Blackmagic Deisgn 2.5K Raw S16 -- for 2,999.99 - July

[Kholi]

http://johnbrawley.wordpress.com/201...-from-the-top/

Footage there

Info here: www.blackmagicdesign.com

Remember when I said "you'll see" Chilipie? In the D-Bolex thread?

[chilipie]

Nice!

[David.rhsc]

Pretty cool, gotta take a closer look at that later.

I do have a nostalgic attachment to the s16 frame. Can't tell what lens mount that is from the blog post, and not a fan of touch-screen control on cameras.

Looks sweet though. It seems the middle ground is becoming a lot more populated, and a lot higher quality.


Edit:

HDMI, 3G-SDI, and Thunderbolt out. Finally these guys are listening. EF mount would not have been my choice, but I understand why they did it. Same reason Canon put one on their c300 - there's a ga-jillion-billion EF lenses already working out in the world. Make your camera compatible with mount that has the biggest distribution (I have no idea if EF is officially the most widely used, but it's got to be up there in at least the top 5 lens mounts among this camera's target market).

Purchase price includes Resolve and Ultra-Scope software. Correct me if I am wrong, but that means that software accounts for 30% or so of the cost. Of course if you already own resolve ....

Still rolling through the clips. Nice motion rendering in the traffic during the Dusk shots. Would love to see something other than Vimeo. Man, something about the s16 frame - I just have this irrational attachment to that look!


Double Edit:

Needs moar frame rates.

Triple Edit:

http://www.blackmagic-design.com/pro...era/techspecs/

Effing INTEGRATED battery? WTF? So anyone who doesn't invest in a 3rd party 12v setup is stuck either running AC and being tied down, or remaining beholden to the battery life and charge time. Seriously? 90 minutes of operation for 2 hours of charge. Even for the pro-sumer market that's pretty weak.

Power: Integrated Lithium-ion Polymer rechargeable battery.
12V-30V DC port for external battery power or use included 12V AC adapter.
Battery Life: Approximately 90 minutes
Battery Charge Time: Approximately 2 hours when not in use.

*sigh*

Field Usability Fail. Not insurmountable, but still. Come on guys, it's a camera, not a damn iPod. Give us batteries we can swap.

[Kholi]

EF mount intially.

[cameronchapman]

I know what I'm saving my pennies for now! Also, can I just say that it's one of the most beautifully designed cameras I've seen in a long time?

[Kholi]

Originally Posted by David.rhsc

Pretty cool, gotta take a closer look at that later.

I do have a nostalgic attachment to the s16 frame. Can't tell what lens mount that is from the blog post, and not a fan of touch-screen control on cameras.

Looks sweet though. It seems the middle ground is becoming a lot more populated, and a lot higher quality.


Edit:

HDMI, 3G-SDI, and Thunderbolt out. Finally these guys are listening. EF mount would not have been my choice, but I understand why they did it. Same reason Canon put one on their c300 - there's a ga-jillion-billion EF lenses already working out in the world. Make your camera compatible with mount that has the biggest distribution (I have no idea if EF is officially the most widely used, but it's got to be up there in at least the top 5 lens mounts among this camera's target market).

Purchase price includes Resolve and Ultra-Scope software. Correct me if I am wrong, but that means that software accounts for 30% or so of the cost. Of course if you already own resolve ....

Still rolling through the clips. Nice motion rendering in the traffic during the Dusk shots. Would love to see something other than Vimeo. Man, something about the s16 frame - I just have this irrational attachment to that look!


Double Edit:

Needs moar frame rates.

I also stand corrected, though..

It's closer to M4/3 than S16 by far. Which is good.

[Ernest Worthing]

Looks good. And the design is nice too.

[ItDonnedOnMe]

Very interested in this. I would have liked a larger sensor, but honestly I think I could live with it as a tradeoff for onboard raw and prores options. Just going to have to find some nice fast ultrawides... I'm sure there are plenty of cheap options for those out there, right? Right?!?

The thunderbolt connection should be pretty nice as well, coupled with their scope software on a macbook. The built in battery is just bizarre though.

[David.rhsc]

Originally Posted by Kholi

I also stand corrected, though..

It's closer to M4/3 than S16 by far. Which is good.

Yeah, was noticing that as I looked closer at the specs. Still a touch smaller than m4/3, but pretty close.

