Your gear of the decade?

[rawshooter]

- Panasonic GH2 (released in 2010)

- MagicLantern RAW on 5D MKii + MKiii + EOS-M, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5K (still incredibly good) + all versions of the Blackmagic Pocket (& Micro) Cinema Camera

- Metabones Speed Booster

- Gimbals (Zhiyun, DJI, Moza) including the DJI Osmo Pocket gimbal camera

- Sigma Art lenses, all of them, but especially the 18-35mm/1.8

- Davinci Resolve and (not necessarily in my niche) FCPX

All these were real game changers.

[KnightsFan]

I don't know about gear of the decade, but two pieces of gear I've really appreciated are my Sony MR-7506 headphones, and my Nikon 28mm f2.8 K. The headphones are quite possibly my oldest bit of kit that I still own, and they've been with me on every shoot and every editing session without fail. A few years ago I cut the godawful coiled cable and installed a 3.5mm jack. Paired with a cheap bluetooth adapter for music, or a normal cable for anything serious, they're better than ever.

The Nikon 28mm is an amazingly imperfect lens. Just the right amount of distortion and CA paired with beautiful, vibrant colors. Fully manual with a nice big focus throw, which is complemented with a seamless focus ring I printed. There's an EF adapter permanently on the back which has allowed me to use it on everything from a C100 to an Ursa, and of course my NX1 (and +1 for the NX1, mentioned a few times already in this topic!).

[eleison]

1st place:

5d mark II -- release in 2008, but regularly used for video after 2009; people stopped using those devices that helped create the swallow DOF; I can't even remember what those devices were called that were put in front of lens - I think they had spinning mirror elements or something.  Yep, back then everyone would give their left nut for a shallow DOF which for the first time, the 5d easily allowed film makers to do.  Also, hollywood movies started using 5d's as crash cameras and some even used them as B cameras; and (gasp) A cameras.  The 5d mark II herald the start of "the camera doesn't matter" era - at least whispers of it which was accelerated by the GH2 which was even cheaper than the 5d.

 

2nd place:

GH1/GH2 -- I still remember Zacuto did a "battle of the cameras" to see which camera had the best image quality in 2012, and in the blind test of image quality; Martin Scorsese chose the GH2 instead of the REDs, and Arri Alexa of that time period.  Obviously, the lighting and audio was professional done, but the subtext was video cameras are "good enough".  At that time, majority of aspiring film makers were using a gh2 plus the great 18-35mm sigma.  To this day, there are great gh2 shorts and movies that rival and exceed today's films shot on RAW cameras because back then if you had any talent at all, but couldn't afford the big name Hollywood digital cameras (they were very expensive and there was no "gap" cameras between consumer and big production digital cameras) you used a gh2.

 

Now we have RAW, great autofocus, great dynamic range, etc.. but the equipment already existed by the time the GH1/2 came out to produce great movies; the new equipment just makes things a little bit easier.... all you had to do was add the behind-the-camera talent (and the in-front of the camera talent).

[majoraxis]

DaVinci Resolve - I am still using the dongle from my Black Magic Cinema Camera - never had to pay for an upgrade.  They keep making it better and better at no cost. It's not just for color correction and video editing, but now includes audio mixing and effects,  and visual effects compositing.   You could make a career out of mastering this one piece of software.  No subscriptions or excuses - the gift that keeps on giving.

[Snowfun]

Sony A7S.

The high iso made filming the aurora borealis in real time a reality. Definitely my film highlight of the decade.

[Kisaha]

Samsung NX.

Still using the ecosystem both professionaly and for my hobby. 

Great selection of cheap lenses and pancakes.

Last weekend I had the NX3000 with the 16-50 PZ, I did an event coverage with 2 NX1 and 16-50S and 12-24mm, a few days ago used the NX500 with the 16-50PZ and 50-200mm for the kids plays, and now I gave the NX3000 and the 18-200 to a friend for the holidays, and I am away for a family trip with the NX500 and the fisheye/30mm/45mm.

I bought my first NX in 2013.

After 20 years in the business and a lot more in film and video and photography, NX has a unique place in my heart.

It was everything we wanted, and a huge Asian capitalistic corporation was doing everything they could to make it true! What a rare moment in history.

[Chamsom]

The Sony A6300 to me is a cinema camera on the go. Super 35mm sensor, wide dynamic range, EVF and a bunch of other little details that you can just use anywhere. I still feel spoiled even though it's relatively "low end" nowadays.

[mercer]

Obviously, for me it's the 5D Mark III and Magic Lantern Raw. I have been using it for almost 3 years now and it is still the best camera I have ever used. Since I bought it, I have measured every new camera against it and I have yet to see an image that I prefer.

