Best bargain for 4K camera?

[Gary Huff]

[Matteo Proromo] “That’s why I was considering a compact DSLR, but trouble is I’m not rich: my budget is 6-7000 dollars…tops. That is: EVERYTHING included. Body, lens, memory cards. Do I have hope? :)”

No, you do not. There are no compact DSLR bodies that shoot 4K 60p and none that will for the foreseeable future. The cheapest camera that you can purchase that will do 4Kp50/60 will be the Usra Mini 4K for $3000, then the Ursa Mini 4.6K for $5,000. The Ursa line suffers from quality assurance issues and will fall apart very quickly shooting at ISO speeds over 800. You may also have an assortment of other image issues.

The DSLR style (but not compact as it essentially has a grip built in), is the Canon 1DX Mark II at $6000 that shoots MotionJPEG (comparable to ProRes). It will handle low-light much better than the Ursas, but will have no Log video modes, and limited on-screen tools (such as peaking and a waveform).

The next level up that will be a camera with 4Kp50/60 that is more reliable and better quality in low-light environments will be the Sony PMW-FS7 at $8000.

Any of these cameras will require expensive media, CFast for the Ursas/1DX Mark II and XQD cards for the Sony. You’ll be looking at 176GB per hour of ProRes footage on the Ursas and 270GB per hour on the Sony. CFast media is $370 per 128GB and XQD is $170 per 128GB.

[Alan Lloyd]

A Sony PXW-X70, while not amazing in low(er) light, will give you everything else you want. And it’s small, portable, and not that obtrusive.

Given your stated budget, you could get two X70s with their 4K upgrades and a handful of XAVC cards.

It’s OK up to 9 db or a bit higher under most circumstances.

[Matteo Proromo]

On B&H Photo Video, it says as follows: “The 4K Upgrade License Key for Sony PXW-X70 provides support for QFHD shooting at 30p/25p/24p.”
Is it wrong?

[Alan Lloyd]

Apparently not. I hadn’t looked, as I have not done the 4K upgrade. (No one’s asking for it to this point.) Do rather like my X70, though. And it’s got a sweet 1080 HD 60fps/50 megabit record rate I use for nice slo-mo stuff.

If 60 fps is critical you would best look elsewhere then. What do you use the 60 fps frame rate for?

[Gary Huff]

[Alan Lloyd] “Apparently not. I hadn’t looked, as I have not done the 4K upgrade. (No one’s asking for it to this point.)”

And yet you decided to chime in on a camera you don’t even have the 4K functionality activated on yet? You have no idea of its quality and decided to recommend it anyways.

Odd.

[Eric Strand]

[Matteo Proromo] ” the other ones are low-light, noisy videos with an always-moving camera and lots of people.”

Well the king of low light nowadays is the Sony A7SII. You get a small camera capable of 4K internal recording in low light. You could either buy used lenses or rent some until you figure out which ones you like. It doesn’t give you 4K 60fps, but it does do 1080 120fps or 60fps.

@ericstrand11

[Gary Huff]

[Eric Strand] “It doesn’t give you 4K 60fps, but it does do 1080 120fps or 60fps.”

Great, so let’s recommend him a camera that doesn’t meet his requirement. That’s some winning advice right there.

[Eric Strand]

Thanks for the additional input Gary. There is no camera in his budget that meets his requirements, which means he is going to have to compromise one of the features he wants… unless you’re going to write him a check for the remaining 2-3k?

He said he does low light shooting in clubs: a7sii is king of low light
He said he wants 4K: a7sii does 4K internal
He said he doesn’t want a big camera like the FS7 or Ursa, which I believe you recommended Gary: a7sii is a small mirrorless body
He said he has a budget of 6-7k: a7sii body used from B&H is 2700
He calls 4K 60 the “device of his dreams” which to me means he realizes he may have to compromise: the a7sii will at least give him 60 or 120 fps in a resolution, again, compromise.

The point of these forums, Gary, as I’m sure you know, is to offer options and ideas that others may not have thought of. I’m not sure why you’re angry or attacking others for putting forth valid compromises to his problem.

@ericstrand11

[Gary Huff]

[Eric Strand] “There is no camera in his budget that meets his requirements, which means he is going to have to compromise one of the features he wants.”

He already stated how much he was willing to compromise in his original post.

[Matteo Proromo] “If I need to make sacrifices to stay in my budget, 4K is a must, while I could be happy with 50fps (but nothing less).”

Of course, he doesn’t understand that there is no difference between 4K at 50p and 60p, so there is no going less other than straight down to 30p. I take him at his word that he wants “nothing less” than 50p. I gave him the options and it’s up to him to come back and state where he could potentially compromise further.

[Eric Strand] “The point of these forums, Gary, as I’m sure you know, is to offer options and ideas that others may not have thought of.”

If they are legitimate. You just gleaned over the first post and offered a suggestion that was not entirely legitimate given the information. This happens a lot. There was even another poster who recommended a camera for which he didn’t even own the 4K upgrade, didn’t work in 4K, and so had no idea if the 4K was even of quality or not. This is just clutter.

[Eric Strand]

You yourself said the camera he wants doesn’t exist within his budget. You claim my suggestion isn’t legitimate, yet suggest two cameras that are above his budget and larger than he wants. By your premise, your suggestions are no more legitimate than mine. I’m hoping Matteo writes and explains why he so desperately needs 4K60, because I’ll be shocked if 1080 60 doesn’t suffice. Do you really not accept that the a7sii is one option for Matteo, given the fact it sounds like he isn’t quite sure what he’s looking for? I’m not arguing it’s the best camera out there or the end all be all for him.

It’s apparent we have different philosophies on dealing with people. I agree that his statement of “nothing less than 50p,” indicates he isn’t sure what he’s asking. To me it means it’s up to people like you and me to explain the pros and cons of various options out there to try and find a solution that works for him. I also agree with you it’s not responsible for other people to post solutions they were proven to not have researched.

@ericstrand11