Personal View site logo
Z CAM E2-M4 4K Camera - made to fight with BM cameras
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    image

    Specs

  • 15 Replies sorted by
  • IronFilmIronFilm

    That price difference is so close now between E2-M4 vs P4K!

    Big slashes of prices across the board too, except the E2C also don't get a price drop :-/ A pity, if it had got say a 25% drop then at $599 it could be tempting for me against the Panasonic G85. But for now, I personally would take the IBIS and ease of use over a box with the GH4 sensor and internal 4K 10bit

  • sammysammy

    Don't they both use the same sensor? The E2 M4 and P4K?

  • markr041markr041

    @sammy He is comparing the E2 and the E2C. The E2C has the GH4 sensor; the E2 has the same sensor as theP4K and it is not the GH4 sensor.

  • CFreakCFreak

    So what are the pros and cons between the new E2-M4 vs. BMPCC4k...? Monitor, mount, codec, recording media, resolutions, FPS....

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @CFreak

    Biggest difference for now is much more open and accessible team behind E2.

    Plus camera is much more modular and firwmare updates can be actually discussed with them.

    BMPCC is more polished.

  • markr041markr041

    I think the biggest difference is that you can shoot with high frame rates in 4K - up to 160P - with the E2-M4. There is no camera that can do that - 120P C4K with no crop and no time limit - for less than some large amount of money and bulk. In 10bit color. Internally.

    Also the big lcd on the BMPCC4K is useless for handheld shooting because it is at a fixed angle. You need a monitor anyway, in which case it is a big ugly thing. Battery life with its single battery is terrible, so you need to bulk it up even more with some kind of battery pack. No auto ISO. Just useless for run and gun.

  • kurthkurth

    alright @mark041...valid point, but why, if I was buying this priced m4/3 camera, would I choose the zcam, or even the blackmagic....over the gh5 ? Doesn't evf and ois win this fight ? I'm really interested in hearing some replies to this question.

  • markr041markr041

    @kurth I agree that IBIS is a powerful feature allowing one to use a much wider variety of lenses, and an evf is useful sometimes. But if you use an OIS lens, you can get adequate stabilization with the Z Cam, so it is a feature lack that can be overcome. But you cannot get 4K 120P+ from the GH5. Of course, that is a specialized feature. I also think the color science of the Z Cam and the Pocket 4K is visibly better than that from the GH5 and there are better codec options. The Z Cam and the Pocket 4K use the same sensor as the GH5s, which is a better sensor in many ways for video (and the GH5s has no IBIS). The GH5 is much easier to use, requiring no rigging - it is a complete camera with excellent video output. My main comparison is with the Pocket 4K and the Z Cam, where I think the former is unuseable by itself for handheld work, and offers less shooting options than the Z Cam (4K 120P+ again!).

  • kurthkurth

    @markr041....what about the new loupes for the blackmagic? Shoulder rigged would definitely work for run & gun. And yeah slomo is one flaw in the pocket. I believe the gh5 has even higher famerates in 1080. And truthfully have you checked out vegas's new slomo ? Being a still shooter as well, an evf is more than a little useful. I just thru the gh5 in this comparison because they're all about the same price...and I think would be considered by anyone looking at m4/3. Maybe too, the gh5s but it's in another price bracket...and fatally doesn't have stabilization...which for me outweighs the slightly better video specs. Of course, if somebody is shooting a real locked down film with even a minimum crew, then they'd have different agendas. I also , if I was buying one of these, would weigh in the source. Going forward things will change. Which company has the strength to stay and how well are their products protected. I've been a pany user since the gh1. As u remember, i own the original zcam. That didn't taste that sweet, until the hack at least. And even though blackmagic is solid and a beautiful piece of technology, and I bet their v2 will correct at least the stabilization, I'd still put my less than $1500 m4/3 camera choice with pany.

  • markr041markr041

    @kurth I have no disagreement with that conclusion.

  • MikeLinnMikeLinn

  • DrDaveDrDave

    @markr041 My initial experience with the GH5S was that is was quite good but not quite as sharp as the plain GH5. Do you have a feeling about the IQ of the Z Cam M4 vs the GH5S as far as resolving detail? Tx.

  • meemee

    E2 and all z cams for that matter are also ideal gimbal camera's Not only because of clearance and mounting friendliness, but because the best case scenario for a gimbal is a balanced cube, not a long thing with the battery off to one side as well as cable mounts. Everying is inline with center of gravity on z cams. With a good pancake or little Olympus 12mm it is only bested in principle by little gimbals with the camera built in and rounded for little wind resistance like osmo's. With the Zcam though you could squeeze two side by side on a large enough gimbal and have a very good relatively small 3d cinema camera. Try doing that with BMP4K/6K.

  • jleojleo

    I thought the E2 would be too heavy to balance on a Zhiyun Crane v2 but it works with NP-F550 battery, and smaller lenses like the Lumix 12-32mm compact zoom, or Slr Magic 8mm f4.

  • jleojleo

Add a Comment