I have a question regarding upgrading from my PMW EX1. While I am generally more than happy with the performance of this camera I note noise problems when shooting scenic subject matter and where the background is the dark green bush that covers much of New Zealand. Not long ago the camera developed a serious fault resulting in the need to replace the complete front end costing close to $1500.00 (US) and I must say that the noise factor does appear to be less now however it is still annoying even as it seems inconsistent.

Now while purchasing a new F5 would make me smile my bank manager might have a fit. And I’m not ever sure that an F5 would fare any better in this situation.

Perhaps more to the point the question is what might be a good upgrade that would provide a cost effective significant improvement in image quality versus my aging PMW EX1 bearing in mind that outdoor scenic shooting is my main thing.

Seems to me that the EX1 is a hard act to follow at around that price point.

I'm frankly highly surprised by the performance of the GH3, (and onward to future iterations of the Panasonic GH series) which would be my go to mirrorless stills camera and B-cam. I wouldn't solely rely on it, but it's cheaper than a FS700 and it gets really good 1080p performance (with a superior bitrate compared to the FS700's internal recording, mind you)

Remember that Super35 means you need to pay more attention to focusing as it is much less forgiving at more open apertures. For run and gun, The less shallow the DOF, the better.

For now, we won't see anything coming close to the EX1's sensitivity/pixel size balance in the 4K realm without Super35, and in that case, you're going to be more limited by shallower DOF.

I bought a Canon C100 to supplement/succeed my EX3. Images are certainly cleaner and often much nicer, and you could add a Ninja 2 if needed. Sure, I would love a F5 but could not justify the cost either!

Sure the C100 has some limitations, as often discussed on here by me any many others (but all cameras have limitations), but what it does is produce lovely images when used to its strengths. The EX3 still gets used for fast paced run and gun but the C100 is my main cam now.

Might be worth thinking about as it will fit the price point you're seeking.