Great 4K Camera Deal - $50 off list price for a brand new Panasonic GH4

It can be a challenge to find the hot-selling Panasonic GH4 at less than list price, but here's a deal - a brand new US warrantied GH4 marked down by $50 to $1649.95 at 99.3% positive seller Global Distributions via eBay.

As of this post, there were only 8 left at this price - so, if you want to take advantage of this deal, you may want to pull the trigger now.

If you miss the sale, and don't mind a pre-owned camera, you can still find open box and used bargains at the Adorama Used Store and Amazon.

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Scored a used Panasonic GH4 for less than $1500 - keep your eye on the used departments at your favorite online stores!

I've been trying to find a used GH4 body in stock for the past few weeks - and a couple have gotten away from me - but this morning, Providence smiled on me and I was able to pick up a used body for $1499.95 from B&H!

In addition to B&H, I kept my eye on Amazon Warehouse Deals, the Adorama Used Store and eBay.

Even though my camera is on the way, I'll keep looking for used GH4 deals for you guys and will post them here and on Reddit - so please follow the blog and keep checking Reddit Best Video Deals.

Now to start the familiar vigil - sitting by the door until the delivery driver comes!

BBC Shoots Amazing Aerial Footage of Brazil with the Venerable GH2!

I lived in the UK for 5 years, and was always impressed by the BBC's willingness to explore new technologies for news gathering.  Here is some great BBC multicopter footage of Rio and back country Brazil shot with a classic Panasonic GH2:



And here is an interview with the pilot:


If you want one if these great ¨old"cameras, you can still pick up a used body starting at about $540 in the US and about £400 in the UK.

Flycam Flyboy III Stabilizer - Less Than $60!

Here's a great how-to video from the CineCity in India on balancing the new Flycam Flyboy III lightweight stabilizer. The camera seen in the example is the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera - which seems to be the perfect target camera for a lightweight stabilizer. What makes it even better is that the compact Flyboy III is less than $60 from the CineCity on eBay!



This looks like it's easy enough to balance that I'll actually use it. There are only 9 left as of this post - I'm ordering mine now, so there will only be 8 left for you guys :)

If you prefer not to order from eBay, get one from the CineCity through Amazon for a few dollars more.

My GH3 Rig for NAB

I finally broke down and bought a set of rails. I'll be doing some one-man band interviews and B-roll with my GH3, Sigma 18-50mm constant f/2.8 lens, Audio Technica AT835b mic and Hosa MIT-156 XLR to 3.5mm transformer adapter at NAB next week, and since I'll be putting a new F&V R-300 LED Ring Light in front of the camera, I needed a set of rails.

The least expensive option I could find was a set of $21 40cm/16-Inch rods with end caps, a $30 camera mounting plate, a $30 quick release, a $23 RainbowImaging pistol grip, a $7.50 Pixel remote cable for Panasonic cameras and a $35 convertible shoulder pad/shotgun rest.

Please subscribe to the blog to catch my updates from NAB next week - and I'll definitely let you know how the new rig works out!

One Day Only - Brand New Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera for $895!

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera marked down $100 to $895 for one day only from Adorama via eBay. 12-bit RAW video from camera that costs less than $900! This is an unbelievable deal.

Limited number available at this price - if you want one, you may want to pull the trigger now.

Panasonic G6 Marked Way Down!

As of this post, the best price for the terrific Panasonic G6 still/video camera is at Samy's via eBay or Amazon.

The price on this deal is too low to post - but if you're looking for the absolute best large sensor, interchangeable lens video camera in this price range, you should click on one of the links above or the display ads below and pull the trigger on this deal now. There are only 6 left at this price.

Preproduction Panasonic GH4 in the Field!

Eduardo Angel gives us a tantalizing taste of what it's like to shoot with the new Panasonic GH4 4K camera in a blog post entitled, "7 things we discovered after shooting 4K with the GH4. You won't like #4."

I'm not going to repeat Eduardo's 7 lessons here (you can head over to Eduardo's excellent post to read the list), but there are a few really great nuggets in his blog post that aren't explicitly spelled out.  For example:

• the GH4 seems to have no problem with a little snow and moisture - there's a picture of it sitting on the ground in the snow


• the GH4 fits GH3 cages without any issues - Eduardo used a Swedish Chameleon GH3 cage, but the $90 Photography & Cinema Fhugen Fusion Honu Cage should work just fine


• the Letus AnamorphX is relatively large - and really changes the look of the camera - a little more so than the SLR Magic Anamorphot

SLR Magic Anamorphot

Letus AnamorphX

It's also clear from Eduardo's experience that the price of SD cards for this camera is going to be a challenge. The $99 (on sale) 95MB/s R/W Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC cards that work to record Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera RAW don't seem to work with this camera.

