RED Announces Raven - takes on URSA Mini 4.6K, Sony FS7

Seven years after the "3K for $3K" Scarlet debacle, RED is delivering 4K for $6K with the EF mount $5950 (brain only) RED RAVEN.

Ready to shoot, with a V-Lock battery mount, touch screen LCD, 120GB RED MAG and handle, RAVEN will be less than $10,000.  Not quite #4K4ALL, but a lot closer than we've seen from RED to date.

Nice beauty shots in the intro video:



Sadly, there is no footage from the camera yet, but we have seen enough from RED sensors and color science to be fairly confident in Raven's ability to produce theatrical quality images.

With a brain-only weight of 3.5 lbs, 4K/120p and 2K/240p recorded internally to REDCODE RAW and an advertised 16.5(!) stops of latitude - this is going to be a powerful tool for filmmakers. RED says it's versatile enough for "documentaries, online and television" - but indies will almost certainly choose this camera for feature films on a budget.

But it's still relatively expensive.  Ready to shoot, it will cost about the same as a C300 Mark II - but that's not saying much. For shooters upgrading from DSLRs or entry level Super 35 cameras, Raven is going to be a very hard sell  - especially when you add the price of a viewfinder, ND filter and rigging.

A similarly equipped URSA Mini 4.6K EF will be $4995 plus the cost of a 128GB CFast 2.0 card (currently $249) while the Sony FS7 (with LCD, viewfinder and built-in NDs)  is $7999 and a 128GB XQD card is $685.

Here's our usual side-by-side specs comparison with cameras in the same price class (excluding 8-bit cameras such as the Sony FS5, Panasonic DVX200, Canon C100 and JVC LS300):

	Mini 4.6K EF	RED RAVEN	Sony PXW-FS7	Canon C300 II
Body Only Price	$4995	$5950	$7999	$15999
OEM Viewfinder	$1495 option	$3200 option	Yes	Yes
Sensor Size	25.34x14.25mm	20.48x10.88mm	25.5x15.6mm	24.4x13.5mm
Lens Mount	EF (add $500 for PL)	EF	Sony E	EF or PL
Max Resolution	4608x2592	4096x2160	4096x2160	4096x2160
Sensor S/N (advertised)	NA	80dB	57dB	NA
Dynamic Range (advertised)	15	16.5+	NA	NA
Max HD Frame Rate	120fps	120fps (240fps at 2K)	240fps	120fps
Codec	ProRes 422 or CDNG RAW	RED RAW, ProRes 422 (2K only)	XAVC 4:2:2 (ext. RAW)	XF-AVC 4:2:2 (4:4:4 HD)
Shutter	Selectable Global/Rolling	Rolling	Rolling	Rolling
Mic Input(s)	2xXLR w phantom	None	2xXLR w phantom	2xXLR w phantom
Headphone Output(s)	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
SDI Out(s)	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Storage	2xCFast 2.0	MINI MAG	2xXQD	2xCFast 2.0/1xSD
In Body Stabilization	No	No	No	No
ND Filter	No	No	Yes	Yes
Native Power Zoom	NA	NA	$548	$31K
Weight	5 lbs.	3.5 lbs.	4.4 lbs.	7.4 lbs.

Again, specs aren't everything - and neither is price - but, in my view, it is useful to know what you're getting for your money.

RED RAVEN is a significant camera. With an advertised March 2016 ship date, we should see it on the show floor alongside URSA Mini at NAB next spring.  I can't wait.

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First footage from new URSA Mini 4K!

Looks like the shooters who make up "The Dreamers", a wedding video production house in the Netherlands, are the first customers to take delivery of a couple of $2995 4K Blackmagic URSA Minis (plus accompanying $1495 Blackmagic viewfinders) - and they've been good enough to take the camera out on a couple of wedding shoots and share the results.

They shot the first wedding in 10-bit 4:2:2 ProRes HQ at 1080/60p rather than 4K, but I have to say that it looks pretty good - except for the moire on the groom's jacket at 1:10.



The second wedding was shot in 3840x2160 Ultra High Definition, again in ProRes.

This video has been password protected as private, but you can still see it in the URSA group I moderate over on Vimeo:

A Styled Shoot with the Ursa Mini 4K (in UHD)

This one looks a lot cleaner. If you have a Vimeo Plus or Pro account, you can download it and see for yourself (if you don't, you can sign up for a Pro account here).

The best news, however, is ergonomic.  After a couple of generations of Blackmagic cameras that have either looked like toasters or cellphones or weighed too much to carry, the Dreamers say "[The Mini] is incredibly well designed -- everything is exactly where you expect it to be..." (hat tip to nofilmschool.com for the quote).

At $2995 body-only, this camera is a pretty amazing value for the money.  For those who can't afford the extra $2000 for the 4.6K version, this is going to be a great, 10-bit entry-level cinema camera.

Blackmagic is clearly going to have to drop the price of the vanilla $2995 Production Camera 4K when URSA Mini 4K starts shipping in volume.

Super 35 camcorder prices continue to fall - 240fps Sony FS700 now $4999!

First generation large sensor camcorder prices continue their steady march downward. First, the Sony FS100 dropped to $2499. Then the Canon C100 dropped to $2999. Recently, the Panasonic AF100's price was slashed to $1999. Now, it's the Sony FS700's turn with a $1000 drop to $4999.

With its 4K sensor, RAW output, 1080/240p frame rate and power zoom compatibility, the FS700 was a breakthrough camcorder in its time. It's still tough to find a camera in this price class with a Super 35mm sensor and 240fps HD slow motion. As a reminder, here's what that looks like:



If you don't need 4K or RAW right now, but want a very capable slo-mo camera with built-in NDs, SDI out, XLRs and great low light performance, this might be a good opportunity to pick up this great Super 35 camcorder.

