Clayton Moore

The human eye has: About 120 million photo receptors that can detect light and dark and around 6-7 million that provide color and all in about the space of a micro 4/3 lens circle. The human eye can adapt to detect a luma range of around 46 f-stops So between pixel and sensor sizes, image processing chips, and sensor read-out speeds, cameras have plenty of room to get better even at micro 4/3 sizes (in my opinion).

Technology (in my opinion) went pretty fast for the camera business and software apps was not in their wheel house. When Steve showed us Apple employees the very first iPhone in an internal comm meeting he said: “Its all about the software”. Apple wanted their phone business at that time to be a third of their business - down the road. As it turns out “mobile” plays a larger part then just a third. Understand though Steve Jobs was a “consumer” guy, he had no affinity for the pro-space. If using a camera wirelessly was no harder then using a phone, clearly it would be good. Canon, NIKON etc. need to figure out, quickly where they want to go because the smart phone makers, and related software developers show no signs of slowing down. Yes the new generation wont get SLRs that much. What someone in the camera buss should at least try and do is partner with Apple before Apple simply acquires someone, in which case DSLR obsolescence will happen almost overnight.

Panasonic says the firmware update to 2.4 was to improve V-Log-L. Any comments on that improvement?

I actually got my hands on one of these and an URSA Mini not long ago and knew right away how BMD has the potential, if they stay focused, to push the competition very hard in (affordable by the masses) digital cinema in the next 36 months. Its not always how well developed a product is at release, but how it effects the market and this release is actually petty important in that way because it puts the competition on notice to stay competitive or loose out.

Fantastic - I'll give it a try and let you all know how it worked and thanks again.

Has anyone had to have their GH4/GH3 EVF lens replaced for scratches and how much Panasonic charged for that? Clayton

Has anyone had to have their GH4/GH3 EVF lens replaced for scratches and how much Panasonic charged for that? Clayton

I would agree. I think that log really needs 10 bits. Though I would expect that Panasonic would have done as good a job as they could using 8 bit. God knows they have had enough time to tweet it. Either way it seems worth the price to me. I also think a 7" field monitor AND 4k recording also seems like a really good deal for $1,295 <<choices in that space are really getting attractive now. Much of the higher data streams come down to the heat generated. Its one of the reasons larger camera bodies have no problem rolling 4k at bigger data rates - better heat dispersion. Fatter data can also effect battery life as well. In laptops those are the two issues engineers deal with in making units more powerful heat and battery life.

Got my hands on an URSA mini sporting a ZEISS cinema lens, it was really nice!!!

What this camera proves again is that high quality images have for the most part become ubiquitous. Thats great because as excitement and interest in the cameras themselves gives way to the content they create, the interest in the content itself will grow and thats good for the future of content creators. Yea!!!

California firefighters report more drone encountersUpdated: 7:02 PM July 10, 2015McCLELLAN, Calif. (KCRA)View LargeFirefighting pilots in California said Friday they have had three recent close calls with unmanned drones. And a state lawmaker said he wants jail time for offending drone operators. Two of the recent encounters happened on June 24 and June 25 while firefighters were battling fires at the San Bernardino National Forest. Watch report here: Close calls between planes, drones could mean tighter rules The third took place June 29 while they were looking for lightning-sparked fires in the northern Sierra Nevada. "The threat of airspace intrusion is extremely sensitive right now," said Cal Fire Deputy Chief Dave Teter during a news conference at McClellan Air Park. None of the recent encounters led to a collision, but they did force firefighters to temporarily ground their aircraft. According to federal law, civilian drones can weigh up to 55 pounds, about twice the size of a full-grown goose. Dennis Brown, Cal Fire's chief of flight operators, said bird strikes have disabled aircraft engines. "Conceivably a drone made out of plastic or metal would do even more damage because it's not soft tissue," said Brown. "So, potentially, it could be devastating." In some cases, firefighters request a formal flight ban over an active fire zone, but not always. The U.S. Forest Service said drone operators should stay away from all active fires but could not say how far that should be. "We don't have that defined right now. That's the problem. There's no definition. So (one of the) things we're working on is trying to get a definition for that," said Shawna Legarza of the U.S. Forest Service. State Sen. Ted Gaines, a Republican from Roseville, said he has proposed legislation that would define that distance. He said it would also increase the penalties for authorized drone operators. The current fine is $1,000. "I also feel that we also ought to be looking at incarceration. You could be putting someone's life at risk. If you had a death, how would you address that?" said Gaines. Enforcing drone rules has been difficult because firefighters cannot not always spot the operator on the ground. That might soon change if the federal government approves new rules that would require drones be marked with registration numbers.

