VeraMeatTV - Web Short Film shot on BMCC by yours truly:

If you don't have it in stock, it is pretty vaporous. If you are marketing a camera that doesn't have basic communication between the lens and the OS, that's like selling a computer without a GUI.

I'm just saying, a lot of companies do this, or variations on this, and they would be way better served by offering a reward if they don't ship it. It is a simple, elegant way to promote sales of the reputable companies and to discourage sales from companies that don't really have a chance at selling the product anytime soon.

Obviously, if a company really thinks they can ship it, they can only win by such a system, since the increase in sales would more than offset the occasional misfires.

I think the consumers are partly to blame as well. There's no practical reason to buy something before the price softens and the bugs are worked out. The market is encourage reckless spending by beta testers, but we, the consumer, can say no. We can say, no, I can wait a few weeks or months, I don't need a status symbol right now, I can donate that money to Oxfam and save some lives instead. If consumers did not buy into this early adopter BS we would have a better chance of getting a more mature product. Why should they fix the problems if ppl buy them anyway?

A preorder is a contract, and if the company that offers the contract does not act in good faith, one could sue for breach of contract in small claims court. But who wants to sue anyone? I think one could also fold these situations into the very strong "bait and switch" laws that are already on the books. But the sad fact ofthe matter is that "vaporware", which is basically what these preorders are, has been around since DOS and I doubt that anything will change.

OTOH, the company that makes the offer could sell more "real" preorders if they simply added a rider saying $50 credit if we don't meet our deadline, and it would be very good business to do so. "Real" preorders would offer the proze, and the iffy ones would not.

BlackMagic update:

The production lines have been up and running with sensors coming in. We have been sending out regular shipments of EF model cameras each week to all of our offices around the world, and each week we are getting cameras out at a faster rate. We are still not at full volume shipping though, because sensors are not quite getting to us at a pace that I could say was full volume. But each day I am seeing the volume get better from the sensor company. I am happy with the quality of the sensors.

For the MFT model, we want to get through some more of the EF orders before I give a date on when we will start getting the MFT orders out. They are ready to go, but we need to get through most of the early EF pre-orders first.

Thanks John, was about to order :) BTW, do you know what is going on with the MFT batch of BMDCC ? Thanks again for all you work on keeping us informed.

MTF Services Adapters

@GravitateMediaGroup I dont own it dude, just found on a tweet this vid and posted it here,you gotta ask @johnbrawley ;)

@chef how the heck do you already have a MFT mount?

wanna sell it? lol

Thanks @kholi – It´s funny.. while center sharpness is certainly ok on the 12mm, I find it way too soft for wide shots (in general) unless stepped down to 2-2.8 or more. On the gh2 I´d avoid wide shots alltogether with it because the corners never really get there. Ok when there is clear background separation, not ok for a wide scene with focus in the distance. Mind, the samples I provided of the 17.5 were intended to show the behaviour of the lens rather than a typical shot I´d do with it.. and while it also has a pronounced field curvature and quite a bit of vignetting I prefer how it renders small detail at a distance. In the center, up close, I don´t see much of a difference between 1.6 and 0.95.

I can´t say the 12mm differs much from my conception of it from John´s footage, either – the wide shots are very soft, but it works in those particular conditions.. and occasionally in others.

Two good lenses, the 12mm definately works better on the bmd than on the gh2.

I´m also looking forward to the 25, 35 f0.95 and hopefully they will not dissapoint!

Well, I´d really like to see some examples from your 12mm slr magic, since my copy was obviously softer than the 17.5 wide open..

Mind, I have not used the 17.5 extensively for film-making, nor the 12mm slr magic.. Both are pretty extreme lenses IMO, and I rarely have any use for a lens with a wider angle of view than 64 or so degrees, other than when it´s practically necessary – for the way I like to shoot, normally.

@daisuke, there´s a specific topic on the 12mm lens, check the gear>lens section.. I sold my copy of it, but would very much like to see some new sample comparisons.