Generally, choosing a 4. K camera is the most important and difficult decision you will make in your journey towards producing video in 4. K. Were here to make things as easy as possible. First, its important to keep in mind that content remains king in this process. No matter how glamorous your video looks, no one will watch uninteresting and unimaginative content, so dont lose focus. On the other hand, you can film the most interesting content in the world, but if the quality is poor youre likely shooting yourself in the foot. Without the proper arsenal you put yourself at a severe disadvantage. With that in mind, lets dig into what you need to consider in choosing the right camera for you. What Type of Camera Do You Need The first step is to decide which type of professional grade 4. K camera fits your needs. The choice comes down to either a production video camera, DSLRHybrid or a camcorder. By in large, production video cameras are designed with professional cinematographers in mind and production quality is generally much higher than than DSLRHybrids and camcorders, but of course that comes at a price. Overall, DSLRHybrids and camcorders are more mobile and budget friendly, but sacrifice image quality. If your budget allows, its certainly worth investing in a 4. K video production camera, but if youre on a tight budget or need to be mobile the decision can be tough. Diving a little deeper into the details should help you out if youre struggling. Video Production Cameras. Video production cameras are designed from the ground up for professional cinematographers producing professional content. Think movies, documentaries, commercials and so on. As opposed to camcorders, you wont find a cheap production camera. The entry cost is high, but the payoff is far superior image quality and a host of customization options. Production cameras can take excellent still images, but they are created with video production in mind. This should easily be your first choice. The more difficult decision is between a DSLRHybrid or a professional camera. DSLRHybrid. What sets the DSLRHybrid apart from a production camera is its mobility. The body of DSLRHybrids are similar to traditional DLSRs, hence the name, but they are engineered to be high quality video production machines. The best way to describe a DSLRHybrid is as a lite video production camera. You get many of the benefits of a video production camera in a smaller package. The footprint of a DSLRHybrid is significantly less than a production camera, so if you are primarily in the field filming content that requires you to work in tight, rugged situations a DSLRHybrid may be the way to go. The body size is only slightly larger than traditional DSLR cameras and even when carrying lenses, you will be able to travel much lighter than lugging around a production camera. Additionally, most high end DSLRHybrid cameras are dust and weather resistant so they are perfect for shooting in rugged environments in the field. In comparison to a professional camcorder, a DSLRHybrid has far superior image quality. Most DSLRHybrids are packed with a full frame sensor that delivers stunning detail and is able to produce an extremely shallow depth of field. Camcorders generally have much smaller sensors which cant keep up with the quality of DSLRHybrids. Professional Camcorders. Maybe the most notable advantage of professional camcorders compared to DSLRHybrids is XLR audio capabilities. For professional filmmakers, audio can sometimes be near as important as video and the lack of XLR is a shot to DSLRHybrids. Being able to capture quality audio straight to the camera can be a significant advantage in post production. Also, sound monitoring using a professional camcorder is far superior than using a DSLRHybrid. It should be noted that audio interface units which support XLR are available for DSLRHybrids, but they can be rather bulky and you sacrifice the mobility that probably drew you to a DSLRHybrid in the first place. Another advantages of a camcorder is an eyepiece and rotatable LCD screen. Nothing is worse than being in the field trying to frame your shots on a screen you cant see. While some DSLRHybrids are beginning to adopt a rotatable LCD, most are still smaller and less visible than LCDs on camcorders. Furthermore, when you are fighting sunlight it can be a lifesaver to simply use the eyepiece on a camcorder to frame and shoot video. It is worth noting that even though consumer 4. K cameras are more affordable than ever and are capable of capturing impressive 4. K content, the tradeoffs compared to professional video cameras are steep. Professional 4. K video cameras are designed with professional filmmakers in mind and prioritize video capturing first. Almost every 4. K consumer camera is designed to capture still images first and shooting video is an afterthought. The Best 4. K Professional Cameras. Sony PMW F5. 5 Cine. Alta 4. K Digital Cinema Camera. Price 2. 8,9. 90. B H Photo. It doesnt get any better than Sonys flagship 4. K digital cinema camera. The PMW F5. 5 features a magnificent 8. MP Super 3. 5mm image sensor, capable of capturing true 4. K 4. 09. 6 x 2. 16. DCI standard cinema image video. The PMW F5. 5 is also one of the first digital motion picture cameras with a global shutter, completely eliminating motion skew and other shutter distortions. The camera provides immense flexibility in shooting options and is the perfect foundation for a highly customizable system. Considering the quality and the price, the PMW F5. K camera on the market. Panasonic Vari. Cam 3. Price 1. 6,5. 00 at B H Photo. The Vari. Cam 3. 5 is a professional cinematographers dream, delivering image quality second to none with the capability to recording Raw 4. K footage in 1. 2bit 4 4 4 up to 6. The modular design provides enough customization options to keep even the most adept cinematographer experimenting for a long time. The 4. K Vari. Cam 3. TV dramas, high end commercials and high end broadcast programs. This camera is easily on the best on set production camera money can buy. Panasonic Vari. Cam LT coming in April. Red Weapon Forged CF 6. KSitting atop a highly lauded line of professional grade production cameras is the Red Weapon Forged CF. This camera is capable of capturing footage in insane 6. Enable Scripting Activex Controls Cookies And Java Programs Games. K 2. 4 1 up to 1. K Full Frame at 7. The Weapon Forged CF features a Red Dragon 1. CMOS sensor which produces top of the line image quality. How Red managed to deliver such impressive quality in a body which comes in at only 3. Red also puts a premium on design and the Weapon Forged CF is one of the sleekest cameras available. Check price at Red.