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The G6 achieves a certain yin-and-yang. With the GH3 now occupying a higher position in the line, the G6 has moved up to occupy the position once taken by our much loved GH2. It shares the same sensor which of course was always pretty special for video, yet adds a lot of significant new features like 1080/60p, a faster processor, high resolution LCD and something the GH3 doesn't even have - focus peaking. Read the full article here

I've just finished up a shoot using the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera on a professional shoot, so I thought I would share my experience with the camera in this environment. (I will post the video when its finished up)   The Shoot   My business was hired to shoot a music video for a concept on Green Screen. It was a parody of infomercials, so the task was to film various models and comedic hosts demonstrating several very silly products. I was the DoP/camera operator, and we also had a director, 2 assistants, 2 photographers and  a make up artist.   The Gear The Blackmagic was mounted on rails in a Wooden Camera Cage, with just a Follow Focus. I had 4 x Sandisk Extreme Pro SD cards, 3 batteries, mic, charger and AC adapter. The camera was connected through HDMI to an external monitor. The green screen was lit with 2 Kino Flo 4-Banks, and the models with Kino Flo Diva 401s and Dedolights.    I would not recommend the Wooden Cage. Its just ok. The screw holes all over it make no sense. The battery charger was the worst piece of kit I've ever used in the history of video production. Cant remember the brand (begins with a H), but lots of companies are selling it with the camera as a bundle. You can put AA batteries in it and its so fiddly. It sucks.    Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Feedback Whilst I was impressed with the BMPCC, I did have various issues with the camera - mostly with the lack of in-camera formatting and batteries. I will display these through Pros and Cons.    Pros + The build is solid and of high quality   + The back screen is nice and clear, a very decent size!   + Very simple to use meaning you can focus on creating   + Image quality is fantastic. Compared it with the GH3 in flat profile and the difference was staggering   + Skin tones are beautiful, very organic   + Not much dynamic range to see, but the roll-off was very smooth on the models   + The size makes it easy to handle and not a pain to shift around. Nice and quick.   + Zebras are very useful. Wish I had these on my GH3!   Cons - This camera eats memory cards for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Used all of the 4 x 32gb cards. So the cost of running this camera at a professional level could be quite costly.   - Battery life is dreadful. The shoot was 8 hours long and we went through 9 full charges.    - No ability to format cards in camera. Completely unacceptable. We ran out of space, backed up the cards and tried to format one to exFat on a Mac. Camera wasn't having it. 10 mins left til close. So had to use GH3 for last 2 shots. Director wasn't happy.    - No indication of recording time left. No idea if 1 second left on 60 mins! Again, this is unacceptable.    - Auto focus is absolutely terrible. I don't use it much, but its useful when you are against time in a studio. Just doesn't work. Why bother Blackmagic? Your features HAVE to work.    - Focus Peaking is temperamental. It works, then sort of does, then doesn't at all. Maybe something wrong with this unit?    - Manual focusing with the Panny zooms seemed to be a lot more fiddly on this camera than on the GH3. It seems to be much more intricate and I have no idea why that is. The director agreed.    - No articulated screen. Its 2013. I don't want to sit on the floor or bend over in front of models to see the screen.    - Moire. Can't handle fine lines.    Conclusion Having only use the camera once for a studio shoot, its hard for me to give a full opinion on this camera - but from my experience there are some definite quirks that I feel are a major issue for its use in a professional (and general usage) environment for its target 'DSLR video user' market.    Ok, it shoots in 10 bit ProRes and has a beautiful image. It will shoot RAW soon. Its cheap. But...   For professional use, the fact you cant see how much recording time you have left or even format a card is a completely ludicrous omission and causes issues. Issues that take more time, more work, more stress, more stuff you shouldn't have to deal with in a camera. Blackmagic need to sort this out, it cant be difficult.    The fact the the camera is labelled 'Pocket' is mind boggling. Batteries constantly need charging, and its always a worry. If you were to really carry this round in your 'Pocket', expect to need a bagful of batteries. Or you are screwed.    The focusing area of the camera also seems unfinished. Auto focus doesn't work, and peaking just can't be arsed half the time. Didn't they test the camera, or is it a good-egg, bad egg thing with the production line?    My opinion so far is that this camera isn't completely ready for use in a professional environment, and is better suited as a hobbyist item for (very) short films. If you can afford lots of storage, 60 billion batteries and a ton of memory cards, and dont mind a few workarounds then you should enjoy it - its a cool gadget with a beautiful image that a video DSLR really needs.    Its very quirky and needs more work, which is expected of a 1st generation model. Lets hope for more improvements and a Blackmagic employee facepalm about essential little features that are unacceptably missing.    I like it. Its just a pain in the arse. Like my fiance. You might just have to put up with its issues just because its so beautiful ;)

Received a prototype VAF filter from Mosaic Engineering yesterday afternoon. Went through a couple tests thus far... Feel free to download DNGs of the 50D with the prototype VAF...   https://copy.com/IOqlwsmWUi8i   Thanks. The company producing/inventing/manufacturing the filter is called Mosaic Engineering. They are headquartered in Pennsylvania, USA. The footage is shot in Phoenix, AZ. I am not affiliated with Mosaic Engineering or Magic Lantern other than I'm trying to put the two and two together... In my opinion, this combination is an incredible opportunity to create an appropriate production camera with high-quality imagery and feel-good results.   Enjoy!

Why don't manufacturers concentrate on making better cameras rather than higher res ones. High res and quality do NOT go hand in hand.   1080p, no moire, 13+ stops DR, 5DIII low light capability, 10bit 422 codec, Peaking, Zebras etc.......... this will be a much more valuble production tool to the 'consumer market' than a 4K, 9stop DR, 8bit codec, No Zebra, No Peaking camera.   Most people who bought the GH3 for video use it for Low/No budget shoots, corporates and events. Having 13 stops DR, great low light ability, Zebras and Peaking makes your shoot sooooo much easier than having 4K in a crappy camera.

nice pretty shots of plastic lens with zero fotos through the looking glass at f1.8.   ask a question cut and paste the answer onto the sales sheet like it is the voice of an expert seller. hey mr that 4000 dollar lens have you put it on your camera does it optically do the job it was made for. does it do the job well at f1.8 ? what what did you say you have not tested it and you want how much really wow. yes yes i nose der fotos look perty butt datt just fotos of a piece of plastic until someones fotographically test it in it..     just a normal iscorama sales day.

That's nothing, Star Wars was shot on VHS-C   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN8QCL8B8sU

Who's betting the next announcement is a 4K version of the pocket camera... before any of the rest are actually shipped...

I shot a test film using 25mm f/1.4 CCTV cine Fujian:   http://youtu.be/UOdC59lUhYI   I'm pretty happy with the results, especially given the price of the lens:   http://www.ebay.com/itm/25mm-f-1-4-CCTV-cine-Fujian-lens-panasonic-Olympus-m4-3-/180763010574?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160

Or the MPEG files maybe. We are using Videolicious at work now. This is a basic editng editng software that lets you put B-roll over narration and uploads to our server via their Cloud. Adds bumpers and eveything. a basic video can be doneon the iPhone with FilMicPro and olloclip lenses. But the GH3 obiviously offers much more control.