In this unique season, filmmaking and video content creation ministries are proving to be more important than ever. Here’s a roundup of some of the top and most current options for church media teams needing to invest in cinema cameras for their projects.
BLACKMAGIC DESIGN | URSA Mini Pro G2
Highlights:
- Super 35-sized 4.6K sensor
- 15 stops of dynamic range
- 4.6K recording up to 120fps, HD up to 300fps
- Blackmagic RAW internal
Distinctive Features:
- Records to SD and CFast 2.0 cards, or USB-C external media
- Touchscreen LCD for monitoring and menu control
- Canon EF lens mount, can be adapted to PL, B4, and Nikon F
- Includes full copy of DaVinciResolve Studio
Street Price:
$5,995
Perspective:
"The URSA Mini Pro G2 is a professional digital film camera that combines incredible 4.6K image quality with the features and controls of a traditional broadcast camera, so it can serve as three cameras in one for churches looking to do film production, broadcast and/or live streaming/production work.”
—Bob Caniglia, Director of Sales Operations for the Americas, Blackmagic Design.
BLACKMAGIC DESIGN | Pocket Cinema Camera 6K
Highlights:
- Super 35-sized 6K sensor
- 13 stops of dynamic range
- 6K Blackmagic RAW internal recording up to 50fps
- Dual Native ISO (400 & 3200)
Distinctive Features:
5-inch LCD touchscreen formonitoring and camera control
- Records to SD and CFast 2.0 cards, or USB-C external media
- Canon EF lens mount
- Includes full copy of DaVinci Resolve Studio
Street Price:
$1,995
Perspective:
"As churches look more and more to live stream content to their congregations, we’ve released a new free camera software update that adds powerful studio camera features, such as control of the camera parameters, lens and tally light, to our Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K models when used in conjunction with our ATEM Mini line of live production switchers.”
—Bob Caniglia, Director of Sales Operations for the Americas, Blackmagic Design.
CANON | EOS C500 MK II
Highlights:
- Full-frame 5.9K sensor
- 15 stops of dynamic range
- 5.9K up to 60fps and 2K up to 120fps
- Canon RAW light internal recording up to 5.9K Distinctive Features
- New modular body with upgradable options like viewfinder and genlock
- Dual-pixel, face-tracking auto focus
- Touchscreen interface camera control and for auto-focus tracking
- User-interchangeable lens mounts
Street Price:
$15,999
Perspective:
"Creative teams will benefit from Canon’s revolutionary Dual Pixel CMOS Auto Focus system, capable of spot-on face tracking AF, ideal for the smaller film crews that most churches run.”
—Darren Fordham, National Account Manager HOW, Canon USA.
CANON | EOS R
Highlights:
- Full-frame 30.3MP sensor
- UHD recording up to 30fps with Canon C-Log gamma curve
- 4:2:2 8-bit in-body, 10-bit 4:2:2 output to external recorder
- Customizable multi-function touch bar for real-time image adjustments
Distinctive Features:
- Small, mirrorless stills/video hybrid
- Canon RF lens mount system
- Touchscreen and eye-tracking auto-focus
- Advanced low-light performance
Street Price:
$1,799
Perspective:
"The camera is a strong product on both the still and video front, featuring a 30.3 Megapixel sensor and the capturing of up to 4K 30P with Canon Log and allows for 10bit 4:2:2 clean HDMI output.”
—Darren Fordham, National Account Manager HOW, Canon USA.
FUJIFILM | X-T4
Highlights:
- APS-C 26.1MP sensor
- 4K DCI recording up to 60fps, HD up to 240fps
- 10-bit internal and 10-bit 4:2:2 external color sampling
- 4K recording up to 400 Mb/s bit rate
- Distinctive Features:
- Small, mirrorless stills/video hybrid
- 5-axis in-body stabilization
- Fujifilm F-Log gamma curve
- Dual SD card support
Street Price:
$1,699
Perspective:
"It's got a 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor and X-Processor 4 quad-core imaging engine at it's core, which lets it do some pretty incredible things like record in 10-bit 4:2:2 F-Log for those that need it or just output 8-bit H.264 video for those that don’t.”
