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I am not a pro, not in the cinema field. I write free-lance articles and illustrate them with my pictures. Nowadays, more and more magazines ask for motion pictures for their online presence, so I am learning film. I can probably sell smaller reports, short films, documentaries… I trust Panasonic. They have been focused on my segment. They have listened to our ideas and criticism and developed the GH2-GH3-GH4 family accordingly. The GH4 looks like a finished product, not like a must-have idea. The M43 system has a good range of lenses, and the size/weight is certainly a benefit when travelling. I don’t trust Blackmagic Design. They are very sympathetic but I don’t know, how interested they are in my segment. They look to be more interested in developing new ideas, instead of completing existing ones. I don’t know about Sony. They look interested but they are so focused on the pro segment, they will probably forget me concerning some features. I am sure about Canon. I will sell my stuff, I am just fed-up. What can I expect from a company, whose most interesting video features are handled by an enthusiastic hacker/reverseengineering community? At last, I shouldn’t forget my first love, Nikon. There have been an April’s news about, Ricoh is buying them… I certainly hope so, because I don’t think Nikon is around here as an independent company in 3 years from now.

Looks like Blackmagic brought these guys aboard...

Hands up if you thought Atomos had got into the mic business?!

Hi Guys Thought I would share our latest music video that we shot using Kowa anamorphics (40mm, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm PL with ALEXA) and which we used an iscorama and BMCC (2.5k) to do a few pick ups with. Sadly only one of the Iscorama shots made it into the video. Not from lack of quality or it standing out... but just from the story telling side of things we only ending up needing one. I have to say when we were editing, how impressed I was with the combo. It held its own very well against the Alexa and Kowa combo and now plan on shooting more with it. One thing I have always been conscious about with the iscorama is how it would fair on proper sets. I do often worry that its sometimes hard to tell if things are sharp and the focus is stiff making it hard to use a follow focus. I plan on having mine 'Van Diemen Rehoused' in the next few weeks to make it more onset friendly and then will hopefully get more use out of it. The iscorama shot is the night time driving just before he enters the bike workshop. Could upload some other shots from the shoot if anyone is interested.

Hey, I would love it if you would get the chance to check out a new video that I made. It compiles footage taken of journeys through 8 different countries. It's called "Anywhere, but here" and was shot mostly with a D5200 and GH1 and includes some RX100.

I think an important factor to add in is, how good will the A7s be for stills. If you have a smaller Canon Mark 3 equivalent - you're enjoying the best quality stills camera with the best quality video camera. I think the GH4 could be lacking in that department a bit.

Geeze, lay off it a bit. Everyone's rather polarized here. We haven't seen jack squat out of most of these cameras, GH4 and A7s included. 1. Just because the GH4 does 4K and is a lightweight Mirrorless doesn't mean there's no place for a 7.5KG camera. 2. This new URSA, as Andy Lee pointed out, ticks an awful lot of boxes, even if it is heavy. 3. It ditches that darned awful BMCC form factor. 4. I see physical buttons, thank the Lord. Let's not condone or condemn a thing until all this has been tested in the field.

"I think what he is saying is Panasonic actually finishes their low end products before pushing out newer high end products." -------------------------------------------------------------- I always thought this place was for the artist? The guy who will jump through hoops to get a beautiful image? The guy who will use a $200 Nikon to get a taste for 4K/Raw/60p? Now, all of a sudden, a couple of firmware glitches (that I also want fixed, but don't live or die by) coupled with the news of them pushing on with a new camera and they are "turning their back on the indie community"? In a perfect world, my £650 cinema camera would show me how much SD card I have left, but I just work out my GB per minute and guesstimate, erring on the cautious. As long as BM keeping giving me huge bangs for bucks, they'll keep getting my bucks... A bit of firmware angst and some new cameras wont change that. They are still firmly the great shining light of the indie community.

