IronFilm

So I say the Zoom F8 stands out as the highlight of the 2010's, but if I gaze into my crystal ball, what will be the game changer for the 2020's? (side note: what would be my runner up "product of the decade"? The Tentacle Sync would be a worthy consideration, definitely was a game changer with its very low cost and extremely small size. The Zaxcom Nomad / Sound Devices 664, and maybe even the 633 as well, would also be fighting it out for a spot as they were game changers themselves with their recorder/mixer integration and feature set) Zaxcom Nova might very well be the #1 game changer for the 2020's, however someone might ask "But David, didn't the Zaxcom Nova come out in 2019, shouldn't it be your gear of the decade for the 2010's?" Well, Zaxcom Nova hasn't even shipped yet, not in my country, there isn't a single Nova anywhere here. And the handful of very few units that did ship during 2019, I reckon it is still too early to call Nova a "game changer" because its impact hasn't been felt on the industry yet. (nothing at all like the earthquake event which was the Zoom F8) I've hitched my wagon however to the Sound Devices 833, personally I won't be a super early adopter of the "all in one" approach (definitely isn't all roses and rainbows to go 110% all in on the Zaxcom ecosystem, there are downsides too). Likely during the 2020's then Sound Devices (or someonelese, Deity Microphones? Or could work in partnership with Zoom?) will in another generation or two (9 Series anybody?) release their own recorder with integrated Audio Limited wireless. The SuperSlot standard had already got them half way there.

Starting up the production line would be the biggest cost. (& the materials + running the line would of course be two other major costs) As they're not making 300mm f2.8 every single day, an 18-55mm though they're liking pumping those out every day of the week nonstop. But for many lenses they'd be producing them in batches. Even once all the tooling/machinery has recouped their costs, it still takes a lot of time (and time = money) to change over the production line from making say a 100mm f2.8 macro lens to a 300mm f2.8 telephoto lens. For many of these lenses there is not enough demand to have production of them be running 24/7/365 (as that would mean a LOT of lenses!). Thus they make them in batches, and once the current inventory runs low they'll schedule in a time to spin up a production line to make up another batch. So Canon will keep on spinning up to do new batches so long as it makes sense, but if they fall down to the point of say only selling a few dozen 100mm f2.8 macros per year then there is no point in making a new batch of 100mm f2.8m macro lenses. As their "minimum viable run size" could be in the hundreds (although perhaps with a higher margin lens like the 300mm f2.8 it is likely on the smaller side of things), and with declining sales it would take too many years to sell a batch of that size. They won't want that much spare inventory hanging around.

Haven't posted my #1 "gear of the decade" yet, as it seemed like such a tough choice, so so so many very very good options! But then I realized the answer is clear: Zoom F8!! As perhaps I don't need to struggle over if the Panasonic GH4 or Sony FS7 or Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 or whatever is more significant, as those will likely all get mentioned anyway, but on this extremely camera focused filmmaking forum the Zoom F8 is unfortunately likely to be overlooked. And it shouldn't be!! Maaaybe it isn't THE gear product of the decade, but it 100% deserves to be mentioned and in the running. So I'll say it: ZOOM F8 is "the product of the decade"! Zoom F8, reinvented what was possible with the sub $1K recorders. Both in quality and features it was a big leap forward. (then you got the F4/F8n/F6 following afterwards, and even Sound Devices had to respond with their Gen1 and Gen2 MixPre series) The term "game changer" gets thrown around loosely a lot with every new product launch, but the Zoom F8 truly deserves the title of "game changer". Beforehand I was using a Sound Devices 552 / Tascam DR680 combo, which for the "Pre Zoom F8 Era" (maybe I shall call time "BF8" and AF8" now! haha, the current year is now 5AF8 ) was a pretty damn good low budget setup indeed! But switching over to a Zoom F series was a massive leap forward! Wish I'd done it earlier (I was skeptical and didn't believe / understand the significance of the F8, but when the F4 got announced I leapt on that immediately).

Noooooooo............. those damn patents hold back progress so much! Imagine if all companies could make eNDs, imagine how much they could innovate and improve the quality and features of eNDs? By themselves, RED and Sony are not going to push and innovate that hard to stay ahead when they're the only ones with it.

Found it kinda funny how smoothly you went from talking about one mythical beast (the Sony a7Smk3) to discussing another mythical beast instead (Komodo). ? The perfect intended scenario for 1D mk3 buyers is people who fool around with rich people's toy playthings? As I click the video and immediately see a Lambo Yes, I can see indeed how such people would indeed be buying a 1Dmk3! The traditionalists would say: YES! The DSLR crowd says: Nope.

