Need some advice.

[Mkvackay]

so i am looking for a serious upgrade. not just an upgrade for ski edits. i got a job working for a production company in denver, and although i am only an intern, we have some big clients.

my 7d is still holding up, but with over 200k shutters, broken hotshoe and other small issues, its time for an upgrade. in a perfect world i would go with an fs700, but at this point that would take getting a loan.

so my thoughts are the a7s, gh4, fs700 or 100. I have been going over this for months and still haven't been happy with any one decision. just looking for some advice.

What would be best for me? Yes i will still be producing ski edits, but I will also be shooting a majority of interviews inside and outside of a controlled lighting scenario, weddings, interior industrial shots and scenics/landscape. so things like xlr, focus peaking, and decent low light (better than 7d) would be good.

 

[123+ski]

Where will most of your stuff end up? Internet, physical copies for clients, broadcast etc.?

GH4 and a7s both can make some very nice images. One big advantage to 4K is that it can be down sampled into 10 bit 4:2:2 1080p. Not sure how involved this process is, but still a cool feature. With that said, I would push you away from them for the same reason I no longer have a blackmagic pocket camera. While they may be capable of producing a good image, the workflow (not sure if using term right) can be a lot to deal with. They just need to be rigged up so excessively that it can often outweigh the benefits of having such a small camera.

If you can afford the fs100 without a loan, I would go for that. It is made for video, so it has all the buttons and features etc. With a tokina 11-16, you should be able to handle wide interior shots fine. Sigma 18-35, then some primes like 50/85/135 and or a 70-200 as needed and you should be good to go. Aside from that, I would say to get a variable nd, and then things like stabilization/audio (but those are relatively similar to each and you likely know your own needs).

Overall, I think this kit will give you the best bang for your buck, as the GH4 and a7s will both end up being more expensive when rigged up, not to mention harder to work with. With that said, I'm sure there are a few guys here with much more experience than me in this field, so take this with a grain of salt.

 

[j-cal]

Last season i had an fs700. Overal it was a great camera. The image is good. The features are nice. Ergonomics are awkward but manageable. The only thing to think about is 4k. Now i dont think the market knows what 4k is and is defiantly over kill... but clients want it. The market is shifting to a need for 4k. The fs700 can do 4k with the odessy 7q. I had the 7q and fs700 and honestly i hated it. The image was great. Very comparable to my epic. But the workflow and bugs were afoul. It got to the point where i did not trust the camera to take on shoots. When shooting higher fps the camera would randomly only record in two second intervals and do so until i did a force shutdown. Sometimes it would do this without end. Leaving me without higher frame rates than 30fps. If you shooting action this cant work sometimes. Also there were alot of buttons on the side of the camera where i grip the camera for handheld work. If i aciently pressed one of theses buttons a dialog would pop up on screen leaving me blind while recording. Also when using davince resolve or premier the 7q would record random black files instantly crashing the program. You would never know when these would show up. So if you were sorting it was inevitable to have multiple random crashes.

That being said the fs700 as an hd camera is great. But dont buy it thinking 4k is an option in the future... i think the 7q is not a good option. I also own a gh4 and i like it alot. The image is good. It defintly has less dynamic range than the fs700/fs100. I think it also needs a good external monitor or evf to be able to use in the field. And unlike the fs700 it lacks built in nds. once you have built in nds you will never go back. So handy. As for the a7s i have never shot with it... But i personally do not like the look at all. The color science is not there. The camera seems dull and thin. It does not seem to have depth in color. But these are just from the samples i have seen.

I know this is a mess of advice. But i hope it helps.

 

[Vinnie_B]

I Just got a GH4 over the summer and have been loving it.. The focus peaking works great. There are many color presets set in the camera or you can custom set your own, this allows for more flexibility with post color correction. one thing that I wish it had was a larger sensor. The sensor size on the camera has a crop factor of 2x. Which means a 25mm lens will be cropped to the same size of a 50mm (compared to a 35mm sensor) But the camera is super easy to get a hang of and personally I don't think building it will cause you any issues. the XLR and video attachment unit you can purchase with the GH4 is something you might wanna look at too.

 

[Mkvackay]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am probably going to rule out the A7s pretty quick.

As for the everything else said, i am not buying a camera for 4K right now, but definitely want to use it in the future, whether thats 4 months or 1 year down the road. I am hoping someone will come out with a better, less buggy 7Q?

Biggest thing, for me, is I want to upgrade soon and not have to upgrade for another 2+ years, at least on the camera body itself. I also noticed that the price of the Fs700 has dropped almost $1500, which now might make it easier for me to get.

