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Buying a new camera for fiction
Good morning everybody
I’ve used until today a Canon XH-A1 for short films as well as a HVX 200
Time to retire those two.I have saved a budget of $ 5000 to buy a new acquisition system.
5000 bucks is all I can spend for body and lenses.Would anybody mind to tell me which road they’d go? I edit with Vegas Pro 12, I might upgrade soon to 13.
So, would you go with:
GH4
A7S
Black Magic Production Camera (Ursa is out as it’s over 5000 bucks)
Several GoPro Cams?
Something else I haven’t thought of yet?Thanks so much for your input
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7 Replies
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I am a GH4 shooter (and I own a BMPCC) – but if I was coming from camcorders and starting today with $5000, I would pre-order the new $3995 4K JVC GY-LS300. With the LS300, you will have the traditional camcorder form factor and features – plus the large sensor and interchangeable lenses of a DSLR or cinema camera. Like your XH-A1 and HVX 200, the LS300 has built in XLR inputs and comes with a top handle. You won’t have to buy an external recorder or adapter to use professional mics with this camera.
The codec is only 8-bit, but the color space is 4:2:2, so it is strong enough for grading.
Here is the image quality it can produce:
The camera is also equipped with built in live streaming capability – as seen in this video for the LS300’s sister camera, the HM200:
In my view, this camera is the best value for your money below $5000.
Hope this is helpful and good luck with your upgrade!
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I’ll certainly consider it!
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The JVC GY-LS300 is very interesting, I wasn’t familiar with it… some of the specs are super puzzling though.
It has a Super35mm-sized sensor, yet they put a Micro four-thirds (MFT) lens mount on it. Why would they do that? Yet they say you can use 35mm format lenses and still retain their native field of view. I suppose that part is possible. But they also say you can use smaller format lenses, such as Super16mm lenses, and also still maintain their native field of view. Most smaller format lenses (including virtually all 16mm format lenses) would not cover the size of the Super35mm sensor… and the only way I can see that could happen is that their “Variable Scan Mapping” only uses a small center portion of the sensor (and blows it up), thus you couldn’t actually shoot 4K with anything larger than full-frame lenses (I don’t know that this is how it works, but it’s the only way that I can conceive of).
I’d love to learn more about it. I would also love to know what it’s native ISO is (and other available speeds), which is most important but I didn’t seem to find in the specs.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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For $500 more than the $5,000 budgeted, I’d sure consider the new version of the Canon EOS C-100, the Mark ll. It seems to address many of the shortcomings of the original version. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?N=11086125&InitialSearch=yes&sts=pi
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
Well I second the C100 as an outstanding camera choice… I shoot with the C300 every day (same sensor) and everything in the C line is awesome (C100/300/500).
BUT… Philippe said he had $5K max to spend on camera and glass… and the C100 is $5500 for the body only so it might be out of reach. It’d be a great choice, though. If you can swing that, you definitely wouldn’t be disappointed in the images.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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What lens would you put on the C100? If you had to have only one lens, budget wise?
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I went to see the C100 on the BH site, and yes, it’s definitely a contender. I think i”ll wait to see how the JVC and the Canon compare to each other. But I think it’s going to be one of these two. Thanks for all the info.
How come nobody is suggesting a Black Magic Cinema Production?
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