Deciding on new camera

Mark Chafe · April 12th, 2012, 07:04 PM

Thanks very much for all the help in deciding. Right now after a few tests I have decided on a pair of used Sony HDR-CX550v cameras. I wasn't really prepared to go back to something that small, but the price was very reasonable and the manual controls were adequate enough for me. I tried a few Canon's and was not impressed with the interface although the manual controls were nice as well.

Coming from my PD-170's I have lost a lot of manual control, but the quality is much better for the videos I am doing, which are all online videos for websites and for youtube. I would like something like an NX5U but will probably have to wait until I can justify it.

Thanks
Mark

Kevin Duffey · April 22nd, 2013, 07:07 PM

It's probably too late to add to this, but after the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera was announced, for the money, I think it's the best thing going.

I realize it's slightly smaller than a super-16 sensor, but with 13 stops of dynamic range, and recording to SD-XC in pro-res format, the quality is thus far, superior from what I have seen to many of the $3K cameras out there... or at least on par, at 1080p resolution. With the supposed 10-bit raw recording (still can't wait to see what SD-XC card is "approved" to handle the recording speed necessary for raw recording..but I am guessing a 600x one that costs like $200 for a 64GB and stores about 10 mins of video! ;), I think the smaller sensor size (thus the inflated crop size) may be justified. It will remain to be seen, but having a cinematic quality camera with outstanding recording formats for under $1000 has me drooling. I truly hope it holds up to the current crop of video displayed so far.. not sure about night time low-light..but I would hope with a cood F1.2 or so lens it can bring in pretty good low-light as well.

For the money, if I had 4K, I'd really consider the BM4K!

Ron Evans · April 22nd, 2013, 08:56 PM

Max frame rate is 30P so if you want smooth motion it will not work for you and you have to add in the cost of good lenses, no image stabilization etc etc. To me the Black Magic Pocket camera is an Indie film camera only.

I think Mark made a good choice. The little Sony's work very well. I have a SR11, XR500, CX700, NX30 to go with my NX5U. The SR11 is showing its age and I got the NX30 as its replacement really but if I exclude the SR11 its the NX5U that has the problem in quality matching the small Sony's !!! Noise levels are much lower in the small Sony's than the NX5U and this difference places the NX5U in a difficult position when things get really dark on stage ( I shoot theatre most of the time) I often fall back to the XR500 or CX700 when editing as the image is cleaner or I have to apply the Neat filter to clean up the NX5U clips if I had to use gain too much and really need the shot that the NX5U took. Getting used to controlling the little Sony's by using spot focus and AE shift etc thus leaving the control with the camera gets really good results. I use the XR500 and CX700 as fixed unattended cameras and set focus with spot focus and exposure with AE shift. They rarely make a mistake which is more than I can say about my full manual control on the NX5U !!!!

Ron Evans

Tom Hardwick · April 23rd, 2013, 12:21 AM

I'm with you Ron, my NX5 has been somewhat of a disappointment after my Z1 and alongside the diminutive Panasonic SD 900. Don't get me wrong, the NX5 can at times give outstanding results but it means using profiles that soak a stop, and we're already making resolution sacrifices by using 960 rather than 1920 chips.

I just hoped the NX5 would perform better than it does, and especially in low light. It was an expensive camera but somehow the pictures don't mach the spec sheet.

tom

Noa Put · April 23rd, 2013, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Duffey

the quality is thus far, superior from what I have seen to many of the $3K cameras out there... or at least on par, at 1080p resolution.

Do you have a link to that footage? I have not seen any bmc pocket camera footage out there.

Kevin Duffey · April 24th, 2013, 01:59 PM

This is one that I saw.. there was another too, but can't find it right now.

Noa Put · April 24th, 2013, 02:30 PM

That one I saw as well since it was posted not a day ago :)
Won't be too long before the more controlled footage will show up, allthough this handheld footage looks promising I rather see something on a tripod.