Now everyone is entitled to their opinions but I am going to go against the grain here and say that the NX1 and the GH4 were ahead of their time but shouldn't have been released until 2016/2017. And before I get a ton of dislikes, hear me out... I still feel that 4K was pushed onto the consumer a couple years earlier than necessary. The camera manufacturers hadn't even perfected a 1080p image before moving onto 4K. With a multitude of Oscar nominated films and Sundance films still being shot on 2K, to this day, with an Alexa or an Amira, I just feel that those cameras were pushed out too soon to help sell some TVs. Just my opinion. With that said, I've owned an NX500 and to this day I don't know if I ever used a camera that felt better in my hand.

Now if I'm speaking objectively, I'd have to say that the OG BMPCC is the camera of the decade and more specifically the fire sale during the summer of 2014 was probably the best moment of the decade. That camera was nicknamed the Baby Alexa and ushered in a wave of cost effective cinema camera features from most manufacturers.

In 2019, I really like what Panasonic has done with the S1H. And for the price, the Sigma FP is almost a no brainer purchase for me next year. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what BM releases during this NAB and I hope the rumors for the Canon 1DXiii are accurate.

I still foresee myself primarily using my 5D3 for the next couple years but I may rent a couple higher end cinema cameras next year. One thing I've realized this year is that I don't need to own every great lens or new camera that comes out on the market, but for a small fee, I can use almost every camera on the market if a project calls for it.

[IronFilm]

23 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

 

Of course, Arri Alexa might fit in there as well since it has been such a workhorse for so many indie movies (not zero budget ones of course). And it has also set the "gold standard" for image quality for all of us mirrorless shooters who are trying to make something look "cinematic."

 

The ARRI ALEXA Classic does barely squeeze into fitting within the 2010's decade, came out in April 2010

 

7 hours ago, rawshooter said:

Metabones Speed Booster

- Gimbals (Zhiyun, DJI, Moza) including the DJI Osmo Pocket gimbal camera

 

Hmmm...  good points! 

I was too much just thinking about cameras, but undoubtedly focal reducers and gimbal have had a MAJOR impact upon the past decade of filmmaking 

[IronFilm]

1 hour ago, mercer said:

Now if I'm speaking objectively, I'd have to say that the OG BMPCC is the camera of the decade and more specifically the fire sale during the summer of 2014 was probably the best moment of the decade. That camera was nicknamed the Baby Alexa and ushered in a wave of cost effective cinema camera features from most manufacturers.

It was 2014?? Time flies, that does make me feel old 

 

[rawshooter]

8 hours ago, rawshooter said:

- Panasonic GH2 (released in 2010)

- MagicLantern RAW on 5D MKii + MKiii + EOS-M, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5K (still incredibly good) + all versions of the Blackmagic Pocket (& Micro) Cinema Camera

- Metabones Speed Booster

- Gimbals (Zhiyun, DJI, Moza) including the DJI Osmo Pocket gimbal camera

- Sigma Art lenses, all of them, but especially the 18-35mm/1.8

- Davinci Resolve and (not necessarily in my niche) FCPX

All these were real game changers.

Just to compare:

In 2009, a DIY filmmaker equipped with the newest gear would have used

- a Canon 5D MkII or 7D with the mushy h264 image whose actual optical resolution was closer to SD than HD, in sRGB color profiles with a dynamic range of 7-8 stops;
- on a steady cam like the Glidecam, or a bulky DSLR rig with display loupes;
- with adapted vintage manual DSLR lenses because of the nearly unusable manual focus of native AF lenses (and AF still being unsuitable for video);
- editing the material in Final Cut Pro 7 or Premiere Pro using Magic Bullet Looks for color grading, with material that didn't really have enough bit depth for doing that.

[Geoff CB]

12 minutes ago, mercer said:

 

Now everyone is entitled to their opinions but I am going to go against the grain here and say that the NX1 and the GH4 were ahead of their time but shouldn't have been released until 2016/2017. And before I get a ton of dislikes, hear me out... I still feel that 4K was pushed onto the consumer a couple years earlier than necessary. The camera manufacturers hadn't even perfected a 1080p image before moving onto 4K. With a multitude of Oscar nominated films and Sundance films still being shot on 2K, to this day, with an Alexa or an Amira, I just feel that those cameras were pushed out too soon to help sell some TVs. Just my opinion. With that said, I've owned an NX500 and to this day I don't know if I ever used a camera that felt better in my hand.

 

Oh absolutely. I would still be shooting the NX1 if it had the hacked 2.5K from the NX500. Great image with insanely fast rolling shutter readout. 4K was just too much for it at the time.

