mercer

I know some people like messing around with footage from other cameras, so I figured I'd post a couple ungraded/graded clips from the D5500 in case anyone wants to mess around with the flat profile. Here are two more...

I read it in a customer review and on a forum so it is really just hearsay... I assume something a rep said at a trade show... they'll say anything. But then again I wouldn't be surprised with this Frankencam.

Yeah, it is doubtful I will get one, but I cannot deny how great of a camera it is for the money and since the OP asked about the best cam at $3000... the LS300 definitely has to be considered. Also, I read that they are planning a 4K 60p firmware update... unsure if it's true... but definitely another bonus if it happens.

You have been saying that for awhile and you are right. And right now at BH it comes with a $150 gift card. I was just watching @Mattias Burling mini review of it and the features are insane. I currently have a credit at BH... I just may have to fork over the rest.

I feel the same way, however I am mostly a hobbyist that is interested in shooting some short narratives. I don't mind spending some money on equipment but I just wish the camera manufacturers would come out with 1080p versions of these cams. I was looking at some footage shot with the LS-300 and damn does it have some great features and nice cinema 2k 1080 and although it's come down in price, I'd be happy to hand over $1500 for a 1080p only version... but at $2600... IDK. Anyway here are some videos I found while searching Vimeo for LS-300... seriously may be one of the biggest sleeper cams of the past two years... hopefully it will drop to $2000 in the not too distant future... And here's another 1080p 60p with JLog...

Nice.

@webrunner5 Don, you make an excellent point. There are so many cameras that used to cost thousands of dollars and they can be had for practically pennies on the dollar, so if you can save up for it, then why not? It can only help your film. I had a grand plan to make a movie called Point & Shoot and make it on a P&S camera. I was working on the script and buying and returning cameras and in the end, although I thought it was a cool gimmick, people don't make movies on p&s cameras for a reason... but sure a movie could even be made on a Canon G7X and if the story is good and hard work was put into it, then you could have a good movie.

I think what's really important here is that any camera even under $500 can be used to make a great film. The right person, with the right story can make a good film. The question becomes... if you have a t2i or a gh2 that cost you $300... is it worth spending a little more to get to the next threshold? A year ago, I could barely afford the G7 I was using. With some creative purchases and lucky sales, I am now able to afford a much better camera. But if all I could afford is a t2i, I would still want to make movies. And the only thing stopping them from being good would be me. So, if all you can afford is a t2i or a gh2, then go out and make the best film you can with that camera. But I don't think it's wise to make a film with a t2i or a gh2 just because you want to make a cheap movie... especially when there are so many great options for next to nothing.

To be fair, he did say he needed to sell it for financial reasons for his family, so I can't blame him for that.

I'm actually in a very similar place as Matt. I've been chasing the perfect camera for a year and in all of that chasing, I like the footage from the BMPCC/BMMCC and D5500 the most. But more importantly I have yet to finish a short with any of them. And if I had, would the short have been better with the BMPCC instead of the D5500, or with the a6500 instead of the BMPCC? In a lot of ways they all kinda suck, so the answer lies in the question... which sucks the least? Btw @fuzzynormal congrats on the PBS doc. Has it aired yet?

This is a great post, especially for a Sunday... but seriously I am going through a similar thought process. I have bought, tested and returned/sold about a dozen cameras over the past year and a half. And the one thing I have learned is that no camera is perfect. all of the cameras at the $1000 or less price point are flawed in one way or another. They're all capable tools though, as many have proven over the years. However, it's easy to say that I can make my films with a t2i, or a GH2... of course you can... but what's the point? How will a t2i or a GH2 help you make your film? How will they hinder you? Movies are hard enough, practically impossible if you reside within the... "I have absolutely no fucking budget to make this movie but I am going to try anyway because I am a masochistic asshole" budget, so your tools must be tools... no more and no less. For me, there are specific features that I have come to rely on in a camera... focus peaking being one of them... but I don't need it. What features have you come to rely on... do you need them? The problem really is that the BMPCC is not that expensive of a camera and I'm unsure it would be wise to sell the camera to pay for one costume, for one short. In 3 to 6 months when that short is done and you are looking toward your next project... then what camera will you want... or need? With that being said... yeah fucking sell the BMPCC. Get a GH2, or a G7, or better yet get an AF100... I've seen them selling for around $500. Go bold and tell a cool story and when you're doing junkets at a festival tell them why you chose to make your short with a 5 year old camera... just make it sound cooler than I wanted money for a costume. Actually this would be a cool challenge for those who still have access to their t2i, or GH2, or D5xxx... make a 3 minute short, in a month, and post it in the shooting section... we'll vote on a winner, but to keep it fair, only the members with a hundred posts or more can vote so we don't have a bunch of people signing up to vote for their friend... the winner gets one of Reid's cameras... LOL.

