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The bad thing about the URSA 4.6K is fixed noise pattern when pushing shadows or shooting above 800 iso. The 12k doesn't have that as far as I am aware. To me that is a huge advantage, which results in more usable dynamic range as well as being able to shoot at 3200 iso in a pinch. I've also found the Pocket 6k to be significantly better than the URSA in terms of dynamic range.

Many times it feels as though Androidlad is the source.

I'll be "that guy" and point out CD's DR comparison actually shows the 12k slightly ahead of the 4.6k. In Braw, they measured 12.1 stops on the 4.6k G2 scaled to UHD. Downscaling the 12k to 4k gave a SNR to 12.4 stops, with a note that there is more data under the noise floor than the 4.6k has. I'd argue that the 4k-normalized number is better for comparison, because if you're looking to maximize SNR in 12k than obviously the 4.6k won't even compare. Worth noting though, they showed that the 12k only does that well shooting in 12k and downscaling in post. Shooting 4k in camera produced only 11.3 stops.

Based on the CimeD's test indicating more than 1/2 stop worse perform in dynamic range as compared to the URSA Mini Pro 4.6k G2, it seems that the 12k will still find Cinematographers preferring it in the following situations. 1. Golden Hour shooting where contrast is probably relatively low and color and skin tones are saturated with lots amber and red tones. 2. Green screen shooting the where resolution and color fidelity are top priorities and worth trading for a little dynamic range for. 3. Lower contract studio shooting environments, where skin tone are a top priority. 4. Slow motion applications where resolution and color fidelity maybe worth trading a little dynamic range for. Because I shoot mostly indoors, with controlled lighting and vintage lens, I would still rather have the URSA Mini Pro 12k over my USRA Mini Pro 4.6k G1 even at the cost of a little dynamic range and a significant amount money. My lens are mostly adapted B4 lenses, which play nicely with the super 16 cropped 4k slow-motion 240 fps mode so I am biased towards my shooting environment and desire for the extra resolution and color fidelity the 12k provides. If I was a run and gun shooter, I would seriously look the Pocket 6k as it's image quality is more than good enough for most applications.

I forgot the Sony… There was an A7iii at FNAC. Awful thing 😬

Guys this camera is not meant to primarily shoot 12K. It downsamples BRAW in camera, so the RGBW sensor enables full sensor full rgb over sampled 8k and 4k. THAT’S the selling point, not the 12k.

They even could create an open standard for USB mic input, but didn't. XLR is really ancient for this "mobility and convenient" world.

Maybe the GH6 and future cinema camera can utilize an internal filter similar to the Panavision LCND without requiring the space of the Sony design.

Panny REALLY has their stuff “on fleek.” Bulletproof indeed. I’ve wandered off to Samsung and Blackmagic, but I always end up back with Panasonic, they really nail everything down. AF may be a bit behind the competition, but everything that works REALLY works and is 100% dependable. There are some deals floating around on the S1H that I might just bite on soon, it seems like a decade kinda camera.

I have a pouch on my hip with a 3 stop, 6 stop and 7 & 2/3 stop NDs that I use for all my professional work. All my filters and lenses have Xume magnetic adapters on so I can quick draw 😃 I've been using m43 cameras (and now S Series too) for 10+ years. At first I used vNDs but I found they regularly caused image artefacts in different lighting situations which wasn't acceptable so when the Xume adapters came to market I quickly switched to fixed NDs. I'm pretty fast even for run and gun assignments, and used to quickly dialling in aperture/ISO to bridge the gaps in my NDs. However, I really do want a cinema camera that has NDs built in now. The Canon C70 and Sony FX6 are well thought out and very tempting small cinema cameras. However, I'm hoping the Panasonic team have something up their sleeve. I'd say the three main things keeping me in the Panasonic camp for now are: 1) Trust in these small, bullet proof cameras in any professional environment (studio running for hours, middle of a field getting drenched by rain etc.) 2) A solid, sensible priced B Cam option (S1 and GH5s my current combo) 3) Panasonic's approach to firmware updates and giving customers all they can. No other manufacturer comes close!! Regarding putting NDs in small bodies, I have thought before that putting a single 3 or 4 stop ND on the grip side that you could activate would be awesome. 3/4 stops is a very handy amount of ND for most situations! Good interview, Andrew!

You just need to carry all a lot of different fixed ND's to compensate for any scenario, 1-10 stops. Doesn't really work for run and gun of course. I personally don't mind adjusting aperture by a stop. Being able to expose 4 over on the Panasonic S1 also gives me a lot of leeway. Sony END is amazing to have though. For gigs the client doesn't usually care about the look enough for it to matter a lot, 2-4-6 stops on the BM cameras are enough to work with. At least for jobs where you are using a Blackmagic camera in the first place.

Some interesting tidbits here. I don't think you'll see any of the usual three (Sony, Canon, Panasonic) doing things like SSD recording (like Sigma and BM), but I hope I'm wrong. For things like that and internal NDs, I do think Panasonic would be the first to do it in a mirrorless form factor, just like they were the first to do 10-bit 422 (GH5) and timecode (S1H). I think Panasonic has to come out with something big for their next cinema line. They have a dedicated fanbase for people who put IQ, functionality, video features (pros) above hype and specs (Sony). BUT, they still need to deliver high-end specs in order to stay alive. For the GH6 and S2H (or whatever), I think that means timecode, internal NDs of some sort, and some form of low-profile raw recording (like an SSD or some sort of attachment as @Andrew Reid mentioned to technically make it "external"). Even including CinemaDNG Raw internal would be fine because SlimRaw with the Sigma FP is actually a pretty amazing combo. But the FP just lacks so many professional and usability features that it's not quite worth the hassle. For the EVA-2, has to be full-frame, L-Mount, some form of 12-bit 444 or raw internally, high frame rates, and, stylistically, more than an FS5/FX6-copy. I'd still vote for a full-frame BGH1-style and surpass the Komodo where it falls short (full-frame sensor, high frame rates without a crop, dual XLRs). The screens on most cinema cameras are crap anyway (outside of C300/C500, which is at least usable), so just forego it altogether.

I use the same kit. It’s recently all over lower price brackets though. Zoom has a tiny body pack LAV recorder with 32bit float for sub-$200 USD. I’d say that indicates the chipsets are just as economical as whatever they’re currently putting in cameras, now it is more about people pressing them to add that feature. Edit: if they wanna make their money, an XLR Module with 32bit float would definitely end up in my bag. But if the camera is capable of writing that to the card, may as well put the same tech in the camera body itself too… heck even for onboard scratch mics it’d be pretty handy.