In the last hours of 2014 its time to reflect on 2015 and what camera manufacturers may have to offer…this will be a bigger year for 4K enabled products, Sony will possibly bring out a 4K internal recording DSLR.
How Sony can top the FS7 is anyones guess though Sony would do themselves a favour by reducing the cost of their XQD cards. Sony may bring out a 4K shoulder mount like the PXW X500, 4K should not be specific to the large sensor market.
Panasonic would do themselves a favour with a 4K AF101 or a 4K PX270 after all if they can justify a semi pro HC-X1000 4K camera the next step is obvious, I personally think P2 has had its day so either dramatically drop P2 in price or drop it completely. The GH5 should sport 4K 50p and needs to bring down the noise levels in line with Sony’s A7s.
Canon are so far behind with their recently announced C100 MkII they need a fairly big announcement like a C304 internal record 4K 50p 10bit 444 camera with on board XLR’s at a price less than the Sony FS7. They also need to enter the mirrorless DSLR market or forget video as a feature.
JVC have entered the 4K domain and I hope to have a look at the GY-LS300CHE Super 35mm camcorder in the new year, this camera records to non-proprietary SDHC and SDXC media cards in a variety of image formats including 4K Ultra HD, full HD with 4:2:2 sampling, SD and web-friendly proxy formats. It features JVC’s 4K Super 35mm CMOS sensor combined with industry standard Micro Four Thirds (MFT) lens mount. JVC’s unique Variable Scan Mapping technology maintains the native angle of view for a variety of lenses, including Super 35, MFT and Super 16. As a result, lens options for the camera are almost limitless.
Blackmagic have had a fair year but the URSA is not flying off the shelves as I thought it would especially at the price of £4000, is it the 7.5 Kilos or the special CFAST 2.0 cards costing £500 for 120GB. I have no idea what BM have on offer this coming year but you can be assured it will be interesting to say the least.
Software updates early 2015…
So that just leaves Sony to bring us the 4K firmware update (FW) for the PXW-X70, though I don’t understand if the AX100 comes standard with 4K built in why the X70 needs to wait for a FW upgrade ? Will it be 4K 50p ?
FW update for the Sony A7s allowing us to use the shutter button for recording video !
Sony to finally bring out a hand held 4K camcorder that has a constant aperture lens !
FW update to allow Panasonic GH4 users to see how much total record time you have on your SCXC card !
Apple FCPX to finally allow X70 users to import XAVC LongGOP footage.
Thank you for all your hard work and very informative reviews. We look forward to your next reviews in the new year.
Happy New Year to you and your family.
Frank B.
Canada
Canon should update the XF300 series cameras with 1/2 inch. And put a big chip in a camera with the ergonomics of the XF200 series camera. And Sony: keep up the good work and get the xdcam PXW-X200 on the shelf of USA shops.