Are you going to buy the upgrade at a discounted price? Or are you just pissed?

Do you guys think the C100mkiii will have 4K, or will that take too much away from the C300ii? Any chance Canon will include a 1080p Raw instead of 4K?

The beauty of the Pocket and the original BMCC was that enthusiasts and young filmmakers could afford the cameras... these are the same people who are buying the Ursa now. Those Ursa Pro owners will eventually graduate to a Red or maybe an Alexa and that Pro will collect dust or be sold on the used market. Without a base cinema model with updated specs... it doesn't have to be 4K, but 2.5K at multiple frame rates, maybe no need for IR filtratation, and a better screen and BM will secure the next "generation" of filmmakers to climb the BM ladder on their way to an Alexa.

Well Arri Classics are only going for around 15,000 on eBay...

Is CineLog from Vision? The Markii is getting dirt cheap now, it may be worth a look. I love my 50D, but lack of any audio makes it a tough production camera. Am also interested in the 70D with ML Raw and DPAF.

Hell, if Arri came out with a 720p Super 35mm camera that shot 24p/60p in arri log and arri raw, I'd give them $2000.

Good idea.

Me. And if they weren't selling BH wouldn't still have them in stock. And we're not talking about a C100... we're talking about if BM sells more Ursa Pros than they sold and continue to sell of the Pocket. I mean, 3-4 years after its release and there is not another camera at its price range that can match its IQ. IMO.

No way the Ursa Pro will sell more than the Pocket did... the profit margins may be greater and maybe they'll make more in the long run... maybe... but no way they'll sell as many Ursa Pros as they did and continue to sell Pockets.

IDK, I am sure I am biased because I love the image out of the BMPCC, but I think the same material shot on both cameras will look "better" with the Pocket than the GH4. And yeah... if they offered a Super 35mm Pocket in 2.5k with EF mount and I'd hand over 2 grand to them... but I'd rather give them $995... Lol. Yeah very possible. Someone mentioned earlier... in this thread or another... that the Pocket was introduced at NAB '13. The Micro was announced at NAB '15... maybe the Pocket 2 will be announced this NAB. We'll see. According to 43Rumors a Pocket II will be released... time will tell.

I just don't see how they can stay a viable camera manufacturer selling $3-6000 cameras. On this forum alone, if a Pocket 2 was announced, between the regulars and the guests at least a hundred people will buy one (maybe more as I'm unsure of the board's readership) but how many will buy the Ursa Pro... maybe 5-10? There aren't enough professionals around to ignore the enthusiasts and stay in the game. The major companies will eat them alive in that market.

http://nofilmschool.com/2014/12/shoot-bob-trees-outside-winter-snow-blackmagic-bmpcc-sundance I'm sure many have read this article, but the Pocket is usable as is. Is it the most convenient solution... no. But it can be done. With a native lens with OIS, and a ton of batteries, one could shoot a feature handheld.

Well to be fair, you wouldn't cut a piece of wood with a drill would you? So why shoot a 4 hour performance with a Pocket Cam?

Yeah the truth is, one can put a 20mm on the pocket cam and with a monopod shoot cinematic footage like no other camera anywhere near its price point. The footage still holds up today and is better than footage coming out of cameras 2 or 3 x its price. With that being said, BlackMagic is out of their mind if they don't release a Pocket Mark II or a similar camera with a few upgrades at a similar price point... if they want to stay in the camera business.