with the Basic Pan/Tilt controller, Glidecam HD4000
shot using Magic Lantern's RAW hack and edited entirely in DaVinci Resolve

Hi Ty,
It should fill the card if you trigger the flag in the    Ml raw menu to record in exfat. I am using firmware 1.1.3 of the 5d3. Check out ml forum for more info on exfat recording. Your card also has to be formatted as exfat when that mode is triggered. 

It probably makes sense if you're shooting at 30p. The numbers seem roughly correct. If you shoot at 24p you should be getting 49min of 1920x1080 on a 256gb card.

http://rbrune.github.io/mlraw/

It's a known issue that 5D3 1DX 1DC and other Canon DSLRs don't work well with 256GB cards, better have multiple 128GB cards.
1DX II however improved support for larger capacity CF cards.

Yeah a 5D is a no go. Even just an NX1 is 1200g without lens.

No idea.