Panasonic GH3 Bundle - $1299 at Adorama!

For just $1 more than it costs to buy the camera body-only, you can get a Panasonic GH3 body with a 16GB Class 10 SDHC card, a camera bag, a cleaning kit, 6' of HDMI cable and the Red Giant Adorama Production Bundle. I'll buy that for a dollar!

New Canon 5D Mark III - $2900 on eBay - less than a BMCC!

Excited about the Magic Lantern RAW hack, but don't want to pay $3500 for a body-only 5D Mark III?  Here's a brand new 5D Mark III for $2900 from 6th Ave Express via eBay - less than the price of a $2995 EF Mount Blackmagic Cinema Camera.   6th Ave provides a 1-year parts and 90 day labor warranty. Limited quantity available.

I have not been a big fan of Canon DSLRs for video, but with the RAW hack, the 5D Mark III is suddenly back on the map as the large sensor, interchangeable lens DSL camera with the best resolution and dynamic range.  Sadly for Canon, it is now arguably better than some of the top-end "Cinema EOS" cameras, such as the $12,000 Canon 1D C  - and close to the image quality produced by the $14,000 C300.  Not bad for a $2900 camera.

Panasonic GX2 must be on the way - new GX1s marked down to $199 on eBay!

The terrific little enthusiast compact, the Panasonic GX1, is now marked down to $199 from Roberts Camera via eBay.  According to 4/3 Rumors, this may be related to the expectation that the GX2 will be announced in August.  The GX1 is still a great little still/video camera - and at $199 it's a steal.  They won't last long at this price.

Blowout prices on Canon's First Mirrorless - the EOS M!

Canon's first interchangeable lens mirrorless camera, the EOS M, was much anticipated less than a year ago, but has not been as successful as Canon probably hoped. Even though it takes great pictures and was heavily pre-ordered, sales fell off rapidly - possibly due to the camera's shutter lag, slow autofocus and lack of a viewfinder option.

With a possible replacement now on the horizon, prices for the EOS M have now dropped below $400 ($399.99 with the 22mm STM lens at Amazon and $381.20 silver body-only at BigValue via eBay).

If you are a Canon shooter with an investment in EF glass, and are looking for a smaller second body for travel - or perhaps a B camera for video - you might want to pick up an EOS to EOS M adapter ($159 from Amazon or $129 on eBay) and jump on one if these deals.  They won't last at this price.

Good News for Filmmakers & Videographers - Prices Coming Down on Panasonic GH3!

As Panasonic ramps up production and the camera seems to be in regular stock, we are starting to see discounting on the flagship Panasonic GH3. As of this post, the lowest "Buy It Now" price on eBay is around $1198 - while the lowest used price on Amazon is around $1157.




Even in a world where Canon Rebels are shooting RAW (!), the GH3 is still the lowest priced large sensor, interchangeable lens video-capable camera you can buy with a headphone jack, 1080/60p and a splashproof body. And let's not forget the multiple codecs (AVCHD, .MOV and MP4). As the street price for the GH3 goes down, it becomes an even better value for money.

First Magic Lantern RAW video from the Canon T3i/600D!

Vimeo user Luis Roberto dos Santos just posted this short clip from his Canon 600D, modified with a "pre-alpha" version of the Magic Lantern RAW firmware .  The clip was recorded to a slow card - so there is some flickering and macro blocking - but it blows standard fuzzy Canon .H264 compression away:


If Magic Lantern is successful at stabilizing the code, this will be huge - possibly bigger than the 5D Mark III news.  RAW video from a $549 still/video camera body? It's a hybrid camera revolution!

Magic Lantern does it again - continuous RAW video from the Canon 5D Mark III!

Andrew Reid at eoshd shot this video on his 5D Mark III with new pre-beta test software from Magic Lantern:



This is very big news - RAW video from a $3300 hybrid still/video camera body. If Magic Lantern can turn this into production software and releases it for free, it is a real game-changer.

First, it undermines the price of the $12,000 Canon 1D C Cinema EOS camera. If this free software upgrade becomes widely available for the 5D Mark III, Canon 1D C sales will likely dry up.

Second, it threatens the use-case for the 2.5K RAW $2995 Blackmagic Cinema Camera, which is yet to ship in large numbers.

The question becomes, would you rather buy a $3299 full frame Canon Mark III still/video camera that is in stock right now and upgrade it to RAW with free software - or would you rather order a $2995 video-only RAW Blackmagic Cinema Camera with a micro 4/3 sized sensor that might ship sometime in the next few months?

I know what I would do.