There are a *LOT* of DSLR users, and some are very conservative and will want to stick with the same system they have with their upgrades for as long as they can. Canikon will want to keep on sequeezing the last bits of juice from this money true as long as they can. (just look at see how much looooooonger the Sony A Mount dragged on than seemed at all reasonable!!! And the A Mount system had a far far smaller following than Canikon has, so Canikon has a bigger customer base to draw this out with) Thus I bet we have at least a couple more generations left. (if not even more) However: a) each refresh cycle will get longer and longer (we saw this with A Mount) b) the number DSLR lines will get reduced, we saw this as well with A Mount. (only three "current" A Mount bodies at the moment, one from 2014! And the other two from 2016. Personally I reckon A Mount won't see another camera release. But who knows, maybe this system has one last kick left in it with a Sony a77mk3?? Get the upgrade dollars from the last dying few users. Maybe, but I doubt it as I can't see Sony putting enough into an a77mk3 to force the last A Mount holdouts to upgrade to the a77mk3. Perhaps if we see a Sony a7000 with say an amazing new 30 megapixel sensor, 6K video, IBIS, etc... then Sony would stuff the guts of that into an a77mk3 as a way to make a quick extra buck from their Sony a7000 R&D they've already done) Thus Nikon won't have the massive FX line up of D5/D810/D750/D610/DF it had once before in the past! We've already seen this narrow down soon to D6/D850/D780 (a cheap D630 won't ever happen, doubt they'll try again the DF experiment with F Mount). They might keep 3 lines for another (loooong) generation, but eventually the D850/D780 lines will merge together, leaving only a Pro FX body and a cheaper "Serious Amatuer / Semi Pro" FX Body. Then in the final form, those two bodies will be merged into one single FX body as your only option left for FX F Mount buyers.

It is a damn pity that we don't see all mid range and up cameras with waveform, it is just software for them to add, it isn't impossible if they've got the spare CPU cycles and the desire to do it. Sadly is only on the Panasonic GH5/GH5S/S1H/S1(although I think the S1 requires a paid upgrade for WFM? Ditto G9 maybe? Not sure). Come on Fuji/Nikon/Sony/Canon!!!! Add waveforms.

It is a damn pity that era of "HALF PRICE WOW" never got repeated by BMD. Wouldn't two BMPCC4K for the price of one be great! Imagine if an UMP G1 or even the OG URSA Mini 4.6K got offered at half price? Dammnnnnn Heck even now in 2020 many people would love to see a brand new BMPCC/BMMCC for US$500!

Why do you think the D6 has IBIS? Thought the most disppointing missing spec about the Nikon D780 (and Z50!! But that was more understandable, as the Z50 is their cheapest Z Model, but still.... SAD!) was the missing IBIS, seeing as both Z6 and Z7 have. (and the D780 is basically a "DSLR version of the Z6") *IF* the D780 had IBIS, then I'd have been willing to bet on better than 50/50 odds that the D6 would have IBIS. But as it is now, I think not. Likely Pentax will remain forever having the only DSLRs with IBIS.

The D750 as a stills camera (and wasn't too shabby as a 1080 FF DSLR either! Arguably "the best"???) was so far head of its time as a photography workhorse beast in that price bracket! Just a pity that price bracket as too far above what I could justify as a primarily stills camera for what for me is just the hobby side of things. Buth with every passing year it creeps closer to being a "spontaneous what the hell why not purchase". Only problem is all the competitors keep on coming down in price too! Might just decide buying a D7200 is "good enough", or the big extra for a greatly depreciated Nikon Z6 is worth it over a D750 for all the video features (or ditto a X-T3 if a kick ass Nikon F adopter with AF comes out, or I happen to get a few X Mount lenses). Dunno, but I noticed that bit in the video too! Not holding my breath though, as we're having photographers talking about video so far. (or in other words, they're clueless and don't know what they're even saying!) Got to wait until a video specialist such as Jordan from DPReview gets their hands on it. My wild guess is the D780 will be as good as the Z6 in video, or perhaps a little better or a little worse. (such as lacking raw output??) Same as I just said above, not holding my breath about TC but being mildly hopefully. Again, for photographers writing about something they know nothing about.

Simple solution: camera in car, you see a picture from the in car camera when you accept the ride offered.

Kinefinity Mavo LF comes quite close to beng in that price bracket! At "only" two grand more than $10K, yet has more FPS. codecs, I/O, etc than the 1D mk3 Also you left of the Z Cam F6 which can do 6K @60fps & 4K @120fps, has ZRaw, and is sub $5K

For those still in the DSLR world, resisting the lure of mirrorless, then the Nikon D780 represents better price/performance value than the Canon 1D mk3 does! (which for most of us is just so expensive we can almost totally ignore its existence when it comes to discussing "DSLRs", just like I kinda pretended the Canon 1D C didn't exist back during its era! ha) If you're a hybrid Nikon shooter, then you've now got in Nikon F mount a killer setup with a Nikon D780 / Atomos Ninja V https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-d780/nikon-d780A.HTM This is very very curious.... is this the first ever DSLR with timecode I/O??? I hope so! But I won't be holding my breath. What excites me the MOST about the Nikon D780 announcement is that I'm looking forward to the price crash on eBay of all the D750 bodies ? Been wanting one of those for a long time.