Many in same boat as you, simply edit in 4K and deliver as 2K. Many benefits to it.   Difference is a click of a button and that is it.

I can guarantee that the internal XAVC-S 1080p from the A7S will not look as good as getting 1080p from the 4K output and doing your scaling in post with all that processing power available on your desktop.   8bit 4K 4:2:0 = 10bit 1080p 4444 remember. If the maths have complications and gotchas, the image to my eyes does not. The GH4's 4K looks like 10bit when you grade it and when you look at it on a 2K display. Gradations are smooth. Colour is fantastic. Sampling shows no signs of pixilation or jaggedness at 2K. At 1:1 at 4K you do see some aliasing and jaggies from 4:2:0 sampling. They disappear when scaled correctly to 1080p or 2K.

Crossing my fingers someone announces a cheaper 4k recorder for the a7s. $2k for the Shogun is too rich for my blood. I'd rather put that kind of money to the gh4 is this is the only alternative.

I can guarantee this announcement will not please any of Blackmagic's existing user base, unless backed up by some really good news in the form of significant firmware updates for the Cinema, Production and Pocket cameras plus Resolve 11. The latter is definitely coming and takes Resolve's editing capabilities up a notch. Read the full article here

Most prodictions need lights and crews for commercial jobs , I just shot this weekend with a whole new LED light rig like used in 'Only God Forgives' , its superb and quick to rig and small ..and no heat on set - tungsten lights get like a greenhouse on my sets. think of the big picture Andrew - this is good news as others will have to respond ....will we get a new cheaper Red camera soon? - they know how to make them .

Shot this for fun while on vacation in the Florida Keys. This is the scene right before this woman goes to kill her violent husband. BMPC RAW/SLRmagic anamorphot GoPro in the water Would've liked to use my Iscorama but was a little worried about leaving it unattended and in a hot car for days and/or dropping it in the water by accident...

Finally finished my short film project "Separate Flow". Waiting for the right anamorphic and I think the SLR Magic Anamorphot was it. Very practical to use on location, it worked really well for this project. Debated long and hard on using either the GH3 or 5DmkIII RAW. In the end I went with shooting RAW even though I had a lot of problems, including the camera shutting down at one point. But it's the flexibility of RAW in post that won out in the end. In the future I will use AF with the GH3/4 since it's more usable, especially when using a steadicam.

thats what real cameras look like , they are square , boxy and sit on your shoulder, all 16mm film cameras I ever used where like that, Aaton and Arri '> for me Im quite excited about this camera it has good form factor and on paper loooks great

Video-ish? The Panasonic and Sony Cams definitely don't look video-ish, that is unless you want to make the footage look video-ish. This same argument has been used by canon users since the beginning of time it seems. I guess if it works for ya keep at it. :)

that is all

The Ursa is like Blackmagic have acted on a satire and made it real.   It reminds me of that joke ENG box for DSLRs to make them look more 'professional'!

