EVA1: EVA1 Completely lost its value?

[Raphael Madeira]

Hi guys!

I was looking for input from other filmmakers out there about the Eva1.
Has anyone who decided to sell it been having an hard time to muster interest?

I've been trying to sell mine since last year with no success whatsoever.
I'm talking literally no interest, as in, not even offers for it, no matter how crazy low they might be.

This being in Europe, where I thought the Eva1 actually thrived the most.
Do you guys think that this camera has lost most if not all of it's value due to recent camera releases?

I find that crazy to believe and yet here we are. It really sucks for me considering I'm out of business due to covid.
It also shows that when it comes to resale value, Panasonic just doesn't have it with their cinema line, which is a shame considering they make great gear!

Anyway, was hoping for some positive experiences out there to give me hope, that maybe it's just a rough time and hopefully interest will pick up soon, but honestly kind of doubt it.
Sorry if it seems like a bit of a rant, just frustrated we live in a world in which aparently an expensive piece of gear like the Eva1 loses it's interest and value quite quickly.

Cheers everyone, looking forward to your input!

[NorBro]

Knowing absolutely nothing about Panasonic's business, it just seemed like a failure from the beginning, IMO.

It was released alongside the C200, which just had more features for around the same price (and eventually less).

With that said, many people who have it seem to really love it, but it's not as popular and sought-after as other cameras. Hype sells cameras sometimes more than features.

Besides that (as you mentioned), you have all the new models - many still less expensive than Panasonic's price which I thought was always stubborn - and the odds are against you unless you drastically lower the asking price.

[NorBro]

By the way, on a slightly more positive note, people almost always lose money on depreciated technology hardware (10x, 20x more) so don't feel bad...but also understand it has been 4 years, you know?

I think you will definitely eventually sell it.

[Jaime Valles]

I think the Canon C200 murdered it. Internal RAW recording and touchscreen face-tracking autofocus that actually worked. Those two features alone made it stand way above the EVA1 for about the same price. Then you add all the new, less expensive cameras from Sony and Canon and the EVA doesn't stand a chance.

I don't think Panasonic is going to sell many cameras of any kind until they get with the "truly usable auto-focus" bandwagon.

That said, the EVA1 does shoot pretty pictures! If one doesn't need AF, it's still a solid choice, even if it's long in the tooth now.

[DLD]

There are two competing and battling concepts here - market value and an intrinsic value. Sort of like a car with ripped molding, a missing radio dial and a busted heater ... but the one that still gets you from point A to point B quite reliably. In the former, you'd compare EVA1 with similar cameras that were released in the same time frame. In the the latter, you'd have to see if it's giving you a decent performance in its segment.

PS. A professional sports league drafts run similarly (not many of those exist in Europe, I reckon, except the KHL). The "experts" will rate one's draft based on their own prospect rating prior to the draft. But the picture can totally change 3-4 years down the road. I recall a former (and late) Packers GM Ted Thompson being praised about picking Donald Driver (over 10,000 yards receiving, three Pro Bowls) in the 7th round. Thompson candidly remarked, "If we were that smart, we'd have picked him in the 3rd".

[OnSet]

Probably any number of factors go into the resale equation --
- Reduction in filming for most of us during the past year makes the demand lower. Lower demand leads to lower pricing.
- EVA1 has spent the past year moving further into its product life cycle. (Of course here's where some new firmware could help revive it)
- Full frame sensor cameras have become the latest craze. (Interestingly the more capable FX9 has fallen into she shadow of the FX6 during the past few months as well.)
- And of course the popularity of the FX6 combined with its relatively low sticker price has pushed the EVA1 down the value scale as well.

But personally I'm happy sticking with my EVA1. Sure, maybe it's only worked 20 days in the past year since half my clients locked down and the other half won't be back until the live theatres open again, but it was working a lot more before that. And I've always loved the images it produces.
Do I need to jump to a full frame sensor and replace my 18-35, 17-55, 50-100 and 11-16 lenses with fly-by-wire glass? No thanks.
My clients who still have shoots (and not just zoom recordings) continue to be very happy with it - and as long as it keeps working I'm happy to be shooting with it.
I can't worry about whether its resale value has dropped because its real value for me is still up there. I originally bought it because I thought the image was that much better than the FS7's - and I'm still happy with that decision.

[filmguy123]

I have an underused EVA1 and I am bummed it's depreciated as so.

It made a few critical errors: branding itself as the lightweight run'n'gun camera (much lighter than sonys of the time), but then coming with a crap stock screen that neccessitated adding a heavy external screen and thus defeating the whole point.

Not launching with 4k60p 10-bit, despite many here protesting this, and then being told that Panny had crammed every last feature possible into the EVA1 and it wasn't gimped, it just wasn't possible... then magically 10bit 4k60p appeared a year or so later when sales were slow.

Never fixing obvious UI flaws, such as the fact that every time you power back on the camera you have to turn zebras and focus peaking back on for some asinine reason.

