C500 MKII Leaked on Canon Rumors

[DLD]

Yes, on big-budget movies, the cost of rentals on the cameras is almost inconsequential compared to so many other things. Yet, without the camera, what is anyone doing there? Kinda funny, isn’t it? At the lower tiers, everyone is worried about the cost of the cameras, even though that’s what it’s all about. Capturing “whatever” with the camera. And at the top-end, no one gives a rats a$$ about the cost of the camera and will get the absolute best, because they realize again, that it’s all for the camera. Why risk saving a few thousand dollars when you have A list actors getting paid MILLIONS of dollars to perform in front of said camera? ...

Alexa65 is unlikely to cost more than $30,000 to manufacture. Just look at one can get with $30,000 in computer parts. But ARRI made a smart move with the camera. It 's made about 70 units and placed them on a rental basis only. And that rental basis is around $10,000/week, although ARRI will often throw in some accessories and make package deals for the lenses, etc. And these 70 cameras are pretty much always booked. The basic math adds this up to $30M-$35M in fees per year. All company profit. No middle man.

PS. As to lenses, I forget who linked to that long comparison video - it may have been you? - but I thought Zeiss Otus looked pretty good, even when compared to the Cooks and the Angenieux. When the "Revenant" was taking up the first Alexa65's, they rehoused the old Hasseblad medium format glass. Chivo won the statue anyway. He probably would have won it on Rokinons as well.

 

[Tamerlin]

Alexa65 is unlikely to cost more than $30,000 to manufacture. Just look at one can get with $30,000 in computer parts.

Don't be too sure about that. Those huge sensors alone probably cost around $10,000 apiece, particularly in the miniscule volumes that Arri ordered them in. Add to that the manufacturing costs for the camera, and while the profit margin is still pretty good, $30,000 is probably well on the low side.

When the "Revenant" was taking up the first Alexa65's, they rehoused the old Hasseblad medium format glass. Chivo won the statue anyway. He probably would have won it on Rokinons as well.

Depending on which Hasselblad lenses they rehoused, they were either Zeiss (V-series, 6x6) or Fujinon (H series, 645) glass.

 

[puredrifting]

Following your audiophile theme, some of the cables that I’ve seen in magazines are great examples. Do I really need a $20K set of 1 meter cables to run from my amp to my speakers?

High end speaker "interconnects" and digital interface cables are one of the biggest scams in the consumer audio business that has ever been perpetrated. I spent a good portion of the late 80s to early 90s working in the audiophile business
and those cables are such a joke. Monster Cable and the higher end companies have made hundreds of millions of dollars selling snake oil for decades. Makes sense. If someone drops $50k or $100k for a set of dual monoblock amps, the best preamp known to man
and some top of the line audio reference monitors, why would they want to use Radio Shack zip cord?

That this whole business trickled down to mass consumer level is more insidious, talk about taking advantage of an uninformed audience! The digital cables are the ones I get a kick out of the most, as if zeroes and ones were in the least bit affected by how they are transported.
I loved that people would tell me that they could "hear a difference" or the "highs opened up more" with this Toslink or digital cable, what a load of cobblers.

 

[Tamerlin]

That this whole business trickled down to mass consumer level is more insidious, talk about taking advantage of an uninformed audience! The digital cables are the ones I get a kick out of the most, as if zeroes and ones were in the least bit affected by how they are transported.
I loved that people would tell me that they could "hear a difference" or the "highs opened up more" with this Toslink or digital cable, what a load of cobblers.

I asked why, given that they were digital and should be the same, the various digital interfaces were different.

The responses I got made the forum bozos on unmoderated camera forums look brilliant; one criticized me for "proof by vigorous assertion" -- and it was a (supposedly) moderated forum...

That made me lose all respect for audiophools.

Needless to say, I've never been willing to pay a premium for exotic cables just for the sake of their being exotic

 

[DLD]

There's a German company Audio Physic, that makes custom systems that can run over a mil. Their sole audio room? It's in Germany.

But if you buy one of their systems, they'll pay for your airplane ticket.

Now word if they also pay for the cocktails on the flight.

 

[DLD]

So, Sony Alpha Rumors are mongering about a new version of A7S series (could be III or IV). Off the purported photo, the body looks much thicker than of other A7 units. It could be Sony's answer to S1H, which hasn't taken off as expected. The perennial question about the 10-bit remains unanswered but there's a hint about the CES 2020 unveiling.

If the design is well executed, it could eat into all sorts of sales.

 

[DLD]

 

[DLD]

Me like this. (w/Sumire and CP3)

 

[Grug]

I really want to see some properly lit/produced footage from it. All of this impromptu footage people are posting up, looks exactly the same as anyone else’s impromptu footage from any other camera. I’m not seeing much “magic” in most of what’s been posted online thus far.

 

[dmitrizigany]

I really want to see some properly lit/produced footage from it. All of this impromptu footage people are posting up, looks exactly the same as anyone else’s impromptu footage from any other camera. I’m not seeing much “magic” in most of what’s been posted online thus far.

Yup, every time you see footage like that you are reminded that lighting and pretty much everything else is more important than the camera/lenses...

 

[Run&Gun]

Me like this. (w/Sumire and CP3)

I really want to see some properly lit/produced footage from it. All of this impromptu footage people are posting up, looks exactly the same as anyone else’s impromptu footage from any other camera. I’m not seeing much “magic” in most of what’s been posted online thus far.

Why would your first couple of shots be an underexposed face and a blown background?

That’s why I continue to say the only real way to evaluate gear is in your own hands.

 

[cpreston]

Why would your first couple of shots be an underexposed face and a blown background?

That’s why I continue to say the only real way to evaluate gear is in your own hands.

i'm just glad they gave us some footage that doesn't totally consist of wide open Sumires. I really dislike the amount of CA in the Canon lenses.

 

[IanTheM]

Yup, every time you see footage like that you are reminded that lighting and pretty much everything else is more important than the camera/lenses...

Yea, using some potentially terrible/strange color LEDs with poorly shaped sources with mediocre color grading can make any camera look terrible.

 

[Tamerlin]

Yea, using some potentially terrible/strange color LEDs with poorly shaped sources with mediocre color grading can make any camera look terrible.

Gah... I hate those nasty LEDs that so many cheapass concert venues use these days. The same venues tend to have idiots on the mixer bank who think that cranking the volume so high that everything sounds like a distorted shriek is a good thing.