Originally Posted by ItDonnedOnMe

Very interested in this. I would have liked a larger sensor, but honestly I think I could live with it as a tradeoff for onboard raw and prores options. Just going to have to find some nice fast ultrawides... I'm sure there are plenty of cheap options for those out there, right? Right?!?

The thunderbolt connection should be pretty nice as well, coupled with their scope software on a macbook. The built in battery is just bizarre though.

I anticipated this problem with my GH2 and was long convinced that wides would be extra problematic. Back in January I rented an 11-16 Tokina for a short films because I thought I would need it for our extensive elevator scenes. Turns out I never went wider than 17 on the other lens I was using. (I was using zooms for time, we had half the days we needed for the shoot so I elected to skip lens changes as much as possible).

In those close quarters the 11-16 would probably have been too distorted. I did find though that the 17 was on the money for my regular wides too.

Remember, when folks talk "crop factor" they are comparing to FF stills cameras, not s35 motion picture cameras, which are closer to (but still a touch larger than) APS-C territory. So really if you are thinking in s35, then your difference is more like 1.3 ish rather than 1.9 (GH2 -> s35 vs GH2 -> FF35).

---

I do love the image on this camera so far though. Will be interesting to watch this develop.

[FrankLad]

Wow. I really like the simplicity of this.

A box, with a screen, a sensor and a lens mount.

Right on.

[brianluce]

Gamechanger.
Sensor is between 16mm and 35mm. Big enough!
13 stops of latitude! Gulp.

[ItDonnedOnMe]

Originally Posted by David.rhsc

Remember, when folks talk "crop factor" they are comparing to FF stills cameras, not s35 motion picture cameras, which are closer to (but still a touch larger than) APS-C territory. So really if you are thinking in s35, then your difference is more like 1.3 ish rather than 1.9 (GH2 -> s35 vs GH2 -> FF35).

Yep - except I've been shooting for over 3 years now on a 5DmkII so that's my point of reference. I shoot as wide as 24mm regularly, and occasionally like to use the 16-35. So the tokina is likely to make sense for me as a standard lens, roughly equivalent to a 24-40mm from my current perspective - combined with something else in the 17-50ish range. It's finding something closer to the canon 16-35 that's more difficult, looks like panasonic has something though in m4/3 mount.

[wheatgrinder]

any word on global shutter \ jello etc?

[Kholi]

It's not global.

[David.rhsc]

Originally Posted by ItDonnedOnMe

Yep - except I've been shooting for over 3 years now on a 5DmkII so that's my point of reference. I shoot as wide as 24mm regularly, and occasionally like to use the 16-35. So the tokina is likely to make sense for me as a standard lens, roughly equivalent to a 24-40mm from my current perspective - combined with something else in the 17-50ish range. It's finding something closer to the canon 16-35 that's more difficult, looks like panasonic has something though in m4/3 mount.

Totally understandable. Lots of folks coming into video from the photography world are in the same boat.

I think when I hit college and started diving into 16mm some sort of change happened in the way I thought about focal lengths. I find that whenever the term "crop factor" the discussion tends to lead towards a destination with less flexibility than the reality. Having shot 35mm stills for as long as I can remember, then working with video cameras (1/2", 1/3", 2/3", etc) in the early 90s, then going to 16mm when I finally went back to school ... that run on has run on long enough.

I just mean to say that folks worry more about 'crop' than they really need to. Sometimes. Having said that - I like the Tokina. Sharper than it has a right to be considering it is a wide zoom, and even without the Duclos "OMG THIS IS OVERPRICED" modifications, it's usability is pretty good.

I wouldn't recommend the Panasonic lenses, or really very many of the current native m4/3 line anyway. If you really want electronic focus/zoom get an Oly or Panny m4/3 to 4/3 adapter and get some good Oly 4/3 glass. Or go for a RRM live lens mount, but I can't remember if those for nikon or canon lenses.

Originally Posted by wheatgrinder

any word on global shutter \ jello etc?

Kholi's got the tech specs down - but the first "dusk" clip looks to handle lateral motion (the traffic) quite nicely. Most of that clip is also HH, jello seems minimal in the camera shake as well.

Haven't had a chance to watch through the rest of the clips. Technically I should be working, but we have a new guy shadowing so he's operating camera and the TD is rocking the downloads. I get to memorize the internet.

12 bit uncompressed CinemaDNG with 13 stops of latitude though. Man, if they really hit that latitude mark in independent testing that little camera will be a serious price dropper for the current run of $6K-$20K cameras.