Fortunately for Eduardo, he had an early copy of the new Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-II 280MB/s(!) card - but he still plans to buy the pricey Panasonic 64 GB microP2 card when he gets his production version of the camera.

Here's a bonus for you Spanish speakers - Eduardo's interview in Español (no subtitles) with CineDigital.tv on his experiences with the GH4:




Really looking forward to seeing the footage that Eduardo and his team shot on this snowy New York day!

Asia Beats Metabones to the Punch - Canon EF to MFT Focal Reducer Available Now!

Courtesy R.J. Camera Accessories

R.J. Camera Accessories in Shanghai is selling the long awaited Canon EF to Micro 4/3 focal length reducer and speed booster for $139 on eBay.  Metabones has promised a Canon to MFT Speed Booster for months, but has not yet delivered.

Although Asian companies such as Mitakon and Zhangyi started out by merely copying Metabones, they now have a legitimate claim to a share of market leadership.

Time for Metabones to step up to the plate.

Full Frame Prices Headed Down? Nikon D800 Marked Down to $2570!

The USA model Nikon D800 (with the full manufacturer's warranty) is on sale at Ryther Camera via eBay for just $2569.99 - $226.96 less than today's sale price at Amazon and Adorama!

If the D800 is on your Christmas list this year, this is a great deal for a capable still/video camera.  To refresh your memory, here's Sandro's promo film for this camera from last year:




The 5D Mark III is on sale too - as low as $2749 at Amazon.

This could simply be pre-Christmas camera discounting - or perhaps the $2298 street price of the new 36.3MP Sony A7r mirrorless is putting pressure on flagship full frame DSLR prices?

Canon SL1 Marked Down $150 to $449!

Now entry level shooters who want access to the incredible range of Canon lenses (and Canon shooters looking for a "B" camera) have two low cost options - the $245 Canon EOS M mirrorless with a $60 EF to EF-M Adapter, or the world's smallest and lightest DSLR - the Canon SL1, on sale for $449 right now at Amazon, Adorama and Newegg via eBay.

For filmmakers on a budget, it is hard to argue with a price tag between $300 and $450 for a camera body that can give you results like these (from the talented Chad Soriano):







Either of these cameras would make a great stocking stuffer this Christmas!

If you don't need a camera right now, please shop with our other sponsors, Adorama, Amazon, BorrowLenses, CoolLCD, DigitalRev, uBid, Vimeo, the the Warner Brothers Shop and others whose display ads you see in the margins.  It won't cost you anything extra, and it will help to keep these blog posts coming.  Thanks so much!

GoPro Hero 3+ Black In Stock on eBay

With Christmas coming up, the #1 Best Selling Camcorder on Amazon, the $399 GoPro Hero 3+ Black, is temporarily out of stock. No worries - if you need one right now, they're still in stock for $420 at motosportsgear via eBay!

Sandisk Extreme Pro still the only card for Blackmagic Pocket Cinema RAW

(This post has been edited to reflect the fact that, after testing, the Toshiba Exceria shows dropped frames in RAW and ProRes.  As a result, HCR can no longer recommend it for BMPCC shooters).

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera shooters still have only one choice - if they want to shoot CinemaDNG RAW, they need a SanDisk Extreme Pro 64 GB Card, period.

To date, this has been the only card recommended for recording CinemaDNG RAW on Blackmagic Design's approved list of SD cards.  This card is a solid performer, with a 95MB/s read/write speed, it is the fastest SDXC card on the market today.  But is a relatively expensive.  As of this post, it is $120 at Amazon, $120 at Adorama, and the same price at B&H.

But then came Ruben Kremer's November 18th update of his "Evolving Pocket Cinema Camera SD Card Compatibility List"

UPDATE I 2013, November 18th - I've added the Toshiba Exceria Type 2 64GB SDXC card. This one works flawlessly with the ProRes and initial tests have shown that it might just be the Sandisk-killer ;-) ... A locked-down shot of 5 minutes in CinemaDNG RAW recording was done without any dropped frames. So it's looking good for this card. If it'll pass further tests, it'll be the new recommended card. Since it is (in the Netherlands) on average only 66% of the price of the Sandisk.

Based on Ruben's update, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a Toshiba Exceria 64GB SDXC card with 95MB/s read, 60MB/s write speeds.  You can get this card from Japan via Amazon for about $80, but I was able to pick one up from a retailer here in the States on eBay for $61.55 (plus $5.39 tax for Californians) - about half the price of the SanDisk.

Sadly, after testing by one of the readers of this blog, and after testing the card here at HCR, the verdict is in: the Exceria is not a substitute for the Sandisk Extreme Pro.   The Exceria is still a decent 64GB card - but not for RAW or ProRes recording.