GH2 Anyone else looking to upgrade their GH2 for the Blackmagic Camera?

ras815 said:
Why? When in the past has S16 ever been a problem? From what I've seen thus far, the sensor size is a complete non-issue.
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While I agree with you, have you been unaware of the past several years of endless whining from the DSLR crowd about the 'inadequate' DOF-control provided by m4/3 lenses?
 
If it was actually S16 and had a µ43-ish adaptable mount for PL, C-mount, B4 etc S16 lenses, I'd agree that the sensor and mount are right. Pairing a ~S16 sensor with full-frame EF and Nikon lens mounts seems... weird.
 
I'm going to buy the BMD camera, but also keep my GH2.

But here are some things nobody in this thread has mentioned as mind-blowing advantages of the BMD, especially for less than $3000:

1. Records direct to Apple Pro Res or Avid DNxD. So, if you happen to do a gig where you have to hand over footage to a professional post house, you don't feel embarrassed to give them crappy AVCHD on an SD card. You give them footage in their NLE's codec.

2. Or you can shoot 2.5k RAW!!! Insane! I'm drooling!

3. HD-SDI and Thunderbolt outputs! And it's 10-bit 4:2:2!

4. Balanced audio inputs and a headphone jack! No more syncing. No more Pluraleyes!

5. $1600 in freee software! Da Vinci Resolve and UltraScopes. Subtract that from the $2895 and you get a 2.5k RAW camera for $1295!

To name but a few. Also, even though I'm a bit bummed by the sensor size, I actually try to see the glass as half-full. A Tokina 11-16 or 12-24 is plenty wide. If I need insane wide, that's what the GH2 and 7-14mm will be for. Also, the slightly deeper DOF compared to APS-C and m 4/3 might actually make it a touch easier to focus while still having a cinematic look.
An advantage to the EF mount nobody has mentioned is this: All those Canon friends you have? The ones with the 5Ds and 7Ds? Now you can hit them up for their lenses. "Hey man, can I borrow your 16 to 35 this weekend? Cool." Not to mention the abundance of great Canon glass you can rent pretty cheap online. If you have an important gig on the horizon, rent great glass and build it into your bid/budget.

My dad just bought several Canon L lenses for his old Canon 40D. Guess what lenses I will be borrowing once I get my BMD? Hee hee.

Good times!
 
It was all mentioned a good thirty to forty times fo reach point in the 120page thread. Haha.

I think EVERYONE realizes it now. =P But, as we saidthere, all good and sound points.
 
Kholi said:
It was all mentioned a good thirty to forty times fo reach point in the 120page thread. Haha.

I think EVERYONE realizes it now. =P But, as we saidthere, all good and sound points.
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yeah, I guess I should assume that everyone on this thread has read that mondo thread about the camera. I suppose that's why it was absent here because it was obvious. I thought it was worth mentioning though since the conversation here starting drifting towards "what do I get for $3000 that I can't get with my GH2". Hence my post. Anyway. :-)
I'm still reeling about the world we live in. Imagine what will come out next year. Back when the DVX100 came out, we used to say "OK, now there's no more excuses not to shoot your film." People used to whine about no 24p and no 16:9 and no Cine-like gamma. The DVX provided all that. Well now in the days of affordable 2.5k RAW for less than what the DVX100 used to sell for, there REALLY is no excuse not to just buy a camera and make a movie.
 
mcbob said:
Aside maybe from not having actors, funding, a script, or inclination. Those are still pretty good excuses.
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Not having any funding is no excuse. Filmmakers who make it work on a shoestring because of their passion and obsession for films tend to make good movies by sheer willpower.
But yeah, you're right. People will always find excuses for not taking a creative risk.
 
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I'm going to hold out for now. Definitely do not want to go any smaller on the sensor size than the current GH2. I'm sure there is a lot more to come over the next little while.
 
ras815 said:
Why? When in the past has S16 ever been a problem? From what I've seen thus far, the sensor size is a complete non-issue.
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I'm not sure if I can use a camera that has 20 mm as the normal lens. For wide angle I'd need a 10 mm lens and they are not that great lenses. S16 was never extremely good, but because it is film people were less conditioned to point this out and low resolution was more forgiving for the lenses.

I support this concept and want to have another production camera come outside of Japan, so I hope BMD already has something for S35 size in the works.
 
I've said it a bunch, the camera with that sensor would have made a lot more sense with a µ43 mount, able to use S16 glass.
 
PaPa said:
I'm going to hold out for now. Definitely do not want to go any smaller on the sensor size than the current GH2. I'm sure there is a lot more to come over the next little while.
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You can count on that.....
I wonder if Panasonic is taking notice? Or even cares?
Stop me if I am wrong - but don't you think a multi-billion dollar company
who has rolled out thousands of video camera models over the years
could come up with a camera that would blow the Black Magic out of the water?
Hmmmmm, I really thought Panasonic would take some notes when RED came out.
What is that expression? Can't see the forest for the RAW workflow?
 
mcbob said:
I've said it a bunch, the camera with that sensor would have made a lot more sense with a 43 mount, able to use S16 glass.
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If Black Magic is smart - they are taking notes.
If they are like Panasonic - then what you see is what you will get.
 
I'm not sure if I can use a camera that has 20 mm as the normal lens. For wide angle I'd need a 10 mm lens and they are not that great lenses
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i guess thats my real complaint. with an m4/3 sensor wont there be the crop factor? thus every lens is effectively nearly 2x what it really is?
 
I think the math was about 2.3x. It would make sense with Nikon 1 lenses or with all those C-mount lenses that just BARELY vignette on m43.

With Canon EF lenses... well, it doesn't make sense.
 
Blackmagic makes excellent equipment (I use their Intensity Pro cards for live broadcasting and old format archival for clients), but this camera is incredibly niche. I love my GH2 workflow, especially with the various hacks. I also don't want to loose autofocus.

The one thing I haven't heard a ton of discussion on is skew... That is my ONLY gripe about the GH2. If this camera were to eliminate/dramatically reduce skew, then maybe I'd consider it. My dream camera is a GH2/AC160 hybrid... M43rds interchangeable lenses, one brand new one with servo zoom built in on the side (not the front like the X series), little/no skew, pro xlr audio, 1080/48fps WITH audio and a time lapse feature built in... Thats it. I really don't understand why that seems to be an impossibility. The best of both worlds... run n gun and DOF/M43rds.

Blackmagic's camera really does look nice. The test footage looks good, but I am not a fan of the form factor. We've gone from video cameras to DSLRs to a cigarette box with a lens attached to it. Visually looks like more of a toy than the GH2. HATE the form factor, but I suppose it works!
 
It's larger and heavier than the GH2. I believe it may be on the way to epic size. If not at least 1DC. Just for refernce.
 
Aki_Hartikainen said:
I'm not sure if I can use a camera that has 20 mm as the normal lens. For wide angle I'd need a 10 mm lens and they are not that great lenses. S16 was never extremely good, but because it is film people were less conditioned to point this out and low resolution was more forgiving for the lenses.

I support this concept and want to have another production camera come outside of Japan, so I hope BMD already has something for S35 size in the works.
Click to expand...

If you are used to the FOV shooting with a 20mm on Panasonic then on the BM it will act like a 24mm in terms of FOV. There is about a 1.2x difference between the GH2 sensor and the BM sensor. It is much larger then S16. if you still want the FOV of the 20mm then you would want around a 17mm on the BM camera. So really only a slight shift for us GH1/2 users.
 
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