Pro large sensor, interchangeable lens Sony NEX-EA50 shoulder mount camcorder now costs less than a Handycam!

You can now pick up a sale-priced Sony NEX-EA50UH professional APS-C interchangeable lens camcorder with a shoulder mount, a 18-200mm power zoom lens and XLR mic inputs for $2299 - less than the cost of the NEX-VG30 Handycam with the same lens and a 3.5mm consumer mic input.

These cameras may be limited to 1080p 4:2:0 recording in a 4K 4:2:2 world - but NEX-EA50 shooters such as Henry D.C. Williams nevertheless continue to produce some very good work:






If you're an NEX shooter who wants to upgrade to a professional large sensor camcorder, but who doesn't need 4K, this deal may be for you.

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.

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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+.

4K JVC GY-HM200 live streaming camcorder available now!

If you don't want to wait for your pre-ordered JVC GY-HM200 to arrive, you can get one right now for $2899.99 from Electronics Basket via Amazon.

There is a UHD video sample from this camera at 13:48 into this Videoaktiv review (in German). Please watch at 2160p and your monitor's highest resolution:






The UHD images are certainly crisp and clear - even on YouTube - but for me, the most exciting thing about this camera (and its big brother, the Super 35mm GY-LS300) is the built-in live streaming capability.

Both new JVC 4K cameras have a live streaming encoder built-in and can transmit 1080p via wi-fi or Ethernet to your internet connected phone/tablet/laptop via an inexpensive adapter (such as the $36 ASUS USB-N53 dual band wireless-N USB adapter).

With these cameras, there is no need to buy a more expensive (and less mobile) external encoder such as the Blackmagic Intensity to get to the web.

Alternatively, you can connect a 4G LTE dongle (such as the AT&T AirCard 3131U or the Verizon UML290) to the camera and go straight to the web from the camera's IP address. Here's a video that walks us through the process:




I'm pretty sure I'm going to ditch my camcorder, GH1, GH2 and GH3 and buy the LS300 for this feature alone.

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+.

Sony PXW-X70 getting its 4K upgrade in June - priced at 485€

Click on the image above to order the Sony PXW-X70 from Amazon

A few days ago, Sony Europe announced several new firmware upgrades for its PXW cameras, to include a free 4096x2160 4K upgrade for its shoulder mounted $7999 Super 35mm camcorder, the PXW-FS7.

Seemingly lost in the hoopla around the FS7 news, another important upgrade was part of that announcement - a paid 3840x2160 UHD upgrade for Sony's $2299 1" sensor camcorder, the PXW-X70.

Sadly, at a rumored price of 485€ (about $550USD) for the upgrade, the X70 would become a $2850 UHD "4K" camera - a little more expensive than I had hoped - but also a possible opportunity for JVC.

Click on the image above to pre-order the JVC GY-HM200 from Adorama

With its built-in XLR jacks, ND filters and Wi-fi streaming, JVC's new 1/2.3" sensor camcorder, the $2695 UHD GY-HM200 (scheduled to ship in late March) now becomes the lowest cost pro UHD camcorder on the horizon.

When it ships, the HM200 will become the only game in town for shooters who need a pro UHD or 4K camcorder below the price of the $2799 Panasonic HC-X1000 between March and June (the start of wedding season).

It will be interesting to see whether Sony ends up reducing the price of the X70 UHD upgrade in the face of lower priced UHD/4K competition from JVC and Panasonic.  Let's hope so.

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+.

Free Metabones adapter or Rokinon lens with new 4K JVC GY-LS300 at 3/18 LA event!

4K JVC GY-LS300 - $3995 at Adorama - click image to pre-order

In another sign that JVC is going "all out" with the introduction of the GY-LS300, selected dealers are offering a Metabones adapter (EF, Nikon G or PL) or one of two Rokinon full frame Cine DS lenses (24mm or 35mm) for free with the purchase of JVC's new 4K Super 35mm camcorder.

