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  The external add-on isn't a "4K add-on" it is a HD-SDI and XLR add-on, you don't need the external add-on or a external recorder for 4K on the GH4 it does it internally. You know that right?! Surely you do. So are you just trying to make things look worse than they actually are with your list? If so I think that's a bit unfair.   Hopefully available by the end of the year? Try April at the latest (TBC)!   As for form factor, clunky is not a word I'd use to describe the GH4. Incidentally the Blackmagic is a lot heavier, the wrong shape, has no articulated screen, and a very cut down feature set in comparison. Still love Blackmagic but you've gotta state the facts!   My view of it is as follows...   BMPC 4K 1.5x crop Super 35mm sensor (1.0x crop in cinematography terms) EF mount (good if you have lots of nice Canon EF lenses, not so good if you have Micro Four Thirds or lenses requiring a mirrorless mount) Global shutter - nice - but comes at expense of dynamic range and low light 10bit ProRes - very nice Raw - great for heavy grading and VFX work   GH4 2.17x crop in 4096x2160 mode, 1.7x crop with Speed Booster in 4K mode (1.2x crop in cinematography terms) Mirrorless mount Better low light performance (goes up to ISO 6400 in 4K mode) 8bit 4:2:0 internal recording may lead to some artefacts and won't grade as well as ProRes, but it will still look stunning Better audio support and quality, with optional XLR box Articulated screen 16MP stills Built in EVF 10bit 4:2:2 available to external recorder Larger feature set   The Blackmagic Production Camera has enough unique features to be considered for certain jobs. The GH4 is the better all rounder.   If you need global shutter, EF mount, 10bit ProRes internal and raw, but don't mind the very basic feature set overall, basic ergonomics, heavier weight overall, need for external battery and poor low light performance go Blackmagic.   If you need mirrorless mount, better ergonomics, likely better 1080p especially via HDMI, better audio, more features, smaller form factor and internal battery go GH4.   Dynamic range probably quite similar on the pair.   And on price, the GH4 is a lot cheaper. You don't NEED the external box. You can shoot with it like you can the GH3. The Blackmagic puts more demands on storage space and processing power, and needs an external battery plus SSDs.

I don't think it's a budgetary thing as the camera bodies (Epic vs Alexa) list for approximately the same in most major markets, the Epic sometimes a few hundred cheaper. This difference is nothing in the scheme of budgets and is offset by the additional workflow hassle you have with having to transcode R3D and Red cameras tending to crash more. Add in the additional 1.5 of highlight range and higher ASA of Alexa, it saves you considerable time on lighting. Switching from studio to handheld on Alexa is also quicker and easier. I work jobs where where we do this several times a day. That time savings really adds up over the course of a show. Last because of Red more limited DR and color gamut, it takes more time in color correction. So add all of the above up, and Epic becomes a more expensive proposition with no clear advantage in IQ. Now consider, few movie theaters resolve at 4k (let alone 2k) and few people feel the need to buy a 4k TV set, Epic's resolution advantage amounts to very little, even less when shooting Arriraw or Anamorphic. Someone like Fincher who mostly does aggressive color grades, Epic works fine. But for a more natural skin tone, Alexa's color space has a clear advantage. I used to own a full blown Epic and got rid of it as I found myself trying to hard to pimp it when it wasn't always the best rig for the gig. Since selling it, I've found myself like the industry shooting on Alexa's about 80 percent of the time.

External recorder price is far too high... not sure what the 4K 'add on' is, or why you would need it... but in my opinion you're missing out on: - The added cost of workflow for using Blackmagic Production Camera (HDD, Capable Editing System, etc.) - Quality Control of Blackmagic Products - Will ship by the time we're all in the grave. (I kid... hopefully.) - Additionally, I actually find it far more 'clunky' than the GH4, if the BMCC is any indication. The lack of buttons is actually MORE frustrating for me because I found myself having to constantly use that bloody awful touchscreen that I could barely see outdoors. Plus, no articulated screen. Plus, required a rig because handheld was too jittery. Plus, no ability to play back clips, delete clips, see how much time left on memory card, etc. So, yeah, this is a big big factor for me, and I believe should be for anyone who wants to avoid serious headaches on set. Then again, the BMPC or other Blackmagic products may work swimmingly for you. More power to you! I have just experienced nothing but headaches on set with them, and ultimately got rid of them. I could not justify the lack of basic quality assurance. Having to stop every 30 minutes on set because of technical issues was frustrating for everyone involved, and I began valuing getting jobs done on time and headache free over the awesomeness of RAW. The GH4 looks like the best thing an indie filmmaker could ask for at the moment, and the fact that I see people on twitter/forums complaining that it 'only does 96fps' is moronic. Some folks are never satisfied... even with the latest and greatest.

