cinematography Death of the DSLR?

T

thebman

So after multiple years of saving, originally for a Canon 5D mark iii, on the eve of being able to order one, I've decided to do some update research and make sure its still the best camera for me...

What I've come to realize, or at least notice, is that the DSLR trend seems to be dying out with the release of more budget friendly options like the 'Black Magic' and some 'Red' offerings...

I've gone back through plenty of posts, but I want an up to date opinion. So was wondering as of September 2013 what, in general, the community is using these days. I shoot everything from music videos, narrative stories, to boring old corporate and event videos.

Is the Mark iii still the "hotness" that it was a couple years ago... is the mark ii for that matter still a no brainier for the cost now?

should I look into something less photo related (i dont shoot photography at all really) and move more towards the new lines of 4k video cameras that seem to be taking the power back?

ALSO a few months back I remember Black Magic releasing pics and specs of a very portable cost effect 4k camera that seems to have dropped off the face of the planet? everyone was all ga ga for it when it dropped and now I rarely hear about it.... is this still in the pipe line?

are there any amazing cameras anyone knows about that have yet to be released but are worth waiting to see before upgrading gear?

...this isn't intended to be another "whats the best camera for low budget filmmaking." ... i understand that choosing a camera is subjective and depends on the use. however there always seems to be one or two that everyone goes crazy for at any given time. I'm just curious what the 2013 version of this is.
 
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the rate of technological change is increasing.

Ill say DSLR is dead for amateur \ self starting filmmakers.
Inside this demographic, I predict that within 18 months nobody will consider one as a first choice except for the VERY LOW budget sub $200 range.

I started film making just before the T2i came out. That was the low budget watershed camera option, 5D, 7D were still to expensive to really make an impact, but when the T2i hit.. it was on!

We went from low budget on Canon HV30's with 35mm adapters, to the BMPCC very quickly. That is quite a leap! Extrapolate that rate of change over the next 18 months and youll see why I predict the death of the DSLR! (for entry level film making in the $500 - $100 range)
 
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I'm with wheaty (and in fact I predicted this quite some time ago). It's not dead yet, but it's on its way out. The rate at which technology develops, there's no way filmmakers will still be buying DSLR, for filmmaking, in say 3-4 years (maybe less than that).
 
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Cracker Funk said:
I'm with wheaty (and in fact I predicted this quite some time ago). It's not dead yet, but it's on its way out. The rate at which technology develops, there's no way filmmakers will still be buying DSLR, for filmmaking, in say 3-4 years (maybe less than that).
Click to expand...

It'll probably be a tiny, portable 8k resolution camera that shoots RAW. 1080p will be a thing of the past.

Hand-Over-White-Background.jpg


Can you see it? :D
 
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na, retinal implant..

EDIT: as an experimental piece it might be cool to do a film that mimics what a capture from the retina would look like.. it would be this tiny darting circle of high res, sharp focus surrounded by a blurry but motion aware field..
 
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jax_rox said:
I think you're putting too much importance on sensor size - as I say, many things have been shot on Super 16 for years, and not simply because they 'couldn't afford' 35mm.
Click to expand...

This.

For example:

And yesterday the Canon “Project Imagination” film contest, with 99.9% of submissions shot digitally, was won by a film we produced called Here and Now shot on Super 16mm:

variety.com/2013/film/news/canon-announces-winners-for-ron-howard-judged-short-film-contest-1200616869/
Click to expand...

From Cinelicious; original link:

http://cinelicious.tv/news/future-of-the-red-camera

Sensor size isn't the be-all-end-all of an image. If you like the "full frame" look for your project, then by all means go for it. But there are always going to be projects where the look doesn't fit.

I've been out of the world for a bit, so last I read the BMD cameras in the field were still wonky and the company was still having problems filling orders. I'm still tempted to grab a pocket cam, though I am also (more strongly) tempted to no spend any money a camera body at the moment.

In answer to the original question, no, the DSLR is not dead yet. Projects will be using mk III's for various purposes for quite some time to come, though in the next couple of years they will not be the go-to for the self-financing ultra-indie space as Wheat has commented. Also, Wheaty, thanks for that link. Excellent stuff.
 
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well full disclosure, I've been working with a Canon HV40 (with and without 35mm adapters) and it was a great camera, but I've out grown it for the most part, not to say its a usless or bad looking camera, it's just I'm ready for the next level. and to me it's either a Mark iii, or BMCC... I'm just not sure which one is going to come out on top at this point for microbudget indie filmmaking... and 2000+ is a pretty great deal of money for me, so I'm just exhausting every avenue for opinions at this point. this thread already turned out bigger then i thought it would which is great! but honestly any opinions between those two cams? should i hold out to see what comes out over the next 12 months? any opinions are great!
 
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