FilmMan

[indent][url="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?87757-Everything-changes-IMPORTANT-post"]http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?87757-Everything-changes-IMPORTANT-post[/url][/indent][indent]Everything in the electronics world changes... usually for the better, cheaper and faster. EPIC just did.

We have learned how to make EPICs in quantity, lowered our assembly costs, found better suppliers and paid off our NRE.

That means we can continue to charge the same for an EPIC (and now make an obscene amount of profit) or lower the price.

Those of you that paid the initial price hopefully got your money's worth. It was the best price we could offer at the time. You rented your cameras. You used them to generate income by shooting projects.

The industry struggles how to handle it when technology gets better for cheaper. [b]We just tell the truth.[/b]

We are ready to lower prices on EPIC.

So if you bought an EPIC did you lose? Only if you did not put your EPIC to work. These are professional tools. They need to work. That is your responsibility.

Is your EPIC still relevant? Absolutely. Can it be upgraded to Dragon? Yes. Is it frustrating that you paid $X and it will soon be sold for some percentage less than X? Yes. But this is the nature of electronics. It has been. It is. And it always will be.

I paid over $2400 (in 1984 dollars) for an original 1984 Macintosh. That is over $4000 worth of today's money. It had no hard drive. It was 128K of RAM. 3.5" floppys. All I could do with a 1984 Macintosh was MacPaint and MacWrite.

Today... for $4000 you can buy an iMac with a ton of RAM and a bazillion times more in storage that is 10,000 times faster and more capable with a billion times more applications. If you thought the world was changing rapidly then... hold on to your hat. We now live in the world of exponential.

So. We could easily pretend and invent a new model to justify a lower price with higher performance. You are too smart for that. So are we. Instead... we will just lower the price of EPIC.

EPIC continues to be modular. Dragon will be an upgrade. Meizler is a module. All is good in the world if you accept the fact that everything gets better, cheaper, faster and for less money over time.

If you bought an EPIC in the past 30 days... we will offer a credit towards accessories. That amount will be posted along with the new EPIC pricing. Nov. 1st is when it happens.

Here is to transparency and honesty. Here is to the future. This is all an experiment. Let's see how it goes...

Jim[/indent]

More teasing...SLog2 on the new camera...

[url="http://cinescopophilia.com/s-log2-on-the-sony-thenewf-camera/#ixzz2ASLKP3FZ"]http://cinescopophilia.com/s-log2-on-the-sony-thenewf-camera/#ixzz2ASLKP3FZ[/url]

Okay People...

[size=6][b]Sony has gone all out. Game changer... [/b][/size]
[url="https://twitter.com/mskogstrom/status/261776835979923456"]https://twitter.com/mskogstrom/status/261776835979923456[/url]

[b]Black Magic Camera - Let's say 7000 cameras at $3000 = $21 million And this will grow. [/b]
[b]In conjunction with this, you have Panasonic, Sony, Nikon, Red, etc., leading the charge with products that are filling the void that Canon could have easily kept or grabbed additionally. Accessories are big business too - lenses, batteries, chargers, etc. If one does the math, this equates cumulatively to probably [u][b]hundreds of millions? [/b][/u]Without people buying your product then they don't buy your accessories. Getting a customer is the most difficult. Once you have the customer and if you satisfy the customer then you keep the customer. I like Canon but if there is an alternate product with better specs and cheaper priced, then loyalty only goes so far. These are tough economic times. Giving more to your customer is so important. [/b]
[b] Does Canon need to do some soul searching and rethink their strategy?[/b]

