When battery level goes below the threshold, E2 will stop recording and footage is safe. If you pull the power all of a sudden then the footage will likely be corrupted.
There are plenty programs to recover the footage. what the Camera does is actually record the footage but it doesnt end it so there is no codec applied to the footage. The one i use wich is "Video repair by Grau GmbH" and works great.
Absolutely, detailed and precise review. As an owner of both the C500 mk2, as well as FX9 for field production. My personal use is a GFX 100 since I used to shoot medium format on film in graduate school. I likely have a Red Komodo on the way soon and my limited experience is that is an interesting camera coming in at $6k.
Frostie-Flake I hope the global-shutter, relatively cheap and simplified Komodo leads to a resurgence in cinematic 180 & 360 VR content. Nice collection of cameras you have there! Goals
For those wondering, I think every technical issue mentioned is fixed in firmware updates by Zcam. I have an E2-S6 and File corruption, Reliability, color shifts, Etc; its all fixed and I would consider it a very reliable camera at this point.
Wow, I feel like I just drank from a fire hose! Thanks for the review. I am a ZCAM user and love mine. I totally respect and appreciate your critique of areas where it fell short. We do agree that ZCAM is a player to watch. Kinson and his team are amazing and I am confident that the issues you bring up will be addressed.
Funny fire hose comment. I am reading this comment 3 years after it was posted. I will definitely think twice if I see this camera for sale used in 2024 with all the issues that are probably fixes in newer versions of the camera. (I sometimes worry about doing firmware update on older cameras etc for fear of bad outcomes)
Thanks for the coverage Gerald. Reviews like this will hopefully give Z Cam the info they need to keep improving. They've come a long way in a short time. Current state of their cameras is a no-go for me for practical reasons, but the future could be very bright if Z Cam responds in a healthy way.
@@JSHFilms All the funky "this works but only in this mode or in this mode, these features are not available." Gerald called them out in his video here. I think what Z-Cam has done is amazing and their future looks really bright. I'm just saying that they need to refine things a bit with input like Gerald provides here.
@@curtisjudd I agree and when I watched it! It was turned me down for this camera! Well back to the drawing board for a new camera for wedding videos. Been researching RED Komodo but also gonna wait for the Sony Fx 6
@@curtisjudd they are not doing their reputation any good by putting products into the market place with so many issues. They would be far better off pulling this product asap and doing their homework before coming out with a V2. It's a shame because the concept is good, the PQ looks good, but its just not fit for purpose just yet.
Wanted to add another comment to this video since I've seen a lot of toxicity. My original comment says that I hope your gripes are fixed and I meant it. As an owner of the F6 all I want is to see this camera improved with firmware updates. I didn't see anything glaringly bad about this review. He talked about the issues he came across or cared about and I think most of them are legitimate gripes. Besides, this was a review from the perspective of someone who's used it as a loaner for a short period of time. Not a guide on how to get around or fix certain glitches from a long time owner. I hope the Z Cam community doesn't scare you away from making more content if you decide to revisit any of the cameras from their line. I've always enjoyed your content. Keep it up, cheers.
I tip my hat to you sir, that is THE most effective way to get someone to watch your sponsor segment, inject an experiment within the video. Great great idea.
I am someone who tends to skip around in videos a lot but I have a hard time doing that with your videos which absolutely speaks to the quality of what you choose to cover. Great review as usual and the S1h remains my dream next body.
You, Sir, do masterful reviews. Precise, thorough, diplomatic, not nit-picky (is that a word?), awesome details, solid information... Fantastic review.
Good review. I own a couple of Z-Cam bodies, don't necessarily see exactly eye to eye on all the points made, but I'm glad you added your perspective. I think a few of your watchers have gotten a little melodramatic and mis-characterize an otherwise wonderful high value ecosystem. I'd like to point out that there are different types of power failures - when a battery just gets low and the camera notices, warns, and safely shuts down, and the catastrophic power failure from using crappy batteries, old batteries, user error, or the occasional act of god. The upside is that if I put one of my "small batteries" (a large NP-F) I can expect to get the camera to roll for 4-5 hours straight before power failure and if I put one of my "large batteries" (small Gold Mount brick) on, I can expect 5-8 hours of straight use before power failure, so my real world encounters of said power failures are non-existent, as I simply would never let a battery get down too low, I would expect to swing bricks just out of habit from using other cameras. Cool thing about developers is they listen to constructive feedback from user base and constantly improving. My feeling is that the camera is far far away from a "work in progress" and is a very reliable and solid production tool that is getting tweaked. 0.95 seems to have introduced a couple of nasty bugs that didn't exist before, and should be quashed in a few days. You cannot roll back from 0.95 to an earlier version, so that tells me the developers made some drastic but necessary system level updates and anyone who has ever coded something themselves knows, the more you change, the greater the chance of a bug - but I've never seen a camera software team work so quickly and accurately and with an open ear to the community, so for that, I am very grateful and am quite happy with my purchases (E2G, E2-F6).
