@lunalobo75 I asked my basic question about microphone power maybe a month or so ago. If I had access to a camera it would be fairly simple to make some basic audio tests. If I were to consider a purchase I would simply wait until a track record of shipping and repairing had been established. I'm sure they mean well, I'm just considering a scenario in which I would need a replacement or repair, which is 90 percent of my work. As far as the licensing goes, I'm not sure anyone can really answer that, but again, I don't really know. PB obviously got his cam. I think it is sort of a unique situation, most products have a worldwide license or copyright. Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolex The wikipedia article does not reference a source for the license claim, however.
Just in case anybody's curiosity is easily satisfied by the Soviet Pravda-like, (eyedrop-full of information we get fed just anytime the DB folks decide to)...
.. we might take a look at the check list of what needs to get reviewed here before we start waxing lyrical about the Bolex, sight unseen camera. Trying to work out if the DB is any good just by looking at what the seller chooses to reveal is about as useful as reading tea leaves.
Luminous Landscape's Panasonic GH2 Revisited is just one of many reviews where cameras get tested under lots of real world conditions and then maybe even examined up close in nice, quiet and dust-free labs by people in white coats and machines which hum..
(Ignore what the writer says, just look at what's covered)
A healthy marketplace has not one, but dozens of professional reviewers and thousands of user contributions!
@endotoxic There'll be a GH4 in my holster along with the Bolex too - don't you worry, partner;) They'll both be great cams for different uses for me.
FILM BY DAY GH4 BY NIGHT ALL DAY , FORGET BOLEX
Lol
PB´s shots with the cam look rather decent (dl'ed his upload file). Organic, though noisy. But then again, there were no situations that really pushed the dynamic range to a great extent. The look is pretty similar to Ikonoskop but that´s expected since it has a similar type of sensor. If anything this bring back the faintest of hopes that there some day will be an Aaton Penelope Delta available for rent somewhere. (CCD at the highest end can look so damn good).
No need for Blackmagic or Panasonic to worry, but Ikonoskop will need to step up or lower their asking price.
@DrDave you have some legitimate concerns - have you tried and email them directly at info@digitalbolex.com? They've been pretty good at getting back to me within 2 days time. Hopefully they can answer your questions, man.
My concern with this camera is suppose you are making a vid with it, and it breaks down, how are you going to get it repaired or replaced? That was one of the issues cited with PB when he unloaded his RED cam. And in this case, I have no idea what the "Bolex" license is, but in the Wikipedia it mentions that it is only licensed in the USA (I don't know that this is true, just what it says in WP). So suppose you are in Europe (which I often am) and you need a replacement and it gets permanently stuck in customs. I don't even know what the broader implications of the license are, does that mean you cannot for example use a photo or rushes from the set in promo-material-worldwide that show the Bolex logo on the cam? I don't want to have to worry about this stuff in the middle of a project.
What that means to me is that if you are doing a medium or high budget film, and there is an issue with the cam, as it stands right now you could be left high and dry. Hopefully that will change but I would be reluctant to put myself in that position.
@goanna I hadn't though of that, but that is pretty strange, considering that vaporware is sometimes prereviewed.
Maybe DB16 users shoot cats, we just don't know... :)
They do it in secret :-) I made some inspection lately and it seems like cats are unusually rare here. Not good.
from people who actually use camera's for a living and not gh2 shooters posting test footage of their mom's cat's on vimeo :P
Maybe DB16 users shoot cats, we just don't know... :)
@lunalobo75 "But, in the long run, it's just another opinion, I guess."
-and I only hope today it's a fair opinion from PB, that's all.
@CFreak hahhahha, maybe there was a contract, maybe not;)
'Anyone who spends a lot of time on a blog, can't have that much time left to work as a DP. AFAIK.'
If you check under his "Films" section on his blog, the guy has done a ton of work and still does; seems he only get's about 2 post a month on his blog now - now his twitter and Instagram is about as active as a honey badger on snake! But, in the long run, it's just another opinion, I guess.
Salud
from people who actually use camera's for a living and not gh2 shooters posting test footage of their mom's cat's on vimeo :P
My cats' lawyer contacted me and expressed how offended his clients are... furthermore - he said - they urge me to stop participating in macho like fanboysism useless arguments if I want to keep filming them {monkey making symbol with unknown meaning}
@lunalobo75 in what little I have seen of his in the last 3 years, I will say he has gotten fairer, perhaps the contract with Canon ran out… and now he CAN talk about moire and rolling shutter ;-) Anyone who spends a lot of time on a blog, can't have that much time left to work as a DP. AFAIK.