Canon just released its Q3 2012 earnings reported, and things aren't looking peachy right now for the camera maker: revenue is down 13 percent to $10.3 billion from last [url="http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/25/canon-posts-higher-profits-in-q3-earnings-report-lowers-outlook/"]Q3 last year[/url], while profit tumbled by 42 percent. The Japanese company directed the blame toward the "negative impact of economic deterioration" in Europe and emerging markets like China, as well as the strong yen ([url="http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/25/canon-q2-2012-earnings/"]again[/url]). [size=5][b][color=#ff0000]DSLR sales fell over last year, with Canon mentioning that its launch of new models like the [/color][url="http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/22/canon-5d-mark-iii-hits-us-retailers/"][color=#ff0000]EOS 5D Mark III[/color][/url][color=#ff0000] didn't help to shore its camera figures up. [/color][/b][/size]Other units within the company didn't fare much better, with printer sales falling and business-to-business numbers flatlining. The company doesn't see a bright fourth quarter either, and is projecting that sales will stay in lockstep with the sluggish economy, resulting in a 6 percent decline in operating profit for the year. It may not want to count so much on the new [url="http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/23/canon-eos-m-mirrorless-camera/"]mirrorless offering[/url] pulling it out of the mud, though -- it got fairly [url="http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/03/canon-eos-m-review/"]mixed reviews[/url].

[b] [url="http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/25/canon-announces-q3-2012-results-operating-profit-drops-by-42-pe/"][size=8]Canon announces Q3 2012 results: [color=#ff0000]operating profit down 42 percent to[/color] $908 million[/size][/url][/b]

[url="http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/25/canon-announces-q3-2012-results-operating-profit-drops-by-42-pe/"][b][u]Read the comment section. No surprises. [/u][/b][/url]
[url="http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/25/canon-announces-q3-2012-results-operating-profit-drops-by-42-pe/"] [/url]
[url="http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/25/canon-announces-q3-2012-results-operating-profit-drops-by-42-pe/"] [/url]
[url="http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/25/canon-announces-q3-2012-results-operating-profit-drops-by-42-pe/"]http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/25/canon-announces-q3-2012-results-operating-profit-drops-by-42-pe/[/url]

[url="http://cinescopophilia.com/xavc-is-the-new-sony-recording-format-for-thenewf-camera/#axzz2AQWt7xrG"]http://cinescopophilia.com/xavc-is-the-new-sony-recording-format-for-thenewf-camera/#axzz2AQWt7xrG[/url]

Another piece of the Sony meal.

Yep. Tuesday. :ph34r:

Jgharding,

Good point.

Interesting discussion on the Red forum. Matt Ryan says he was at the demo and no NDA signed by him.
[url="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?87222-Worthy-competitor-for-the-EPIC/page5"]http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?87222-Worthy-competitor-for-the-EPIC/page5[/url]

Register online.
[url="http://www.sony.co.uk/pro/article/thenewf?CMP=TWITTER"]http://www.sony.co.uk/pro/article/thenewf?CMP=TWITTER[/url]

[b]Today is the 25th. Should be coming online?[/b]

[url="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?87222-Worthy-competitor-for-the-EPIC/page5"]http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?87222-Worthy-competitor-for-the-EPIC/page5[/url]

Matt Ryan is from the Red forum. So who knows if this info is accurate?

From [url="http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/"]http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/[/url]

[url="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?87222-Worthy-competitor-for-the-EPIC/page5"]Matt Ryan[/url] unveiled some details about the new Sony PL mount F55 camera:
“[i]The New [url="http://www.amazon.ca/s?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sony%20camera"]sony camera[/url] is the F5 ($22-$25,000 range)! They are skipping the 4 model number and going to 5…They are aiming for the C300/500/Scarlet market with this.[/i]
[i]Compression Schemes:[/i]
[i]50 Mbps XDCam @ 422[/i]
[i]80 Mbps XAVCHD @ 422[/i]
[i]120 Mbps iframe compressed not XD Cam[/i]
[i]220 Mbps “SR” @ 422 (only on new “SxS Raw+” Memory cards…. these are new!)[/i]
[i]You can only record the full 4k frame with the R5 SR Recorder, otherwise you will record windowed footage.[/i]
[i]120 frames per second in HD (1080), codec: XAVCHD[/i]
[i]No on board 4K. Must use R5 recorder using a NEW type of [url="http://www.amazon.ca/s?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=memory%20card"]memory card[/url] to record 4K and/or RAW.[/i]
[i]R5 Recorder Suggested Price at the moment is $19,000! Not to mention the recording media. May change before the release.[/i]
[i]There is also an F55 4K camera coming too, and that is what Sony is calling the direct competitor to the Epic. They think the Epic is way behind the F65…Seriously…[/i]
[i]They will also be announcing a new set of lenses much better than their previous ones and at a t2.0 (set of 6 made by a famous lens company exclusively for Sony)…[/i]
[i]That’s all the info I have for now…”[/i]

[quote name='Bruno' timestamp='1351109452' post='20243']
Btw, comparing the image quality of a GoPro3 even at 4k with a 5D3 is just stupid.
[/quote]4

I think the [b]video image[/b] of the GoPro looks very cinematic. $400 vs $3500??? Is the 5D3, 9 times better? :)

Andrew, Right on!

