It ain’t over till it’s over, bitches!
And I’m saying it ain’t over.
True, I’m new to the DSLR game (some would say LATE) and I
have less experience than most shooters I know. Not to mention I am writing
this with the dual sins of being an early snob AGAINST the DSLR Revolution, and,
honestly, having no facts/numbers/insider information to back this article up.
It is merely MY OPINION, and you are free to disagree me if you so desire. So
here it is.
My thesis is this: The DSLR Revolution IS JUST BEGINNING.
I know, I KNOW, some of you have been trying to pound nails
into coffins for the past year. Ever since the Blackmagic Cinema camera came
out people have been screaming “FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST!” And free from what
exactly? Low bit-rate footage? H.264? Aliasing and moire?
Eh, not-so-much.
And a lot of folks have come to the interwebs to take Canon
to task over its APC sensor of late. Though I can’t disagree with you on that,
I can totally see why the efforts of Blackmagic and Sony and the uprising of 4k
has done nothing, really, to move the sleeping giant. Let’s go by the numbers.
First, Blackmagic. The Blackmagic Cinema camera is AWESOME.
No doubt about it. 2.5k RAW, out-of-the-box (no hacking required), interchangeable
lenses (with a canon and MFT mount),
Prores codec, DiVinchi Resolve (a massive color correction program)
included, all for less than 3k, sorry, 2k—I’m as much of a fanboy as I could
possibly be…from a distance.
Because, um, you know, I can’t afford it.
"Oh, c’mon!" you say. "Rent!" you say. Nope, still can’t afford
it. See the Blackmagic has some problems (that we all know about, and I’ll just
briefly outline here) that keep it from being a viable option for low-to-no
budget level shooters, such as myself. Such as: 2.5k RAW footage creates 6.8 gigs of
footage a minute, or, 410 gigs an hour.
Yeah. Hope you got a fast computer.
Not to mention that if you shoot RAW you have to first color
correct it (or run it through some color correction program) AND THEN spit it
from one program to another to edit it in another format. And some of you are
saying “Well, so what? It’d be the same if you were shooting RED.” And you’re
right, I can’t afford to do that either. But I knew that. Even Red knew that.
Their cameras are close to 20 grand to START. They assume you come ready to
play. This camera costs less than a Canon 5D. Theoretically, you could cut back
on your beer money for a few months and buy/rent one (if you’re working steady.
But the problem with these cameras is that they come with HIDDEN FEES. They
seem great on paper, but then as soon as you open them up, you got problems:
Storage space fees, extra hard drives, camera rig fees.
And let’s discuss that one, shall we?
I have a camera rig. It’s a nice all-purpose rig I bought to
the tune of $350. Nice, right? Except that now I can’t use it. Because now I
have to buy a rig that supports extra batteries because the Blackmagic’s
internal battery only lasts about an hour (maybe less) and cannot be removed
from the camera to charge. Um what? What is this, the 1980’s? Its 2013, what
kind of fucking option is that on a camera that costs $2k. It’s ridiculous. And
I know, I KNOW, some of you are saying, “No, no, no, no, no, there’s a new
Sheriff in Town. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera! It has a removable
battery and EVERYTHING!”
Yeah. Let’s talk about that.
I have never been as disappointed by a launch of a camera as
I have been the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. I’ve been shooting video for
over 15 years. Started on Hi-8, graduated to mini dv, then HD and I’m now the
proud owner of a canon 60D. And so believe me when I tell you that I was very
ready for the BMPCC to be the GAME CHANGER we all wanted it to be.
Except that it’s not.