I don't understand the incredible backlash here. No offense intended, but this piece reads like Andrew did in fact get fired from a job due to not changing the battery or media in a BMCC on time. Blackmagic gets 10x the criticism it derseves and about 1/4 the praise. Yes, they should have addressed their firmware issues before launching 2 new cameras at NAB. Yes, their customers are fair to expect support first for their cameras. But put it into perspective people. You can shoot incredible digital cinema with the three cameras they already had out. Whether the lack of in-camera card formatting or lack of time code, etc. are flaws that are so big to render the cameras not worth your money/time/etc.-- that's for you to decide. But I can handle the unaddreseds firmware issues in order to get the stunning imaging these cameras provide. If Blackmagic didn't offer these cameras, how much would you have to pay to get similar quality imaging out of another camera today, or a year ago? Also, if it wasn't for Blackmagic's innovation, I don't think we'd be seeing Sony, Panasonic and others making the moves they are right now. Their cameras and video cameras would liekly be crippled and less capable. That's how those compannies make money-- not by taking big risks (like the a7s) that potentially kills off their big money makers (like the FS-100, FS-700, etc.). Quotes like: "Their existing Cinema and Pocket Camera user base is lost. It’s over." "[BM] completely turns its back on [its] existing indie filmmaking user base." "[The] trend is to go smaller and lighter. This goes in complete opposite direction." (BM has done nothing but buck the trend with their cameras.) "It smacks of greed to go after the production market before you have even satisfied the indie crowd." (Greed? Just take a look at the Sony/Canon/Nikon financials as well as their business practices-- you might change your mind.) These quotes are not just someone's rather venomous opinion- but they do harm to the very companies and interests we should be looking out for as artists/hobbyists/filmmakers who desire immense quality at a relatively tiny price. Just chill y'all. Blackmagic shoud've adressed the firmware issues first, but don't overlook the incredible thech they're trying to bring us at very low prices (or declare their effort failed and futile). Nor should you be taking for granted the innovation they are driving. (In other words, stop throwing the babay out with the bathwater.) T

Canon, Sony, Panasonic...RED...you all just got served.

I disagree that BMD has abandonded the indie filmmaker. They're just offering a wider selection. Nowhere have they said that they're giving up on the smaller cams. Firmware updates could be coming, but at the end of the day I would gladly paid $1000 for the pocket cam even if there were guaranteed no firmware updates.

This, right here. Blackmagic just took a dump on everything offered by the competition that's north of $6500. I mean, I have to essentially factor in a 1080p monitor, an audio field recorder and a v-mount battery solution if I compare the URSA to anything else. Add to that the (likely) ability to upgrade my sensor . . . wow. URSA is a heavy woman, but she sure as heck ain't lacking.

Ursa's an interesting proposition. It's size doesn't bother me for most productions I work (episodic, commercials, features and docs). It's back heavy so it'll balance on my shoulder nicely. But they should've recessed the bottom more to accommodate a low profile/low CG shoulder pad (see Amira). I do think the 10" screen will come in handy for evaluating a 4k image. But if they're targeting studio style production, they should have made it swappable to the left or right side. The last thing I need is an AC breathing down my back. If a cameraman were behind the design, it'd be EVF on operator's side and large monitor on the "dumb" side. Now AC/Director would have a nice big screen while the operator can zone out alone with an EVF. Also on the shoulder I wouldn't be using a 10" screen three inches from my face, instead an EVF. But for most productions, I find the 10" screen would come in handy. It's one less piece of gack to be dangling from some kind of arm or rigging. The shoots I work, we're flinging cameras around on incredibly packed schedules and monitor mounts eventually come out of adjustment, waste time and add to frustration. I do find the swappable chip a smart consideration for future proofing, given that there will be a better chip in less than two years. They took a page from Red handbook. Also, the ability to go HDMI with another camera could have advantages for shooting in cramped quarters (car mounts, elevators, closets, etc) - a more budget friendly approach than Alexa M. Regarding the gripes about size, when you put everything on a camera you need to operate in a pro environment you either end up with something the size of an Alexa, F55 or a rigged out frankencam or rigged out Epic. The all in one approach is simple and fast to set up. I started in film many years back and while I don't miss it, I do miss the simplicity of some of the better designs (Aaton, why have you forsaken us?). At 6500.00 you can't bitch too hard. And I love anyone that takes a broadside at RED. It's biggest limitation to large productions adopting it is the 12 stop dynamic range and middling sensitivity. I recently did a spot on the 4k BMC and while I loved the over all color imagery, its highlight limitations (especially against skies and windows) made me wishing I had an Arri chip. I actually prefer aspects of the BMCPC over the BMC 4k image. Highlight clipping is the difference between doubling the output on your lighting package or walking lights way too close to bring up the fill or gelling windows. It's the main reason why despite the rental price, most indies in NYC seem to be shooting Alexa (and perhaps Dragon later). It saves you money and time elsewhere. On the budget end, the extra DR is what has me still loving the 5D3 hack and not so much the images of the GH4 (Panasonic rep on Zacuto interview pegs it at about 11 stops and change). In all I was hoping for someone to introduce a mini camera (GH4 or Pocket cam size), with a log style LUT, 13 + DR, large sensor and Pro rez. Hopefully the Chinese are listening.

