What camera should DSLR users upgrade to? – Post Canon & Red November 3rd Reaction
DISCLAIMER: Just so you know I also posted this blog entry on my company blog at http://www.blog4k.com/ its not been stolen, I’m just posting it on both sites so everyone can see it
Like many I had been looking forward to November 3rd, the day in which the camera industry would be revolutionised because of “historic” announcements from Canon and Red. Both camps hyped up the release of their respected cameras more than any other I can think of in the past, but the question is did they deliver?
In one word? No.
Now I will explain why I don’t think Canon or Red lived up to the hype that they themselves started. So what is wrong with these cameras your probably asking? To be honest not a lot, spec wise these cameras are impressive for the most part however the price point isn’t so impressive and that concerns me.
Some don’t like it but I think it looks pretty cool – Canon C300
The new Canon camera announced is the C300, this is a camera with a 4k sensor, outputting 1080p HD with a max frame rate of 60fps (in 720p? WTF Canon) and records to CF cards using Canons own XF 50mbps format. I think the camera is a clever shape (a fat DSLR basically) and I much prefer the handle/LCD than the Sony FS100. The camera also includes all the various plugs such as XLR, HD-SDI etc.
So far, so good, we have a good spec camera, in a nice form factor with all the plugs we need, so what’s the problem? Well its the price, $20,000! This is where I have a problem, who are Canon aiming at? clearly its the TV industry however why go for that market when the majority of EOS lens owners and Canon video DSLR users are looking for an upgrade. Thats the position we are in, like many others we use Canon DSLRs for our company video productions, they are great camera producing nice results, especially when your target delivery is the web, however they do have issue when used professionally, the main issues for us are separate audio recording and having to transcode all the footage.
A Sony FS100
Like many others we were hoping for the perfect upgrade from Canon, something which would give us these extra features, improved image quality and most importantly an EF Mount. After all that’s why we’ve all waited out for Canon to announce something, much easier, and cheaper, if we can use our current lenses without adaptors. Canon choosing to go for the +£10k market means that it really leaves us and many others with only one good option for upgrading and that is the Sony FS100. I have no big issue with this although its a shame it doesnt have built in ND or an ef mount, however this camera, because of these announcements, has just become very good value for money. Bang for buck the best out of all the Super 35mm cameras. Why Canon chose to abandon, even if its only temporary, its DSLR followers is beyond me as im sure many people like us will now be switching to Sony.
What about the Scarlet then? I hear you ask. Well I didn’t put much hope into the camera from the start as for too long it was vapourware. Too many promises were made by Red and ultimately although the camera is relatively cheap, the accessories are ridiculous! A working kit similar to the C300 would cost you about the same as the Canon, yes the Scarlet has some advantages but it also has disadvantages.
The RED Scarlet X (with not included 5in
LCD Monitor
4k is great, modular design is great, high fps is great and RAW codec can be great however for most people unless your in a film production situation don’t have the time to process Red RAW footage. Most people don’t want to spend huge amounts of money on batteries and SSD cards to be able to shoot and for those reasons I see limited appeal with the Red Scarlet X. Our company wouldn’t have any advantage using it as the transcoding would be too slow for what we do. Also the camera seems a bit under spec’d compared to the original announcement. I was really hoping for 120fps at 2k, at least in burst form, instead its limited to 1k which isn’t much better than the Sony FS100′s super slow mode!
So why am I’m complaining? Well I’m not really, just observing and a bit confused when the hype suggested something more. Common sense suggested that Canon would release a FS100 competitor however that seemed too much to ask. My biggest issue with these announcements is it feels quite the opposite it should be, neither of the announcements are “historic” neither are “revolutionary” both are just slight upgrades to what is already out there. It feels evolution in the camera industry could once again slow down to what it used to be with only small improvements every 3 or 4 years unlike the huge DSLR revolution we’ve seen in the past few years which, positively or negatively, shook up the industry.
Sony NEX 5N, one of the cheapest 35mm
video camera
My advice to anyone looking to buy a camera, if its just for fun or to learn with then get a Panasonic GH2, Canon 60D or a Sony NEX 5N. These are great cameras in there own right and although lack professional features are by far the best value for money cameras out there today.
If your in a position like us, a professional company or individual using DSLRs but wanting to upgrade then the Sony FS100 is the only true option. Its a very good option at that with stunning picture quality and I think cleaver design. The Panasonic AF100 sadly isn’t up to standard any more, despite being fairly new still the quality is no where near where it needs to be, its just a pimped up GH1, the GH2 is even better than it for far less!
If your in the TV industry and producing documentary or drama stuff which requires the 35mm look then either the Canon C300 or Sony F3 are good options. The Canon is better out of the box, on paper at least, but the Sony has more potential, with 4:4:4 output upgrade option.
And as for the Scarlet, well I see that as very much a B camera to the EPIC, after all EPIC owners and users will have already invested in the gear and they are set up for the workflow, it will be a great camera for commercial and cinema uses although I’d imagine if a company can afford to buy or hire a Scarlet for a shoot like that then why wouldn’t they just use an EPIC? That could be the Scarlet’s biggest downfall, it’s not affordable and diverse enough to use for day to day corporate and documentary shoots but also isn’t impressive enough to knock the big boys, such as the EPIC and Alexa, off the shelf for high end shoots.
Concept 4K DSLR
Anyway what ever you choose, like Philip Bloom said in his blog, it’s our creativity that’s important, any camera listed above can produce stunning results when used in the right hands, whatever you chose don’t bother spending more than you need to, just go out there and shoot!
Oh and by the way, this could be interesting, a concept 4k DSLR, however we will have to wait and see in the mean time hit the record button on your current camera rather than dreaming about another one!