Having a clunky menu UI compared to GH5/S1 series. Years later they added the ability to save a custom scene (combo of frame rate, resolution, etc.) but you couldn't even save it to the camera internal memory, it had to be saved to an SD card... turning the camera into a single slot camera because you'd lose your presets every time you formatted the SD cards if you didn't dedicate an SD card to this. Face palm.

Well, I sound negative, but it's unfortunate because all in all it's a wonderful little camera with a nice image and it got a lot of things right. I'd gladly buy an EVA2, except I wonder if I'll be able to sell my EVA1 for enough to justify the upgrade, seems I will rather run the camera into the ground.

Maybe you'll have better luck post COVID, there are many people using the EVA1 that just love it.

And dear Panasonic, stop making the tactical error of releasing cameras with too little too late. Sony has the better offering right now with their new launches. Why do I feel like Panasonic is going to launch a camera that matches what Sony has today, or barely surpasses it, sometime in late 2022 right before Sony launches something even better in spring 2023?

Panasonic should be coming to market this year with an EVA2 and S1H Mark II to usurp Sony's lead. I'd rather see fast and aggressive launches from Panasonic that obsolete my purchase sooner, than a slow release cycle which for many makes Panasonic a less competitive brand. Because anyone who actually uses the Panny cameras know they are second to none in many ways.

[morgan_moore]

This is the camera I wanted when I bought my FS7 about three years before the EVA was launched. Thats what 7 years ago now?

The trouble is most of the kids want an auto focus sony.. and a used one of those might be about $1000 so the EVA1 is worth less than $1000 because its worse than a used AF sony in the mind of the kids.

Non kids are buying fx6/9 C300/500

Which leaves only me to buy. I want a small camera with ND and a grown up codec to car body mount. I offer you $500.

[DLD]

EVA2 seems a bit of a forlorn hope. Panasonic is trying to establish the L-mount full frame and, with Canon's R-mount and Sony E-mount dominating, a manual focus camera doesn't seem to have bright prospects. And S1H has better specs anyway.

[Samuel S]

I had been looking at the EVA for a long time but we all steadily watched it be outclassed for practical purposes.

Blackmagic had phenomenal internal RAW, Canon had autofocus and straight from sensor color science, Sony's FS5 was cheaper and has a shorter flange-distance mount and had been occupying the space for a good while already. By the time the EVA came out 10-bit was an overrated feature - even dual-native ISO wasn't all that important when every other camera had acceptable noise performance.

I maintain that Panasonic has consistently had the best color since the GH2 - but that's just not enough anymore. Really frustrating because as much as I would love an EVA 1 or an S1H for their image quality and dynamic range, convenient RAW recording supersedes that by a great margin. ESPECIALLY when the Pocket 4k and 6k pro are so goddamn cheap.

[morgan_moore]

The Pockets (apart from pro) dont have ND, they are odd shaped and raw can be a media monster.

You end up with a frankenrig with HDMI and XLR out the side of a camera that is already wider than a bus. The bigger BMC are made heavier than lead.

So while the kids love Black Tragic any pro will still choose the EVA for most things.

[matt s.]

It still produces a better image than the S series of mirrorless IMO. Better highlight rolloff and more pleasing organic look. Theres something special about the 5.7k sensor especially if you don't care about the full frame hype.

[NorBro]

Image quality and overall look is #1 on many of our lists - and we make other compromises for it so we can use the cameras we love - but at some point most people were like: "Okay...no AF, no IBIS, no internal RAW, no 4K/60p 10-bit, no EVF, no decent screen...so what exactly am I paying $7,495 for? (Its original price.) An extra $5K or so for NDs and XLRs?"

The LT appeared to have a similar experience; not that much interest coupled with questionable choices like unnecessarily expensive media no matter how reliable it is (even for 2016), followed by a whopping drop from $17K to $10K. (Although it's now been oddly raised to $11K in this last month.)

[icarusfilm]

Generally my philosophy is get in early and get out early and don’t hold on.
Whenever I switch cameras, lighting, sound and lenses I make sure to immediately sell off its predecessors.
I know I’m never going to use it again and if you are an early adopter you sell the old stuff while it’s still considered state of the art by others and will fetch a price. I don’t need a stockpile of things I allready replaced.
I have a lot of friends that can’t let go “it might come in handy...” - no it won’t

[matt s.]

Buy the camera that best works for you.I don't buy cameras because they are popular or the millions of views influencer said a camera kills all other cameras. I hate shooting video with DSLR style cameras unless its on vacation or something and im not taking a big rig with me. I can't remember the last time I even used AF on a video camera maybe 2001 lol. None of that is important to me. I never think of resale value either because they all lose it once you open the box and in 6 months the other big brands are going to release the "killer" to the camera you own. I hate the technology chasing mentality makes you a better filmmaker ideology. Not to mention I haven't seen too many people making large camera purchases since covid. I know my EVA1 hasn't seen much action besides myself going and shooting for fun and even that was sparse. Things are starting to look up though. point being if you can't get great images from a camera that was released in the last 5 years its not the cameras fault