Literally no one on the face of the planet would ever want to work for you - you have some kind of anger issues. Also, did you just like, copy/paste the exact some post from earlier? I don't understand. You seem to be under the impression that throwing out insults at people makes you seem cool. It actually is the opposite. It makes you appear very small, and a little bit... y'know, insane. Be nice. Grown ups are supposed to behave better. :)

For what it's worth, this is one punk that's more than willing to stay away from a toxic work environment.

Already we have 2 affordable 4K interchangeable lens cinema cameras due and we're only a month into 2014. Red shipped the first professional 4K cameras in 2007 but since then the rate of progress needed to commercialise such powerful hardware and sell it to consumers for $2000 in the case of the GH4 and $4000 in the case of the Blackmagic Production Camera has been relatively speedy. Quicker than the time taken for full frame DSLRs to break the $2000 price barrier. Neither camera is entirely finished yet but I've seen footage from both the new cameras and shot with their predecessors for much of 2013. Here's my opinion on how their strengths and weaknesses are going to work out... Read the full article here

There's a lot more to a camera than specs alone, the GH4 sounds great on paper but what I'm more curious about is the intangible, something the Blackmagic Cameras excel at. I'm quite fond of the aesthetic produced by the Blackmagic sensors, its often described as "filmic" but I prefer the term organic. Many digital cameras suffer from looking 'too' digital and while you can certainly grade that out to a large degree it's impossible to recover from it entirely. Noise pattern is a big factor in this, appealing noise can make it's existence entirely more tolerable often even desired, something the Alexa is often lauded for. When it comes to narrative work atleast I would personally rather have a 1080p image with excellent tonality, noise pattern and highlight roll-off than a 4K image with with little or none of the above. Another point that bothers me a bit about this camera and I suppose the market in general is the lack of innovation on the lower end in regard to ergonomics. As we all know DSLR's weren't designed for video, video was just an afterthought, yet manufacturers (Canon, Sony, Panasonic) seem to have no interest in providing the product the market is obviously yearning for. Panasonic surprises me especially in this regard, they have been known for their ergonomics in the past and still are (hvx100, af100, etc...) so why couldn't they create a sub $3K camera in a proper video oriented form factor with these specs? I can't believe that a camera with ergonomics even half as good as the C series from Canon couldn't exist for under $3K with these specs or better. I don't know, I guess I just miss the days when you could just pick up your camera and go shoot, no fancy rigs and add-ons just plain old comfortable ergonomics with a decent evf at your eye.

"The reason 4:2:2 is left out of the compressed internal recording on the GH4, is to maintain manageable file sizes in 4K and 1080p." Is that the reason? Canon figured out how to do this at 50mb and the GH4 is touted to record 200mb, they could've have offered 1080p / 200mb at 4:2:2. Since few clients if any ask for a 4k deliverable these days this would have made this camera a must have in any DP's pocket. I'm thinking they don't want to cannibalize the sales of their 4:2:2 video cameras. Canon knows this strategy well. Hopefully the Russians will hack into it and release 4:2:2 beast.

Oh it does indeed help. The percentage of hardcore gadget geeks is particularly high among the smartphone users, and to them the bigger numbers and other such buzzwords are essential. I doubt that the megapixel race is over in the camera market, either, it has just stalled for a while. First the small sensor (compact) cameras and smartphone cameras will start getting bigger megapixel counts again, and later perhaps the interchangeable lens cameras, too. But that's a topic for another discussion, isn't it.

I am sure you can see the difference between 8MP and 2MP photos, it is the same for movie, a native 2MP footage is never as detailed as 8MP downsample to 2MP one, hence why everyone one shoot 8MP photos on their phone when 2MP is more than enough for everything, because there is a clear difference in detail. And in the next few years when 4K is the standard like FHD for today, all your work will look what SD footage looks like on FHD screen.

so basically if you deliver HD, a FF lens + speedbooster convert to a bunch of primes and two zoom lenses, lol source: FF 35mm HD - normal adapter: 70mm HD - speedbooster: 49mm HD - normal adapter - tele mode: 161mm HD - speedbooster - tele mode: 112.7mm Quad HD - converted to HD - normal adapter: 87.5 - 175mm Quad HD - converted to HD - speedbooster: 61.25 - 122.5mm that lens should better have hell of a resolution

