# Here it is ladies and gentlemen, that nose under the tent isn't a camel's...



## JerryBruck (Apr 17, 2012)

... it just might be the nose of the future, that future we've been waiting for o so long.

http://www.eoshd.com/content/7927/the-downfall-of-the-big-guys-just-began-blackmagic-2-5k-cinema-camera-with-12bit-raw-for-3000

http://www.eoshd.com/content/7943/nab-update-exclusive-interview-with-blackmagic-cine-shooter-john-brawley-panasonic-af100-successor-deleted

The more I study this the better it looks ...


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## JerryBruck (Apr 17, 2012)

If the claims made by Blackmagic are born out, da revo has arrived. Canon's c300 will sink like a $15,000 stone, 2.5k HD with uncompressed 12-bit RAW & 13 stops of dynamic range -- all this will be within reach of a hugely increased number of eager hands, and the various iterations of the 5D and hi-end dslrs in general will lose their place as instruments in quality-look low-budget production. (This should come as a relief to some on these boards.) Almost as amazing is the (non-proprietary) practicality of the system's parts. If that wasn't enough they throw in DaVinci Resolve 9, full version, which they sell for $1000, and something else I forget what. Okay so they want to hook you on their software, so what? They're not Apple, at least not yet. 

It's true that this new gizmo's sensor is closer to micro 4/3rds than full frame, and so 5Ds will have a place for a time as b-cams, but technique can recover the wanted narrow DoF. I hope I'm not missing something here...


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## JerryBruck (Apr 17, 2012)

Forgot to mention the price -- $2,995! That's 1/5th the cost of the C300 and it includes everything you need to start except a lens. That 2.5k describes the sensor, not of course the 2k HD. Double tap the 5" hi contrast monitor and it zooms in to assist with manual focus. Connects electronically with Zeiss and Canon irises, auto-focus to come is hinted at.


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## JerryBruck (Apr 17, 2012)

Thunderbolt. Peaking also they have not withheld from the people. Remote on/off, iris and focus control. Apple ProRes and Avid codecs as alternatives to RAW; audio and video SDI x 2 built in; on-board mono mic (for a reference track, quality audio should always be recorded externally, cheap software such as Plural Eyes makes double-system painless, two x audio-in mic or line if you insist). 3.75, which includes the 3" monitor & hood.


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## JerryBruck (Apr 17, 2012)

3.75 lbs, that it, so you should be able to fly it on some of the small cheap stabilizers.


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## Stephen Melvin (Apr 17, 2012)

It has a sensor the size of 16mm film, which is smaller than even the 4/3 format cameras. It won't replace the C300, etc., with their much larger sensors. Just one more option available to film makers.

Remember, the 5D Mk III and 1Dx have sensors nearly the size of the widescreen VistaVision cameras.


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## DavidRiesenberg (Apr 17, 2012)

This is a fantastic product on paper (and on Vimeo) and I am really trying to curb my enthusiasm since I am weary about things that sound too good to be true. If they can deliver on time and bug free at this price point I will be among the first to swipe my CC. I just hope they don't pull a Scarlet on us.


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## JerryBruck (Apr 17, 2012)

@StephenMelvin -- but remember the fruit of that large sensor must first be squished -- down-res'd -- and then horribly compressed with many an imperfection boiled or baked in all before it leaves the camera. Just the down-res'ing creates many difficult problems, such as aliasing. By the time this orange juice leaves your 5kMkii or D800 it's low-grade concentrate, to put it in somewhat gruesome terms. Blackmagic IQ should (remember I said "should") be an a whole other league from ANY dslr's. Remember too that the 4/3rds sensor is not much smaller than super35. What you'll lose is some -- but only some -- of the thinness of DoF, which is partly fixable and which at other times is more trouble than it's worth. 

Slowmotion -- non est; three ISOs: 400 native, +/- 1 EV. So 1600 is your fastest -- good enough for me!


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## JerryBruck (Apr 18, 2012)

Sorry! Garbled the ISO bit and can't get through to the mgfr website -- but the range is 400-1600.


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## bluegreenturtle (Apr 18, 2012)

It only uses a portion of the sensor for video so it's smaller than even 4/3rds - you're getting into 2/3" camcorder territory there. 

As to the fruit of large sensors - there is no "must" in any of what you've said - it just is how some manufacturers are choosing to deliver their product and at what price. DSLRs as video devices have compromises - some required by technology and price points, some to protect other products and their price points. 

This camera is interesting, especially as a first step from somebody who's never made a camera before, but there's still a reason that people chose to shoot with DSLRs - large sensors previously not available at these price points.


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## peederj (Apr 18, 2012)

I'm not so concerned about the 2.3x FOVCF as I am about the battery...sure the crop does mean poorer low light and less DoF, but the smaller sensor means you can use fast primes for low light and still have fairly wide DoF which is useful in its own way. For reach purposes this is an obvious win, the 5D3 can be used when you want wide shots, shallow DoF, low light, and aren't too concerned about the crippled resolution.

They are working on battery grips which will be mandatory in practice. Hopefully something that takes e.g. two FP-970's and runs for four or five hours on those.

I'm estimating that if nothing else this disruptive shows up by July they will sell at least 10,000 of these which will spawn a whole industry of add-ons for whatever weaknesses the unit has. What will also happen, unmistakably, is Canon will have to yield on price and/or crippleware. Which I think they were planning to do anyway once they had their ransoms from all the rental houses. Since this camera is EF mount, Canon wins anyway to a degree, but the now common reverse engineering of their format may end up taking that away too. They are working on IS and AF support for EF.

I'm sure this is the initial salvo and a year from now at the latest BMD will have a large sensor version (perhaps with 4K and AF) for $5000 or whatever. BMD's entire design and concept is so very Apple. It's smart, it's sharp (milled aluminum, minimal UI focused on touchscreen) and it's not crippled...yet it has an internal unchangeable battery (just like Apple's things). If Apple went into cine cameras this would be their product. And Apple showed how to slaughter entrenched powers across the board. BMD, if they can execute to the degree they are showing, will be a formidable challenge to slumbering giants.

I am keeping my Canon 10-22 and Samyang 8mm for this thing or anything that might challenge it by then. And I will just again warn Canon to decripple the 5D3 immediately and save any shot at relevance in the mass market. Disruption happens and it's a cold mean bitch.


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## JerryBruck (Apr 18, 2012)

@peederj: You may be right about an eventual Canon Inc response but it sure is nice not to care -- as though Canon was the single source of all good things. If I recall that BM spokesman interview there is already or soon will be an external battery, and you can run their thing from the wall. 

To recover, CanonSan will have to do more than simply relent, or relent part way -- he'll have to sprint to the other extreme, genie being out of the bottle. The same outfit that took AFMA away from those poor 60D buyers, perhaps the most deserving women and men ever heard of? I wonder...


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