steve phillipps
Veteran
MTF are now showing lens mounts for the Cion https://www.lensadaptor.com/nikon-g-aja-cion
Cion mounts
- Thread starter steve phillipps
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steve phillipps
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And you would go Cion rather than FS7? What would make you choose the Cion?
Steve
Steve
All those ProRes codecs built-in, including 4K, without the need of an external recorder. And a low-pass filter to reduce moire effect, and an IR-cut filter.
But having said that, I find myself being drawn to the FS7. Having used my AF100 for a couple years, I really like the internal ND filters, which the FS7 also has. And it would cost me about $2K less to go the FS7 route, rather than the Cion. But I'm going to wait until several reviews are in for both, before I make my move. Meanwhile, in the AF100 section of this forum, someone claims that a Panasonic rep told them a successor to the AF100 was in the works. I'll just have to wait and see. <sigh>
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hscully
Veteran
I would consider the FS7. It seems like it is a good all around camera. What I like most about the CION, at least as much as I have seen, is the image quality. It has a richness to it, and a fidelity of color, that I think is really great. It has deep blacks which is a look that really appeals to me. What I've seen of the pushed highlights is that they blow out nicely white. I'd like to see that stressed a little more but for $9K, so far so good. I like that it has a RAW capability too but the workflow on that is still a bit of a mystery.
The global shutter is a good draw too. I do not shoot a lot of HFR stuff, so 60fps in camera at 422 should be good. The ProRes 4444 in camera is a huge plus along with the 12 bit processing it should be great in post. I shoot a lot of narrative stuff and I'm hoping that it's good to have such a sturdy codec in camera.
I like AJA. I think they're products are really well designed and engineered and I like the engineering they have brought to this camera.
I will miss the NDs but I already have a matte box and NDs that I've been using on RED rentals. I just think that for my work this camera will do nicely.
It's a different thing than the FS7 in framerates and high ISO. This will not be a "see in the dark" camera but I really don't need one as I light pretty much all the time. Night exteriors... if I can get up to 1280, I'm good. If you shoot a lot of stuff where it's not convenient to light, maybe the FS7 is a better bet.
Basically, I like the images and think it's a good value.
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I went to an AJA CION event here in Minneapolis, got a little hands-on with the camera. I like the build and the ergonomics, but I just kept finding myself falling back on the FS7 features. I don't often shoot with an AC or have the luxury of swapping ND filters in my matte box constantly. When doing most corporate or doc-style gigs the client appreciates me taking a half second to flip a dial and get some nice shallow DOF for an interview and just start rolling. If I had to set down the camera and run to my kit to pull some ND, get it loaded in a tray, then drop it into the matte box, they would be tapping their toe and looking at their watch.
As much as I would love to have a more "film production" work flow, the reality is that I don't have an electric crew to adjust my lights or an AC to swap my ND. I have to do it all. The easier it is to tweak the camera, the better. So, admittedly, I'm probably not the target market for the CION.
As much as I would love to have a more "film production" work flow, the reality is that I don't have an electric crew to adjust my lights or an AC to swap my ND. I have to do it all. The easier it is to tweak the camera, the better. So, admittedly, I'm probably not the target market for the CION.
FrameFarmMedia
Veteran
Does the Cion even have a Log profile? I thought I read it didn't but maybe that was just on launch and all the test footage has been in camera only colour.
steve phillipps
Veteran
It's funny that some cameras don't include built in NDs as it is a big turn off for a lot of users - is it really that big a challenge / complication / expense to include it in a camera?
Steve
Steve
hscully
Veteran
I haven't heard anything different. As far as I know, they do not have a log profile. Actually I haven't heard much of what gammas or profiles or settings the camera ships with. On the last video they referred to "in camera color correction" and "Skin Tones" and "Normal" settings. That's about all I've heard. Somewhere on here I read that the hold up has to do with features being requested. Maybe that means they are adding features still. They're pretty tight lipped about all this stuff.
Adds size and cost, definitely. And it's an extra component to test and guarantee (need to fix if something breaks during normal use). If your focus is image quality and you're catering to a market that prefers high quality matte box filters, then it's a waste of time, money, and resources to include it. Built-in ND filters is definitely a weird middle-ground area in terms of camera. On one hand you're a step above cheap DSLRs but on the other hand you're considered more "ENG" style and a notch below the "real" cinema cameras.
steve phillipps
Veteran
Not sure about below "real" cinema cameras - the F65 has them and that's pretty "real"!!!
And I also wonder just how expensive they are (some pretty inexpensive cameras have them) and they don't take too much space as they're in with the sensor and just need a small external control. But maybe it is much more complex than it seems, I don't know.
Steve