The Sony F55 wouldn't be here by now without Red. They have learned quite a bit from them – good or bad ;-)

@Oediapax Melodramatic or not, he's 100% right about the price and resolution changes in the industry around the time of the RED One. I didn't always agree with the tone of his posts, but I really respected and appreciated the huge change in digital cinema that RED brought about (both directly and indirectly), both in terms of their own pricing and the subsequent pricing of their competitors.

• Pre-RED (early 2000s): $250,00 for Sony's top of the line digital cinema camera (which shot at 1080P).

• At the time Jarred Land Steps Down in 2013: The most expensive digital cinema cameras are all under $90,000 in their starting configurations.

I think that's a good thing, no matter what brand you choose to buy.

@Jean71 As a GH2 owner, the things I miss the most are:

• A higher dynamic range.
• RAW or compressed RAW.
• Higher frame-rates.
• HIgher resolutions.
• Reduced/eliminated rolling shutter issues.

All of the cameras announced so far in the BMCC range address at least two of those, and at least one addresses 4.

I got my GH2 used for $600. The BMPCC is around $1,000. If I were buying new equipment at the moment, it would be at the top of the list. It adds 40% of the functionality I was most looking for in a new camera for $400 more than I paid for the GH2. That's huge.

The GH2 has lots of things that it also does really well, but it seems odd given the huge amount of interest in things like "more dynamic range" or "adjust color profiles/film modes" or "higher than 8-bit codec" in terms of the speculation for the GH3 was released to not be impressed by a camera that adds all those things for less than the original MSRP of the GH3. :)

@rockroadpix

Did you mean that? It doesn't seem to me, but if you tell you did, then i've taken your comment too seriously, yep!

@Jean71

+1 I also sign your statement about C300 / FS700. If you don't need slomo and have the the budget get a C300. Amazing colors out of the camera will allow you to do a lot of jobs in short time. If you dont have the budget for a c300 try to intriguing your clients with some slomo shot and you will have a very fast return of your investment.. For blockbuster purpose get a team and rent your equipment.

coming back to the topic: I liked what I saw. Peroid.

@vicharris

You got right about BMC, consider i was thinking about the compact BMCC, then i tought: it's 1080p, how can it be better of GH2 with a good patch? Not so better to tempt me to "upgrade" from GH2 ;-)

Even $2000 BMC, it will deliver a nice 2k, but 2.5k debayered is not yet the best 2K ever.

My thoughts? I really agree with @shian on this, when he says 4k can deliver the perfect 2k. So my wish is a price drop even for the 4k BMC (at $3000, a 1k drop like its older sister), and it would be a great deal.

@rockroadpix

"it has no soul, much like it's owner..."

I agree with you, you can dislike a product. I'm not a Red fan, I became a Red owner the day they sold Red Mx for $4000, and yes, I like what it does, 4.5K 2.40:1 RAW, can you believe it at that price? I like Sony F5-55-65, I like Canon C300, I like BMCC.

Surely I will buy one of the above, but for my budget now, let's say: surely i will buy the 4k BMCC :-)

Pay attention to what you say, because there's a lot of indipendent filmakers and Award winning/blockbuster directors that made their fortune with Red cameras, and between them I can recognize some artists with a great soul, so your conclusion is pointless.

Let's say: FOR YOU that camera it has no soul, and that is legit.

When you speak about other people, please consider the Humanity as something that you can't put in a box. You can't judge who has a soul and who don't, just for a tool.

My advice? I give it you for free: stay out of people life/soul and continue to dislike the THINGS you dislike.

I'm in Europe, we had bad examples of people who decided who's got soul and who not.

All this with no means to offend, just weight your words before write them in a community.

Salud.

P.S. If you refer as Jannard like the owner, that's quite the same thing: you: should bring examples of that guy not having soul.

@Jean71 I have the Canon 24-70 (Mk1) and 70-200 (no IS Mk 1) and I certainly enjoy using them. But I'm surprised to see you suggesting the C300 in this context (that is, for a narrative picture apparently aiming for the highest image quality, or I would infer that from wanting to use RED Dragon).

The primary advantages a C300 offers over a GH2 are:

• Internal ND filters

• Timecode

• Aspects of the ergonomics of the controls

• Active EF mount

• Superior high ISO performance.

• Scopes Etc.

In other words, primarily the sort of enhancements that really make a big difference with short setup times (especially run-n-gun, documentary, news, etc.) but can be worked around in narrative projects with a bit more time built into the schedule (or supplemental equipment that is significantly less expensive than a C300).

Let's look at a C300 vs a GH2. Both of them output "pre-baked" 8-bit codec files (with a hacked GH2 having more bitrate) and you can buy a GH2 (or whatever version you feel fits better, like a G6 or similar) for the cost of renting a C300 for a while.

The extra money you spend a C300 won't get you:

• More bit depth (still 8-bit)

• Much in the way of extra dynamic range

• A RAW/compressed RAW/wavelet codec

• Higher resolution or framerate options

In other words, almost none of the things that a RED Dragon (or even Scarlet or BMCC if you forget framerate) normally have as some of their big selling points.

I think that C300 is a great camera for run-and-gun applications (and in my brief exposure to using one, I loved the way it felt in my hands and the buttons laid out, etc.) but I just don't understand how the pricing makes sense for a narrative film in this context.

@010101 Finished Red Dragon products are offered in 5 configurations from their store:

• Brain Only $29,000

• Brain with Side SSD and Lens Mount $31,200

• EPIC-M RED DRAGON GUNNER COLLECTION Price $42,360

• EPIC-M RED DRAGON COLLECTION Price $45,300

• EPIC-M RED DRAGON PRO COLLECTION Price $58,385

You would need one of the 3 collections, but which one would depend on your specific needs. The way I read your description, any of the 3 collections starting at $42,360 and up would work in terms of shooting. The two at $45,300 and above would allow you to shoot more footage.

I think the best fit would probably be the $45,300 collection. You might also want to add a few cheap 3rd party power bricks for it as well.

The backups would depend on what media you were backing up to (3rd party SSDs or hard drives, etc.).

But somewhere between $45,300 and $50,000 depending on your specific needs would sound about right.

thats an insane amount of dynamic range. no more need to gel windows or have expensive lights trying to compete with the sun. Its basically nearly idiot proof in regards to capturing a good exposure in most lighting conditions.

Personally, I really enjoyed the results with the high ISO footage. I'm not saying anything about how it compares to other cameras (because I think the general idea of @smsjr's points is valid) but the video does clearly demonstrate the ability to get good high ISO results (which is a big deal for things like shooting exterior landscapes around sunset and sunrise, for example).