Colin Nusbaum
Member
I'm very curious how you got the top secret info... but I hope what you are saying is true. It sure sounds like the same Varicam Sensor if so. If I could get that sensor for $5000 I'd be first in line.
EVA1: Panasonic AU-EVA1! Announcement and latest updates
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I'm very curious how you got the top secret info... but I hope what you are saying is true. It sure sounds like the same Varicam Sensor if so. If I could get that sensor for $5000 I'd be first in line.
Any mention of M4/3 compatibility? Would the modular design require add-ons to make it comfortably usable, such as the BlackMagic Design camera offerings?
Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
I'm doubting any M43 compatibility.
And I'm fine with that.
And I'm fine with that.
filmguy123
Veteran
As long as it's good, I'll be pleased with whatever... m43, s35, etc. I have a decent M43 investment but I also see that as a parallel platform. While I've now invested more in it than perhaps I should, who knows - tech changes at such a quick rate I could see M43 being a real powerhouse (not that it isn't strong right now) in 3-5 years, so I'm hoping my native glass goes to good use for years to come.
They are also great as a way to pack a 3 camera setup for B/C camera into a small space, or when needing ancillary stills, or when needing an ultralight kit for something (mountains, extreme sports, low key docu work, etc.).
Either way, I want an S35 panasonic camera. The Varicam LT spec wise is a dream. Weight wise it's a nightmare (for me). This new offering could be perfect, though it means I'll have to invest in new glass... thinking:
$800 Sigma Art 18-35mm f/1.8 [27mm-52.5mm S35 1.5x]
$1100 Zeiss Milvus 35mm f/2 [52.5 S35 1.5x]
$1100 Zeiss Milvus 50 f/1.4 [75mm S35 1.5x]
The only real ouch is a good wide prime... $2700 for the Zeiss Milvus 15 f/2.8 [22.5mm S35 1.5x] is pricey, but 27mm on that Sigma isn't quite wide enough... and those Zeiss' have lots of character and great manual focus without being a full on heavy-weight, super-priced cineprime...
They are also great as a way to pack a 3 camera setup for B/C camera into a small space, or when needing ancillary stills, or when needing an ultralight kit for something (mountains, extreme sports, low key docu work, etc.).
Either way, I want an S35 panasonic camera. The Varicam LT spec wise is a dream. Weight wise it's a nightmare (for me). This new offering could be perfect, though it means I'll have to invest in new glass... thinking:
$800 Sigma Art 18-35mm f/1.8 [27mm-52.5mm S35 1.5x]
$1100 Zeiss Milvus 35mm f/2 [52.5 S35 1.5x]
$1100 Zeiss Milvus 50 f/1.4 [75mm S35 1.5x]
The only real ouch is a good wide prime... $2700 for the Zeiss Milvus 15 f/2.8 [22.5mm S35 1.5x] is pricey, but 27mm on that Sigma isn't quite wide enough... and those Zeiss' have lots of character and great manual focus without being a full on heavy-weight, super-priced cineprime...
puredrifting
Major Contributor
A lot of IFs but if these are the specs and IF the cost is C100 MKII level (I assume when it was a new camera price levels), and IF Canon doesn't introduce a C100 MKIII level camera that is at least as good, one of these may be in my future. As long as it has HPX170/Varicam LT color science and not GH5 color science.
I see the GH5 as a compact but powerful platform, that easily handles small to mid-size jobs. This new camera would be the next level up, where you work with more people on bigger projects, and absolute compactness is not that important.
Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
NorBro
Major Contributor
The GH5 would have been successful either way because it's the 5th one and costs $2000 for a lot of features.
Once a camera gets over $5K or so, you're not looking at the same amount of customers...people drop out quickly.
digitalinnovations
Well-known member
Totally agree; they're kinda tough to beat for what they do / deliver at their price point.
Thomas Smet
Veteran
Yup I am one of those people. It is hard to justify the ROI on a $5000 camera when a $2000 camera already gets a lot closer to cinema level than it should. Even the GH4 at $1,000 is much closer to cinema level than what we ever really dreamed of.
At the end of the day are productions really any better with a $5,000 camera? I mean do the actors suddenly do a decent job and did the writing magically take care of itself? Of course the camera is better but how much better is really the question here.
