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NO!!! Digital Bolex has stopped making cameras!


Dave Maze
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What a shame. Imo the most complete cinema package and most bang for buck one can get for raw video. Way more suited for pro work than a Pocket and also much more fun for the enthusiasts.

But, like it or not, its pretty logical. They only make one model and sooner or later they need a new one or pull out.

I actually have mine out for sale, thinking I can buy it again sometime. But now I'm gonna rethink.

IMG_20160624_210904.md.jpg

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17 minutes ago, Mattias Burling said:

What a shame. Imo the most complete cinema package and most bang for buck one can get for raw video. Way more suited for pro work than a Pocket and also much more fun for the enthusiasts.

But, like it or not, its pretty logical. They only make one model and sooner or later they need a new one or pull out.

I actually have mine out for sale, thinking I can buy it again sometime. But now I'm gonna rethink.

 

Hey mattias, for how much are/were you selling it? 
you guys think it is the dumbiest idea to buy one now? I was about to pull the trigger when this comes out. I picture myself using it for years  but have no idea if in a year to come the camera will be much cheaper or if there will be any at all available. 

 

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1 hour ago, Justin Bacle said:

I don't get it, they announced the new firmware and a new mount at NAB... Plus, the link is down.

They release new firmwares all the time. Its not an instant shut down. They are stopping the manufacturing of the D16. Upgrades and service will still be available.

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This doesn't come as a massive surprise. To me Digital Bolex always seemed like more of a specialty item than a workhorse camera (even though it may have well had the potential for the latter) and I didn't see any of my local colleagues using it, or very many productions in general.

I think the camera's reputation was a double edged sword, it intrigued people, but also caused a lot of people (including myself) to not take it seriously, but more as an expensive novelty. Coupled with feature set that had more than a little similarity to the more established BMCC 2,5K and the lackluster footage from the early adopters (apparently caused by using wrong Resolve RAW profiles), the camera faced an uphill battle.

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Yeah its weird that it got put in a strange segment even though its pretty much a URSA Micro or BMPCCmkii long before they arrived. And to this date still beats them on many features.

It might also have been the low price. At $3k people assumed is was like a bmpcc when it was closer to much bigger boys.

I also think, how sad it may be, that vanity is a big thing in this industry. Thats why Red puts sculs and crap on their cameras. 

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1 hour ago, Mattias Burling said:

They release new firmwares all the time. Its not an instant shut down. They are stopping the manufacturing of the D16. Upgrades and service will still be available.

Try the link. It is dead. No support page, nothing. all gone. Not even the thank you is left. Not like Samsung at all, which still provides firmware updates and full support.

Or am I missing something?

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5 minutes ago, markr041 said:

Try the link. It is dead. No support page, nothing. all gone. Not even the thank you is left. Not like Samsung at all, which still provides firmware updates and full support.

Or am I missing something?

Yes you are missing something. We always speek directly with the DB Team on their FB :)

The site has had a bump, it will be up soon. Its the commerce side of it that experienced a bug of some sort.

Warantys are valid and manufactoring will continue this week out. 

But your right, its not as bad as Samsung. They where honest and open instead of the crap Samsung pulled.

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7 hours ago, DaveAltizer said:

My favorite camera has hung it up! I can't be more proud of Elle and the team at DB. They seriously pulled off a miracle over there. Sad to see them go. What a damn good camera. 

https://www.digitalbolex.com/thank-you/

It appears Digital Bolex had a change of heart, and will try and fight for a few more weeks  ;-) :P 
 

Digital Bolex.jpg

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Yeah, this is kinda sad.

The D16 had a major influence on my decision to strive for higher DR and a more robust codec and color space.

Unfortunately, I couldn't afford the D16, so I went with the BMMCC, but I had hoped that in a few years time I could be shooting on my own shiny and new D16.

I imagine similar choices like mine eventually was too much for the small firm to compete. I wonder if an H8 version of their D16, at a price point similar to the pocket cam could have saved them?

Who knows.

On another note, has anyone used their software? It looks like a nice program... and I wonder if that will still be available?

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2 hours ago, Mattias Burling said:

Yes you are missing something. We always speek directly with the DB Team on their FB :)

The site has had a bump, it will be up soon. Its the commerce side of it that experienced a bug of some sort.

Warantys are valid and manufactoring will continue this week out. 

But your right, its not as bad as Samsung. They where honest and open instead of the crap Samsung pulled.

Anyway good - when I went to the site it was completely gone. Back now. I am still waiting for 4K RAW, affordable and not gigantic. I liked the experience with the BMPCC.

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I was always intrigued by the DB - some of the most gorgeous images of this era came from the thing. Always seemed a little overpriced and under-featured to me though. S16 was a tough sell lens-wise (the pocket's price point was what made sifting through old super-16 glass palatable for many), and a "beauty" camera that can't even do 30p - I couldn't go there. And as robust as SSDs are, I've replaced two of them in the last couple years, so a non-user-servicable drive worried me as well. If it could have done 30 or 60p, and come in at under $3k with a quality focal length reducer, I'd have been in long ago. Hate to see it go though.

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7 hours ago, Mattias Burling said:

It might also have been the low price. At $3k people assumed is was like a bmpcc when it was closer to much bigger boys.

I think you have that backwards. I think most people assumed it too expensive for what it is. It's a super 16 sized sensor that shoots 2K raw. The BMPCC is basically the same thing for one third the cost. It was inevitable this was going to happen. Despite the fact that this shot a nice image and raw, we now live in a world where you can buy a GH4 that shoots 4k on a larger sensor with a flip out screen and EVF and doubles as a stills camera for $1500 or less. Half the cost or more than the D16. While you lose the raw, most people really aren't equipped to handle raw editing anyway. 
As a camera maker you have three customer bases you can appeal to, consumer shooters (doing family videos) which has pretty much all been lost to smart phones and low cost DSLRs, shoestring filmmakers who in a lot of ways see the super 16 sensor size as anticlimactic since we've had super 35 sized sensors since the DSLR revolution. So to shoot super 16 it needs to be cheap for them, which this wasn't. Lastly Pros who are pretty much all shooting with FS7s and above and aren't going to bother with a physically large sized super 16 camera they can't use as a crash cam. Which meant that this camera was really just a niche hobbyist camera from the start for people who wanted to use something retro looking on the exterior.

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25 minutes ago, bertzie said:

They were charging too damn much for what it was. After blackmagic came in, the digital bolex was relegated to gimick camera. And those just can't be expensive.

Better image, more features and out of the box costs more, that's just how it is.

A BMPCC + 5h battery + Dual XLR Audio Recorder with analog gain + a couple of hours of SD cards = Pretty much the same price, but with rolling shutter, less features, cmos look and more moire.

Imo its a good price. Doubt a URSA Micro would be cheaper.

I love my Blaclmagic so nothing against it. But bang for buck the D16 wins imo.

52 minutes ago, roxics said:

I think you have that backwards. 

See above.

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