[eleison]

5 hours ago, rawshooter said:

Just to compare:

In 2009, a DIY filmmaker equipped with the newest gear would have used

- a Canon 5D MkII or 7D with the mushy h264 image whose actual optical resolution was closer to SD than HD, in sRGB color profiles with a dynamic range of 7-8 stops;
- on a steady cam like the Glidecam, or a bulky DSLR rig with display loupes;
- with adapted vintage manual DSLR lenses because of the nearly unusable manual focus of native AF lenses (and AF still being unsuitable for video);
- editing the material in Final Cut Pro 7 or Premiere Pro using Magic Bullet Looks for color grading, with material that didn't really have enough bit depth for doing that.

Now imagine what the DIY filmmaker used before the canon 5Dmk2 or the 7d (which I owned).  The technology gap between what was available before the 5dmk2 and what the 5dmk2 herald into the video field was huge.  Remember MiniDv/mini8/etc?  Remember the canon xl1? .  Basically if you wanted anything "good" and you were serious/semi-serious, you used FILM.  There was no real viable options before the 5dmk2. With film, you had to buy film stock, you had to get it developed, you had to get it color matched, you had to have a person in charge of changing the film reels when shooting (not to mention storing it later)...  It was a mess.  I talked to some of my friends who did shoot shorts with film, and they told they spent an average of $30-40k minimum for a 5-10min short.

 

Heck, this very forum: eoshd.com...  The "eos" is from the canon "eos" 5dmk2 which I heard (not sure if true) caused Andrew some grievances from Canon themselves - trademark issues mostly, etc.

 

Because of the success of the 5dmk2 for video, it herald into the world blackmagic, nx, speedboosters, gh5, gimbals, etc.  Things that helped the little guy make movies.  Without the 5dmk2, we would have less options with respect to video equipment.  The 5dmk2 showed business that there was a viable market for the DIY filmmaker, the aspiring film maker, etc...

[noone]

45 minutes ago, eleison said:

Now imagine what the DIY filmmaker used before the canon 5Dmk2 or the 7d (which I owned).  The technology gap between what was available before the 5dmk2 and what the 5dmk2 herald into the video field was huge.  Remember MiniDv/mini8/etc?  Remember the canon xl1? .  Basically if you wanted anything "good" and you were serious/semi-serious, you used FILM.  There was no real viable options before the 5dmk2. With film, you had to buy film stock, you had to get it developed, you had to get it color matched, you had to have a person in charge of changing the film reels when shooting (not to mention storing it later)...  It was a mess.  I talked to some of my friends who did shoot shorts with film, and they told they spent an average of $30-40k minimum for a 5-10min short.

 

Heck, this very forum: eoshd.com...  The "eos" is from the canon "eos" 5dmk2 which I heard (not sure if true) caused Andrew some grievances from Canon themselves - trademark issues mostly, etc.

 

Because of the success of the 5dmk2 for video, it herald into the world blackmagic, nx, speedboosters, gh5, gimbals, etc.  Things that helped the little guy make movies.  Without the 5dmk2, we would have less options with respect to video equipment.  The 5dmk2 showed business that there was a viable market for the DIY filmmaker, the aspiring film maker, etc...

Personally, the Canon 7D was about the worst value for money in an ILC I ever had.     I just didn't get along with mine.      I agree about what was available before.

 

This little camera cost several hundred dollars when new a (couple of years before the start of this decade but still not THAT long ago).     It had barely acceptable SD video when it was released (there were a few full HD cameras around at the time already then).       So now it is not something i will use at all except out of curiosity from time to time.     It cost me all of $5 (Australian...about $3.50 US) and I overpaid!    Never mind the poor shmucks who paid retail for this POS.   Since I got it this year I guess it is part of MY gear of the decade but in last place (out of hundreds of things).

[mercer]

12 hours ago, Geoff CB said:

Oh absolutely. I would still be shooting the NX1 if it had the hacked 2.5K from the NX500. Great image with insanely fast rolling shutter readout. 4K was just too much for it at the time.

Unfortunately, I sold my NX500 right before they hacked it. Luckily, I sold it for more money used than I paid for it new. It was a great little camera even if it took considerably longer to transcode the h.265 files to ProRes than it does to process my 5D3 MLV files through Raw Magic to CDNG and then through Resolve for a correction/grade to ProRes.

[Hene1]

5D Mark II changed everything, I got it 2010 so it's this decade for me. I had NX1 and GH5 and those were great, but the impact wasn't the same (and GH5 colors are off). Ronin-S comes close though, it gave so much freedom to how to use the camera.

