The best 4K camera deal is now even better - $500 off list price for the Blackmagic Production Camera!

Just yesterday, we posted a link to a $100 off deal on the 4K Production Camera. Well, the folks at Blackmagic Design have one-upped the discounters and, for a limited time, are offering the BMPC for $2495 at Amazon and Adorama.

$2495 is the bundle price at Adorama - you can get it either with:

• A free wireless mic;
• Cinema Camera Handles, a Switronix Powerbase 70 Battery Pack & Charger and Sony Vegas Pro 12;
• A Bescor Dual 70-LED Light Package with Battery & Charger and Sony Vegas Pro 12; or
• A Wooden Camera Mini Baseplate, NATO Handle Kit with Cheese Handle and Sony Vegas Pro 12.

Given how quickly the Pocket Cinema Camera disappeared from stock during its $500 off sale a few weeks ago, if you've been considering the Production Camera, you may want to pull the trigger on this deal soon!

Best 4K Camera Deal - $100 off list price for a new Blackmagic Production Camera

Here's a great deal on a Super 35mm camera with a global shutter that doesn't need a paid firmware upgrade (e.g., Arri Amira) or a hack (e.g., Sony F5) to record 4K - the Blackmagic Production Camera.

With the addition of RAW recording, histogram, audio meters, and time-to-go in the last few (free) updates, this camera has come into its own. You can get one right now from Top-Rated 100% eBay seller AMG Studios in Ohio for just $2895 - $100 below list.

Only a couple are left at this price, so if you want one, you may want to pull the trigger now (and, if they're sold out, you can still get one by clicking on one of our sponsors' display ads below).  Thanks for helping to keep the posts coming.

Paul Ream's Sony F5 4K hack is real - Sony F55 owners not happy

Sony F5 owners just got an early Christmas present. Paul Ream's latest podcast describes exactly how he unlocked 4K recording on the heretofore 2K Sony F5 (discussion of Sony business ethics starts at 11:30 - legal caveats and technical discussion start at 17:15).

For those who need to see the procedure in writing, Paul has spelled it out:

Following on from our fourth podcast, this is the page where we’ve written the 4K4F5 guide down. It goes like this:

• Save a 2K XAVC ‘All Files’ setting to a blank SD card.
• Pop the SD card into your computer.
• Go to the Private/Sony/PRO/CAMERA/PMWF5 directory.
• Open the 001.ALL file with a plain text editor.
• Delete the whole of the first line (32 digit checksum)
• Change line 150 to one of the settings listed below.
• Save the file as 001.ALL (Plain text)
• Generate a new md5 checksum for the file.
• Open the file in your text editor again and add the new checksum as a new first line.
• Save and pop the SD card in your F5.
• Enjoy your new settings which can then be copied in camera to taste.

Your choice of new line 150′s are:

• 4K at 23.98 enter: 150=4096,2160,1001,24000,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,6
• 4K at 24 enter: 150=4096,2160,1,24,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,6
• 4K at 25 enter: 150=4096,2160,1,25,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,5
• 4K at 29.97 enter: 150=4096,2160,1001,30000,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,4
• 4K at 50 enter: 150=4096,2160,1,50,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,3
• 4K at 59.94 enter: 150=4096,2160,1001,60000,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,3
• QFHD at 23.98 enter: 150=3840,2160,1001,24000,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,6
• QFHD at 24 enter: 150=3840,2160,1,24,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,6
• QFHD at 25 enter: 150=3840,2160,1,25,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,5
• QFHD at 29.97 enter: 150=3840,2160,1001,30000,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,6>/li>
• QFHD at 50 enter: 150=3840,2160,1,50,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,3
• QFHD at 59.94 enter: 150=3840,2160,1001,60000,1,1,0,8,0,0,0,1,1,1,3

To generate an md5 checksum on a mac you can simply use terminal. Just type “md5 001.ALL” when you’re in the same directory as the file. Finally paste the 32digit code back into the first line in the file.

Not sure how to do this on Windows but there are web sites that will generate an md5 file code just by dropping it on a page!

Alternatively, here’s all my ‘ALL file’ settings as an example. They were generated on my camera with firmware 4.11. These can be saved to an SD card and used directly in your camera. Once loaded you can change any other menu settings and save them to your own camera cards as normal.

ALL_files_4.11

It is very interesting to see the shock and outrage over this discovery on Philip Bloom's Facebook page among the F55 crowd, though.

Camera companies make business decisions that disadvantage consumers all the time - at both consumer and pro ends of the market. I don't know why people continue to be surprised by this.

That said, if you've been thinking about getting the F5, but have been holding out for 4K, now may be the time to pick one up from existing stock from retailers (they are still $16,490 at Adorama). Sony will probably close this loophole in units that are yet to ship from the factory.

Panasonic VariCam 35 4K RAW Camera/Recorder Announced!

The new Panasonic VariCam 35 4K RAW camcorder

Finally! Panasonic comes up with a follow-on large sensor, interchangeable lens camcorder and enters the Super 35 game with a 14 stop 4K RAW modular camera and recorder. The Press Release (link below) says, "Ultimate Image Production for Cinema or Episodic Drama". The price is still TBD, but sources say it will be over $10K. It had better not be much over $10K if Panasonic wants to be competitive with the newly marked down $20K Canon C500.

The recorder can also be matched with a new VariCam HS 2/3" camera head for broadcast.

Both cameras will have 4 card slots - 2 for full size P2 cards, 2 for microP2 cards (the same cards used by the GH4).

The venerable Panasonic AG-AF100

A lot has happened in the four years (!) since Panasonic shook up the camcorder world with the first-ever large sensor interchangeable lens camcorder under $10,000, the AG-AF100.

With the passage of time, it may be a little difficult to remember how revolutionary this camera was - especially in the wake of successive rollouts of Super 35 interchangeable lens cameras from Panasonic's competitors - the Sony FS100, F3, FS700 ; quickly followed by the Canon Cinema EOS Line; the Sony F5/F55 and, most recently; the $2995 UHD Blackmagic Production Camera.

The VariCam 35, with its true 4K/120fps and HD 240fps slow motion, wireless capability, and other unique features is clearly a bid to regain Panasonic's leadership in the large sensor camcorder world.

If Panasonic can make this camera price competitive with the C500, it is likely find its way onto lots of movie and TV sets. If Panasonic RAW color is anywhere close to ArriRAW, it may even find itself competing with the big dogs. Welcome back, Panasonic. Here's the Press Release.

Sony F5, BMCC, RED Scarlet Shootout

522 Productions in the DC area just posted this great little shootout between the new Sony F5, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and the RED Scarlet.

They were able to compare side-by-side video of the BMCC and the RED, but they had to go with screenshots on the F5 because they use Adobe Premiere and the camera is so new it doesn't have an Adobe plugin yet. Nevertheless, they liked the ergonomics, the menus, the manual controls and the overall handling of the F5 most of all.  In part 2 of this shootout, they'll compare workflow in post for all three of these cameras. 

If you need a camera with film-like dynamic range and 2K or greater internal RAW recording, and you don't want to wait for the BMCC, the F5 is pretty much the only game in town.  And, even after the BMCC starts shipping in volume, the F5 will be the only 2K+ RAW camera below $20,000 with 120fps and XLR inputs. They are in stock right now for $16,490 at Adorama.