I looked into the GH4, with the interface unit which adds xlr and other video outputs, it comes to almost $3500.

So basically now I want to think about the gh4 + interface or an Fs700. I also have all canon glass right now and in the mean time would buy an adaptor to use them.

 

[Childstar.]

I hope you're getting paid for this said internship that your using all your own gear to shoot for.

 

[Vinnie_B]

I also noticed that the price of the Fs700 has dropped almost $1500, which now might make it easier for me to get.

The reason for the price drop of the 700 is most likely because of the PXW, things a monster.

 

[Mkvackay]

bottom line - car troubles

i just can't decide whether to upgrade soon to a gh4 w speedbooster/ fs100 w speedbooster

or wait until next year sometime to go for the fs700/or whatever else is out at that point. timing...

 

[j-cal]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am probably going to rule out the A7s pretty quick.

As for the everything else said, i am not buying a camera for 4K right now, but definitely want to use it in the future, whether thats 4 months or 1 year down the road. I am hoping someone will come out with a better, less buggy 7Q?

Biggest thing, for me, is I want to upgrade soon and not have to upgrade for another 2+ years, at least on the camera body itself. I also noticed that the price of the Fs700 has dropped almost $1500, which now might make it easier for me to get.

I looked into the GH4, with the interface unit which adds xlr and other video outputs, it comes to almost $3500.

So basically now I want to think about the gh4 + interface or an Fs700. I also have all canon glass right now and in the mean time would buy an adaptor to use them.

Dont get the interface for the gh4 unless you want a large rig. What they dont tell you is it need an external battery solution. I bought one for my gh4 and never use it. You have to have a rod system use big v mount or Anton bower batteries... Ultimately its a huge hassel. I would not recommend it.

 

[Mkvackay]

Dont get the interface for the gh4 unless you want a large rig. What they dont tell you is it need an external battery solution. I bought one for my gh4 and never use it. You have to have a rod system use big v mount or Anton bower batteries... Ultimately its a huge hassel. I would not recommend it.

awesome thank you, i did not know that

 

[gustavkb]

I just want to say that the FS100 is a damn great camera. If you can afford the FS700, don't buy it. Buy an FS100 instead, along with some good glass, and a nice rig. Remember, if you carry around on something that looks big and professional, you will certainly get people's attention much faster. But, this is all up to you. If you can afford the FS700 + some good lenses and a good rig, you should rather go for that.

Now, I've thought about buying the GH4 myself, and will probably do so in the nearest future. It's an amazing camera, and no other camera is even near it's league(in that price class). What I would consider, if I was you, is to get the GH4 with the new Atomos Shogun(along with glass and a rig). The Shogun let's you output a 4:2:2 10-bit 4K image from the GH4, which will give you a major advantage when it comes to post-production. I know 4K is a bit ahead of our time, but shooting 4K doesn't necessarily mean you need to end up with a 4K film. The reason that I wan't the 4K, would be mainly for downscaling. That is something to consider, when choosing to go or not go for a 4K camera.

I hope this helped. You shouldn't completely forget about the A7s either. It is a really good camera, and as everyone knows, it's low-light abilities are amazing. But again, if I were you, I'd go for the FS100 with a good rig(change it with the FS700 if you get the cream), or a GH4 with a good rig(the Atomos Shogun is good for all of the cameras, not only the GH4). P.S. The Shogun is rather costy, but it's awesome.



Cheers.

 

[Michael_Thatcher]

The reason that I wan't the 4K, would be mainly for downscaling. That is something to consider, when choosing to go or not go for a 4K camera.

Why would your main reason to use 4K be so you can scale it down to 1080P? I don't see any benefit in that at all. Only benefit I can see is having extra resolution for stabilizing in post, but that isn't downscaling.

 

[j-cal]

Why would your main reason to use 4K be so you can scale it down to 1080P? I don't see any benefit in that at all. Only benefit I can see is having extra resolution for stabilizing in post, but that isn't downscaling.

4k for finishing at 1080p is supper nice. The ability to crop in and change framing and create multiple angles out of one is verry great. Shooting an interview can come to life with only one camera. I find it great. Not necessary. But having the option is way worth it.

 

[gustavkb]

Why would your main reason to use 4K be so you can scale it down to 1080P? I don't see any benefit in that at all. Only benefit I can see is having extra resolution for stabilizing in post, but that isn't downscaling.

I'm just gonna leave this here, so that you can understand what I meant.

 

[gustavkb]

4k for finishing at 1080p is supper nice. The ability to crop in and change framing and create multiple angles out of one is verry great. Shooting an interview can come to life with only one camera. I find it great. Not necessary. But having the option is way worth it.

Exactly. Good to see someone got it right.