Reason #3
Monday, October 27, 2008 at 5:24PM ...not to buy the new Panasonic G1, according to David Pogue's NYT review:
The Micro Four Thirds design screams out, “I can do video!” After all, the light is already shining directly on the sensor (instead of being blocked by a mirror), so this camera should be able to record video without batting an eye.
But the G1 can’t.
Video, Panasonic says, will be the emphasis of its 2009 models. They will be the first S.L.R.-type cameras that can not only record hi-def video, but also change focus and zoom while you’re recording, just like a camcorder. (Olympus’s prototype can do video, too.)
This kind of talk makes me giddy. If it’s all true, then these machines will be the world’s first no-compromise, combination still camera/video cameras. The electronics world will truly turn upside down. Watch this space.
Indeed.
Reader Comments (6)
oh future! hurry up and get here already.
I hope Canon will make the move too! I mean, for the more affordable models like the Rebel.
All the more reason that the coming Scarlet had better use a full size sensor. Otherwise Red is going to be left in the dust - in this category, at least.
Stu do you have an idea where we are at overall? Is the Canon 5D Mark II going to be better than my HVX in reguards to compression scheme and variable frame rate?
I dont' see any technical specs anywhere...is it MPEG, 4:2:2?
Leaning to the cleaner image of the Pani 170, but this is making my think sinking another 6G's is a big mistake...
Any thoughts?
moocycles, definitely don't spend 6k on a dedicated HD camera unless you can make it pay for itself in the next 12-18 months.
Leaving aside the 5DmkII for a moment, it's clear that the entire industry is undergoing a massive shift. There are a lot of exciting products announced or on the horizon. Between Micro 4/3, video on DSLRs, and the looming Red announcement, you might want to limp by on the HVX for a while.
As for the 5DmkII: it doesn't have variable frame rates, and the bitrate is lower than the HVX's DVCPRO HD. But the MkII uses h.264 compression (similar to AVCHD, but at a much higher bitrate). h.264 is much more modern and efficient codec than DVCPRO HD, which basically borrows the ancient codec from DV to do bigger frame sizes. So its a bit of a tossup compression-wise to me.
Resolution was never the HVX's strong suit, and the MkII should handily outresolve it.
Low light performance is obviously not even comparable.
The dealbreaker for many will be the weird frame rate on the MkII. If it had been 29.97, it might be a different story. Hopefully Canon will release a firmware update to give us 24p and 29.97 modes. Until then, you'll have to figure out if 30.00fps can fit into your workflow.
Stu, check this post from Jim Jannard out. The Scarlet replacement is going to be wild.
http://www.scarletuser.com/showthread.php?p=30508#post30508
Alexander Gao
www.d4visualeffects.com