There have been a few video camera announcements coming out of NAB 2012, but this one from Blackmagic Design is a surprise.
Called the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, it promises to put professional feature-film-quality results in reach of those on a tighter budget. However, at $2,995, it's by no means inexpensive.
This camera's got a lot going for it, though, including a superwide dynamic range, a large high-resolution 2.5K sensor, and full compatibility with Canon EF and Zeiss ZF mount lenses. The 5-inch touch screen on back can be used for direct metadata entry as well as all settings such as frame rate, shutter angle, color temperature, dynamic range, and focus assist.
Blackmagic used no proprietary ports. What you get is a standard mic/line audio-in jack, BNC 3Gbps SDI out, headphone, Thunderbolt, LANC remote control, and standard DC 12-30V power connection.
Similarly, the camera supports open file formats compatible with NLE software such as CinemaDNG 12-bit raw, Apple ProRes, and Avid DNxHD. Everything gets recorded to a solid-state drive meeting the high-bandwidth demands of raw video capture and long-duration compressed video.
Plus, the thing just looks good.
It'll be available in July, but you can read more about the Cinema Camera now on Blackmagic's site.