April 12th, 2012, 07:04 PM	#16
Mark Chafe Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 162	Re: Deciding on new camera Thanks very much for all the help in deciding. Right now after a few tests I have decided on a pair of used Sony HDR-CX550v cameras. I wasn't really prepared to go back to something that small, but the price was very reasonable and the manual controls were adequate enough for me. I tried a few Canon's and was not impressed with the interface although the manual controls were nice as well. Coming from my PD-170's I have lost a lot of manual control, but the quality is much better for the videos I am doing, which are all online videos for websites and for youtube. I would like something like an NX5U but will probably have to wait until I can justify it. Thanks Mark

April 22nd, 2013, 07:07 PM	#17
Kevin Duffey Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: California Posts: 206	Re: Deciding on new camera It's probably too late to add to this, but after the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera was announced, for the money, I think it's the best thing going. I realize it's slightly smaller than a super-16 sensor, but with 13 stops of dynamic range, and recording to SD-XC in pro-res format, the quality is thus far, superior from what I have seen to many of the $3K cameras out there... or at least on par, at 1080p resolution. With the supposed 10-bit raw recording (still can't wait to see what SD-XC card is "approved" to handle the recording speed necessary for raw recording..but I am guessing a 600x one that costs like $200 for a 64GB and stores about 10 mins of video! ;), I think the smaller sensor size (thus the inflated crop size) may be justified. It will remain to be seen, but having a cinematic quality camera with outstanding recording formats for under $1000 has me drooling. I truly hope it holds up to the current crop of video displayed so far.. not sure about night time low-light..but I would hope with a cood F1.2 or so lens it can bring in pretty good low-light as well. For the money, if I had 4K, I'd really consider the BM4K!

April 22nd, 2013, 08:56 PM	#18
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,220	Re: Deciding on new camera Max frame rate is 30P so if you want smooth motion it will not work for you and you have to add in the cost of good lenses, no image stabilization etc etc. To me the Black Magic Pocket camera is an Indie film camera only. I think Mark made a good choice. The little Sony's work very well. I have a SR11, XR500, CX700, NX30 to go with my NX5U. The SR11 is showing its age and I got the NX30 as its replacement really but if I exclude the SR11 its the NX5U that has the problem in quality matching the small Sony's !!! Noise levels are much lower in the small Sony's than the NX5U and this difference places the NX5U in a difficult position when things get really dark on stage ( I shoot theatre most of the time) I often fall back to the XR500 or CX700 when editing as the image is cleaner or I have to apply the Neat filter to clean up the NX5U clips if I had to use gain too much and really need the shot that the NX5U took. Getting used to controlling the little Sony's by using spot focus and AE shift etc thus leaving the control with the camera gets really good results. I use the XR500 and CX700 as fixed unattended cameras and set focus with spot focus and exposure with AE shift. They rarely make a mistake which is more than I can say about my full manual control on the NX5U !!!! Ron Evans

April 23rd, 2013, 12:21 AM	#19
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Deciding on new camera I'm with you Ron, my NX5 has been somewhat of a disappointment after my Z1 and alongside the diminutive Panasonic SD 900. Don't get me wrong, the NX5 can at times give outstanding results but it means using profiles that soak a stop, and we're already making resolution sacrifices by using 960 rather than 1920 chips. I just hoped the NX5 would perform better than it does, and especially in low light. It was an expensive camera but somehow the pictures don't mach the spec sheet. tom

April 24th, 2013, 01:59 PM	#21
Kevin Duffey Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: California Posts: 206	Re: Deciding on new camera This is one that I saw.. there was another too, but can't find it right now. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera - Market on Vimeo

April 24th, 2013, 02:30 PM	#22
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: Deciding on new camera That one I saw as well since it was posted not a day ago :) Won't be too long before the more controlled footage will show up, allthough this handheld footage looks promising I rather see something on a tripod.