j.f.r.

​You don't know what you want or why you want it, no point in anyone replying to this thread anymore............

​ No surprise there, FCPX is an excellent editing program, especially after all of the latest updates and native support for many cameras. One thing you need to understand though is all modern editing programs basically do the same thing, no real difference at all between X or Premiere, just slightly different how they work/operate

​ So Rolls Royce lower all of their prices as well...... The way I see it Alexa has already cut prices immensely , they are simply the best providing some of not the best image in the market. Beautiful colors, dynamic range and ease of use for professional applications.

​ Blackmagic 4k Camera while great still requires another camera for any kind of slow-motion, that is another system I would definitely not invest money into either. The only Blackmagic camera I would own is a Pocket, due to excellent dynamic range and cheap cost, but even still you would need another camera. Sony Fs700 , Fs7 or Canon C100 Mark II would be my recommendation, in that order. Many productions I've been on from commercial shoots to corporate specially want that "Canon" look at the cinema line has been great for that. These Sony cameras are all in one beasts and definitely used in a professional environment and much much better tool than any Blackmagic camera or slr. I personal own a Sony A7s which I love, but that is more used for my personal projects and very low budget ones. Productions I work on use everything from RED, SONY to ALEXA. Also to comment on Oliver Daniels post working with RED is no different than my Sony A7s in Post. Premiere, Final Cut, etc can handle the native Raw files and you cut,grade just like any other system..... Peace

​I strongly agree with a Sony FS700 as well, excellent camera and when combined with the 7Q you have a beast that can record RAW + excellent slow-motion. On the cheaper side I would also look a the new Canon C100 Mark II, great documentary camera + all around tool. Red One MX has a lovely image,, but I wouldn't buy into that older system as of today. That camera shines when working with a full production crew and people who understand how to light. Now Red Epic which is a newer RED Cam (in my avatar) is simply an amazing tool, but that's definitely out of the price range ($20K+) *Dont be so sure you can rent out this camera, rental business is another animal within itself.....

​70mm iMax film format is an illusion as well....... I'd love to see the equivalent lens of Mitakon 50mm f/0.95 in S35 format.... At the end S35 has been standard for many years and FF is more for photography, Imax will always be there and Alexa now has their 70mm as well. Common sense would tell you there's a difference between sensor size of cameras, how it gathers light and how focal lengths react. Peace

​ Yes, but 120fps at 720p at honestly I would never use it moving the camera as it loses a lot of detail compared to 1080p. I used 120fps on the A7s but it was only for close ups / medium shots of the subject I was filming, it would look horrible on medium wide to wide and beyond shots. By that token so does the 96fps on the GH4.

Full Frame or larger....... The thing many people here have overlooked is what started this "video wave" was Full Frame dslr cameras which were already being used for photography, hence why people fell in love with shallow dof (which really is used more in that field). When shooting actual 16mm / 35mm on film sets you really don't see that much shallow dof simply because they have a budget, art department, location, set design, etc. On cheaper no money shoots it's easy to just throw the background out of focus and everything looks good (photography wise) or at least not distracting enough to give away your cheap no money locations. So in theory I would shoot shallow if I was working on low budget production and vice versa, of course you would still implement separation for certain scenes (close ups, dialog, night shots, etc.) In the end everything is subjective, but I personally prefer Full Frame or larger due to being able to shoot wide or easily throw a background out of focus or for obvious reasons being that the larger the sensor the more sensitive it is to light. Now on the contrary to everything I believe the Blackmagic cameras with their color science achieve a very filmic image and in my opinion it looks very nice using those cameras when you have a lower budget production vs any dslr camera.

​ ​ One thing people need to realize is this is a 4k sensor, which leads to an amazing 1080p image. Obviously 4k is locked, but make no mistake this is NO 1080p sensor. C100 Mark II much better than any dslr out, heck Mark 1 delivers better quality than any other Dslr as well, including GH4, 5D, etc.

