I love my BMC!
 

I really like the images that seem to come out of the BMC cinemacamera, even up to a point I was considering saving up for one myself but what I don’t like about it is the community that’s forming around it. I see a lot of people starting to bash any other brand and they treat and aggressively defend the bmc like it was their only child, even if they don’t own the camera yet.

Also every uservideo that starts to appear does get only positive responses, some deserve it but some don’t and even if there are out of focus shots, bad colour corrections, worse shot or whatever, no-one seems to notice it and everyone is full of praise. The BMC logo on the camera seems to be very forgiving.

I only see that kind of behaviour where people are very brandloyal, identify themselves or even almost worship it, with Apple products. I once went to a Apple forum to ask for some advice on an Imac and I got the same feeling I get now when you enter a Bmc community. Anyone has a idea why that is?

Re: I love my BMC!
 

i've often wondered about that and not just about a particular camera! the attitude and behaviour your talking about is everywhere from cars to TVs to Operating Systems to almost every digital device you can think of and more.
I find it very difficult to get good reviews on various things because of brand loyalty and all that.

I think that for a lot of people the product is unique and very good in it's own right and people become enamored with it and will defend it from any detractors even if secretly they may have some doubts, think of the amount of money that people spend on a particular brand and because they buy into a system - camera body, propriety accessories, lens etc. they need to convince themselves they are right. I've watched the Canon v Nikon thing for years same as the Apple v PC argument, i view them as tools but it's nice to have a choice, however it doesnt address the biased reviews that seem to bombard us from all angles.

Re: I love my BMC!
 

I think its "small sensor" syndrome.

GH2 users seem to have it too.

;)

Re: I love my BMC!
 

We do our best to avoid that type of behavior here at DV Info Net. I certainly hope that particular quality about us is a big part of our appeal. Meanwhile I would like to ask our members not to draw generalizations about other people based simply on what kind of gear they choose, or what they post to the web outside of DV Info Net. In other words, let's please not criticize others but focus instead on building the great community we have here.

What happens on other sites is not our concern, thankfully.

Re: I love my BMC!
 

That's what I like about this forum, you do get some heated sicussions but it always stays civil and friendly and it's the community here that reminds new users, if they come off offensive, that this is not accepted here.

A bmc vs other camera debate is not the intention of my question, I always wondered why people get so personal about gear they use and why this happens to specific camera's.

Re: I love my BMC!
 

I think part of the psychology is a sort of self re-assurance thing where positive statement with emphasis somehow shields people from any niggling doubts they may have about their purchase decision.

I guess I should be out there beating my chest and spruiking the SI2K more than I do. I postover in the reduser from time to time and annoy them a little bit with SI2K talk but they take it well.

That said, both the SI2K cameras here, beyond operator mismanagement and a memory battery, have been pretty much flawless. Sadly things that just work everytime and quietly do their job do not always get the attention.

Re: I love my BMC!
 

I would say it is mostly or TOTALLY that. People are like that with anything material. . .car, musical instrument, whatever.

"You ain't tellin' me MY [insert material object] is a piece of crap, not after I spent [insert ungodly amount of money] and did tons of research and asked experts and did tests. No sir!"

I would also say the defensiveness goes up in direct proportion to the cost of the item, especially if many settle for similar items at a far lower cost (i.e. Macs).

But even when that item costs around the same as all the others, people still want to believe that they are intelligent, etc. and this is reflected in their purchasing decisions. In other words, you insult my product, you're calling me a moron.

I would even say the same goes for immaterial things like taste in any form of art, and political/religious beliefs.

Re: I love my BMC!
 

The day before a purchase decision is made:

"I have no idea what to buy. Nothing I can afford has all the features I want. I'm so confused!"

The day after a purchase decision is made:

"Brand X is the greatest! Nothing else comes close at any price!"

Human nature is a funny thing. :)

Re: I love my BMC!
 

Funny.

I usually get buyers remorse, and get the feeling that I made the wrong choice directly after buying a gadget......

Re: I love my BMC!
 

Funny that. Both cognitive biases exist. (These are interesting reads...)

Choice-supportive bias
Choice-supportive bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Buyer's remorse
Buyer's remorse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I wonder if these correlate with optimism and pessimism. I'm generally optimistic and am more prone to choice-supportive bias. Simon, would you consider yourself somewhat pessimistic? - or realistic? I know some pessimists who claim to be realistic because it's unrealistic to think that bad things don't often happen. :)

Re: I love my BMC!
 

This topic has led me to think back on buying a DSLR for video...

1) The D90 came out. Previously, I had no desire to buy a DSLR. Then I really wanted the D90 for shallow DOF video. But the poor compression quality kept me from pulling the trigger.

2) When the 5D Mark II was announced and Reverie released, I pounced, dropping $2,700 out of the blue.

3) I knew going in that I would have aliasing, rolling shutter, auto-gain audio, and no manual exposure controls. But there were no other affordable cams with good quality, shallow DOF video. That trumped everything. Rather than hate the shortcomings, it became a crusade to discover and learn workarounds. The negatives almost became compelling!

4) The new firmware came out. Now my choice was double-justified. Canary never tasted so good to this cat. But no way I would ever buy a camera without manual controls again. That was so yesterday!

5) Some time later (but before the 5D3 was released), I bought a VAF-5D2 to stop the aliasing. Yes, it has shortcomings, but the aliasing is all but banished. You guessed it: no way I would tolerate aliasing again, even though just before, everything I shot with my great-choice camera had aliasing.

6) I'd love to have the 5D3 (lower noise, no VAF hassle, plays nice with wides), but haven't been able to justify the extra cost. Four years on, my choice of DSLR was still an awesome decision. :)

The day I upgrade to a 5D3 (or other future model), having to install the VAF for video will seem ridiculous to me. ;)

I have no doubt that people who buy the BMC absolutely love the RAW feature - and that all of the shortcomings pale in comparison. (The lack of a wide lens solution kills it for me.) Given that there are no other RAW video cameras available at that price makes it really easy to sweep the problems under the rug (like I did with aliasing, auto exposure, etc.) And until there are better, inexpensive RAW choices available, they absolutely made great purchase decisions. :)

Re: I love my BMC!
 

I like to think I am realistic; but I guess there is a bit of pessimism in there. The times I have bought something really amazing then I don't have any buyers remorse, but I certainly don't feel the need for any choice supportive bias either.

The thing about gadgets is that I often think I want them, but know I don't really need them. I have a drawer full of miscellaneous cables that I look at when I feel the urge to buy something new; all those cables from all those devices usually makes me reconsider a purchase!

Re: I love my BMC!
 

Surely no other factor can match DSLR, and the quality of its video, for a dramatic rise in the number of people taking to video as more than a casual hobby? Is that a good thing? I know several stills professionals who regularly complain about DSLRs making everyone think they can do weddings etc. thus robbing them of income. That must be also be true with video since the advent of the 5D2