This would be a savings of up to $799 (for the Rokinon 24mm Cine DS lens).

Three dealers offering this promotion are:

• Adorama in New York
• EVS in LA (Glendale)
• VSA at several locations in the Midwest
• G&G in Saddlebrook, NJ

If you want to see the camera in person before you order, EVS is hosting the LS300's "LA debut" on March 18th from 1:00 to 3:00PM at their Glendale store.  JVC execs and techs will be there - and there will be a free (with security deposit) "rent before you buy" promotion.

And if you don't need interchangeable lenses, you can get the new 4K JVC GY-HM200 with its fixed 12x zoom lens, and 2/3" sensor for just $2695.

The HM200 is going to put a lot of pressure on the much more expensive 4K camcorders from Sony and Panasonic, the FDR-AX1 and HC-X1000 (as well as JVC's own GY-HMQ10) .

My guess is that the prices of these cameras will have to come down.

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+.

Is it a cinema camera or not? Newsshooter reviews the "4K for $4K" JVC GY-LS300 Super 35mm camcorder

4K JVC GY-LS300 - $3995 at Adorama - click image to pre-order

Kudos to Matthew Allard at newsshooter.com for posting the first English language review of this exciting new micro four thirds mount camcorder - the camera I call  "the Panasonic AF200 that should have been".

And kudos to JVC for doing what Panasonic should have done with the micro four thirds mount - adapted it to an affordable Super 35mm camcorder.

From the review, here's Matthew's real-world example of what this $3995 camera can do in a documentary/newsgathering scenario:


 
Matthew's review speaks for itself - but I found it interesting that JVC told him that "the GY-LS300 is not being marketed as a cinema camera."

Then why the heck was Craig Yanagi from JVC at Sundance with the LS300 last month?


 

As with any company introducing a new product, there is probably a little confusion in the marketing department over messaging - but JVC needs to get a handle on this, or they will miss a golden opportunity to make inroads with independent filmmakers.

Whether JVC's "ENG-centric" marketing department likes it or not, Super 35 is a cinema format - and the LS300 is likely to be seen as a relatively inexpensive and easy to use entry level cinema camera by film schools, DSLR upgraders and other low budget filmmakers.

This is a real opportunity for JVC to enter a marketplace where they have not been competitive.  I hope they don't screw it up.

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+.

4K Panasonic VariCam 35 vs 3.2K Arri Alexa

4K Panasonic VariCam 35

3.2K Arriflex Alexa

Over the last few years, as 4K (and higher) resolution digital cinema cameras from other manufacturers have flooded the marketplace, Arri has steadfastly (some might say stubbornly) resisted giving its cameras the ability to record at resolutions higher than 2K.

In answer to a question at IBC 2012 on when there would be a 4K version of Alexa, for example, camera system product manager Marc Shipman-Mueller said  "...there is just not an urgent need for it...".

Suddenly however, the need must have suddenly become more "urgent" - because Arri has, in quick succession, announced UHD ProRes for Amira (August 2014) and 3.2K ProRes for Alexa (February 2015).

Perhaps coincidentally, the Amira upgrade was announced a few weeks before the new Panasonic VariCam 35 started shipping.  This is a camera that Panasonic seems to have aimed squarely at Arri.  With its 14+ stops of advertised dynamic range and true 4K 120fps ProRes recording, DPs are getting results like these:


 


 





For more examples of the stunning image quality this camera can produce - especially at its "dual native" ISOs of 800 and 5000, please join the new Panasonic VariCam 35 community I moderate over on Vimeo.

And if you're in the market for a high end 4K, 14+ stop cinema camera that can record 2K and 4K simultaneously, features slow motion at up to 120fps and a native ISO of 5000, you can buy or finance the VariCam 35 at Omega Broadcast for $55K.

As always, even if you're not in the market for a VariCam or an Alexa, please shop using the links above or the displays below and in the margins. 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+.