— Victor Ha, Senior Director of Marketing and Product Management, Fujifilm North America.
JVC | GY-LS300 4KCAM
Highlights:
- Super 35-sized 4K sensor
- 4K recording up to 30fps and HD up to 60fps
- 8-bit 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 internal bit rates
- Records to Quicktime (.mov) or AVCHD files
- Distinctive Features:
- Micro Four-Thirds lens mount
- Live-streaming to USTREAM and YouTube directly from camera
- Simultaneous streaming andHD recording
- Dual SD card slots
Street Price:
$1,995
Perspective:
"With the recent pandemic crisis, GY-LS300 owners have either discovered or rediscovered the streaming capability of this camcorder and how powerful its capability is in distributing its created content.”
— Craig Yanagi, National Marketing Manager, Professional Video Division, JVCKenwood USA.
PANASONIC | VariCam LT
Highlights:
- Super 35-sized 4K sensor
- 14 stops of dynamic range
- Dual native ISO (800 and 5000)
- 4K recording up to 60fps and HD unto 240fps
Distinctive Features:
- External control panel for user-specified placement
- Canon EF mount, can be adapted to PL
- Simultaneous 4K and HD proxy recording control and for auto-focus tracking
- Records to Panasonic expressP2 cards
Street Price:
$9,995
Perspective:
"It offers high dynamic range of 14+ stops along with Panasonic’s V-Log capabilities to capture scenes and colors more vividly, creating a more immersive, cinematic experience for congregants.”
—Steve Cooperman, Senior Product Manager, News & Content Acquisition, Panasonic System Solutions Co. of North America.
PANASONIC | Lumix DC-S1H
Highlights:
- Full-frame 24.2MP sensor
- 14 stops of dynamic range
- 6K recording at 30fps and HD up to 120fps
- 10-bit 4:2:2 internal recording
- Distinctive Features:
- Small, mirrorless stills/video hybrid
- Dual native ISOs
- V-Log, Cinelink V and Cinelike D gamma curves
- 5.9K RAW output over HDMI
Street Price:
$3,998
Perspective:
"Thanks to a full-frame sensor and dual native ISO adapted from the Panasonic Varicam, the S1H has tremendous low-light image quality and dynamic range. This allows the camera to be used in blended and dark lighting environments."
—Tom Curley, Business Development Manager, LUMIX Professional Services, Panasonic North America.
SONY | PXW-FX9 XDCAM
Highlights:
- 6K full frame sensor, super-sampling down to 4K
- 15 stops of dynamic range
- 4K/60fps, HD/120fps
- 10-Bit 4:2:2 internal recording
- 16-bit RAW external in a future update
Distinctive Features:
- Next-generation step up from the popular FX7
- Familiar shoulder-style body and future set/variable ND
- Native Sony E-mount
- New face-tracking auto-focus capabilities
Street Price:
$10,998
Perspective:
“With Sony's Fast-Hybrid Auto Focus System, built-in time code and genlock, electronic variable ND, as well as a dual-base ISO … you have the makings for one of the most versatile cameras ever offered from Sony."
—Craig Harper, National Manager of Faith, Sony Media Solutions Division.
SONY | ALPHA A7 III
Highlights:
- Full-frame 24MP sensor
- 14 stops of dynamic range
- UHD up to 30fps with S-Log2 and S-Log3 gamma curves
- 4:2:0 sampling in-body, 10-bit 4:2:2 output to external recorder
Distinctive Features:
- Small, mirrorless stills/video hybrid
- 5-Axis In-body stabilization
- Eye-tracking auto focus
- Advanced low-light performance
Street Price:
$1,998
Perspective:
"With a back-illuminated,full-frame sensor that is approximately 2.5X the size of Super-35mm, the A7III boasts stunning 4K image quality and cinematic depth of field control.”
—Craig Harper, National Manager of Faith, Sony Media Solutions Division.