Panasonic AF100 pro camcorder now worth less than a couple of cell phones

                          

  

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Interestingly, the same day Panasonic's new $999.99 CM1 "communication camera" rolled out in the States, the company cut the price of its venerable AG-AF100 pro camcorder to $1999.

As a result, the AF100 is now worth less than the price of a couple of cell phones.

Looking back from 2015, it's hard to remember what a pioneering camcorder the AF100 was.  A year after the beginning of the DSLR revolution, Panasonic boldly unveiled a large sensor, interchangeable lens camera with XLR inputs, ND filters, a top handle and camcorder ergonomics and controls.  This was before the FS100, before the C100 and back when Blackmagic Design was still pretty much a video capture card company.

For a while, Panasonic had the market to itself - until its competitors figured out the AF100's vulnerability - its micro 4/3 sensor size.

The competition's first generation pro camcorders were Super 35.  Not only did they perform better in low light - they also had the cachet of a "Hollywood sized sensor."

Very quickly, the AF100 was eclipsed by the Sony FS100, the FS700 and then the Canon Cinema EOS series.

Now, about a half dozen manufacturers (to include AJA, Blackmagic, Kinefinity and JVC) are building sub-$10,000 interchangeable lens Super 35 cameras, while Panasonic's only offering in this price class remains the 5 year old AF100.

Panasonic really needs a Super 35 camera in this price class.  In HCR's opinion, the DVX200, with its micro 4/3 sensor and fixed lens, was a missed opportunity to fill this gap.

In the meantime, for shooters who don't need 10-bit or 4K and don't mind the smaller sensor, this is still a decent 8-bit 1080p camera - and, at $1999, might be worth buying as a starter cam for those want the camcorder form factor and can't afford a $2499 FS100 or a $2999 C100.

As always, if anything here has helped you to make a buying decision, please use the links here to make your purchases - it won't cost you anything extra, and it will help to keep these blog posts coming.  Thank you so much for your support of the revolution!

JVC GY-LS300 review coming soon!

As some of you know, HCR rented a JVC GY-LS300 UHD "4K" Super 35mm camcorder last weekend to run some side-by-side tests with the GH4. Sadly, our partners at Borrowlenses don't have one yet, so we rented it from the great folks at LensRentals. Still putting the review together, but here's a preview pic:

JVC GY-LS300 with Panasonic 14-140 lens and AT835b mic

It was nice to shoot with a real camcorder again - the UHD image quality is great - and the adjustable crop sensor is really cool - but the camera does have a couple of challenges.

Please check back for the complete review!

4K JVC GY-LS300 Super 35 camcorder in stock now!

Although it is still on pre-order for $3995 at Adorama, if you need a 4K Super 35 live streaming camcorder right now, you can get the JVC GY-LS300 from Electronics Basket via Amazon.

The camera is in stock and ready to ship. Here are a couple of examples of the images it can produce:







This is the least expensive interchangeable lens Super 35mm camcorder you can buy with a camcorder style body, power zoom compatibility and XLR inputs - plus built-in 1080p live streaming. Please keep checking back here  - I will rent one of these as soon as I can and shoot a side-by-side with the GH4 for you to take a look at.

As always, if anything here has helped you to make a purchase decision, please shop using the links above or the displays below and in the margins. And even if you're not in the market for a new camera, please comment and make suggestions below. It won't cost you anything extra, and it will help to keep these posts coming.

And for the latest deals, news, tips and techniques, please follow HCR on Blogger, Twitter and YouTube  - and circle us on Google+.

First "4K"/60p footage from the Blackmagic Ursa!

Today, Pro cinematographer and Blackmagic tester John Brawley posted the first UHD/60p footage we've seen from the Ursa PL on his blog. I saw this camera at NAB and it is physically gorgeous - with a huge, bright screen, sound meters you can see from across the room and lots of proper SDI outputs. And from the looks of John's footage, the image quality doesn't disappoint, even at ISO 400 with a T3.7 lens:



At $5995 for the EF mount version and $6495 for PL mount, this camera seems to address many of the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K's limitations (with the exception of the "black sun" problem) at a price point that significantly undercuts 4K cameras from RED, Sony and Canon that cost a lot more.

If Blackmagic were to add DCI standard 12-bit 4K (4096x2160) 4:4:4 RAW to this camera (instead of UHD), and fix the darned black sun, they'd sell a whole lot more of them in Hollywood. Maybe at next year's NAB.

Price cut - Super 35mm NEX-FS100 camcorder now $2500 w free Metabones adapter!

Sony has slashed the suggested retail price of the body-only NEX-FS100 Super 35 camcorder to $2850 U.S. list price. Retailers have marked it down even further ($2499 at Adorama with a mail-in coupon for a free Metabones EF to NEX Mark II smart adapter).

This is a big deal. As of yesterday, the retail price for this 8-bit 4:2:0 camera was $4999 - about the same price as the 8-bit Canon C100. So Sony has taken about a third off the price of this camera in one day.

In my view, this is a common sense move. Sony is reacting to the marketplace - shooters can buy a $495 Blackmagic Pocket Camera with 10/12-bit internal recording or a $1700 Panasonic GH4 with 4 times the resolution of the FS100 and 10-bit 4K output.  A $5000 price point for this camera was unrealistic (Canon, are you listening?).

That said, this is still an excellent low-light camcorder, except for its ergonomics, where the C100 is clearly better. But if your budget is below $3000, and you really want Super 35 - you may want to seriously consider this deal.