XT3 is also superb becouse you can use the Provia setting and get really good image straight out of camera.

[Andrew Reid]

22 hours ago, rawshooter said:

- Panasonic GH2 (released in 2010)

- MagicLantern RAW on 5D MKii + MKiii + EOS-M, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5K (still incredibly good) + all versions of the Blackmagic Pocket (& Micro) Cinema Camera

- Metabones Speed Booster

- Gimbals (Zhiyun, DJI, Moza) including the DJI Osmo Pocket gimbal camera

- Sigma Art lenses, all of them, but especially the 18-35mm/1.8

- Davinci Resolve and (not necessarily in my niche) FCPX

All these were real game changers.

I agree with those.

My gear of the decade, off top of my head:

Mirrorless cameras as a whole (E-mount, M43, X-Mount), we'd be really bored and stuck in last decade without those.

GH1 / GH2
GH4 / GH5
Magic Lantern (Canon would be a 10-year non-event without it!)
Sony A7S and A7S II
Samsung NX1
The first Metabones Speed Booster was very exciting. Thanks Mr Caldwell.
Sigma ART 35mm F1.4 was a breakthrough for the company and been on upward track ever since
5D Mark II / III (did a lot to popularise DSLR video)
Panasonic S1H
Fuji GFX 100 (totally niche - purely to show the technological progress in 10 years)
Fuji X-T3 and X-H1 (great step forward for Fuji)
Original BMCC (all down hill since then in my view)
GX85, bargain of the decade?
C-mount lenses revived for modern cameras
Anamorphic makes big come back
Leica SL / SL2... mmmmm yum
Olympus IBIS tech...first and still the best

Here are the camera companies that did the most 'good stuff' this decade...

Panasonic
Sigma
Sony
Fuji

[Jimmy G]

"Gear of the decade"? That's a tough one, the '10s have seen a lot of technological advances move through my hands...

I started the decade rocking the Canon 5D Mark II and 7D thinking I was "riding high" with internal HD recording in a DSLR and glad that such an all-in-one solution meant "no more seperate dedicated stills and video cameras in the field for me!"

Attending the 2010 Canon Expo at the Javits Center in NYC and seeing my first 4K display I was totally blown away and felt I had seen the future, so I invested heavily in EF-mount glass (read: Sigma 120-300mm OS and 300-800mm both in particular for my wildlife birding needs) over the next several years awaiting the move to super-high resolution on a Canon system.

When their 2015 Expo arrived with no more new 4K product beyond their 1C, I began to lose hope that Canon was going to be the platform to take me into the 4K promised land. Enter a Sony a6300 and Panasonic FZ1000 mid-decade to fill that void and yearning.

Later I grabbed an a7sII which turned out to be a big disappointment for me (along with that a6300) as I had gotten spoiled by the image stabilization that was clearly possible with my FZ1000. The a7sII also fails me miserably with its thermal noise (purple edges, anyone?). And the ergonomics on both are pitifull, IMHO. So I once again found myself seeking refuge, but from Sony this time.

Enter the Lumix G9 (my gal's) and and then, later, S1 (mine!) and I am now in stabilized 4K low-light heaven (only took nearly a decade since seeing that first 4K monitor!).

Final "gear" on my list would be my new i9 iMac (replaces a well-aged 2011 3.4GHz, haw!) that I'm tricking out for FCPX (and possibly Resolve), my college classes start next month.

I suspect 8K and HDR will be the de facto standards by the close of the next decade in 2029!

:)

[IronFilm]

1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said:

GH1 / GH2
GH4 / GH5

Poor GH3, it's the forgotten middle son left out in the cold. 

 

[Oliver Daniel]

I want to play. 

Cameras:

FS700 - still perfectly capable in 2019. A legend of a camera. 

GH5 - still irreplaceable and way ahead of its time on launch. 

BMPCC - the toddler who is really annoying but just adorable at the same time. 

GoPro - a rocky patch here and there, but just an amazing achievement. 

 

Lenses: 

Sigma ART - doesn’t need explaining. 
 

Lighting:

Anything by Aputure - owning fantastic modern lights now far easier! 
 

Stabilisation:

Movi - gave birth to a new way of shooting. 

Flowtech 75 Tripod - at last, the tripod redesigned that isn’t a clunk. 

Edelkrone products - very clever, exciting. 

DJI Inspire - ridiculous results in a small package. Big copters looking dusty. 
 

Software:

FCPX - f**k the critics, as a “concept” at first, way way ahead of its time. Now matured into a modern beast and revolutionised my editing. 

DaVinci - will explode in the 20’s. 

iOS - crazy apps and camera functions give us a glimpse of the future.