When a company is an industry leader, it should not only keep their current clients happy, but try to steer competitor clients onto their boat. The 5D3 could have been way more. 4 to 5 years for a few extras? Look at the $400 Hero 2.7K camera! Do they think the consumer is that stupid? I like Canon products but today's market is different. Change with the times. Don't wait for the times to change you. Cheers.

[quote name='sanveer' timestamp='1351035003' post='20204']
"4K and 50Mbps422" ?
Is that enough Mbps, for 4k?
[/quote]

4K [size=6]and [/size] 50 Mbps422 it didn't say 4k with 50 Mbps...so probably an option to have [b]1080p[/b] with 50 Mbps422? Another week and the official release.

Cinealta here we come...
[url="http://www.sony.jp/products/Professional/c_c/CineAlta/"]http://www.sony.jp/products/Professional/c_c/CineAlta/[/url]

F series. 7 days.

[size=5][url="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=207136042752142&set=a.128815227250891.25185.110593392406408&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf"]Sony unveiled on Facebook[/url] that the cameras will be a new 4K and 50Mbps 422 High Frame Rate F camera. Easy to guess that this will replace the [url="http://http//www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/743866-REG/Sony_PMW_F3K_PMW_F3K_Super_35mm_Full_HD.html"]discontinued F3 PL mount camera[/url]. ;) [/size]

Thinking here.

The 5D3 image is downsampled to 1080p? Is it resolving 1000 lines? Canon will be giving uncompressed footage at 8 bit 422. Sound good. But what is the true detail of the down sampled image? Will the uncompressed footage give alot more detail? Or is that detail already taken out due to the downsampling? Will the uncompressed footage be alot more superior or slightly better or just better for grading? Questions remain. Remember Canon has other camera lines to protect...hmmm.

It is legit. 6 months of competition coming. Why doesn't Canon give it now? Will Magic Lantern figure out how to give clean to the other Canon cameras? Why not 10 bit? Lot's of questions. At least it is a start and a good one. The long wait isn't the best. There was rumors in May that this was in the works. True.

[url="http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/about_canon/newsroom?pageKeyCode=pressreldetail&docId=0901e024806daf9c"]http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/about_canon/newsroom?pageKeyCode=pressreldetail&docId=0901e024806daf9c[/url]

April 2013. Maybe sooner? They are feeling the heat from other competition. Timing is critical as more cameras coming. The new Hero camera paves the way, although a different beast, it does show how technology has advanced. The BMC camera is taking $millions from Canon. You gotta love competition.

[u][u][url="http://www.fxphd.com/blog/cineform_protune_gopro_hero3/"]http://www.fxphd.com/blog/cineform_protune_gopro_hero3/[/url][/u][/u]

[b] [url="http://www.fxphd.com/blog/cineform_protune_gopro_hero3/"]Cineform-Protune + GoPro Hero3 & Post[/url][/b]

By Mike Seymour - Posted on Oct 18, 2012
[ [url="http://www.fxphd.com/blog"]back to full list[/url] ]

