Almost looks like it should go full circle, back to the days when you had camera head and dockable recorders. Maybe that'd be the sensible thing for Sony and Panasonic to do, make the body with an open slot where the tape door used to be and you can then slide in a module that will either give 35 mb/s, 50 mb/s or 100 mb/s, or one with XDCam discs, or even one with HDCam SR 4:4:4 1080/60P. They're already going modular by selling the camera without a VF so why not without a recording mechanism.
Here's my Sony product line-up:

1/2" CMOS camera head £5,000
2/3" CMOS camera head £7,000
2/3" CCD camera head £10,000
35 mb/s SxS unit £1,500
50 mb/s SxS unit £2,500
100 mb/s SxS unit £4,000
ProRes HQ SxS unit £3,500

All fully interchangeable, so pick your body, your viewfinder and your back then add a lens and a battery pack and you're away. Makes future upgrades easier too.

Anyone up for that?

Steve

David,

Please can you post pics of how you have it mounted, maybe I'm overestimating the annoyance it would cause me. I'm often taking the camera in and out of the portabrace and worry it may be ripped off or a cable snagged etc. It may be because a lot of my shooting is run and gun that I am particularly impatient with any ergonomic compromise.

CD, if you are reading, any plans for a flat version to fit between battery and camera body with option of AB or V Lock plates? That would be great!

Steve - with common sense like that, I'd like to see you standing for parliament..... :-) (I'd add an HDCAM SR module as well though.)

I was going to add HDCam SR but I think if you try to accomodate tape or even XDCam disc units it'll start to get a bit bulky. But, HDCam SR is supposed to be getting a card system I believe - there is an upgrade path for the SRW9000, so yes, we can have a 4:4:4 HDCam SR 1080/60P option at £10,000! And might as well have uncompressed RAW option too, a la RED.

Steve

...don't forget the "other" high end recording system for it all...the Cinedeck...

Wow, that is an awesome idea. In fact, it makes so much sense, there is probably no way they
will actually ever do it :-)

Sorry Steve, I did mean a module recording the same data stream as HDCAM SR, but onto SxS, not a tape unit as such. SxS should be easily capable of doing it (though the no of minutes per card may be limited!), but the theory might be that anyone who wants it can afford enough cards!

Yes, and of course SR is a competitor to 35mm film and so you should be used to 5 minute rolls!
Steve

I think the EX1 could simply be a blip where Sony were worried about the Red being made cheaply and selling to the masses. The EX1 with its 10 bit HD out is sort of a freak own goal but you still have to go that extra step for a 10 bit recorder or nanoflash to get the convenient pro 50mbs err required by broadcasters..

Personally I cant see a difference with the 35mb footage and the Nano footage. Already new prosumer cameras are once again marking out professional equipment from the public arena.

IMHO I think the EX1/3 are one offs at least for a while yet.

Mark

The SR media is called SR-Memory. I can't remember the figures but it's capable of something like 2.5Gb/s. Apparently it won't be all that much more than SxS as it uses a clever controller that allows lower cost memory chips to be used.

We had a few discussions about the idea of dockable cameras and recorders at IBC. The consensus was that it makes sense, but the recording section of a solid state camera is so small anyway that removing it, would not significantly reduce the size of the camera. What's really needed is to get production companies to become less tied into any one format. After all it's not like the old tape days where you needed expensive decks to be able to edit. Now all you need is a card adapter and a PC to handle a huge range of formats.

By the way, the SxS controller in the new SxS-1 cards has been updated to allow 1.2Gb/s transfers.

It's not just production companies that need to understand the new workflows. The broadcasters still insist on particular tape formats. I was/am hoping that an approved camera head combined with a Nanoflash producing MXF or Mov files will be accepted as standard soon.

I think Steve P has a great logical idea. We cannot go on buying cameras that are out of date within in a year or two. Clients will not pay the rates that need to be charged to cover kit that has to be replaced in a short space of time.

But I'm not sure clients care what kit you are using (hence why pay more?). No one is obligated to replace there EX1/EX3/PMW-350 etc when Sony brings out there latest and greatest. Of course everyone here wants to.... its why Sony has a marketing department. Of course you might have t replace your EX1/EX3 because they are not very rugged and damage easily in the field, but then they are sold at that pricepoint.

Back to the OPs point - it woud be nice but there are options, Nanoflash probably being the best of them, not sure about the canons because I haven't put hands on one.

Others experiences may be different, but I've put my EX1 through hell and back multiple times and it keeps on working. I've dropped it 3 times from 4-5' onto concrete, free fall, smack on the concrete. Each time I thought it was a goner (one time it fell I had to reattach the lcd but I did it myself and it's fine). I also got it wet three times (twice by waves) and recently I was shooting in a salt water pool and the underwater housing failed and completely filled the housing. I was recording at the time, powered up. I poured out all the water, let it dry in the hot sun for a day, I just knew it was toast... but it fired up and I'm shooting with it now, gorgeous image. I've found my EX1 to be shockingly sturdy, nigh unbreakable. I have no idea how it's still working. I'm afraid to take it in to the service center, ha! I'm tough on my gear. I'm not afraid to publicly say what it's gone through because I don't ever plan on selling it.

Okay, back to the regularly scheduled subject.

that would be truly fantastic
too bad they probably wont ,just because we would like it

They do. Look at the approved lists for BBC and Discovery etc., there are some cameras that are allowed and some that aren't, and the goalposts do keep moving. The EX cameras are not accepted for full HD programmes by the BBC due to the codec. Even the legendary Varicam is losing favour due to being 720 and only hangs on because we don't have a 1080 slow motion camera readily available yet. This was even the case in SD days where a lot of jobs required a DigiBeta and DVCam was just not acceptable.
The chips seem to be at a decent level now - we have full raster 1080 chips, cheap CMOS ones and expensive CCD ones, you can take you pick when you buy them. The add on recorders could then be chosen depening on the client (as they are already with the likes of the Nanoflash).

Steve