[Bill Bruner]

Hi Trent – is that $1000 for camera and lenses? Or just for lenses? If it’s for both, the GH3 is too expensive at $998 body-only.

If you mean $1000 for lenses alone, for weddings I would get two lenses – the $399 Olympus 45mm f1.8 for medium/telephoto and the $499 Oly 17mm f1.8 for wides.

If you mean $1000 for camera and lens, I would get the $638 Panasonic G6 with the 14-42 kit lens plus the Oly 45mm f1.8.

Again, hope this is helpful!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Bill Bruner]

Answer is: not yet.

On August 2nd, 2013, Blackmagic CEO emailed this message to the Blackmagic list, which said:

“There are some new features in the software for the Pocket Cinema Camera. You can now focus by pushing the focus button when using an active MFT lens. This makes it very easy to accurately focus. The focus peaking feature is still there and you enable it by double pressing the focus button. The focus zoom feature is enabled by double pressing the OK button.

There will be an update for the 2.5K Blackmagic Cinema Camera soon that will also add these features…”

This firmware update (1.5) is yet to appear. When it does, it will be available on the Blackmagic Support Center page.

I have the Pocket Cinema Camera with one touch MFT autofocus, and it is a very useful feature. I wouldn’t buy a Blackmagic camera without it.

Hope this is helpful,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Bill Bruner]

Hi Trent – I like your equipment list except for the 60D. It has a 12 minute clip length limit, no autofocus, a viewfinder that stops working when you switch to live view for video, and a terrible moire problem with patterned fabrics (e.g., wedding dresses). Please see these side-by-side comparisons with the Panasonic GH2:

Canon 60D vs Panasonic GH2 evil moiré test on Vimeo

60D vs GH2 Moire Test on Vimeo

For about the same price, you can get a moire-resistant Panasonic G6. With this camera, you can shoot continuous video for hours, instead of minutes; you’ll have lightning fast video autofocus (and manual focus peaking), a viewfinder that continues working in video mode, wi-fi and NFC for wireless control of the camera and wireless file transfer, and you’ll be able to record at 1080/60p for smooth action and slow motion.

Here is what this camera can do:

Junwei + Daohua

for a couple of hundred dollars more, I would look at the $998 (on sale) Panasonic GH3.

This camera adds a built-in headphone jack and multiple codecs and bit rates (up to 72mbs) for ultra high resolution recording.

Here is what this camera can do, combined with the large sensor, interchangeable lens Sony NEX-EA50 shoulder mount camcorder.

Lievan and Shaan Wedding on Vimeo

I recommend you buy either the G6 or GH3 (depending on your budget) and rent the NEX-EA50 from lensrentals.com.

The Panasonic DSLMs are great still cameras that happen to produce great video – while the EA50 (on sale for $2725 after rebate at Adorama) is a great large sensor video camera that also produces great 16MP stills like this:

https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachments/sony-nex-ea50-all-variants/28988d1360200314-still-pictures-ea50-rasdaniel.jpg

There really isn’t another DSL/camcorder combination with this much flexibility.

Hope this is helpful!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Bill Bruner]

Hi Luke – Unless you absolutely need the full frame “look”, I would save some money and get the Panasonic GH3 for stills (much better still camera than the GH2 – I own both) – it is also a more usable video camera than the 5D Mark III, D800, or the 70D (due to its combination of essentially unlimited clip length, articulated LCD, moire resistance and multiple bit rate & codec options). This camera is on sale at Amazon right now for $998 body only.

Here is the still image quality from the GH3: https://www.flickr.com/groups/2042242@N25/pool/

For video, I would get a Sony NEX-EA50 shoulder mounted, large sensor still/video camcorder with XLR inputs and 16MP stills. This camera is on sale at Adorama right now for $2949 (after manufacturer’s $600 rebate).

Here is a wedding shot with the GH3 and the EA50: https://vimeo.com/75671121

Here is a still taken with this camcorder: https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachments/sony-nex-ea50-all-variants/28988d1360200314-still-pictures-ea50-rasdaniel.jpg

With this combination, you will have maximum flexibility. Either camera can sit in the back of the church and record for hours at weddings (something neither the 5D Mark III, 70D nor D800 can do) – and either camera can take high resolution stills (something neither the AF100 nor the FS100 can do).

With adapters, you can use the same lenses on both cameras. And you won’t have to buy a rig for your camcorder, because it’s already a shoulder mount.

Hope this is helpful and good luck with your decision!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Bill Bruner]

Hi Gilles – autofocus and exposure control are completely separate with the GH3.

You can use any autofocus mode (Manual, AFS or AFC) in combination with any exposure control mode (iA,P,A,S or M).

Hope that makes sense and is helpful.

Cheers,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Bill Bruner]

Part of the reason I stuck with the Pocket Cam instead of cancelling my order is that they fixed this problem quickly.

But it is unconscionable that they have done nothing to address it for BMCC early adopters, who took an early risk on Blackmagic when they had zero track record as a camera company. They really should fix this. I did a post on this here.

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Bill Bruner]

Gilles – to answer your questions:

Q1: yes, your shock mount should work. It is highly rated at Amazon UK and seems to be close in form and function to the Campro Deluxe that I use

Q2: you should get good sound if you are within a meter of your subject and minimize the potential for handling noise by putting the camera on a tripod. Otherwise you may need to put the mic on a pistol grip or boom.

Again, hope this helps,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Bill Bruner]

Al – respectfully, I own the GH3, and outside of Europe, its continuous recordable time is measured in hours, not minutes, and it does not overheat (see the GH3 specs page here).

The GH3 can indeed record long continuous takes – with several advantages over the small-sensor camcorders in its price class, e.g. depth of field control, 1080/60p, high bit rate recording and interchangeable lenses.

As far as sound goes, I plug a pro quality Audio Technica AT-835b XLR mic directly into the camera with a $17 Hosa MIT-156 line matching transformer/adapter and get great audio without an external recorder.

Here is my setup. With the mic’s balanced XLR output, you can take it off the camera, put it on a boom and run the cable back to the camera without introducing the hum or hiss you might get from unbalanced 3.5mm consumer cables.

Here is a comparison I did between the AT-835b and a consumer mic – both plugged directly into the GH3:

https://vimeo.com/58876352

Daniel’s other issue is that he will use the camera for stills 10% of the time. The HMC150, XA10, XA20 and G20 are probably not the best cameras for that 🙂

Cheers,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Bill Bruner]

Hi Gilles – mounting the Rode on the camera should be OK. Your 10.94″ long NTG-2 is about 3.5″ shorter than the 14.53″ long Audio Technica AT-835b pictured above.

The GH3 does a pretty good job of mimicking a camcorder if you set the autofocus to AFC and the exposure to iA. With a pistol grip plugged into the remote socket, all you have to do is hold the EVF up to your eye and pull the trigger.

You only have to fool around with manual focus, ISO, aperture and depth of field of you want to.

Hope this is helpful,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Bill Bruner]

Thanks, Chris. I am a big fan of the Pocket Cinema Camera.

Since my pre-order went in on April 26th (!), my BMPCC should be here “any day now”.

But since Daniel and his students are running a local access TV channel, I discounted the BMPCC due to its lack of some of the most basic features that a TV studio or run ‘n gun news shooter would need (e.g., a battery level meter, a “recording time remaining” indicator and the ability to format its own cards).

Great camera – but probably not for TV production.

All the best,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution