Camera and external recorder that will hold it's value the most for the next year!

A

alohype

Veteran
Hi everyone! Sorry for post in "news" category but I couldn't find a better place.
Because of some legal issues I have to buy camera and external recorder within next two months. I have to spend around $6500 but I could probably stretch myself to spend a little more. Basically I am not 100% happy to chose any of the cameras at the moment.
I would like to buy a combo that after one year I could sell and get the most money that would be the base for something new that will be probably announced on NAB 2015. Closest combo that I like is C100 with Ninja Blade, but it seems that it will lose it's value pretty quickly.
What would you recommend? Maybe cheaper camera and more expensive recorder? Like GH4 plus CG Odyssey 7Q?

Any camera/recorder combo will do as long as it will hold it's value the best! Please advise.

Many thanks for all your help!
 
Are you able to buy good quality used equipment, or does it have to be new?

I have found that the best Canon L glass actually appreciates in value as inflation pushes the prices higher. Although not in a single year.

If you could find a good quality used Canon 24-70 2.8 II and 70-200 2.8 II, each in the $1,700 to $1,850 range, you should be able to sell with a maximum cost of $100 each.

Maybe- it is always hard to predict the future.

High quality lenses are the most like a "capital" investment for the long term. Camera bodies act much more like an "expense" due to depreciation.

But that expense is usually offset against the income that you are able to earn using it. And the depreciation is much cheaper than the cost of film! :)

It is possible to estimate the per year depreciation for many devices. You probably need to outline your minimum needs though.

Good luck!
Michael
 
Maybe 2nd Hand Sony FS700 + Odyssey 7Q?

Just spent two days shooting with it and it is pure bliss. the 4K to 1080p ProRes is a dream, as are the slow motion modes.

Best bang for buck out there, by some distance.
 
It would be a lot easier to answer this if you stated the intended use, and why you need an external recorder.

I have the Sony FS700 + 7Q and love it, but it is probably outside your price range.

My biggest suggestion is: buy a camera that is self-contained and doesn't require a lot of add-ons. For example, doesn't require an external EVF and monitor, and a shoulder mounting solution. You will spend a lot of money on these, and you will probably not be able to recover a lot of that when selling.
 
Bang for the buck? Sony F3 with a Samurai recorder. Both going cheap today and you'll loose very little in the year to come. Buy FS700+7Q and they will both drop much more in value in a years time.
 
Definitely stay away from the C100 (if you're trying to avoid depreciation). From a close source (a canon rep I know), the next price drop is coming soon.
 
my general impression is that the more high-end you go, the faster it loses value
yet you're probably right: the C100 will go down quite a bit if the a7s keeps its promise
(btw if it doesn't have to be a video body, then a7s+ninja2, with shogun whenever it comes out if you want 4K, might be a very good option)
 
Features aside F3-Samurai(non blade) have already dropped so much that there's little left to drop in price. F3 still kicks the FS700 and most other cameras when it comes to excellent looking 1080p.

Sony will in a years time have several new cameras (and even Canon) that makes the FS700 a price dropper. I've already seen the 7Q packages sold with a fairly big drop in price.

If any advice to preserve your cash is to buy used and stay away from the latest stuff.
 
"If any advice to preserve your cash is to buy used and stay away from the latest stuff"

Buy the latest stuff used, I just saw someone post an odyssey 7q package for $3600, included fs700 license, ssd's battery bracket. Tbh I'd rather pay 10 grand for a fs700 4k package than a $6,000 F3. I love the F3, it may even be better? But those HFR are a nice luxuery. I've shot on various other cameras, but once they see the HFR from the fs700/odyssey they're mesmerized. At least for me, the fs700 now is way more versatile than the f3. Image wise we can argue all day, the 4k to HD is pretty spectacular on the fs700 and RAW is 12 bits too.
 
Osslund said:
Features aside F3-Samurai(non blade) have already dropped so much that there's little left to drop in price. F3 still kicks the FS700 and most other cameras when it comes to excellent looking 1080p.

Sony will in a years time have several new cameras (and even Canon) that makes the FS700 a price dropper. I've already seen the 7Q packages sold with a fairly big drop in price.

If any advice to preserve your cash is to buy used and stay away from the latest stuff.
Click to expand...

Since we are talking FS700+7Q, I'd have to respectfully disagree. The 1080p from the 7Q (which is 4kRaw converted
to 1080P by the 7Q) is some of the best looking 1080p around, very very good. The F3-Samurai is nice as well, but
you do NOT have the possibility of shooting 4K, high frame rates (including continuous 2k high frame rates), or Raw.
One could make the argument that you shouldn't buy the FS700, because you need an external recorder to really
get the most out of it, but the exact same is true of the F3. In camera it records 35mb XDcam Mpeg 2 video.
 
Thanks everyone for help, I am still deciding. I have about 1 month to decide.
ntouched said:
Definitely stay away from the C100 (if you're trying to avoid depreciation). From a close source (a canon rep I know), the next price drop is coming soon.
Click to expand...
Would you be able to tell how soon? Like more weeks or months? I really like this camera but it feels as next year it's going to be quite obsolete (and cheap).
Jim Ritscher said:
I have the Sony FS700 + 7Q and love it, but it is probably outside your price range.
Click to expand...
Exactly, it's a little bit to pricey. In my range is probably only fs700 (without odyssey 7q).


