upgrade from GH4 - should be FS5 ?

[sergeii]

Hey, looking for upgrading my GH4 - currently selling my whole set (gh4,lenses,recorder) and for a two weeks looking for upgrade so

1, Sony FS5 (my number one) but only 50mbps in 4k / no 4k 10bit via SDI/HDMI - possible fw upgrade, fhd is all good

2, BM Ursa mini (no so many info/rev here) black sun spot again, cannot use with my ronin-m

3, A7sII (sooo small) fx but same specs for 4k and i think not worth to upgrade from GH4 right ?

So i am pretty lost now, looks like its not extra-worthy to upgrade from GH4 now BUT what could be better ?  i'd love to hear someone who upgraded from GH4 too, thanks

[Cinegain]

Depends. You really need to list your needs separately from your wants, so ask yourself: 'what do I absolutely need it to do? And... what would be a nice added bonus?', there's probably one that checks off most needs... then see what you are willing to compromise to get other benefits. One 'need' probably is budget, so also define that, as well as: what are you using it for, what kind of projects, how would you use it? Where do you see yourself in a year, would the camera still suffice? Ultimately it's also a matter of personal situation and taste. I bet all would serve you will, but one would fit into your flow more.

[sergeii]

thanks ! well ok lets keep my budget to $7500 as max - what i need like extra from GH4 ? better slowmotion - more fps, build-in ND will be great too, 4k internally and external 10bit in future but still keep size/weight comparable to dslr. I will use it mostly to music videos, commercial spots, short movies (want to make two personal-non commercial), aftermovies and few weddings and this year i need to make bigger documentary (my friends diploma work) so for my needs it must be pretty versatile and with less need for extra equip. like external recorder. Still looking for some used RED cameras but still lost in their setups

[AaronChicago]

thanks ! well ok lets keep my budget to $7500 as max - what i need like extra from GH4 ? better slowmotion - more fps, build-in ND will be great too, 4k internally and external 10bit in future but still keep size/weight comparable to dslr. I will use it mostly to music videos, commercial spots, short movies (want to make two personal-non commercial), aftermovies and few weddings and this year i need to make bigger documentary (my friends diploma work) so for my needs it must be pretty versatile and with less need for extra equip. like external recorder. Still looking for some used RED cameras but still lost in their setups

For $7500 I would go with the FS7.

[Oliver Daniel]

Hey, looking for upgrading my GH4 - currently selling my whole set (gh4,lenses,recorder) and for a two weeks looking for upgrade so

1, Sony FS5 (my number one) but only 50mbps in 4k / no 4k 10bit via SDI/HDMI - possible fw upgrade, fhd is all good

2, BM Ursa mini (no so many info/rev here) black sun spot again, cannot use with my ronin-m

3, A7sII (sooo small) fx but same specs for 4k and i think not worth to upgrade from GH4 right ?

So i am pretty lost now, looks like its not extra-worthy to upgrade from GH4 now BUT what could be better ?  i'd love to hear someone who upgraded from GH4 too, thanks

I'd wait until the FS5 matures over the year as there are currently issues with the image. 

FS7 is working, ready and is great in XAVC-I. 

Also, keep an eye on Panasonic this year as they have a major gap in their camera lineup. Announcement soon on that front. 

[sergeii]

no FS7 as i still need more compatible and lightweight system (dont want to replace my ronin-m now too) and internal 4k is good option too as i tasted it with gh4. Problem is that i have a chance to sell my full gh4 set now and dont have much time to wait for any news - need to be ready in half of month to first projects

[Jimmy]

I have seen quite a lot of RED Scarlet packages for around the budget you have, if you don't mind second hand gear.

[sergeii]

yes red scarlet is pretty afordable now and i kinda keeping an eye on it now, only problem is weight (another lose with ronin-m sell) and i haven't a lot of knowledge about RED system - more likely hows hard to edit/convert raw red footage 

[Jimmy]

I find it very easy to edit in Premiere/After Effects... the weight will be an issue though, if you are used to DSLR

[AaronChicago]

That's the dilemma with cameras under 10k. You have to compromise on something. Used Scarlet is pretty much the only one that checks all of those boxes.

[DevonChris]

The JVC LS300 looks good, and uses your existing lenses.

[sudopera]

Shane Hurlbut is selling quite a lot of his stuff, and has a Canon 1Dc bundled with Letus cage and 4 64GB CF cards for 6000$. The only issue here is no ND on camera.

https://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/product/used-canon-1dc-ef-mount-complete-kit/?tm=ic

 

sorry, forgot about slowmo

[Jimmy]

DVX200 is an option too, doesn't seem to get much chat on here, but seems pretty cool, on paper. FS700 + O7Q+ might be an option too.... FS700 for small(ish) shooting kit... then the full kit for the money shots.