This week the GoPro Hero3 was launched. This new camera is really amazing, for its price, its performance, its resolution and its incredible ability to allow camera to go literally anywhere.
But the mid-week launch did somewhat overshadow the amazing advances from the week before that the CineForm division of GoPro announced, namely log output, with 24P at much higher bit rates. (Not to mention remote control from your iPad!). And now with the Hero3 these specifications have jumped again. While much of the popular press may focus on the jump to 4K, we wanted to flag the incredible shift from being a ‘straight to YouTube’ camera to a camera that now also offers a very real alternative for those wanting to intercut GoPro footage – a pipeline that assumes there will be grading, that there will be post, and outputs from the camera in a format that lets you maximize both.
Below is a summary of the key points – for more watch this week’s fxphd BKD class 02- which shows GoPro Hero3 clips and grading – thanks to our good friend Director, Stu Maschwitz, who filmed with the Hero3 the morning after the launch on San Francisco Bay. ( Stu will no doubt be separately discussing the grading of GoPro 3 footage at [url="http://www.prolost.com/"]www.prolost.com[/url]). Thanks also to GoPro’s Senior Director of Software Engineering (p.k.a. CineForm CTO.) David Newman. David is an expert in video compression, image processing and a self professed ”3D/stereoscopic/multi-cam geek”.
Now we should start by saying that those who love shooting and immediately posting, this workflow is an alternative, nothing has been lost. But for those of you who have even had to match together a bunch of cameras from a bunch of different colorspaces and gammas – that included GoPro – the world just shifted in a very pleasant and unexpected way.
Here are the key highlights of the Protune format and CineForm in general: [list]
[*]The Protune is still H264, 8 bit but now allows 24P (23.98) recording
[*]The Protune encodes around 35MBps on the Hero2 and a whopping 45+Mbps on the Hero3
[*]The colorspace is NOT locked in – with CamRAW mode – in post the native colorspace starts with a wider gamut than either AdobeRGB or sRGB – why do I care? – better grading.
[*]The Protune is a log file – with automatic lookup LUTs – why do I care? – better grading.
[*]The file does not spend valuable bits trying to make the highlights roll off – as this can now be done in post as you grade and convert from Log. Why do I care? It ekes out the most detail in the highlights
[*]The blacks are not crushed
[*]There is significantly less sharpening applied
[*]There is less noise reduction applied
[*]It uses the full YUV 0-255 code range to push as much to post as it can
[*]It has automatic and now manual white balance – so you can for the first time lock in a white point in camera, but then vary it in post
[*]Due to the maximum encoding nature of Protune – the WiFi is turned to black during record time – since it can not make a Protune file AND a low res WiFi feed to your iPhone and iPad simultaneously
[*]In Protune, you can record two hours on one 32GB SD card.

[/list]
To access all this wonderful new power you need only to use the GoPro Software. We tested it with the GoPro Studio Premium and it works like a charm. The software works with a ‘sidecar’ style database based on a unique ID in every clip. This is familiar to anyone who has worked with .r3d files and then adjusted them in RedCineProX, as it is very similar. But CineForm is easier to use than Red files.
The cdb or color database allows you to immediately adjust a huge range of grading parameters in a processed CineForm codec clip and immediately, without further rendering or even linking, play the quicktime – in realtime – with the changes. This happens in the CineForm decoder in your laptop or desktop – so it is up stream of say FCPX. A change to the look file or cdb will immediately take effect, but the file is NOT tagged as having been modified – so FCPX and other apps require no relinking. The system is fast, powerful and frankly damn impressive. The range of adjustments is vastly more than a CDL but the concept is similar.
GoPro bought CineForm and for a while this was only visible to users as a way to help GoPro solve stereo. While CineForm maintains a mandate to work with as many cameras as possible (most recently this meant offering workflows for the new Black Magic Camera), the GoPro Hero3 camera is the first time we have seen the CineForm group influence the actual GoPro camera internally. In other words, it has taken until now to see the influence of visionaries like David Newman and the team on the GoPro camera [i]itself[/i] – after seeing the workflow of around the Hero2 and now Hero3 – we can only hope for more in the future.

Too funny. It was nice to dream.

Wow. F54K. Love the form factor. Sony could have a huge winner here. If this is priced around the $10K to $15K range then they got the market. If they price too high then they compute with the other big boys and dust collects. Disrupt and secure the market especially in these economic times.

Only rough numbers below:

1DC price - low $10000 (Australian website) and BH $12999.
C300 - $15000
C500 - $30,000 subtract rebate
Scarlet - $12000 to $15000
Epic $40000

Does Sony want to kick ass? Pricing will be the key.

[b]GoPro's[/b] catch phrase could have been this:

[size=6][b][color=#ff0000]The Future[/color], [color=#0000ff]Ahead of Schedule[/color] | October 30, 2012 - Sony's Headline[/b][/size]