AJA CIon Try

O

oron cohen

Member
Just saw this: https://www.aja.com/en/news/top-stories/319 , I'm not in north America, but had a chance to play around with CION in a local rental house, and it felt really nice to hold, but of the bat it felt like it still lacking dynamic range for a 2015 camera and the fact there're no ND filters is a big let down.
Still, it'll be interesting to test it for free and I hope people from this forum will take the chance and do it!

A few questions that I do have vs the new urea mini:
- The 3G SDI on the CION seems kind of yesterday news considering Ursa mini got a 12G SDI, no?

- The fact the camera doesn't have it's own VF means that on top of the 9K it cost one should add a VF and maybe a 5" Display, funny enough the best offering for both at the moment are from BMD...

- It's great the camera comes with interchangeable mounts, but why not offer EF or MFT as an option instead of PL?

- Codecs wise, this camera from what I understand could do 12bit 4K 444, is that correct? I wonder if anyone knows if the Ursa mini does only 10bit 444 but not 12bit in prores...

Would be great to hear your views.
 
At the NAB, their marketing rep said that they have over $1M in inventory for this program.

IMO, it will eventually be marked down and sold off at a huge loss.
 
They definitely stepped into an aggressive market...and were not aggressive enough. Tech moves really fast, and for this particular camera, it appears to have moved right on by.
 
ReelWorksMedia said:
They definitely stepped into an aggressive market...and were not aggressive enough. Tech moves really fast, and for this particular camera, it appears to have moved right on by.
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And thas shoulder mount design that looks great at first is actually a flop. It's not adjustable, so unless you use lens and accessories of precise weight it's unbalanced.
 
alohype said:
And thas shoulder mount design that looks great at first is actually a flop. It's not adjustable, so unless you use lens and accessories of precise weight it's unbalanced.
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That's a good point, still wonder how Aaton XTR and Arri SR3 are so well balanced without having an adjustable shoulder mount, I guess the film itself helps to centre the balance?
 
From the replies here it seems like no one is really interested and they indeed missed the boat, or maybe if they drop the price to 5-6K, then people might think about it more seriously?

Codec wise, anyone knows if it's the only one in this price range that does ProRes 12bit 444?
 
DLD said:
At the NAB, their marketing rep said that they have over $1M in inventory for this program.

IMO, it will eventually be marked down and sold off at a huge loss.
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So roughly 111 units ($9000 X 111 = $999,000). I too believe this camera will be under $5K, before the end of the year.
 
and they have to offer the camera with EF mount, PL doesn't make sense to me...it's not an Amira and never will be, and even the Amira could be ordered with any mount you like. Maybe it's something to do with money being paid to Canon for using the mount?
 
alohype said:
But then still... URSA mini will do 4.6k with 15 stops of DR... It's just no competition now :/
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Totally agree.
The URSA Mini killed the Cion, not only being cheaper but also for its features. I will struggle to keep my credit card in my wallet. The URSA Mini is soooo tempting.
 
ntouched said:
So roughly 111 units ($9000 X 111 = $999,000). I too believe this camera will be under $5K, before the end of the year.
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You figure they look at it in terms of the manufacturing and/or wholesale cost and not the retail price. So, ~ 150-200 units.

PS. Did any of Hugh Scully's footage come out?
 
To clarify, the CION takes a great picture and wow, when you get to post, you have so much to play with....you can really reach deep into the images and really expand what you are working with....also, I'm hearing this "try" program AJA has launched is a big success so far with a ton of people signing up!

Jim Martin
 
So not that I am a huge defender or supporter of the Cion or AJA but, I have used their products in post for years. They make quality stuff. I have my issues with Cion and have certainly published them here and elsewhere, like the PL mount and no ND. But I have never had the camera in my hands or cut the footage on my NLE. Many people who are commenting on the Cion have never used it let alone held it. I would not write AJA off too soon folks, they have some very good people in the design and engineering areas and it would seem they are very thoughtful about their approach to building a camera. And lets all not forget that they have a camera on the market, in the hands of owners and rental houses. All the speculation about the Ursa Mini is based on marketing and specs provided by BM. No one has the camera, it is not available and won't be until the late summer or so they say. Then when it does become available, lets see if the camera lives up to its press releases. If it does, bravo. But in the meantime lets not count anyone out of the game until all the players are in the game and on the ice/field.
IMHO
 
I was very interested in the camera. However the lack of nikon/EF/NEX/m43/any short mount that I could adapt my nikon lenses to killed the camera as an option for me. It's a shame, I liked the form factor :(
 
Just wanted to say, that as one that started this thread, I didn't mean to trash AJA or anything, I actually think the camera has a lot of potential, and the last batch of images looked really good! I also personally did hold the camera in my hands, and really liked the form factor and the way it feels.

There are a few simple changes AJA could do NOW that will help a lot, two main ones are: 1) serious price reduction 2) adding an option for native EF mount. If the camera was say, 6K Dollars and had a native EF mount, it will be much more considered, this is because the reality has change since they announced it with the FS7 and new Ursa mini.

Another thing, I think AJA could do is offer a future sensor upgrade for a relative small fee, so you camera won't be obsolete if say you pay 3-4K and get a new sensor and some body upgrades (12G SDI replacing the 3G ones).

Still, if anyone know (maybe Jim) if there any other camera apart from Alexa that does 12bit Prores 444, will be good to know, is the Ursa mini does it or any other of the new boys?
 
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