BMPCC vs GM1

[maxotics]

As much as I love the BMPCC, and I do, I can no longer ignore how much time and effort I work on shooting, copying and grading the footage.  Video is secondary for me.  So I bought a GM1 based on Andrew's insight and have to agree that when time is at a premium I can get more done with the GM1.  I'm going to sell my BMPCC because I know I'll be tortured knowing it's here.  If I was making films, there is NO WAY I would do this. The BMPCC is an extraordinary camera.  It is truly a "cinema" camera.

 

What surprised me about the GM1 is how small it is.  It makes the BMPCC look big.  That gave me a laugh.  The physical dial is very delicate (con).  The smartphone app is what I've always wanted (plus).  The image is much better than the GF3.  I wish I had the GX7, but I saw a GM1 body used, for cheap, so that's what I got.  Still, the image from it is nothing sort of phenomenal.  IMHO it blows the d600 video out of the water.  I'm surprised they got a MFT sensor to do as well as it does in low light.  

 

So, tail between my legs, I go back to H.264 land.  Thanks Andrew  ;)  

 

 

Top Reasons I'm switching

 

1. Copy, grading is very time consuming.  My hard-drives over-floweth.

2. As soon as I start shooting I worry about running out of card space, battery, etc.

3. The screen is not good enough to make me confident I have focus

4. If I run up against moire I may have to degrade the image to h.264 type quality

5. Davinci Resolve has been buggy lately.  I question BM's support of camera.  Took them days to respond to support request.

6. 3x crop factor is a killer because I like wide lenses

7. Center button brings up slate if not clicked double for focus zoom, annoying.  Audio is not good.  Little quibbles everyone writes about.

 

Again, I love this camera.  It's just too much for me.

 

BTW, the "silent shutter" feature of the camera is something I would now struggle to give up if I changed my mind.  

[fuzzynormal]

Hey, the GM1 works for a lot of stuff.  I'm using effectively and I'm happy with it; shooting a lot of night city stuff without a light kit and it does the job...  Ain't perfect, but no camera is, so you learn to work with what it offers.

 

BTW, I've set my F1 button to control the ISO for quick exposure adjustment.  Be sure to get in there and customize the thing to your liking.  That does help.

[Jacek]

Great post, very usefull for me.

 

Now I'm considering GM1 too :).

 

BTW, How much for your bmpcc? (and can You ship to Europe?) :)

[maxotics]

BTW, How much for your bmpcc? (and can You ship to Europe?) :)

 

Right now it's on Amazon for $895.  Sorry, shipping to Europe is just too much hassle; I'm sure for both of us.  I'm going to regret selling it.  I seriously have zero desire to see it go.  

[Jacek]

Right now it's on Amazon for $895.  Sorry, shipping to Europe is just too much hassle; I'm sure for both of us.  I'm going to regret selling it.  I seriously have zero desire to see it go.  

 

Maybe you are right.

 

I'll wait until 1st of May to see if Sony will offer something interesting and if not - I'll have to decide between GH4, bmpcc and GM1 (thanks to You :)).

[maxotics]

Maybe you are right.

 

I'll wait until 1st of May to see if Sony will offer something interesting and if not - I'll have to decide between GH4, bmpcc and GM1 (thanks to You :)).

 

Well, Andrew started it ;) My 2-cents on those.  If you'll have time to set up a scene, and know what you want to do, and will need wide latitude of emotional "looks" then go with the BMPCC.  If you're doing comedy (bright and cheery), or need a photo camera too, go with the GH4.  If you need something that fits in your pocket go with the GM1/Gx7/a6000.   If you need better photography go with the Nikon D5300 (some great stuff coming out of that camera).  I wouldn't wait for Sony.

[petar jelev]

Hi everyone :)

This is my first post here - I read this blog with so much interest.I'm looking for buying GM1 too but I'm sceptical about photo quality.

I recently shoot sports video & trips and I need a small compact camera for stills and video.

Please if anyone can tell the difference between GM1 - Canon 550D stills I would appreciate.

Sorry for my English :) 

[andy lee]

now you can buy a Gold Plated G6 - as last !!  join the club !

[DanMorrison]

Petar, I have a 550d, If you compare the sensor performance on tests like DXO mark and at DPreview you should see that the GM1 outperforms the 550d as far as the sensor is concerned... 

 

However, the sensor size will also play a big role in your resulting image. Consider how your lenses will look on a 2x crop vs. 1.5x crop. 

[MattH]

Hi everyone :)

This is my first post here - I read this blog with so much interest.I'm looking for buying GM1 too but I'm sceptical about photo quality.

I recently shoot sports video & trips and I need a small compact camera for stills and video.

Please if anyone can tell the difference between GM1 - Canon 550D stills I would appreciate.

