Bkn Soc of Cinematography

Unfortunately, this will be big in the ENG world. I say unfortunately, because I'll have to shoot with it one day. I'm fine with the all in one design, built in ND's, etc. all the the things that make run / gun, doc, ENG style work easier. But I have one major beef with this design - the EVF should be where the monitor is and side mounted. What Panasonic, Canon and Sony forget with their EX3's, C100/300 and HVX's is that in ENG, Reality, Event and doc world you're often doing takes up to half an hour or more. Holding the camera with two hands out front and your eye on a rear mounted EVF is OK for five minutes or so, but once it goes longer you'll be begging for a 20b proper news camera balanced on your shoulder. I'm sure every ENG cameraman will agree, it's better to be heavy and balanced then light and all on your arms. If they'd just put the EVF where it should be, then it wouldn't take much to rest it on my shoulder with nothing more than minimal rigging (shoulder pad and handles). As it is, to get it on my shoulder will now require mounting a 3rd party EVF or monitor out front on some frankenrigging or slinging it on an easy rig. This obsession Sony, Canon and Panasonic have with the rear mounted EVF is beyond comprehension and shows they beta test with soccer moms and tourists.

​ISO and no built in ND will definitely keep this off the pro doc, event and reality sets. I see it more as a narrative / commercial cam. At 6G to go all in, it's still an amazing deal. 1600 ISO is do able if it's a clean 1600.

No info at all on ISO. This is beginning to not look good on that front. Anyone with inside info please chime in.

​where did you see that? Anyway, having to send a Canon in to swap, is dead to me. I've been on Red productions were we've gone Canon to PL a couple times over the day.

Just read the BM spec sheet. 4 pin XLR, great! This thing will fly on a coptor. Their handheld V plate kit is 395.00. Another great deal. What'd really like to know is if the PL and EF can be swapped out. Or are they going the old Canon route of having to buy another camera, If anyone at NAB can find out.....

As a gimbal owner both these cameras are something to be excited about. Any word about ISO? Also, I'm curious about the URSA mini's power options. Is there a four pin XLR behind the V Mount. That'd be great then I could run it off LIPO's when going super light. Also, is there a difference in frame size btw 4k and 4.6k? I'll hold off on pulling the trigger on the FS7 for now.

Wow. The Black Magic mini looks like a lens adaptor its so small. Gimbal, car work, crash cam, kicking it across a field in a beach ball, endless possibilities. Team it up with the new 5" atomos and you got a some serious pocket power. The Ursa at 15 stops is pretty exciting especially if it's still global shutter. At 3 Grand, I'm just floored by the price. I hope they get the sensitivity up. My only misgiving is the built in monitor. I'm a big fan of on boards but I rather have the option to put it anywhere I want or save the weight and hassle and not have it all.

This camera is without a doubt intriguing but keep in mind to kit it out for work (as it's too pricey for hobbyists) the pro package starts at 13k. For 6k and Slo mo, add another 2k. So now you're looking at a 15k camera. At this point, as a working cameraman you have to consider other options such as Sony f5 and C300 II, both of which have built in ND, EVF's and great US support, something missing so far from Kinefinity. Even if these cameras end up a couple grand more, ask yourself which one are clients and producers more likely to hire out? While some can afford to have gear that doesn't earn its rent, I can't. Also, what's truly missing from the Kine is built in ND, 12 volt accessory tap, and an EVF. Buying a new camera is bit like gambling on high yield high risk stocks as opposed lenses which are like the low yield long return investment. The F65 being the cautionary tale. As Kine seems fairly agile in redesign, I'm going to wait this one out and see if they add what I consider deal breaking features down the road.

​It is a bit of dilemma. For more narrative commercial style work the Kine seems a great fit but for high paced doc, broadcast, etc. the C300 ii wins it for me. But it also seems like it'd make a good commercial / narrative camera too as where the Kine without built ND's won't compete on the doc front. One thing they're both missing is 12volt accessory port. Kine has cheaper media per gig. But perhaps one area in favor of the Kine is flexibility with the lens mounts. PL style EF is awesome and being able to change to PL without sending it to a service center one ups Canon. And of course the frame rate situation. The other thing to consider is service, especially if you're making a living from it. Canon service centers all over the US. Kine, not so much if at all. Something to think about.

I'm pretty excited about this camera. It definitely puts me in a dilemma. I buy cameras for work and personal projects. I almost pulled the trigger on the FS7 but just couldn't get over the skin tones of the S Log2. I've always loved the skin tone on the C300 even more so than Red. But it's DR had its limitations. So now this C300 2 has me seriously considering finding the scratch to make it happen. The convenience of the C series is great. The price isn't. But if it's half the hit of the original C300 it'll pay itself off quite quickly. So here are my biggest criticisms: - Swapping EF to PL involves having a Canon tech perform it. WTF? It should be tool less and involve no more than myself or the AC. Bad Canon. - I do wish they changed the overall design from the top heavy monitor / handle thing to something with a proper EVF out of the side. - Looks like they still have the non-standard lens height so using rods will involve some odd ball non-standard plates I can overlook the last two but this lens mount hassle truly bites. But something tells me that this will be in such huge demand because producers still love the C300 and any improvement on that is likely to get them salivating. At 16k you're probably looking at 400/day rental for the first year. Twenty and your paid off (assuming you already have all the glass /accessories from your last rig). After that it's covering rent and then some.

​A little correction. DP's are definitely below the line in the budgetary sense. How do you tell? Who gets residuals and who gets paid hourly. Shane doesn't get residuals and is on an IATSE contract (hourly). AD's, Producers, Principals, Director, UPM all above the line. Unfortunately, DP's are not even close to being equal to name talent on a set. A quick test - who can you fire? Notice that Hurlbut did not talk back. Hurlbut probably knew he was in the wrong - you never conduct business in the talent's eyeline. Easy way for below the line to get canned. Set protocol 101.

It's also a strange situation for the Producer who got hit. Was it one sided? Did Clarkson lead the attack? I ask this because, because I've worked around many a big shot and star. If they ever attacked you, for whatever reason, you'd have to think twice about how to defend your self. Do you defend yourself good and proper (ie. headlock and body slam the wind out of him), guaranteeing a headline "Clarkson Attacked by Producer!" and your prospects go to shit. Or do you take the hits from a drunken slob, hoping you don't get the worse of it, but still remain employable at the end of the day. Clarkson as being the bossman clearly has an advantage in all respects over the Producer. Imagine if I worked in corporate as a mail room guy and my drunken boss attacked me. People rush to the office to find him busted up. Who do you think gets the wrong end of the stick at the end of the day? My guess, the Producer took his hits and Clarkson dug his hole.

I can't agree more with this article. I was at a wrap party for a show I work on when one of the camera assistants broke out his Fuji XT. I was intrigued by the design so I asked if I could borrow it for a bit to get some candid moments of the cast and crew celebrating and getting drunk. I found the layout and functions so arcane and frustrating that even after playing with it for an hour I couldn't resolve its usefulness and gave it back. When the AC asked what I thought? I said, "too complicated". Meanwhile, the DP is running around getting amazing shots on a tiny but simple leica with fixed 35mm and Tri X.

Nice ode to my City. I moved to NYC in 88 and I feel your sentiments about the change. My only regret is not having done a time lapse since then. Keep up the good work.