4K gives you four times the resolution--in terms of resolution RAW only gives you a tiny bit more detail, if any. RAW gives you the freedom to reinterpret the white balance and gives you grading options in post; however, if you set your WB correctly, like in a shoot, you may not need the ability to change tungsten for daylight, unless you want a special effect. They are apples and oranges, and it would be nice to have both, although the storage issue would be crazy, but if I had only the option of RAW or 4K, I would always choose the 4K. It depends on the way you shoot, if I'm working in a studio and I have measured the color temperature, I still need a high bitrate but my color should be OK.

It also depends on the market. There is no market for RAW, but there is a market for 4K. There isn't even a market for RAW audio.

A compressed RAW option, or a limited RAW option with 4K would be ideal for me, like a version of Cineform on a hardware device that would record Cineform RAW or compressed, or h.265.

Bottom line, that cam resolves a lot of detail. And more cams are on the way.

I agree the framing could be wider with the extra resolution. But a lot of weddings have dimly lit interiors....have to see how it works indoors.

Just looking at the footage you can't help but notice the higher level of detail. Overall Sony does a good job with all their cams, but this is a GREAT compromise. It may not be the best 4K cam out there, but for me I think it's at such a high quality level that it will be well worth it to get a better end result when reduced to 1080p. That has value IMO. I can't wait to see some real world footage where they do low light and high DR scenes etc. Can't see any real negative for the price.

4k cam that probably doesn't have 10 bit or anywhere near the new ITU Rec 2020 standards... and it's using resource hogging MPEG-4 that must be transcoded. Not quite ready for prime time.

I think it would be better if we wait just a little bit more.

MAN! This is making my decisions so much harder. I've got my money for a BMPCC already, but cams like this make me hesitate. The flexibility and power of that 4K image is sick. Then i've got to wait and see what Panasonic is gonna do as well. I'm real anxious to see what the GH4 is gonna be like. This is gonna be a great year for gear!!!

@kurth

It is life, you can't get all you want.

Here you have good sensor, very good form factor, good EVF, good encoder, even NDs.

Lens must be real fast at focus. Yep, slow at far end, but it is life.

I just wish sony had stolen the rx10 lens straight off the camera !

As far as I remember RX10 lens had some troubles with zoom speed and noise.

@DrDave

I think it is better than all Panasonic consumer camcorder lenses, if you will take in account sensor size.

I think their goal here was to make sharp, small and affordable lens. And main thing it using four focus motors instead of complex mech aligning and assembly.

You mean his statement that you couldn't achieve shallow dof ? Or was there another more stupid blunder ?

Whole article is quite inaccurate, including lens parameters, statements of small sensor for hand camcorder, etc.

@Vitaliy

You mean his statement that you couldn't achieve shallow dof ? Or was there another more stupid blunder ?

This looks like this will be the new standard for Prosumer Camcorders, and I'm sure Canon will match it shortly with an upgrade to their lineup. Nice buy-in price will hopefully put pressure on the the new Panny 4K. Kudos to Sony for bringing 4K online at a decent price.