Is 4K a must? If not, maybe an F3 or C100 mk II?

[Oliver Daniel]

The JVC LS300 looks good, and uses your existing lenses.

This is probably the most overlooked camera of the year. Would love to have a play. The MFT mount on S35 sensor is genius! 

yes red scarlet is pretty afordable now and i kinda keeping an eye on it now, only problem is weight (another lose with ronin-m sell) and i haven't a lot of knowledge about RED system - more likely hows hard to edit/convert raw red footage 

You're better off renting RED cams at first to see if it fits your shooting style. There's a lot to learn with them. Cameras don't come as serious as this! 

Your ideal cam sounds like the FS5, if you fancy waiting for that needed firmware update. Ergonomics are excellent! 

 

[ntblowz]

FS5 is 100Mbit in 4K 4:2:0 8bit and 50Mbit in FHD 4:2:2 10bit

The upcoming RAW will be for 4K and FHD in 12bit, if it is like FS700 it will be continuous 4K 60P RAW and 240P FHD RAW or 120P 4K Burst RAW.

Unlike FS7 which need Sony XDCA-FS7 ($2000) to get raw out beside external recorder, with FS5 you just plug straight to external recorder to get RAW, With Odyessy 7Q+ you have to option of recording in DNG or Apple ProRes

 

With FS5 I can hold it all day handheld or half day on Ronin-M, on FS7 + Ronin I only last few minutes, I still have A7S and GH4 for multicam setup

[IronFilm]

GH4 is still a solid camera.

 

So I'd say there are two options:

 

A) bump your budget to get a FS7 or URSA Mini4.6K  (they're about roughly the same price)

 

B) or just wait...  FS5 might get its bugs ironed out. JVC LS300 just dropped in price, it might reach a "too good a price to resist" point. Or something else might get released.... a GH5/NX2/VaricamMini/FS1/NikonCinema/BMPCC4K/WhoKnowsWhat/etc!

[Andrew Reid]

Hey, looking for upgrading my GH4 - currently selling my whole set (gh4,lenses,recorder) and for a two weeks looking for upgrade so

1, Sony FS5 (my number one) but only 50mbps in 4k / no 4k 10bit via SDI/HDMI - possible fw upgrade, fhd is all good

100Mbit/s in 4K.

The bugs are being worked on but they also need to step up the quality of the codec in my opinion!

 

Other than that FS5 is a nice camera. Great slow-mo. Decent 4K. Good future upgrades like raw (though wish it was internal 1080p raw not external 4K - file sizes too big).

 

The FS5 is almost as small as a mirrorless camera when you remove the top handle, screen and grip and just use the EVF.

 

2, BM Ursa mini (no so many info/rev here) black sun spot again, cannot use with my ronin-m

The old Blackmagic 4K sensor isn't great... noisy past ISO 400!

 

3, A7sII (sooo small) fx but same specs for 4k and i think not worth to upgrade from GH4 right ?

A7S II is a big upgrade from the GH4.

 

Full frame sensor, much superior low noise.

 

So i am pretty lost now, looks like its not extra-worthy to upgrade from GH4 now BUT what could be better ?  i'd love to hear someone who upgraded from GH4 too, thanks

Consider the 1D C. Best image of the bunch and easiest to grade, yet remains small and relatively easy on the battery.

Files are big but you can always convert to ProRes LT.

[kidzrevil]

regretted upgrading from my gh4 to an a7s. I haven't shot with an a7sii but I hear it way better than the a7s

[sergeii]

Andrew Reid do u think that codecs are fw issue and could be fixed/polished by fw update ? anyway i plan to buy external recored again in future

i meant A7sII vs GH4 with ext. recorder and metabones sb is not a big step as i dont need to make day from night (i know low noise in lowlight is great)

according to my sleepless nights now i want to focus on two setups

1, fs700 with pix-e5 to get 4k and raw - but i lose 4k and 2k slowmo right ?  (i really want only 5")  need to sell my ronin-m and buy bigger one (another loss)

2, fs5 with pix-e5 in future but need only lens adapter to get it work with all my stuff

 

[Phil A]

Andrew Reid do u think that codecs are fw issue and could be fixed/polished by fw update ? anyway i plan to buy external recored again in future

i meant A7sII vs GH4 with ext. recorder and metabones sb is not a big step as i dont need to make day from night (i know low noise in lowlight is great)

according to my sleepless nights now i want to focus on two setups

1, fs700 with pix-e5 to get 4k and raw - but i lose 4k and 2k slowmo right ?  (i really want only 5")  need to sell my ronin-m and buy bigger one (another loss)

2, fs5 with pix-e5 in future but need only lens adapter to get it work with all my stuff

 

Not sure if VideoDevices firmware-updated that in the time between but as far as I know the Pix-e5 doesn't do RAW recording from the FS700. You clearly might want to research that before buying.