I am excited about this new camera but how will this be any different than the awesome options we already have from BMD? If I haven't bothered to upgrade to one of those why would this new Panasonic camera be any different? Perhaps if it was m43 it would have a better chance of success because it would be unique and stand as a solid upgrade for current m43 users. If it is s35mm it is yet another s35mm camera in an already crowded field of equally good s35mm cameras. A lot of budget film makers would love to see a m43 cinema form factor camera. That is something that just doesn't exist right now.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Wonder if it would only be manual focus or if there would be some form of AF? Did the AF100 have AF? (You'd think so based upon the name?)
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Higher native ISO and not topping out at ISO 1600. While the BMD does make really nice images, it is a true cinema camera in that it is lousy in low light. So really nice bang for the buck for narrative but not so good for documentary filmmaking. I make documentaries and we often light pretty big setups, I just lit and shot a recording studio setup with a band in South America, had a full grip truck, lit it with 25 intruments, it looked great. But a lot of the rest of the story was verite', following the same musician into a dimly lit bar where he played early in his career and cranking up my C100 to ISO 3200 wide open at F1.8 to even get an image. I love to light but in making documentary and BTS footage, you often cannot light. So the Ursa Mini Pro is out for me. If this camera has similar low light ability to the C100/300/300 MKII, that will be very useful to many of us.
ugafan
Looking for a woman
that is the bar for me. it either has to be better than the 4.6k or cheaper than the 4.6k. if it's not, then why bother.
NorBro
Major Contributor
For sure, me too. I learned my lesson the hard way investing in a lot of expensive cameras like an imbecile only to learn they were really not that much better than some cheaper options (and some were worse!).
Of course you could have told me a million times that almost everything else was more important than the camera (to some degree), but I wouldn't listen.
Now, if anyone asks me which camera they should get, I tell them the cheapest one, ha.
filmguy123
Veteran
This is an easy one... currently, all the best features are split up between different manufactures IMO. Here's where the Panny could really shine:
Lightweight, including accessories such as batteries (BMD... not so much)
Standard SDXC media with a great internal codec (FS5 codec... not so great)
Great slow motion modes in 2K and 4K, including VFR (ahem, canon)
Good high ISO (looking at you, BMD)
Electronic variable ND filter... (great FS5 feature) Would be great as is for fine tuned adjustments ala a variable nd VS 3 preset levels, but *really* special if ND could be set to "auto" to lock ISO, aperture, and shutter with all exposure adjustments coming automatically
Panasonic Varicam Color science (sayonora, sony)
I could go on, but point is, it's not so much about doing something NO ONE else is doing. It's looking at the market of what someone is doing well, and combining the best it into one camera that doesn't have the very real pitfalls that each of these competitor's cameras has. The thing about these pitfalls is that they aren't cost related as much as they were design decision related, and we can see all of the best features floating around, splintered between all the competitors.
So yes, I dream of a lightweight FS5 style camera that has an electronic variable ND, but with a good codec and better color science. I'd love a BMD 4.6k URSA Mini Pro in a lightweight body that's much better suited to field work and lightweight OMB handling (and higher ISO, light batteries, etc.) Canon is awesome for what they deliver, but their price point is insane and as great as the c100 is depending on your needs it leaves out key, essential items such as VFR and true slow motion modes until you fork over a ton more.
Panny has a unique opportunity to land with their great color science, great camera reliability, and release a product that combines the best features spread out across the competition all under one roof, into one body, at a competitive price. Sure, it may not sway you if you already own an FS7. But there's plenty of people to sway over from a whole spectrum of cameras and backgrounds that could find the sum total of parts highly appealing... like me!
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Thomas Smet
Veteran
Agreed if it is in fact more like the C100/300 vs the BMD style of cinema camera. Hopefully it has the awesome native ISO 5000 like its bigger cousins. I have heard a lot of great things about the switchable native ISO.
Thomas Smet
Veteran
That is of course a lot to hope for in one camera considering nobody has done it yet. The other manufacturers are not dumb. We will have to wait and see what it provides. I'm not opposed to upgrading to this camera if it really does have a great ROI. So far based on every other cinema camera out there it just hasn't been worth it to me yet. Maybe this will be the one camera to make me change my mind.
I'm not so concerned about the cost. I used to own cameras that cost easily $5k+ back when that made a massive difference in what I did. Its just that the gap has shrunk so much that it is getting harder to justify that cost for what I really gain.
And yet BMD has put out marketing blurbs suggesting Ursa Mini as ENG. An element missing from this back and forth is the client's or hiring prod. co.'s perception of a cam's suitability/reliability/flexibility.
If you are making your own "cinema", you are the only one to convince. Otherwise, pedigree often plays a role.
If you are making your own "cinema", you are the only one to convince. Otherwise, pedigree often plays a role.
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