Oliver Daniel

I do my costs on day rate, whether it's only 3 hours or 10 hours. Pre-Production: estimated days to complete pre-shoot work. (treatment, references, locations, talent, equipment, shot lists etc). Production: days to complete shooting schedule. Post Production: estimated days to complete post work. Within these costs, I add a 25% margin to cover the cost of business and a bit more for cushioning. I will also add an extra 2 days for post production amendments and advise the client that should they request anything above what was agreed, then that would be charged at day rate too. The amount that you charge really depends on the value/quality of your service, the expense of operating business and the project type

Thanks for sharing. I'm not too bad at getting the skin right, but I do get trumped by Slog2 and 3 very often. Good to see what workflow's other people use - cheers!

I pre-ordered this camera because it ticks a lot of boxes for my type of work: Beautiful image capabilities. Global/Rolling switchable. Ergonomic body. High frame rates. ProRes + Internal raw (master those money shots!)Very cost effective. By the sounds of it, the viewfinder is meant to be a bargain. One of the best on the market for a competitively good price. However, I am concerned about these things so far: Supposed 3.4x crop on 120fps mode. Could be disappointing/annoying, but I hope not. Data could be very costly to backup in the long run. BM cameras eat memory.Weight with lens and battery. Got to look after this back. Reliability. (hopefully no weird issues like pink frames).

Thanks for the kind words. With my work, barely anybody asks about the camera. I shot a Christmas video for the frontman of a UK 70's rock band a couple of weeks ago on the RX10 II. Budget was ok. Nobody said anything. They never do. The way our business development is going - the FS5 might be the right tool (not necessarily the wanted tool). My URSA Mini pre-order is still open. I'll rent it first, throw it in the deep end straight away and see if it's worth going through with it. I wouldn't pre-order the Raven, it's something I'd have to try a few times first. The BM pre-order was more a "love" thing, but I need to assess that too. Think I'll just stick with the iPhone 6s, as it's got 4k and 240fps. Plus Instagram! FREE grading!!!

Probably right this minute - a Raven would be the best camera choice for my shooting. I shoot many music videos, but the momentum is shifting in a different direction... Which brings me to the URSA Mini. It's better suited to commercial/corporate work however this 120fps crop is very concerning with an EF mount. Possibly a deal breaker.... Which then brings me to the "lowly" FS5. Nothing spectacular - just very versatile for many shooting styles. If I'm going to be doing plenty of corporate work and bits of music video, this could be a better fit.... (240fps 1080p, lightweight, raw eternal support in future firmware update). However, I love the Blackmagic image - it's just much more spectacular than the weirdness of Slog and could add something a bit more special in the imaging department. Maybe there is a solution for 120fps 3.5x windowed with EF lenses... But the Raven. It's RED. Dragon sensor...and it's RED too. You get the point.

Thought I'd at least bring a topic back to the top. My Chinese isn't great. REDuser is very biased, but no wonder as a lot of members have spent incredible amounts of money on their RED packages. They will naturally defend it. I have an URSA 4.6k on pre-order still, and I will keep it open in the time being. I just depends the way my market area will shift - I'm finding at the moment that music video production (like music releases) is just getting less and less, cheaper and cheaper (and other factors) which will force me to change business perspective. Come November, the most ideal camera for me might be an FS5. (the windowed 120fps on Mini is a major concern at 3.5x crop). 99% of my commercial clients don't give a crap what you shoot on. I know for sure that I could invest in a RED Raven, market that I have one and reel bands in with my new spectacular shooting arsenal, but a factory farm of very low budget work filling up my schedule with endless shoots and little return isn't a good move. I'm basing myself on the ideas and service I can provide - with the technology secondary, focusing on the commercial sector. In a years time, (if investing) the Red Raven could be an expensive mistake or the holy grail of your business plan. The camera ultimately has to fit your business model, or you are basically p*ssing in the wind. It's not really about the best camera, it's what fits. The one that fits might not be your ideal choice.

I've heard ridiculous statements saying "URSA Mini is dead" since the announcement of the Raven. The Blackmagic still has great ergonomics, 1080p LCD, XLR's, full ProRes, non-proprietary media and a very affordable but high quality EVF and shoulder kit. My pre-order is still in place for the Mini, but I'm still open for options too. Apart from the RED badge, I'm yet to figure out how opting for the Raven over The Mini would be of any benefit. My clients never ask about the camera. Just the ideas.

Thanks for the great write up. I could imagine the C300 II being the right purchase for owner/operators who does a lot of documentary/corporate where there is demand for the camera... but for us independents putting fingers in all sorts of pies, the C300 II is hard to justify. On the RED Raven, that 1.87 crop on EF lenses is a major issue and a possible deal breaker. Hopefully an MFT mount later? Just tomorrow to find out more. I'm in the market so very eager for answers!

Ebrahim, you're really good at analysing camera equipment. I would enjoy reading your take on the "upsides". When I've used RED, it's always been proprietary accessories, but i was given the option of using third party stuff with some kind of add-on module for HDMI/SDI.

I've handled RED footage (MX, Dragon) a few times now and I light everything - I'll go past 800ISO on some cameras if I'm desperate, but hardly ever. I've been very pleased with the footage, I just found the Epic to be a time consuming camera on set. (this was mainly due to lack of experience with the Epic and not enough crew members, but I can't afford more crew!). Generally handling the FS7 and F55 on set has been fine, besides the menus. Had great success with Blackmagic as they have a pretty simple system. Out of all the cameras I've used, I like the Blackmagic image the most, but i love the deep meaty texture you get from RED, and also REDCode is awesome. We'll see on Friday eh?

