BMCC for wildlife or other camera???

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

I have no experience in wildlife. I’ve shot a few lions on a safari once but I don’t think that counts.

I suggest you find a refurbished or like-new C300. It shoots directly to broadcast quality and will take your existing lenses. It also has excellent low light ability. You will spend more time shooting and less time working on post.

If you absolutely cannot afford it, then take a look at the new Panasonic GH3 or the GH2.

Hope this helps.

https://www.wolfcrow.com – Workflow information and support for filmmakers, photographers, audiographers and videographers.

[Todd Terry]

[Sareesh Sudhakaran] “I suggest you find a refurbished or like-new C300”

Well the C300 is my new favorite camera… I love it, and its low-light capability is absolutely mind-boggling. I think finding a refurb or used one might be tough though, since it’s pretty much a brand-new camera. On the upside though, Canon does have a great lease deal on the C300 (24 months, $1 buyout) that has been extended though the end of the year, and right now has a $1000 rebate on it as well. At $15,000 for the body only its still a bit out of that budget though.

If you are willing to consider shooting on tape, the Canon XLH1 is my second-favorite camera ever… and although this was a $10,000 camera when new, you can now find used ones in good condition for $2K or less. I was actually saddened to learn this when recently contemplating whether to sell my H1 after getting the C300.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Humberto Ramos]

Thanks Sareesh and Todd,

In fact the C300 is out of my budget, but I have considered the GH3 as backup for option 1 and 3, will even be capable of letting the camera In some spots and shoot video throw an iPhone, but will need a broadcast camera for every day use.

[Humberto Ramos]

Thanks Sareesh and Todd,

In fact the C300 is out of my budget, but I have considered the GH3 as backup for option 1 and 3, will even be capable of letting the camera In some spots and shoot video throw an iPhone, but will need a broadcast camera for everyday use.

No more suggestions?

Thanks and regards

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

FS100 with an external recorder, VG900 with an external recorder, BMCC with an external recorder, etc. I like the FS100 because it can shoot 60p.

All these small form factor cameras need to be rigged, which I’m sure is no fun when you’re not in a controlled environment.

CCD broadcast cameras are out of your budget. 1/3″ CCD cameras don’t qualify.

https://www.wolfcrow.com – Workflow information and support for filmmakers, photographers, audiographers and videographers.

[Deleted User]

How soon do you need the new camera?

Unfortunately, if you didn’t place a pre-order for a BMCC back in April (or perhaps May), the chance of your receiving a BMCC anytime soon are slim to none.

Manufacturing of the camera barely started & then immediately stopped due to a serious sensor assembly defect issue. Reportedly, fewer than 100 cameras were built. Volume shipments of the camera are already 2.5 months delayed from the announced Aug.1 start date, and manufacturing has yet to restart.

Read all about it on Blackmagic Design’s forum:
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1288&sid=0098eeafa5d116e2e7121e4218bd6d28
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1751&sid=0098eeafa5d116e2e7121e4218bd6d28

Having said all that, I’m a big fan of the camera, and eagerly await the BMCC I pre-ordered in mid-April. But if you need a camera right way, or even by early 2013, the BMCC might not be an option for you, regrets.

As for your particular application, wildlife videography, the BMCC does offer some compelling features. And of course it will require some compelling compromises, too. 🙂

There is no 1 perfect camera for all productions.

As you mention, the BMCC’s sensor size means that telephoto (including with a relatively fast aperture) is relatively easy to achieve.

At the wide end, there are rectilinear 11mm, 10mm and 8mm lenses available, at a wide variety of prices and qualities.

I’m not aware of any servo-zoom lenses that can be used on either the BMCC-EF or BMCC-MFT models. A semi-kludgy alternative is to mount a follow-focus on the zoom ring of a lens, with best results when using a parfocal, constant-aperture lens.

In addition to the BMCC’s fantastic 2.5K 12-bit RAW uncompressed CinemaDNG recording mode (at 5 megaBYTES/frame), the BMCC also features very high-quality 1080p 10-bit 4:2:2 compressed ProRes & DNxHD recording (at 220 megaBITS/sec.)

The following video by Marco Solorio shows examples of a variety of lenses used on the BMCC (& a 5DM3, too). To see the full quality, download the 1GB version of this video from the Vimeo page!:
https://vimeo.com/49875510

A ~500 GB SSD drive can hold about 1 hour of the BMCC’s CinemaDNG footage, or about 5 hours of its ProRes/DNxHD footage. I suspect that both the BMCC’s uncompressed and compressed recording modes can be valuable for wildlife shooting.

A big advantage of BMCC video is its color quality (@ 12-bit & 10-bit recording modes), and minimal motion-induced compression artifacts (@ high data rates of it uncompressed & compressed recording modes).

The BMCC’s latest v.1.1 firmware adds support for lens IS (image stabilization) and other enhancements, as well as improvements of existing features. BMD has indicated they intend to continue adding to the BMCC’s capabilities through firmware in the months ahead, but we’ll see what happens.

Meanwhile, BMD has to restart manufacturing cameras again. The jury is still out on exactly when that will be, and how long it’ll take them to work through a considerable backlog of orders, reportedly many tens of thousands of units …

Cheers.

—

https://www.peterdv.com
Blog: https://herefortheweather.wordpress.com

[Deleted User]

How soon do you need the new camera?