Yes the 5300 has short recording times - 20min max I think. You could look into getting an external HDMI recorder - a D5200 and Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle may be within your budget (possibly even a Ninja 2?). I think your situation is screaming G6 with Metabones Speed Booster. If you shop around it should be within your budget I think. Pros - The Speed booster effectively makes the G6 sensor APS-C size (same FOV and DOF) - The SB adds a stop of low light performance (a bonus with the middling performance of the G6) - The SB adds sharpness in the centre (looses a tiny bit in the corners, but this is fine for what you're doing I believe) - You get the professional-looking sharpness of a Panasonic - You get focus peaking with the G6 which is invaluable for professional work using manual primes - Negligible quality difference vs GH3 IMHO, especially in controlled situations like yours (within your budget G6+SB trumps GH3 without IMO) - In-camera audio is decent relative to other DSLRs - Audio levels Cons - No headphone jack on G6 - I believe the max recording time is limited to 29min in Europe I have the G6 and Speed Booster and I think the results are stunning. I love the image from my D5300 but the G6 image has much more of a "pro" feel IMO. If I was doing corporate stuff I would use my G6 without question.

I'm all for more choices and innovation, having said that I'm left thinking that the Blackmagic Pro is still a better option. Let me explain: GH4 = roughly $2k 4K add-on = roughly another $2k 4K external recorder = probably another $2k 2X crop factor no raw option clunky form factor reduced, but still present rolling shutter 4K add-on needs external power no release date, hopefully available by the end of the year vs. Blackmagic 4K 4K raw and ProRes Super35 sensor global shutter $4k including full version of Resolve less clunky (but still somewhat clunky) form factor needs external power well behind the promised release date, but should be here any day now. What am I missing?

Great camera for a great price. It's a smart step for panasonic. Yes I secretly hoped for gx7 (or better) like stabilization, and yes built-in ND and 4:2:2 internal recording would help, but naaaah. Who cares looking at those specs. Most of us on this forum only shoot their back yard and kid anyway

  The main reason I shot raw was to learn DaVinci Resolve and make full use of the Blackmagic cameras and make use of a 5D Mark III liberated from the hum-ho stock video mode. Raw gave me lovely ProRes and much better resolution and colour on the 5D Mark III so I am very grateful for it and the efforts of Magic Lantern.   But given the choice I will always choose a compressed codec over raw, as long as the image quality is in the ballpark, I don't have an overwhelming desire to spend hours in Resolve doing heavy grading work on everything I shoot. There's also space considerations and it does creep up on you after a while with the Cinema DNG files.   Raw is still a GREAT solution for the 5D Mark III and unshackling that beautiful full frame sensor.   In future though, I'd rather just have a good compressed codec.

Almost everything that could go wrong on a shoot DID go wrong on this one. Without going into details, I feel like the video is 60% of what it could have been. I had a MoVI that went down on the very first day of shooting, which forced me to rely on our backup brushless "FauxVI" Alexmos based gimbal. Also had a lot of MoVI handheld shots planned, but those had to be cut obviously. The prototype GH4's had some quirks that were challenging to deal with but I'm sure they are solved by now with firmware update. All in all I was really impressed by the image coming out of the GH4. We posted this in front of a 60-some inch 4k monitor and the shots looked stunning to me. And responding to someone previously, yes all 8 lenses and two bodies absolutely did fit handily in my carryon backpack, minus the ocotcopter of course! ;0) BryanHarveyFilms.com

yes Andrew this is the dawn of a consumer 4k revolution with Panasonic first out the blocks , I like this new camera as Im a Panasonic shooter and all my glass collection is usable on it. Im sure this is their first version of a 4k camera and over the next few years the spec will just get better and better lets see what the others can come up with ! Canon, Olympus, Nikon etc

Chill out, dude. You're spittin' venom over opinions on a camera. 80% of the world lives in poverty. Perspective. B)

  I braced myself for The Mark Response. Truth is I've been treading this moment. I'll try not to be too harsh on you, and try to keep it short.   You're wrong.

It looks great, and what a full write-up too, kudos! 4K at a good bit-rate is a plus. The video unit is massive but it's great that they've made it, it beats third-party botching. On the format front though the 10-bit 4:2:2 being external only is disappointing though, it has so much processing power.... but stumbles at this hurdle Correct me if i'm wrong there It's a shame that there's still no camera without compromise at this price range. Here we a more rounded product than the Blackmagic Pocket, but it demands that you use an external recorder to do what the pocket will internally, and that's a bit sad :/

I shot last month in Brazil... 36 degrees C...no problem...

As far a Premiere goes, make a custom sequence with a 1.33 aspect ratio and you should be good to go. Two more videos