I agree. This camera would be much better with an MFT mount - the original EF mount BMCC was a nightmare for this reason. (crop factor with EF lenses). We'll find out more on Friday. The big feature is the 4k 120fps, but I still think the URSA Mini 4.6k is very hard to beat because of the value you get with the package. Once you add ergonomics, the Raven will likely cost double, if not more. I'm very curious though because I'm in the market for a major new camera to film a combination of commercial and music video stuff.

I've got the URSA 4.6k on pre-order, but I have to admit I'm curious about this RED Raven. While the cost is a factor with all the accessories, you have to factor in what this means for your business success: 1. You can advertise you "Shoot on RED" (not that it really matters, but sometimes it does work and puts the icing on the cake for a pitch). 2. The 4k 120fps is a future proof spec if you shoot a lot of slow motion (I do). No need to upgrade once 4k is well and truly kicking the jams! 3. REDCode - very easy to work with (in my experience). The URSA Mini also has XLR's and Built-In LCD. Big advantage. The URSA Mini will be more cost-effective as a purchase, and will be preferable to those who like Arri Alexa style images. The new 4.6k is like an Arri Alexa nephew, from what I've seen with the bit of footage on BM's website. But you have to consider whether the RED Raven (assuming the package is sub 10k) might be better value for business, because clients who don't know much but have heard that "RED shoots Hollywood movies" find you an attractive prospect if you sell the RED as part of the deal. Ultimately, it comes down to whether the toolset within the camera can help utilise better creativity and better quality results. Hard to say when both cameras have not been released are used by anyone. But this is stiff competition now for Blackmagic. I'll be keeping my pre-order open while reviewing the RED Raven in the coming weeks.

No probs. I'm not sure if other users have experienced anything, although I think most shoot in XAVC-I, due to the lack of support from NLE's (I know FCPX now does). When I get the camera from the rental house, the previous user always has it set in Slog3/Cine-El and 4k 60p in XAVC-I, so it gives a good indication of what people are using the camera for.

The severe issues are banding, macro-blocking and some kind of blotchy color stuff going on. Take note this is in Slog3/CineEl - I'm not sure if there are issues in other PP's. In the latest instance, it was a female face. It was a very well lit face using daylight LED's. Her face was a cocktail macroblocking mess... like bits of magenta smeared with yellow. Tried many, many grades and all had the same issue. Various shots. Other times it's been detail in the highlights - lots of banding and macroblocking. Especially clouds, trees, anything hazy looking (like smoke). Also there's alot of fringing/smearing/fuzziness around some bright highlights, like someone has drawn round them with a crayon. The exact same compositions in XAVC-I have NONE of these issues. Just flat-out fantastic and very clean. I've shot XAVC-L in 1080p on FS7 too. I've not really seen any issues that I recall. I'm not sure if that is camera-related or the conditions in which I filmed. Personally I think the FS5 looks great, but should do some tests before to see if these image issues can be avoided (or see if they are there at all).

Yes, it should be very close. Probably identical in XAVC-L. The biggest difference is that the FS7 shoots in XAVC-I, and it's vastly superior!! The form factor of the FS5 looks awesome though. It's hard to ignore this camera.

I shot some stuff again with XAVC-L on the FS7 in 4k - again I can see severe issues with macro blocking and blotchy colours, this time on skin! In Slog3, this camera in XAVC-L is going to struggle. It certainly is not a "cinema camera" like many websites are describing it as. For this reason alone, the Sony FS5 is not a consideration for me - unless it's got some voodoo magic within it's own codec processing thingymabob!

Considering using Raven as a B-cam to Epic, I'd say they'd go with s35.

The AJA Cion looks like a bit of a pain really. It's not going to get any better with the BM Ursa Mini knocking on our doors soon. Big flop? As for this Red Raven... I'm hoping it will AT LEAST come with a bomb disposal kit, or some kind of force field that comes out the sensor and protects us from killer drones at 120fps!

Another camera nobody has mentioned is the AJA Cion. What happened there?

This is interesting. If this is indeed "4K4All".... I think they might mean, "4k for all professional filmmakers from RED". I'm expecting it will be at least double the price of the URSA Mini 4.6k for the body. Blackmagic prices are ridiculously low but it's a strategy that pays off being a new camera manufacturer. 4k @ 120fps is a great spec and is massively future proof, so I'll be interested to hear the rest!

The URSA Mini and FS5 are for different purposes. I'm not sure why the FS5 is being described as a "cinema camera" by some websites, looks like a very versatile for documentary, corporate and events. I've had major issues with the images on XAVC-L with the FS7 (XAVC-I is superior), so it's generally put me off being interested. Think I'll try one at some point down the line though.

The A7SII does seem like a great camera, although I do agree with you on some parts of your assessment. I think many reviews of the original camera were way off the mark concerning "clean low-light" at high ISO's. Even at ISO 12,800 I find it to be only just usable with very heavy post noise reduction. With additions like 4k, full HD 120fps, stabilisation and Slog3 - it's worth it for new buyers. For previous buyers, I'd hold on for the 3rd version (probs out in a year!). For professional video shooting, the FS5 seems like a much better proposition than all the A-series cameras. The extra money is worth it.

It's good sign that production is ramping up. I'm still expecting to receive my URSA Mini 4.6k with cobwebs on my head though.

True - best trying it out yourself before judging other peoples work, although that URSA 4.6k aesthetic has something very special about it. I'm also very surprised at the content they put in these launch videos - surely they can come up with something better? Throw them into real projects for commercial, narrative, music video and documentary instead of filming a bunch of bushes, trees and people doing literally nothing.

Curious - just looked at the launch videos. I like to be constructive, but those launch videos were absolutely terrible. They sold me on the form factor, but not the image. The grading in particular was like a thrown up fruit salad.