Sorry for my English :)

 

 

I have a 550d and it is a great first dslr.  Canon to me do have a good look with good colours.  It has the advantage of phase detect focus for stills (as long as you only use the center focus point and use the focus and reframe technique). But I wouldn't describe it as a small and compact camera.  It's compact in the sense that you can carry it round with one hand, but compared to the GM1 it is humongous.   You will end up taking the GM1 out more because it is smaller.   You may want to look at the EOS M.  Its bigger than the GM1 but more compact than a dslr but with practically the same canon sensor.  The 22mm lens is also really compact and sharp.  Whatever you get make sure you shoot raw for stills.  The video on the canons - while having a good overall look - wont be as detailed as the GM1 and may have more aliasing.   Overall it will probably an idea to look at what kind of lenses you will want and look at the systems as a whole comparing size, weight, functionality and price.

[Inazuma]

The 550d was my first camera. When I look back at footage I shot using that camera, I can see a clear difference in quality between it and my subsequent cameras (Sony NEX 6, Nikon d5200, Panasonic GX7). It is clearly inferior in detail, aliasing/moire and noise. The stills were good, but not better than those others cameras. DXOMark's ratings are a bit faulty. For example, the Nikon d800 and Sony A7 are tooted as having amazing high ISO performance. But when I look at dpreview.com's comparison gallery, I can see the Canon 6d and 5dMk3 are clearly better in high ISO.

 

Thanks for your post maxotics :) The BMPCC is for sure a nice little camera, but for the most part I don't see why you wouldnt be able to get the look of it using your GM1 and some grading.

[maxotics]

I would like to upgrade from my GF3 and thanks to you I'm one step closer to the move. Now I just need to wait for a few more videos shot with A6000.

 

The funny thing about the GM1 is that it is probably TOO small.  It's difficult to turn the selection wheel without pressing it and bringing up a menu.  So I have to grip the wheel with two fingers like a crab and twist.  I love the size and feel of the GF3.  The price of the GM1 is a bit high, if you ask me.  What I like about it over the GF3 is

 

o. Much better low-light video

o. The "silent" shutter is awesome!

o. As close to weighing nothing as you can get with a camera

 

I will miss the BMPCC, but I have to be realistic about what I have time for and what I end up shooting.  I sold my d600 too (great cameras!) and will probably get an a7 because I want an electronic viewfinder and am always looking to cut size/weight.  Will be interested to see what the video looks like

[maxotics]

I know there are issues with the silent shutter, didn't know about the banding issue...thanks!  As you imply, the silent shutter isn't a replacement for a mechanical shutter.  It's just a great option for situations where noise will draw attention.

[fuzzynormal]

It's there on the Gm1. Gotta be careful with it. You can shoot slow shutter to avoid it, but that's not good for stills.

When in doubt, turn off silent shutter mode.

[Inazuma]

The banding issue was present on my NEX 6 too. It only happens for certain types of lights (namely the long thin ones)

[nac]

I am loving my little GM1 (with kit lens), so much so that i sold my GH3 that was sitting around gathering dust.

 

 

I am finding that when recording video, the OIS is not working very well compared to what i have been used too. I checked in the menus and there is no setting to turn on/off the OIS. So now i am wondering if it is working at all, does it have OIS in video mode or is it just that the OIS in the kit lens is not very effective.

Any ideas please?

[jonpais]

I tried to justify my purchase of the GM1, reasoning that it could be flown on a much smaller and less expensive handheld gimbal than the GH3: several manufacturers had promised to come out with one months ago for under $700; and unless I'm mistaken, BMPCC owners are waiting too. 

[maxotics]

@nac, no internal OIS as far as I know.  I use a 14-45 with an external OIS switch, which I bought for the BMPCC.  I think that stabilizes.  

 

@jonpais.  I take it you do robotic flying.  The camera weighs as close to nothing as I can imagine.  I bought mine $470 used.  I think it a bit too small.  I'd wait for price to go down too.

[jonpais]

At the momemt, I'm just interested in doing handheld work, but I wouldn't rule out 'copter shots in the future. Off topic a bit, but ever since purchasing the GM1 in HK around 5-6 months ago, the camera will suddenly freeze in the middle of recording or playback and I have to remove the battery to get it functioning again. I suspected the two Transcend class 10 cards they threw in must have been counterfeit or rejects, so I downloaded an app that measures SD card read/write speeds. Sure enough, one of the cards I measured last night was performing 5MB/s slower than the manufacturer's stated speeds (and verified by independent reviews online). So today's mission is to try to find an SD card in Saigon that isn't fake - mission impossible!

[maxotics]

I buy brand name SD cards only, Sandisk if possible.  Don't know what the weather is like in Saigon, but when I go boating or anything very humid and hot my cameras have gone flaky.