New! Blackmagic 2.5K Raw cinema camera!

[Marty Hudzik]

Thomas nailed many of the thoughts that I tried to put into words earlier in this thread but was not able to articulate as clearly. I paid $1500 for the ability to record ProRes to SSD with the Samurai. This basically has that built in!

I know the sensor size is odd, but once you get a few lenses and you acclimated, i think it will be a fine tool for the anyones toolkit.

[Oleg Kalyan]

IT truly makes sense to have a M4/3 adapter with this camera, having better choice of lenses:
Nokton 25mm, 17.5mm F 0.95, Olympus 12mm, 45mm, Panasonic 17mm, 45mm IS.
Optically mentioned lenses are better than Canon L lenses, IMO and made for sensor that is similar in size.

[Nigel Barker]

There are other cameras that record in ProRes the most notable being the Arri Alexa which also has the option to record in RAW although from what I read the vast majority of users shoot ProRes with the Alexa.

[Larry Kelly]

Does anyone know if this camera can be set to record single frames? We are looking into using it for a film printer.

[Marty Hudzik]

It's been about a month since this camera was announced. I know it doesn't ship until July....but has anyone seen or heard anything new regarding it? I was hoping there would be some new clips posted or some new information released by now to keep our appetites peaked.

[Philip Lipetz]

Today is the BMD show in Burbank I expect any news to be launched from there, If there is I will post as soon as I return from the show,

[Marty Hudzik]

Originally Posted by Philip Lipetz

Today is the BMD show in Burbank I expect any news to be launched from there, If there is I will post as soon as I return from the show,

You're headed to the show from Denver? Nice! I guess I asked this question on the right day I see!

Please post any news that you hear. I am particularly interested to confirm that the OIS on EOS lenses will work. I suspect it should....but this is a big thing for me since I will be shooting a decent amount of handheld clips.

Thanks!

[Philip Lipetz]

Actually headed from Ohio.

[Marty Hudzik]

Originally Posted by Philip Lipetz

Actually headed from Ohio.

Philip,

What brings you to Ohio? Or is your profile location wrong? Also.....are you going strictly for the BMD event or do you have other business out there? Just asking as it seems like a large trip for a single manufacturer. I know I'd like to be there.

MArty

[Philip Lipetz]

In Columbus taking care of family matters for an indefinite stay, commuting to LA.

Was at BMD show. Mixed feelings. Cam is very filmic, but the LCD is a joke and is far far from an accurate picture, must have external monitor. Only 45 minutes RAW on 500GB SSD. Team is really nice and well meaning guys but clearly they do not know image capture. Lots of strange decisions like omitting compressed 60p becuase they could not do it with RAW. Seem to think this is a RAW cam when most people will shoot log compressed. Jello but they say it will be better in production version. NO Image Stabilization at ship, maybe latter. Still July ship from factory but may not arrive at dealers till later, Cannot emphasize enough how awful the LCD is. Only three ISO settings, 400, 800, 1600. Only three WB settings. This is a very crippled camera.

Everyone wants RAW and sees only that, ignoring the usability of the camera and the extreme workflow and post production equipment requirements. They estimate 4-5000 preorders, and up to two month backlog at ship. I predict lots of them will go to people who ignore the real workflow and design issues and let their cameras sit on the shelf. But for those who understand what a cine camera is, and need that specialized instrument the camera will be great.

[Marty Hudzik]

Wow. That is disappointing. I am still very interested but it seems like a lot of features are missing. I was hoping the LCD would be decent....is it not even as good as LCD on other cameras like af-100 or fs-100? I don't necessarily expect it to be 100% accurate to a field monitor but it should be at least good enough to focus and frame your scenes.

I too will be shooting primarily in a ProRes with Raw as an option when needed. WHat were your impressions of the crop factor? What lens did you see on it and how did it feel? Did it feel extremely cropped?

I am getting this camera for my narrative style work and hanging onto my XLh1 kit for more event oriented work. I considered selling my H1 and buying an af-100 or fs100, but thought BMD cam would allow me to keep the H1 and have a 2nd more "cine" style camera. Obviously these shallow DOF cameras aren't ideal for run and gun ENG type of shooting....so different tools for different jobs.

Any other thoughts? Can you elaborate on the filmic look?

[Philip Lipetz]

The LCD is good only for framing. It was hard to see clearly indoors, outside would match my feeling about the LCD - pathetic. It was tellng tha mearly everyone turned to the tabletop external monitor when they played with focus. It will probably be good for focus, but do not forget that it is a touch screen that hides the controls so you loose image when you need to change settings.

On the external monitor the cam produced nice creamy images that look pretty good (hard to tell without a LUT being applied).

Forget the AF100, the GH2 hacked is much better and cheaper if you want m4/3..

They had a canon 24-105 on the camera, at f4 not the best choice for indoor demo of a cam limited to 1600ISO

[Jeroen Wolf]

Can't find anything about using legacy lenses on this cam..? Is this basically like the GH2 where you can use any lens with the right adapter?

[Lee Mullen]

Are there any cold shoes or 1/4" threads anywhere to attach things?

[Lawrence Bansbach]

Originally Posted by Jeroen Wolf

Can't find anything about using legacy lenses on this cam..? Is this basically like the GH2 where you can use any lens with the right adapter?

No. You can't use m4/3 or c-mount lenses (even with a 2x adapter).