What do you think is going on here?? An external USB charger?? Seems a bit odd for the form factor, perhaps something else?

Does make sense for BMD to support their own codec in their recorder monitors!

I believe 2020 is the year the NX2 will be announced! ? We've waited long enough.....

People are often biased towards what they own

True true, we might have a long wait for a "cheap ish nifty 50". Wonder when Tamron/Rokinon/etc will bring their AF lenses to L Mount? I'm not obsessed with a full frame. I'd love a $1.5K camera which is a X-T3 but plus IBIS and a few other tweaks (like adding waveforms and timecode) Or a Panasonic camera which combines and refines the best of the GH5 & GH5S plus a few more tweaks (like 4K 10bit 60fps internal) How long until people stop dreaming about an "a7Smk3"? Maybe if 2020 goes by another year without it coming out then people might stop.

I can't see BMD now releasing a camera in 2020 or beyond with a PL mount that isn't swappable, am pretty sure they've realised that is important

https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=5K9gdLDWSFoC&lpg=PA24&ots=yU3FeQNt6F&dq=AFM Actors&pg=PA26#v=onepage&q=AFM Actors&f=false In the interview on page 26 he says: "Deliver the picture with enough speed that your lead actor's value stays high. Waiting too long drops the values as your actor continues to act in film after film." Now I understand the need to be speedy (minimises interest payments / loan penalties, keeps your reputation good of sticking to timelines/contracts, you can then move speedily onto your next project, etc), but why specifically does he mention this reason? As unless you've got a "hot right now this very moment" actor, then I don't think this should be a significant factor? (in fact sometimes the opposite could happen, as they might get their breakout role *after* your film and you can then ride that wave with your own film they worked on beforehand) Also on page 26: "Talk to distributors about selling your movie, not sales agents, and be able to tell what the difference is." How can you tell the difference? Also on page 26: "Don't cast "familiar faces" in film--burned-out-but-recognizable actors who demand more money than scale and add absolutely nothing to sales". I thought using a few "familiar faces" in indie films is a tried and true method for sales/marketing? (unless of course they're asking for waaaaaay above what they're worth, maybe he's meaning that? But it doesn't sound like that)

Stick with Panasonic, it is the cheaper/saner solution. I doubt you can have one truly compelling reason that can properly justify moving across.

Those are two solid starting lenses for MFT! ha! And someone will invent an antigravity machine? Physics say: NO I regard a good EF to EF focal reducer to be about as approximately likely as a widely available antigravity machine. Neither a7mk3 or EOS R have a native EF mount, so I don't see your point here at all in dropping down to the inferior EOS R I kinda do that with Nikon F Mount (although, I've got one or two lenses from almost every lens mount now it seems, even PL!)

You've got an a7mk3 and GH5 and X-T3?? Three really nice cameras, all of the latest generation! Maybe slow down a bit and don't buy any new cameras this year? Perhaps even sell one or two of those camera bodies and focus your lenses into just one ecosystem? Ah that last part, I let myself fall into that trap now and then in the sound world! Oops But on one hand, I think it is handy to have solutions ready to go before a problem even presents itself. But on the other hand, I definitely spend too much.

Yeah for someone starting out from scratch today in 2020, it wouldn't be a crazy as bet to just totally ignore Avid / Premiere / Final Cut, instead going all in on learning only Resolve. In the hope that five years from now Resolve will be a major player on equal footing to the rest in terms of employment demand. (Resolve is already top notch in terms of employment demand when comes to wanting graders, but we're discussing editors here) Yeah for the first year or two (or three plus...) then it doesn't really matter what you're using, as nobody is going to be hiring you likely to work within a large team where the software workflow matters. Instead you're probably mostly doing small one person jobs for indies / friends / etc. Thus you could use Resolve, or whatever the hell you like.

What lenses do you have for your GH5? You can use exactly the same lenses on the BMD Pocket 4K? Also consider the Z Cam E2 6K has a big price bump! Not worth it in my eyes, 4K is plenty! And the EF mount is a negative about the 6K, as it will reduce your flexibility. (you won't be able to go as wide / shallow as you could with a 4K either , if you put a x0.64 focal reducer on the 4K) Once Sigma rolls out their full line up of Sigma lenses for L Mount then that will drop the costs of the L system a lot.