Unfortunately, if you didn’t place a pre-order for a BMCC back in April (or perhaps May), the chance of your receiving a BMCC anytime soon are slim to none.

Manufacturing of the camera barely started & then immediately stopped due to a serious sensor assembly defect issue. Reportedly, fewer than 100 cameras were built. Volume shipments of the camera are already 2.5 months delayed from the announced Aug.1 start date, and manufacturing has yet to restart.

Read all about it on Blackmagic Design’s forum:
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1288&sid=0098eeafa5d116e2e7121e4218bd6d28
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1751&sid=0098eeafa5d116e2e7121e4218bd6d28

Having said all that, I’m a big fan of the camera, and eagerly await the BMCC I pre-ordered in mid-April. But if you need a camera right way, or even by early 2013, the BMCC might not be an option for you, regrets.

As for your particular application, wildlife videography, the BMCC does offer some compelling features. And of course it will require some compelling compromises, too. 🙂

There is no 1 perfect camera for all productions.

As you mention, the BMCC’s sensor size means that telephoto (including with a relatively fast aperture) is relatively easy to achieve.

At the wide end, there are rectilinear 11mm, 10mm and 8mm lenses available, at a wide variety of prices and qualities.

I’m not aware of any servo-zoom lenses that can be used on either the BMCC-EF or BMCC-MFT models. A semi-kludgy alternative is to mount a follow-focus on the zoom ring of a lens, with best results when using a parfocal, constant-aperture lens.

In addition to the BMCC’s fantastic 2.5K 12-bit RAW uncompressed CinemaDNG recording mode (at 5 megaBYTES/frame), the BMCC also features very high-quality 1080p 10-bit 4:2:2 compressed ProRes & DNxHD recording (at 220 megaBITS/sec.)

The following video by Marco Solorio shows examples of a variety of lenses used on the BMCC (& a 5DM3, too). To see the full quality, download the 1GB version of this video from the Vimeo page!:
https://vimeo.com/49875510

A ~500 GB SSD drive can hold about 1 hour of the BMCC’s CinemaDNG footage, or about 5 hours of its ProRes/DNxHD footage. I suspect that both the BMCC’s uncompressed and compressed recording modes can be valuable for wildlife shooting.

A big advantage of BMCC video is its color quality (@ 12-bit & 10-bit recording modes), and minimal motion-induced compression artifacts (@ high data rates of it uncompressed & compressed recording modes).

The BMCC’s latest v.1.1 firmware adds support for lens IS (image stabilization) and other enhancements, as well as improvements of existing features. BMD has indicated they intend to continue adding to the BMCC’s capabilities through firmware in the months ahead, but we’ll see what happens.

Meanwhile, BMD has to restart manufacturing cameras again. The jury is still out on exactly when that will be, and how long it’ll take them to work through a considerable backlog of orders, reportedly many tens of thousands of units …

Cheers.

—

https://www.peterdv.com
Blog: https://herefortheweather.wordpress.com

[Humberto Ramos]

Thanks Sareesh,

I didn´t choose the FS100 cause it doesn’t habe build in ND filter, I prefer to have in the camera. Like I saide, only have experience in photography, but inside a hide we can´t get easiy to the front of the lens, and is difficult to put a ND in a big lens.

About the BMCC, I don´t think she will need an external recorder, I think will be able of 422 with broadcast quality.

The HPX250 with can output 422 100mbs, it was already approved by BBC for broadcast, and think the JVC and the sony will be next…

[Humberto Ramos]

Hi Peter,

I´m selling all my photo gerar to buy the video equipemnt, so it could take a wille…So don´t mind to receave it only in February if the camera meets my needs.

I would have to limitations with BMCC, first, the LCD, in the hide would be fine, outside would need an EVF, the other is that with a 120-300mm, would need a 105mm vari ND filter on the fronts of the lens, and would have to make a hole in the front of the sun cap to rotate it when needed without the need to remove the front…

But the price compared with the fs700 is considerable, with the savings, would be able to buy rig, motorized doli, crane, wide lens and a macro one.

With the FS700 would win 240fps that is wonderfull, my first project will be about an aquatic lizard in my region, so would be wundefull to capture him entering in the water in 240fps…

Dont know what to do, cause with fs700 the budget will go away and will not have money for other lens other acessories…

Maybe I can buy the BMCC now and wait to will some cash in some projects and after buy the fs700 as backup…

Cheers

[Deleted User]

[Humberto Ramos] “… So don´t mind to receave it only in February if the camera meets my needs. …”

If you haven’t already pre-ordered a BMCC, some reasonable estimates are that there’s less than a 50-50 chance of receiving one by Feb. 2013. Given BMD’s manufacturing delays and the reportedly huge worldwide pre-order list, some estimates are that you could be waiting significantly longer than that. Ultimately it’s unpredictable & unknowable, since BMD hasn’t restarted shipping yet, and we don’t know at what rate they’ll manufacture BMCCs over the subsequent weeks & months once they do restart shipping.

[Humberto Ramos] “… Maybe I can buy the BMCC now and wait to will some cash in some projects and after buy the fs700 as backup …”

You mean pre-order “now”, right? There are no BMCCs for sale currently.

—

https://www.peterdv.com
Blog: https://herefortheweather.wordpress.com