I haven't posted anything recently after a busy Christmas and New Year. Its been relatively quiet in the DSLR world with only Nikon D4 and first impressions of the C300 and Scarlet to entertain us. Rather more with the C300 it must be said. After a slightly negative initial reaction with mumblings about the feature set and price the C300 seems to be winning hearts and minds. Canon bringing the price down to more F3 like levels has not done any harm. However, the real theme I have noticed is that people really like using it. They also like the image, especially in low light. Its not the perfect camera but it seems one with relatively few compromises. As a step up camera from a DSLR it makes a lot of sense. It is still, unfortunately, a pretty big step though. Here are a couple of reviews from my friends Philip Bloom and Nino Leitner.

The D4 shows Nikon is stepping up its game on video. Have they finally avoided introducing any gotchas that undermine their camera in video? I still haven't seen any definitive hands-on reviews yet. Like its arch-rival, the 1DX, its still too much camera for me - too big, too expensive. I don't have any Nikon lenses so I was never going to be a buyer but I welcome its innovations and hope Canon follow suit.

How soon will that response be? Well the rumour mill has been hotting up for the Canon 5D MkIII since the turn of the year. There now seems to be a strong chance of an announcement as early as February with some going as afr as to say the 5D and its rival the D800 me get released on the same day. Unknown cameras from both suppliers have been spotted (leaked?) in pictures recently. The specs on both still seem to be inconsistent in the rumours. The Canon also seems to have characteristics similar to the 7D as much as the 5D. Could the 7D get updated first? Could we have something like a 6DX, replacing both models in the same way the 1DX does for the 1D and 1Ds. No idea, I will be keeping an eye on Canon Rumors as diligently as the next man till they break cover. It would be great to see something as soon as BVE or Focus on Imaging.

I was planning to follow up on my backup and archiving article with some practical advice and experience. Unfortunately the floods in Thailand put pay to that as hard drive prices rocketed. I have added an SSD and a 4 way USB3 card to my MacPro but I wont be able to complete my plan until we get back to those October prices. We seem to be at around 30-50% dearer though it has been worse. I am on the lookout for fast USB3 caddy or external drive. I have been disappointed with the ones I have tried so far.

So the much rumoured baby brother to F3 has finally broken cover. It has been greeted with a mixed reaction covering a broad spectrum. One of the first people to shoot with it was my friend Den Lennie from F-Stop Academy. Den had a hand in the development and is a fan. Some reviewers have not been so kind but then most of the comment flooding the web is speculation based on the spec with only a few people getting hands-on the pre-production samples.

The most obvious competitor is Panasonic’s AF100. Both cameras are significantly more expensive than a DSLR but deliver some functionality DSLRs lack particularly better audio handling, longer shooting times and uncompressed output. However, these are video only cameras so they are not hybrid devices. The sheer volume of DSLRs sold due to their dual purpose will always give them a sizable price advantage. Prices are not confirmed but it looks like the Sony may go on sale at $6000 which would make it more expensive than the AF100. Given that it lack some features like built-in ND and SDI connections that make it seem a poor deal. However, what it does have is the sensor out of the F3 a significantly more expensive camera, where as the AF100 technology is more closely related to that in their DSLRs. That sensor has been much praised in the F3 especially for its sensitivity and lack of noise. It is also a larger S35 size, making it perfect for use with Cinema lenses. It may well be worth the difference on its own. The E mount lenses have added features (AF & IS) but I haven’t seen any lenses that interest me yet in that format - micro 4/3 is better supported to date.

Ergonomically and styling is very different and perhaps most like RED’s new Epic. The Epic has been almost universally praised for its form factor and modularity so it is a slight mystery to me why the Sony has taken so much stick. It has a handheld configuration but will probably need help from third parties to rig for all occasions. However, I think that probably applies with most of the alternatives. The number of mounting points that the camera offers should certainly ensure the likes of Zacuto and Redrock should not be short of options. The external output is via HDMI and is 4:2:2 uncompressed with timecode. Its only 8bit but I am not sure how much that will effect the issue. I have never met a pro who had a kind word for HDMI connectors. However, the HDMI option does tend to mean that peripherals like monitors and recorders are cheaper. My two main concerns are perhaps the lack of NDs. I have never had a camera that had them but then I have never had a camera with a native ISO of somewhere in the 400-800 range either. Even in the UK, external ND is probably going to be a necessity. I also think not having the choice of 24 & 25fps on the cameras is deeply irritating. I am afraid the justification of it allowing them to protect higher margins outside the US makes it even worse. With so much footage being piped round the globe via the web, regionality is an anachronism.

As an amateur enthusiast with a dual hobby with the still and moving image then the FS100 would be a massive luxury. It also worries me that video development on DSLRs might stagnate in favour of this class of camera. If I needed to cover events where I wanted to keep that big sensor look with a longer shooting time or I wanted to start using cinema lenses then I think the Sony would be my choice. I haven’t seen anything yet from the AF100 which I feels moves the game on from DSLRS whereas I have seen some F3 footage that impressed. All hypothetical for now though as it may be several months before we see footage from production FS100s and there are rumours doing the rounds about an AF200 response. A response from Canon is also well overdue (in my opinion, possibly not theirs). Will there be any last minute surprises for NAB?