Year in Review: 10 Most Popular cinema5D Articles in 2019

Behind the Scenes

by Nino LeitnerDecember 31^st, 2019

2019 was the busiest year in cinema5D’s history yet – we published a mind-boggling 725 articles. Out of these 725 articles, these are 10 that attracted the most interest among our audience. Let’s take a closer look back what moved you in 2019!

1. SIGMA fp – A Full Frame, yet Pocket-Sized Camera with Cine Mode
& SIGMA fp Review – First Impression, Sample Footage and Lab Test Results

Here’s the initial footage from the camera that we captured.

2. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Announced – Super 35 Sensor and EF Mount

Another surprise camera announcement, this time in August, was the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. Nobody expected Blackmagic to announce another version of their Pocket Cinema Camera only a year after the first one – when many preorders of the Pocket 4K version weren’t fulfilled yet. We can confirm that the Pocket 6K became hugely popular, both by the interest in anything we reported about it (including our renowned Lab Test, Pocket 6K Footage and a side-by-side comparison between the Pocket 4K and 6K).

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K

3. DJI Osmo Action Versus GoPro HERO7 – The King of Action Cams Dethroned?

Many have expected DJI to enter the action camera market for a long time already, and May 2019 was the time it happened: The DJI Osmo Action is aiming to dethrone GoPro from their throne as the market leader in action cameras. DJI gave us early access to the Osmo Action and we put it side-by-side with the Hero7 (which at the time was still GoPro’s top model, and it has since been replaced with the HERO8). Watch the results below if you have missed it.

4. SIRUI 50mm f/1.8 1.33x Lens Announced – Affordable APS-C Anamorphic Lens

Affordable anamorphic lenses are a rarity still – which essentially means if a company announces one, people go crazy about it. That was the case with Chinese manufacturer SIRUI. I overheard a conversation about this lens at IBC and we rushed to their booth, and we loved what we saw – a 50mm f/1.8 1.33x anamorphic lens which is available for $699 (regular price). Beautiful flares on the prototype, nice oval bokeh, anything you would expect from an anamorphic lens. Recently, we also reviewed the lens on the FUJIFILM X-T3, read what Johnnie has to say about it and watch the video below in case you missed it.

5. Panasonic LUMIX S1 – Closer Look and Sample Footage – A New Lowlight King?

Panasonic was definitely late to the full-frame mirrorless game, but they gave their best – and ended up releasing a truly impressive line-up of cameras that offer a lot of (video) features that their competitors are still missing. The Panasonic S1 ended up being a particularly intriguing product especially after receiving a firmware update to support V-Log, and not least because of its relatively low price we only recently selected it to be  our mirrorless camera of the year.

6. What’s Inside a RED Mini-Mag? The Controversy & Jarred Land’s Statement

There has been considerable conundrum around RED this past year – for one, RED’s attempt at a holographic phone failed spectacularly with the discontinuation of the HYDROGEN project and Jim Jannard’s retirement. For another, a guy named Bruce Royce from Jinni Tech, a company building cheaper Mini-Mags for RED cameras, started posting YouTube videos dissecting RED’s original Mini-Mags, claiming that he found only inexpensive off-the-shelf-components rather than the expected (and promised) high-performance hardware. We reached out to RED CEO Jarred Land and he replied with a lengthy statement which we published in this post. The post made waves on the Internet by being quoted by large YouTubers like Linus Tech Tips. After a second post on the matter (RED reduced the price on their Mini-Mags and Jinni Tech released another video), we decided to let the topic go.

480GB SSD inside 512GB RED Mini Mag. Source: RED Filmmaker (c5D knows the identity)

7. Sony a7 III and a7R III Firmware 3.0 Update Brings Timelapse and Better Autofocus

Two of Sony’s top-of the line mirrorless cameras received firmware updates earlier this year, and not so much ofter that, the a7R III was succeeded with the a7R IV. The major updates reflect what Sony has been working on hard on all their cameras (including the professional line, see FX9 below): Incredibly reliable autofocus for video, in this particular case also for animals.

Animal-eye-AF – one of the new features of the firmware 3.0. Source: Sony

8. Panasonic LUMIX S1H – Full Specs & Details, First Look at the 6K Full-Frame Mirrorless

Panasonic pushed really hard with their mirrorless camera offerings this year, and after announcing the S1 and S1R, they also released a filmmaking-focused Panasonic S1H. That camera in particular puts many competing offers in the corner when it comes to video feature functionality, low light performance and resolution. This was our first look at the 6K full-frame beast at a press event in Hamburg. Here’s our full review, and here’s our lab test.

9. RED KOMODO Teasers: Compact 6K Camera with Canon RF Mount

RED has been teasing a new “entry-level” RED camera, the RED KOMODO, during 2019. It’s supposedly going to be a small, 6K-shooting camera with a Canon RF mount, and the rest is mostly “what we don’t know” at this point, in typical RED-fashion. That new RED KOMODO teasers came a day after the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K was announced comes at no surprise, RED is under pressure with more and more compact cameras offering RAW output or even internal recording (like Blackmagic cameras utilizing the still-new Blackmagic RAW codec).

Image credit: Jarred Land

10.  Sony FX9 Announced – Full-Frame, Fast Hybrid Autofocus, Dual ISO Camera

Big Changes Coming in 2020 for cinema5D