  I honestly don't see it this way mate.   Trend is to go smaller and lighter.   This goes in complete opposite direction.   We already have the same 4K capabilities and likely even same sensor in the Production Camera. Rig a monitor up to that and you have Ursa without the bulk.   Also those ProRes HQ 4K files are virtually unmanageable when it comes to archiving footage. Be prepared to delete and compress a lot of master files if working with those. I am already dreading it with the A7S... And will be begging all the recorder manufacturers to come out with some lighter codecs for it.   The URSA doesn't suit me as a filmmaker but that's not to say I haven't considered the possibilities and who it WOULD suit.   I just don't think it's well conceptualised or designed to be honest. A massive heavy screen on a little hinge? A 7.5kg camera body? No thank you.   It smacks of greed to go after the production market before you have even satisfied the indie crowd... who are constantly asking for basic features and updates.   I'm afraid I don't be shooting any Blackmagic in 2014. What a shame.

spec wise it ticks all the boxes super 35mm size sensor 4k and global shutter in a usable body form like an Alexa - what more do you want Blackmagic have listened to all the feedback off their other 3 cameras indie film makers will jump all over this - superb!!

agree, When not shooting with it the prop department can use it as a high-tech looking time bomb detonation device.

Actually, if you take a look at their product line-up, you'll realize these are the first BMD cameras that might please their user base! :) Their previous cameras were aimed at the DSLR video crowd, but that doesn't really represent their user base. I do agree they need to step up and finish those damn cameras properly. The original 4k camera is still the one I'm most interested in, but I'm not getting it until they finish that firmware properly.

Woah!! Introducing Blackmagic URSA, the world’s first high end digital film camera designed to revolutionize workflow on set. Built to handle the ergonomics of large film crews as well as single person use, URSA has everything built in, including a massive 10 inch fold out on set monitor, large user upgradeable Super 35 global shutter 4K image sensor, 12G-SDI and internal dual RAW and ProRes recorders. Because the sensor and lens mount assembly can be changed, you can choose EF or PL lens mounts, or even a broadcast video sensor with B4 mount. This means you can upgrade to the latest sensor technology in the future and keep your investment in the camera body! EF Mount: $5,995 PL Mount: $6,495 http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicursa

The GH2 was the last GH Panasonic will ever sell me, the last DSLR/Mirrorless I'll ever buy to shoot anything but stills with. I find nothing appealing about the GH4 or the Sony. I'll never buy another compressed camera (lossy, h264 or variants), one that tops out at 422 or needs another box to shoot RAW. BMD has done nothing to sway my interest in their products and these new cameras only solidify my resolve that if I can't have an Alexa it'll be a Blackmagic.

Blackmagic are the James Dyson of the TV world and Grant Petty will always try to stretch the field in new ways. Some ideas will work and some won't. A bit like a clothes designer who puts the extreme stuff on the catwalk and then tones it down for the high street, the stuff that earns money for the company is the boring digital glue shoved inside cages with fans. Why not have a headline act too? NAB wouldn't be the same without BM coming up with something that makes people blog, comment and discuss - that's good for everyone. The likelyhood of seeing the URSA in full production in the next 12 months is pretty low given the company's record, but I bet every bit of talent in the company has been fully employed in the last two months getting the prototype ready for NAB - now they can concentrate on the firmware. Please (from a Production Camera owner).

" Their existing Cinema and Pocket Camera user base is lost. It’s over. These users will switch to the Panasonic GH4 and Sony A7S" Why? Do these cameras offer 12-bit raw? Nope.