The point of these cameras (and, I may be wrong) was to get
professional products into the hands of folks like myself. Folks without a lot
of money. Folks who use jobs to pay for equipment for months or even years,
before they make any real money from the business. Indie folks who shoot movies
on the weekends. Folks who fight, folks who sacrifice. Folks without the cash
flow to just run out and shoot on even a Red camera. I mean, am I wrong? Why
else would they price this camera at 1k? Perfectly poised to compete with both
the 5D & 7D. Especially the 7D where, with a decent starter lens (both
cameras are sold without lenses), you can pick them up for virtually the SAME
PRICE. There should be no debate over which is the better option. Sure the
BMPCC has a smaller lens sensor, and if you’re coming from the Canon family
previously, you’re going to invest in new lenses or an adapter ($99). If I had
to choose between them, it would take serious consideration when it SHOULDN’T
BE. The 7D can’t shoot RAW (and I know, the Pocket Camera can’t either, yet).
It doesn’t shoot prores. It doesn’t have CLOSE to the dynamic range of the
Pocket Camera and you can’t ask for something more portable.
And yet, the 7D is still a competitor. Why? Because both the Pocket Cinema Camera and it’s big brother
(and big sister the 4k Production Cinema Camera presumably), fail to supply features
that are basic camera staples at this point.
My first “big camera” was the prosumer Panasonic DVX-100.
Man, I LOVED that camera. We thought we were hot shit with it. Weddings, events, short films, plays—I shot it all with that camera. It
paid off at least 6 times what it was worth when most of the time I was
shooting either for myself or as a favor to a friend (I was young and really
only interested in artistry, not money). I only mention this because I bought
that camera in 2004 and both the Pocket Cinema as well as the original Cinema Camera lack
features that I got from that $4,000 MiniDV camera almost 10 years ago. Like audio
monitoring. A built-in ND filter. Multiple white-balance options, oh the
Panasonic was great for that. It also had an on-board stereo mic, but you could
turn it off and run sound directly into the camera via XLR cables. And you
could keep the audio levels at something you liked. The battery for the
Panasonic was removable and the one it came with was okay, but we bought one that was much
better and lasted HOURS for relatively cheap. I may have even gotten
it free with a purchase of something else. The Pocket Cinema camera comes with
a removable battery but it only lasts about an hour (maybe) in the camera and
there’s no option to use a bigger size. And, like I said above, it’s more
expensive big brother doesn't offer you that option AT ALL.
Tape was the media of the day with the Panasonic. MiniDV to be
exact. But the DVX-100 was very good at letting you know how much tape you had
left (it flashed warning signs during the last minute or two). The Blackmagic
family uses solid state design, but, to my knowledge, aren’t so good at telling
you how much footage you shot, or how much more you can shoot. Nor can you get
rid of unwanted clips (like in the Canon’s or any DSLR). In the Panasonic I
used to record black with all my tapes, then tape over the black to discourage
any issues with capturing. Kind of like formatting your media, which, you know,
the Blackmagic’s doesn’t do (neither of them), whether it’s a simple SD card or
a solid state hard drive. And tape was easy enough to store and back-up, much
like footage from a DSLR. You can back it up on redundant drives and save it
for relatively cheap.
But a terabyte of space for one project can be…problematic.
These may seem like nitpicking concerns. They’re not. If you
don’t have money, you don’t have money, and THE REASON (to get back to a much
earlier point) Canon hasn’t budged on their sensor for the APC is because they
know they’re still the best game in town for Low-end-higher-quality video.
Bottom line, if you know what you’re shooting and how you’re shooting, you can
make miracles happen with a t2i—I’ve seen it—and you can find that camera for
about $300 on eBay, leaving you free to buy all manner of inexpensive budget
lenses and camera rigs/sliders/equipment (which is where your money should be
going). The DSLR speaks to folks who need lower overhead costs, who scrimp and
save and must be frugal (especially in a bad economy) with camera expenditures.
The guys who’re saying GAME CHANGER are the same guys who have the money/equipment
to shoot with BETTER CAMERAS. The game has already been changed. Check out “Like
Crazy” or “Upstream Color” or “Frances, Ha”, or the television show “Wilfred”.
Even “Breaking Bad” occasionally mixes in a 5D with their camera set-up (the
rest is shot on film).
If you want to “change the game”, start with making a $500
camera that, at least, offers you the same options you would get in DSLR in the
same class and keeps in mind basic camera functions that have been around for
over 10 years.
Until then, it’s just another camera.
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