Jim Ritscher said:
It would be a lot easier to answer this if you stated the intended use, and why you need an external recorder.
Click to expand...
Combo have to record broadcast ready footage (50mbs up and 4:2:2), so as long as it will be recording internally I don't have to buy recorder.
This will be for shorts, music videos but also for documentaries and some broadcast work.

Thanks for help!
 
alaskacameradude said:
Since we are talking FS700+7Q, I'd have to respectfully disagree. The 1080p from the 7Q (which is 4kRaw converted
to 1080P by the 7Q) is some of the best looking 1080p around, very very good. The F3-Samurai is nice as well, but
you do NOT have the possibility of shooting 4K, high frame rates (including continuous 2k high frame rates), or Raw.
One could make the argument that you shouldn't buy the FS700, because you need an external recorder to really
get the most out of it, but the exact same is true of the F3. In camera it records 35mb XDcam Mpeg 2 video.
Click to expand...

You missed my point. I pointed at one of the best deals if you want to preserve your hard earned money buying today and selling in a years time and still have something that produces great images. As I wrote - Features aside...

My guess is that once all F3 owners have dumped their cameras far to cheap and they are in the hands of second or third owners they'll stay there a while and price wont drop of as much any more. In comparison when, not if, Sony and others will put in internal 4k, 10-bit, All-I, and such things recorded and with ergonomics bettering the current FS cameras the FS700 will take a huge hit.

I had my heart sat at getting a FS700 until I realized all this.
 
Osslund said:
You missed my point. I pointed at one of the best deals if you want to preserve your hard earned money buying today and selling in a years time and still have something that produces great images. As I wrote - Features aside...

My guess is that once all F3 owners have dumped their cameras far to cheap and they are in the hands of second or third owners they'll stay there a while and price wont drop of as much any more. In comparison when, not if, Sony and others will put in internal 4k, 10-bit, All-I, and such things recorded and with ergonomics bettering the current FS cameras the FS700 will take a huge hit.

I had my heart sat at getting a FS700 until I realized all this.
Click to expand...

Sony has already done that. It's called the F55. Not sure how they are going to put the things you state
(4k, 10-bit, All-I, all internal recording and better ergonomics) into a FS700 successor without totally
destroying their own markets for the F5/55? I am 'guessing' that such a camera (Internal 4K, 10bit, All-I)
won't be in the price range of an FS700 for some time. I could certainly be wrong, but we are all guessing here.
As you yourself said, your 'guess' is that the F3 won't lose value like the FS700 will. I personally feel the
FS700 won't lose value until the things it offers can be offered internally, instead of with the 7Q...and at the same
price point. I would 'guess' we are not going to reach that being offered at FS700 price point for some time.
So I would still disagree with you and make my 'guess' that the FS700 won't lose much value in a year's time.
Again, all we can do is make educated guesses here. None of us know for certain.
 
alaskacameradude said:
Sony has already done that. It's called the F55. Not sure how they are going to put the things you state
(4k, 10-bit, All-I, all internal recording and better ergonomics) into a FS700 successor without totally
destroying their own markets for the F5/55? I am 'guessing' that such a camera (Internal 4K, 10bit, All-I)
won't be in the price range of an FS700 for some time. I could certainly be wrong, but we are all guessing here.
As you yourself said, your 'guess' is that the F3 won't lose value like the FS700 will. I personally feel the
FS700 won't lose value until the things it offers can be offered internally, instead of with the 7Q...and at the same
price point. I would 'guess' we are not going to reach that being offered at FS700 price point for some time.
So I would still disagree with you and make my 'guess' that the FS700 won't lose much value in a year's time.
Again, all we can do is make educated guesses here. None of us know for certain.
Click to expand...

Not exactly. The F55 is a 25K-30K camera. Not exactly a replacement for the FS700.
You probably mean the F5. Personally, I think that camera will lose a lot of value.
I don't see either long time F3 or FS700 owners moving towards it. It will have to come down in price first.
 
Red One MX stills beats the majority of other cams in IQ (actually beats the Scarlet, just not the Epic). Used are so low, but actually price has gone up in recent months. Same with F35. Limited supply, very, very good IQ in both cases, prices lower than actual derived value compared to other offerings - so you have to figure it's a good investment.
 
Features will trickle down to lower cost cameras sooner than later. All the pieces are in place to make killer cameras in the near future and my guess we wont have to wait long for that to happen.

As far as the F3+Samurai goes I've seen a combo going for $3700.
 
This article will explain what advantages there are to using an external recorder and how to choose the best one for a particular camera. It will also briefly go into the capabilities of the various on-camera recorders B&H sells. It is important to note that we are only going to look at recorders that are designed to record in a higher-quality format than what is recorded in camera. There is another subset of on-camera recorders that record the same video codec as is recorded in camera to a disk or card in order to bypass recording to tape or to record for much longer.

I read your site.It took me a lot of good.I think it will be a lot of benefit of people.
I have a small website.If you want please visit this web site at once.

150w led flood light
 
Look for the best deal you can find on a used camera that is still competitive. ( just make sure that you are happy shooting with it's work-flow )

Depending on what you want to shoot, a Sony F3 might be the best bet in your price range, as I don't see it getting much cheaper over the next 12-15 months.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top