Did anyone else notice how the right side of the frame in the long panning shot of PB's "Ocean on Fire" was soft? It looks like it was only on the 18-35 Sigma. Could be his lens adapter? I hope it's not due to the sensor, not sitting flat in relation to the lens mount. Could also be a smudge on the rear element on one side. Other shots look slightly soft, but not like this. 1080 Screen shots show the problem. Click to enlarge.
@CFreak you may be right, he is a canon/Zacuto fan - but he definitely talks about moire, rolling shutter and the likes now with all cameras:) I dunno, I like what he has to say, but that's just my opinion.
@lunalobo75 "Bloom's review is coming shortly (yes, he bought a camera, but I always think he's fair with his reviews)."
Before he put up his disclaimer of giving every manufacturer a fair shake he was definitely Canon/Zacuto biased, if not in their pocket. In the early 5dmkii & 7D craze, he never once mentioned moire, which, was so bad (and obvious) when I bought a 7D, I sold it and stopped caring what Bloom says. He must have cut all the shots with moire out of his videos (focused on faces and organic shapes) and forgot to mention the issue. 'It's great camera, (except on wide shots).' Lmfao.
@goanna . Only kickstarter backers are receiving cameras at the moment, the camera is still on pre-order so I'm not really sure why you would expect all those sites to be posting reviews. In the meantime, plenty of initial footage out there from both DB, Phillip Bloom and other users. Or if you have a real question, you could actually just ASK on the DB forum and the company founder will likely reply within the day, try that with blackmagic.
PB was one of the first people to BACK the kickstarter and will post his full review soon, in addition to the footage and opinions he has already posted. Good place to start since I would urge folks to get their information from people who actually use camera's for a living and not gh2 shooters posting test footage of their mom's cat's on vimeo :P
@burnettrhoades: Agreed. The Master was triumph of cinematography :)
@goanna DB16 is shooting a promo commercial tomorrow, so they'll probably have it up soon. Bloom's review is coming shortly (yes, he bought a camera, but I always think he's fair with his reviews), and when there are more cameras for other review sites to work with, I'm sure they'll have their reviews up. Until then, I guess DB16 will just gave to survive through all the backlash. You can also find out more about the camera here a their site digitalbolex.com
Even though I say hold on a bit - I could really give a shit about this overpriced and oversized looking retro star trek phaser. Im quite happy with my current set up. :)
lets hold off a bit until we see a wider sampling of footage..
Visit the non-reviews of the Digital bolex.
The first camera to be not reviewed at famous camera review sites like ¹
Your search - Digital bolex - did not match any documents.
and also absent from many more review sites which seldom miss a new product. Apparently, the lack of product samples has something to do with it...
Hey, what's the deal with the "no-info" marketing idea? We know more about life on Mars than what the Digital Bolex can produce! Can anyone remember any camera being launched like this? At just what point do we declare this critical information "missing in action", a "cold case", and call off the search? Am I the only one to smell a rat here?
¹ (yes, we do know which site has indeed reviewed - and sells - this mystery camera)
@maxr Lol. BTW was lucky to have seen The Master on a big screen in theater. Good looking film.
Even a skeptical chap like me says lets hold off a bit until we see a wider sampling of footage, right now we're still looking at the work of those trying hard to justify their purchase and retro fanboyism.
Lenses have had CA forever. As long as we've had color stock to capture it, it's there. We ignore it. (as an aside, I once had a pair of aspheric eyeglasses that I could see CA through!) So CA is...whatever. It's a lens function. Just like soft corners and vignetting, experienced eyes/brains are ok it it, and inexperience ones don't have anything to compare to.
But color moire is both new and very difficult to remove in post. We're not used to seeing it, and most of the eyes that have experienced it in a further past associate it with cheap video capture/TV/news anchor neck ties. It'd be a simple fix for DB to add an AA filter, but this would probably eat some light (reducing the already poor DR) and increase softness (which is already present, since the tiny sensor is really pushing the res of most lenses), and push up cost.
I actually really want to like this camera. The whole development made me skeptical, yet a part of me wanted to be proven wrong and for DB to achieve a great product. All I see are apologies and marketing tactics, not a great product.
Totally, and I hope I didn't come across harsh or anything. I'm trying to work on that ;) I just only recently saw this film, despite PT Anderson being maybe my favorite contemporary director along with Danny Boyle. I wasn't expecting it to be that amazingly beautiful and arresting, visually.
@BurnetRhoades thank you for thoughtful insights ,-)
Guess The Master it's not such a good example after all, as I was kind of shoken by this "effect"; by contrast, as everything else was so... to be completely honest I had a hard time integrating the whole thing. Better now
But, as you put it very clear "unless you were making a broader point that chromatic effects are acceptable (and to me sometimes beautiful in their random contribution to a film)" I'll just add + imagining coherence, again the context thing. Now I'll leave the devil's advocate rol and maybe we can settle on it, have a beer and go for next minutes, je je
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