​ Looks great for "TV" broadcast High Def look, but not for narrative work. GH4 just looks like ultra sharp HD Video too me. The new footage posted from Kinemax looks excellent to me and more along the lines of the image I like

Colors look nice, very natural had great "pop". Very interested.............

​ Same thing happens with Blackmagic cameras, shooting in RAW definitely experienced moire and raising that you don't get or it's possibly compressed where you really don't notice it in Pro Res. Like stated, shoot in 4k Pro Res on the Sony FS700 which is a very good camera.

C100 Looks sharper than all, 5D definitely out of focus on the close up or at least a little soft. Honestly though they all look good minus the color grade which I didn't like for any of them. Burnt blacks look just as bad as clipped whites, definitely would tell people to STOP crushing the blacks so much as you are loosing the beautiful little details that reside in that shade.

​ This test is also very old, you should have stated that....... Very Poor as well and I agree with Andrew

​ All comes when grading and detail of scene, with heavy motion (water) avchd would definitely show more artifacts vs xavc-s as well noted earlier when grading. If doing a normal talking head with your camera on sticks in a controlled setting, no one could probably ever tell.... If shooting a long 4+ hour even I would probably use avchd for space saver, but anything short and best image quality I would shoot all my material in the highest form (Xavc-s)

I'd be worried if you were my DP............ Also the Director will tell you what aspect and settings the film should be in, you as a DP should only give suggestion and explain why if it differs. Without knowing anything about the film I would shoot 4k ProRes and any scenes that you need the extra Dynamic Range I would shoot in 2/4K Raw. Hard Drives are cheap, VERY CHEAP so make sure that's factored into the budget of the film. You don't want media to be a reason to slow you down, even if shooting on a low budget....

I thought the project was shot and edited very well, only thing I didn't like was the grade & grain that was applied.

​1080p 30/24 fps is excellent in the camera, 60fps in FF mode does have some aliasing though (wide shots). If doing wide shots in 60fps I would put the camera is APS-C mode which is almost perfectly clean. A7s is a beautiful camera with great dynamic range, a very very good balance of price vs quality, especially when compared to much more expensive cinema cameras.

50mm is good, also many people say 1.6 but I would rate crop factor at 1.5 giving you an effective 75mm on APS-C which many cine lenses are composed of. The most important thing I can tell you is lighting, lighting, art design, wardrobe and acting is what will help any project look cinematic. 50mm is good on APS-C, I would also look into a nice 24-30mm for your Medium shots and actually I wouldn't shoot wider than those lenses as the Camera you are using will lose a lot of quality in extreme wide shots. Keep your project in 24-30mm range and 50mm for your closeups and build everything around that. A good concept is very important, probably the most important thing of any project Peace

Sony A7s, Canon 5D III (RAW) or Canon C100 Mark II I would not settle for anything less......... Full Frame is Magical, I love it. Aps-C is the smallest sensor size I would use Peace

S-LOG on A7s XAVC-S , this codec is so good you can basically grade it how you want....... As soon as you learn and understand how to grade using RGB curves you will see exactly what it is you need to do. Two frame grabs from a project I am editing which I also shot in S-LOG A7s Iso 3200.

​ Quite comical to say the least and could have been done on a 5D Mark II..... Who's idea was it to shoot wide open with what looks like a specialized lens creating all kind of flare and lack of contrast. Very poor example to say the least........

Lets see some video so we can really see whats happening here.....

​Red Dragon, not Alexa...... Simple typo, but we must still be clear! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2267998/technical?ref_=tt_dt_spec

The Compression method of A7s seems much better vs 1D C in camera and of course to external recorder vs 1D C internal. Honestly I agree on buying a Sony A7s or an Fs700 or Fs7 In the Music Video world most prefer RED or 5D Mark III for that lovely FF. I feel the 5D lineup will be here forever as they continue to improve the camera. Sony A7s is special as well, there's just something magical about FF sensor that simply cannot be replicated with a smaller sensor camera.