I bet the upgrades are coming. It would go against the mentality of BMD to leave 2 years of cameras behind with no upgrade at all. Existing customers would hate them for that, and prospect would also see it that way (I would, at least) and go with companies like Sony, seeing how they maintain the F5/F55 serie up-to-date. If they're not released in a couple of days, I think they will at least be announced and released later.

Lights.

Man they are all over the place with this stuff!

Oh dear, what the hell are they doing now?!? Totally agreed with the article - they really need to focus on their existing line-up first, fixing the (basic) flaws in their firmware. And the URSA? Another new camera? Come on....

Studio camera, who cares! They've just announced the Blackmagic URSA on their website, a user upgradeable 4k camera! Now that looks v.interesting... http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicursa

Wanted a BMCC update.... ...got the head of 'Dog' from Half Life 2 :o

BMD, never again.

Something i wish that Panasonic create is a dedicated video lens like the pre announced Sony 28-135mm f4.

He's blinking Morse code.. "I'm being held prisoner by Sony's marketing department, help me."

Why would you sell you BMPCC which records 1080p in RAW? The a7s will offer higher resolution, but record video in 8bit, which means, if you don't nail your exposure perfectly there will be no fixing it. And, you won't be able to grade color like you can with BMPCC RAW dngs. This 4K stuff is like a shiny Xirconian diamond. Real diamonds are RAW :) Different cameras for different needs.

What Canon needs to do now to compete is to release a version of EOS-M mirrorless with 3840 x 2560 sensor, 9.8 megapixel for photo and UHD video with same sensor technology from 70D, improved low light and dual pixel AF with the same log Dynamic Range as Sony did, recording UHD to the sd card or recording FHD. Price under 1000 usd. People wants to use all kind of lenses, not just proprietary lenses... so a expensive 4k 5D Mark IV would not be perfect for competition.

Actually price 1699 is not official apparently, so let's wait a bit before being to exited

Looks amazing if it lives up to the hype and comes in at that price. Low ISO looks on par with CX00, but should be even better in theory.... FF compatible with EF-mount lenses... wow. SLOG 2 is a big deal if it is on par with the F5. Sony F3 began with very poor footage, low DR, SLOG pushed it up to 12+ stops... F5 reaches an easy 13+ stops of DR in SLOG 2. Given that the Epic manages 12 and just barely... that's a big deal if this can deliver. (Most Canon dSLRs in cinestyle come in around 9-10 stops with poor tonality, imo.) SLOG 2 underexposes then pushes... means muddy shadows and lower end mids (it's not Log C by any means) but if it is on par with what the F5 does then that that separates this from every other dSLR-type camera other than the 1DC and puts it in production camera territory, which the codec seems built for, too. Promise of gobs of highlight detail missing from everything else and a codec/gamma curve that's built to intercut with whatever. I'm sure the images in stills and video far outstrip my C100 and 5d Mark III but Canon's shoddy products always lure me in over Sony/Black Magic/Red/Panasonic/everyone else's glorious tech demos. This looks amazing for the price, though, and highly useable.

The tools have gotten so good at the low end that it really becomes not a question of equipment, but a question of ability.

Image is sexy. Price is great. Still going to stick with the GH4 though.

Moire-free? Don´t think so. Rolling shutter? No shots on demo video. 8Bit? Sounds familiar ... BUT: It is so much better than Canons way! And we all are a little bit to petted with all the news from BM and Panasonic in the last year.

Hey Sony. You're sweet and all. I just think we're in different places right now. I know you'll meet someone that'll love you for who you are, (*cough* high maintenance *cough*) but I need a more down to earth camera to hang out with and accepts me for who am am and what I want. I just need simple and easy 4K, you know? Don't worry though, lots of fish in the sea. Call me again sometime.

First FF non-pixel binned sensor. Positive though.