IronFilm

$350??? Where, as that doesn't sound right.

Best news I've read all day! The BMD Video Assist is shipping now. Very keen to see a head to head comparison vs the Atomos Samurai Blade which is also US$495 (am using a Ninja 2 right now on a music video shoot with a Sony F3. It is nice, aside from the low resolution screen and no SDI)

Slow motion. Weather proofed body. Headphone jack. Unlimited recording length. These are all very solid reasons why (and I'm sure I'm missing a few, such as does the G7 have live HDMI out now? Sadly my G6 lacks it) as to why a person would get a GH4 over a G7, beyond simply the obvious YAGH and V log reasons. Though yeah, I can totally see why some people would prefer buying the G7 over the GH4. Just like how I personally feel the G6 is a stronger camera to buy than the GH3!

Ah my bad, I mixed up for a moment in my head RED Raven's 4K 120fps thinking that is it at HD and same as URSA Mini. When if it was just that, clearly URSA Mini is better with less compression I updated my blog post on it to instead read: "j) URSA Mini doesn’t have the very heavy 13:1 compression in slow motion that the RED Raven has, instead is lossless raw from the URSA Mini." So I'm still listing it as a benefit of the URSA Mini over the Raven, just from the perspective of quality rather than max FPS. (thought it is raw? Which is why it is windowed. Though if you see evidence otherwise, please let me know. Although, even ProRes HQ should still be better than 13:1 RedCode compression??) http://ironfilm.co.nz/red-raven-or-ursa-mini-4-6k/

RED Raven or URSA Mini 4.6K? Which to go for if their body price is the same & you could pick either? (which they're not! URSA Mini is clearly going to be many thousands cheaper to own) Clearly the URSA Mini comes out the winner here, as I don't think the Raven is better specced. URSA Mini is: a) has 4K ProRes (Raven doesn't) b) has XLR inputs c) better ergonomics d) global shutter option e) sensor size which is a better match for the Canon EF mount (URSA Mini is a little larger than APS-C vs GH2 sized for the Raven) f) as well as PL/B4 (and more??) mount options available instead g) cheaper media (and rapidly getting cheaper!! You won't see the same rate of price drops happen with RED's media) h) I half suspect URSA Mini will have the edge over Raven in low light (though not by a huge amount,. a stop or less). I suspect dynamic range to be close too, given how RED overstates theirs. Will have to wait for each to ship however before this can be really clear which way it falls. i) way cheaper EVF (and better too I reckon) j) better slow motion (same fps, but Raven's is heavily compressed RedCode at 13:1 while the BMD URSA Mini can do it in uncompressed raw!) k) better input/output options. l) BMD wins with the higher resolution (ironically so.... as that is RED's big obsession, resolution) m) free copy of the industry standard DaVinci Resolve (which you'll need to purchase if you wish to colour grade Raven's footage with it) n) and last but not least.... URSA Mini will ship earlier!! (yes, even with BMD's record of always being late) Of course the usual caveats apply with this analysis: nobody has either of these in their hands yet, so specs analysis vs real world use might be far apart!

basically it is an AMAZING 1080 camera, and just dipping its toe in the water for 4K Remember, is a competitor for C100 mk2, so this approach means it crushes it

Ah right, I see. I was using the 18-105mm in HD on the FS7. Hope it works for 4K too on the FS5! I think you're slicing the pricing segments too thinly there :-/ Not enough gap between FS7 and F5. Neither in price or features. Though I was surprised how closely positioned the FS7 and FS5 are in features/price!

Poor sensor choice. Poor lens mount choice for their market positioning (well, it could be swapped, but that wasn't communicated well to potential customers). Late to market (a year or two earlier and it would've made a way bigger splash). Too high a price. Proprietary media. That is what happened!!

http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?e=2800344 As I want to get this. But it isn't on the list of approved drives: http://www.atomos.com/drives/ But Sandisk Ultra II SSDs are listed as recommended for Shogun / Ninja Assassin. I'm assuming they only have older SSDs listed for their older recorders as haven't tested newer drives with it, but from the specs, and because it works with Shogun, it should be able to work fine with the Atomos Samurai Blade? Is this correct?

Cinegain, sweet, I guess I can wait another week or two

But there is still a strong possibility we might not see the Video Assist until who knows when.... after Christmas??