I now own a GH4 so I care less about Canon than I used to. BUT there is one thing that still P***s me off about the fall-out from Canon deal. The Canon marketing team was very good at positioning itself so as to give impression of their commitment as the defacto standard in the video market. As a result smaller companies developed and sold some very cool stuff to use with Canon cameras. ONLY Canon cameras. Small companies who also felt that Canon was committed. They invested their limited resources to that one manufacturer. Now when I search to find (as an example) a remote controller that accessed the functions of my GH4 the only one out there now is the Zacuto one for well over $3,000. On the other hand, there are a few for under $200 but they only work with Canon cameras. After some emailing to inquire, I find they don't have the resources now to develop new versions for other cameras. Just saying.........

I assume everyone saw this - "The log curves for the Varicam, the DVX200, and the GH4 (the latter coming in a firmware update later this year) are exactly the same over their common ranges. The DVX200 and GH4 will simply clip two stops earlier than the Varicam, but that’s still about two stops more than the GH4 currently captures." http://www.dvinfo.net/article/acquisition/panasonic-avvcam/nab-15-from-the-panasonic-private-suite.html

The DVX200 (also shopping with V-log L is due out in Fall this year. My gut tells me thats when the V-log L update for the GH4 will be released. My understanding was the Anamorphic update was now and the V-log later this year. My bet is September.

SONY has a roadmap, but I'm not sure just what it is yet. This is a very high stakes game thats playing out right now in the camera market. Understand though its not just the cameras themselves its content. Who is using these cameras and what are they shooting? Family vacations? Youtube movies? Wedding videos? Short films? Corporate video? SONY, Panasonic, Canon, whomever has to keep in mind the end user and balance whatever they do against a roadmap that includes both the enthusiast and the true professional. The internet and social media is on the verge of making the old broadcast TV model obsolete, thats a big damn deal too. Finally the camera market is going crazy. So there is a lot going on right now.

A couple of reasons why the market needs to be pro-active about this. First users are tired of paying good money for camera bodies that are obsolete in 12-18 months. Second, imagine your a rental house and your faced with having to keep your inventories current, its getting to where its not going to be sustainable. Keeping your current camera body for 36 months and leveraging firmware (even paid) to keep it updated for that period of time makes much more sense.

​Guys guys -- can't we all get along -- LOL - seriously - Jimmy the Canon deal was about marketing the VDSLRs ( at the 3k and below market) - they went after that market more aggressively then did NIKON and it gave users an expectation of Canon's commitment to that space. ITs not a mystery - just look at the amount of accessories that came to market that were "For Canon" EOS cameras. It was not just users but developers that got that message. Users and developers and the Canon market share exploded. Id love a remote to run the functions of my GH4 but the only affordable versions still .. only work with Canon. Canon can do whatever they want, but within the context of "video" the Canon and NIKON story are simply not the same. Agree or not, some users felt that Canon set the market up, worked hard to sell the ____ out of it, got tons of users to invest in the Canon eco-system then walked away. BTW this happens where markets are concerned its a risk you always take period......... but it explains whey people feel the way they do.

​I think now days by the time your project is all done. Its been shot, graded and exported. Image quality may be better in a camera you spend $8k - to $13K more money for, but I'd suggest the differences are way more incremental then fundamental these days. In a few more years the gap will be even more narrow. Ergonomics and physical features and build quality you get for $10,000 is not debatable. "image alone" - camera geeks are great are picking apart aspects of the image, but to the viewing public .......... in three years, footage from a $1,600 or $16,000 camera body, they'll never ever notice. We're 90% there already. :-)

​Interesting idea and I agree. The GH4 is being upgraded pretty well right now and I don't expect a GH5 until at least 2016, meanwhile it would be great to see the AF100 revised into some super 35 worthy 4k camera. Oh well ................. sigh.

​Jimmy here you are ---- I asked someone I know about the pending Panasonic V-log roll-out on the GH4. I told him I hoped, or rather dreamed that the result would be similar highlights and tonality to the new VeriCam 35 coming out. At NAB he verified that it appears to be exactly that. So imagine your GH4 v-log with two more stops of DR and the exact same gamma curve of their high end VeriCam. Here you are http://www.dvinfo.net/article/acquisition/panasonic-avvcam/nab-15-from-the-panasonic-private-suite.html

Its not a story, its opinion and thats part of Andrews gig here. A combination of straight technical camera geek, stuff and opinion. Like it or not this post fits in perfectly with what this blog has always been about. Oh and seriously for $2,500 this camera may to some feel like it was rushed to market before it was ready.

​The death of Canon and SONY - nope and I too don't like the phrase " A ___canon,sony,panasonic___ killer".... blah blah. Black Magic bugs not withstanding its really about value. The difference between Canon and this camera will be $10,000 though. Quite a premium for bullet proof and all of that. I think at the end of the day the most important aspect of this is two fold. 1. It continues to drive competition in the market place. 2. Perhaps even more significant, its giving a clear signal that Black Magic has decided to stay in the camera market. -------- oh and one more thing, behind the scenes "wink" I'd bet money that once the industry is confident that BMD is in it for the long haul, some engineering talent will find its way from, Canon/Sony/Panasonic to Black Magic Design.