By now we've entered August, and that means that IBC 2016 is fast approaching. As always there will be surprises, but there will also be expectations. The latter are mostly based on gossip and rumours. So what's on the gossip-page for this years IBC?! Lets take a look shall we?
Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera Mk. II
This rumoured camera has been around for years now. Ever since the first BMPCC, there has been a craving for an improved model with even better specs. So what's does gossip tell us about a possible Pocket Cinema Camera Mk.II? Well - to be quite honest - it looks more like a wishlist. But never stop dreaming, right?!
- A slightly larger sensor, some say even a 17:9 sensor
- 4K resolution at 4096 x 2160
- Internal recording of 1080p in DNG and full bit-depth and resolution output via HDMI. 4K recording only in ProRes formats.
- Frames rates of up to 60fps in HD and up to 30fps in glorious 4K
- 13 stops of dynamic range
- LP-E6 batteries
- The same compact body
Considering the fact that Blackmagic have recently embraced the newer SD UHS-II cards with their 4K Video Assist monitor - I think it's technically very well possible to have a BMPCC2 with 60fps HD and 30fps 4K recording capabilities. But using a 4K sensor would mean that full-sensor CinemaDNG will be no more. The UHS-II cards simply can't handle 4K RAW - not even using CinemaDNG 3:1 compression. For that to be possible the BMPCC2 would need to use cFast 2.0 cards. Also not impossible, since BMD have been using cFast in all URSA models. The change of battery to a LP-E6 would be a very welcome change, but it would require a slight redesign of the body, since there's currently simply not enough space for an LP-E6 and all the electronics.
Canon EOS 5D Mk. IV
The Canon EOS 5D Mk. II started it all back in 2008. It was a step-up from the Mk. I with a new little feature: video recording. Well that little feature turned out to be quite the game changer. It's been eight years since that revolution in video recording - and Canon are about to release their Mk. IV onto the world. But if the leaks and rumours are true, this will not be anything spectacular.
- 30.4 Megapixel CMOS sensor
- Dual Pixel CMOS AF
- Dual Pixel RAW files
- 61 point AF
- ISO 100-102,400 (extended)
- 7 FPS frame rate for stills
- DIGIC 6+ Image Processor
- Touch display
- Built-in GPS, WiFi and NFC
- Suitable for SD(HC/XC) up to UHS-I and CompactFlash Type I media (not compatible with Type II!)
- Time-lapse video
- 23.98, 24 and 30FPS video in 4K DCI resolution (4096x2160)
- Up to 60FPS video in 1080p FullHD resolution
- Up to 120FPS video in 720p HD resolution
- 1:1 pixel 4K recording using sensor crop (1.74x crop)
- Fullframe recording in 1080p and 720p
- Using 8 bit MJPEG codec at max. 500Mbit for 4K
- Using MPEG4 AVC/H.264 VBR for 1080p and 720p
I'm not mind-blown if this turns out to be it. Not at all. But honestly, I don't know what would blow my mind at this point from a Canon DSLR release. Using a more professional codec to go with the 4K resolution would be nice.
UPDATE - August 25th 2016
It seems it isn't really an IBC release - but still. Canon has formally announced the Canon EOS 5D Mk. IV. And the specs that were floating around the web were quite on-the-spot. I've marked and corrected the correct and confirmed specs in the list above in bold.
Canon C500 Mk. II
There's not a whole lot going around when it comes to a new rendition of the Canon C500 right now. But here are the few lines that get dropped when its the C500 Mk. II is concerned.
- 8K Video Recording
- Body re-design
And that's about it. Oh man, 8K video, I'm just getting my head wrapped around the data that's being gathered by a 4K capturing camera (albeit in CinemaDNG).
UPDATE - Well there isn't going to be a Canon C500 Mk. II - at least not for this IBC. There is however the announcement of the Canon EOS C700 - the new flagship cinema camera from Canon!
Panasonic Lumix GH5
The Panasonic Lumix GH-series has been a landmark series in pushing relatively high quality video to an entry level camera. The GH5 version is rumoured to have the following specs - and if these turn out to be true - Panasonic's GH-series will remain revolutionary.
- 33 Megapixel sensor
- 8K video recording
- 4K video recording up to 60FPS
- 1080p video recording up to 120FPS
- Built-in V-Log
Sony 8K CineAlta
Pushing the limits at the high end might be this rumoured camera. The only camera in production I can think of to compare to this would be the RED Weapon 8K. It's said the sensor will be based on the Sony A7R-II black-lit CMOS tech. Here's the sum up of the rumoured specs for this cinema-beast.
- Up to 60FPS in DCI 8K resolution
- Up to 240FPS in DCI 4K resolution
- 16 bit RAW in compressed and uncompressed onboard recording
- Recording in ProRes, DNxHD, DNxHR, AVCHD, XAVC, SR, MPEG-2 and H.264
- Special burst modes for even higher FPS
- Sony F55 form factor
- Sony FZ lens mount
- Surprising price point
GoPro HERO 5
This one is a no-brainer. It'll happen. Maybe not during IBC 2016 - but certainly before the end of the year. The rumours however I'm not as certain about. Here's the sum-up:
- Bluetooth 4.0
- A new 2,800mAh battery
- Increased waterproof case (up to 60m depth)
- 8K video recording
- Up to 30FPS in 8K resolution
- Up to 60FPS in 4K resolution
- Up to 240FPS in 1080p HD resolution
GoPro 360
And last but not least there's the rumour of a single-unit GoPro 360 degree camera. Other than this there's nothing known about this. It would probably be a low-level entry camera to be positioned below the GoPro Omni.