Dug up this thread by chance. So how does the math figure out in favour for or against the BMD Video Assist now the Samurai / Ninja Blade has fallen to 495 and the Ninja 2 is only 295!! :-o

A good article! But with such a lowly budget I'd have happily recommended a secondhand GH1 instead, so lenses, lighting, audio, and other support gear could've been adequately covered. I wrote a kinda similar article a few months back: http://ironfilm.co.nz/a-priced-out-gear-kit-for-a-newbie-to-filmmaking-using-the-panasonic-gh2/

I would be extremely surprised if it doesn't, as both FS700 and FS7 have this. The only camera of note I can think of which doesn't have this is the FS100, but this is much older (came out before the 18-105 was released) and is lower end than the FS5. The other big factor is the 18-105 is shipping as the FS5 kit lens!!! So of course the FS5 will correct for it. Wrong, it does. There is an option in the menu for lens correction. I've often used my Sony 18-105mm f/4 on the Sony FS7. surely a future F3 replacement already exists.... ?? The F5! (Looking forward to buying one in 2017 ;-) )

that is logical. Isn't arri or Sony vs red but red vs canon. I think the mindset of Canon and RED shooters have a lot in common too!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1123529-REG/kanexpro_ext_hdsdix_hdmi_to_3g_hd_sd_sdi_converter.html This looks like a cheap enough answer so it can double use as a monitor for my BMPCC / D5200 as well.

A 5D mk4 with 4K while their expensive C100 mk2 is still 1080?!?! Not sure how that makes sense... And while I agree 100% with that article, I disagree it applies 100% to video! To the average joe on the street? Sure, it applies to video, arguably even smartphone video has got to that point for them. But it does not apply to the serious amateur / semi pro videographer, as you have got to remember the amateur photographer has for years had access to high resolution (room for heaps of cropping), HFR, raw photos. The videographer however?! We're not even close to that point!! We'd need to see perhaps 6K / 120fps / raw video cameras sold at your local high street store first (to see the matching high resolution / HFR / raw that photographers all have access to). We're perhaps (wild guess...) a decade away from that happening!! At a minimum I think we need to at least see 60fps 4K 10bit 422 reach the hobbyist level in functional body, maybe at least that point isn't too far away. But we're not there yet.

Does anybody have more info about its HDMI output, is it 422? 10 bit or 8 bit?!

LOL LOL LOL anybody who doesn't think RED has their own mountain of issues and reliability problems is disillusioned BMD in 2015 as a rock solid proven workhorse is I reckon ahead of where RED was in many of their early years (or even, now arguably) Perhaps they heard the FS5 will do raw? (Which is true, but we've heard no more details on this) And assumed it would be much cheaper than the FS7? (Like most of us assumed!)

I used to think I'll obviously go for the BMD Video Assist for my Sony PMW-F3, but after this price drop it is trickier.... should I get a Atomos Samurai Blade instead for the same price? Samurai Blade Pros: Better features while shooting (such as waveforms) Tagging good/bad takes on set to make post easier (this works seamlessly with Adobe Premiere? Does anybody here have experience with this?) Better IPS screen Is available now (but I don't mind waiting a few weeks more for the BMD VA) Samurai Blade Cons vs BMD VA: No 1080 60p (bummer!) Lower resolution HD vs FHD screen (I think this is going to be less of an issue than I originally thought? As the Atomos screen is I suspect an otherwise better quality screen??) SSDs vs SD cards (well... this is arguably a pro, but I already have SD cards. I don't have any spare SSDs) No HDMI in/out (a non issue for my F3, could be a minor issue if I want to use it with other cameras as will need to use a convertor) As their new prices are now: Ninja 2 $295 Ninja Blade $495 Samurai Blade $495

OH EM GEE!!! That is making the PL/B4 camera be a killer studio camera! Unfortunately not something which would interest most of us here. Makes it anamazing doco camera too (if only it had ND filters built in....). I wonder if the PL mount could be swapped for a Nikon F mount, just like it can be swapped now for a B4 Mount?? If so, it could make the PL version be the perfect option for me!! Pity about them dropping GPS functionality. But understandable

take a look at the advances being done with s log 3 / gamma3cine and the REC709A LUT, it is emulating an Arri Alexa!! You can say goodbye to the "Sony look" if you so wish. The FS5 will be capable of this too, as it has the same s log 3 / gamma3cine So does the A7s mk2!!!! :-o Though holding my breath if its 8bit files can hold up to the aggressive s log 3 curve Sony X70 has ten bit 422 FHD , and it is quite affordable at prosumer / consumer pricing

If the camera is as good as they claim a lot of non drone flyers will want to buy the camera by itself!!

it exists, is the Aperture Axiom Beta

14 bit raw is a step ahead from the old 12 bit I thought Sony did with their stills? Or is it still doing only a "14" bit instead