The ad served as an essential part of the review... Brilliant way to get me to not skip through the ad Gerald. Storyblocks should thank you for that one!
Great information. I have the E2-S6. For the way I shoot and what I shoot its been flawless for the $3000. Gerald is a wealth of knowledge. Being out here in the field, several take away's will be added to my settings. Carry on G your doing an excellent job of presenting.
The way you break up your videos is wonderful. Thank you for that. And thank you for reviewing this because I've been looking at Z CAM for a while now.
This review left a lot to be desired man. I generally enjoy your reviews but I think you got hung up on very specific issues you care about the most to determine if this camera was good. I think that it's important not to just do the spec work but to use the camera in real life, to have time with it and then form your opinion. Cheers.
I don’t know what real life work you do but iso color shifting, audio syncing issue, Long form recording, proxy workflow issue are all crucial for professionals
JulianLeBLanc thanks for your thoughts. I create films both fiction and non. I have used a lot of different types of cameras and gear. Trust me when I say every camera has its issues. My point was that the things he is pointing out and the way by which he is presenting it is not fully flushed out. Having time to actually use the camera in real world situations and projects you find that most of these “issues” are not a big deal at all. So that’s where my perspective is coming from as someone who has used these cameras and others in my day to day work.
@@TristanBarrocks hey Tristan, I've seen your posts in the z-cam group and follow your videos as well! I was on the fence for the F6 but am in doubt again after this video. I mainly do non fiction work where audio is a big deal.(documentary and run and gun) Do you believe that this review doesn't do the camera justice? Would you recommend it for documentary style shooting? Thanks!
Wouter Elsen hey man thanks for asking the question. It all depends on how you shoot. I’ve been testing and using the E2 for months now and found it to be a solid camera for both commercial and doc work. My main reasoning is because I have a solid background in colour grading, recording audio separately, and using a good amount of batteries all the time. With that being said if you are used to shooting with a fs5 or c100 etc there are things they might do better based on brand and track record. Overall because of my success with the E2 I just picked up the S6 and I am selling the fs5 mark 2. I’m really excited about the possibilities and I’m flexible enough to work with the “shortcomings”. Hope this helps ✌🏾
@@TristanBarrocks Thanks for your reply! I recently sold my FS5 as well. And I'm not used to record audio separately so that might be why I'm not comfrotable with it :-) What do you use to record the audio separately? Because tbh the form factor, being able to make my own perfect handheld rig sounds awesome. I just get nervous at the thought of not having 2 xlr's and combined with Gerald's remarks of audio out of sync.. And image-quality wise? I've been eyeing Kinefinity as well and love the images they produce, any idea how they compare? Thanks!
Thanks for the thorough, unbiased review! Lots of great information in there for sure! Sadly, as is seen in many of the comments already, many folks assume that your non-starter issues with the camera are definitive statements that the camera wouldn't be good for them, which they may be but I tend to think most people aren't in the habit of recording extremely long clips. No doubt, if I were shooting in a similar style to you I would have the same reservations for basically the same reasons. Luckily for me, and a great many other happy users, I have had an exceptional experience with these cameras in both personal and professional environments. I haven't ever had the camera shut off during recording in the almost two years of using Z Cams(the E2, S6, and F6) so that isn't an issue that worries me and I would think it shouldn't worry others. I am in total agreement that we should have the option to turn off the file splitting option, though! It never creates actual issues for me but I would prefer to choose what is happening for sure. Anyway... thought I'd share my opinion so that anybody who takes your opinion seriously(which I agree most people should... high quality opinions are hard to come by) isn't scared off by assuming your non-starter issues declare the camera a non-starter for herself/himself even though there is so much good to be had in so many other ways.
Great to know, footage looks really good, company is constantly grinding and I love the app and ND. But the Pocket 4K is still such an incredible value proposition, every new camera keeps leading me back to it. Sigma FP is getting better looking every day, especially if someone makes an ND EF adapter.
Hi Gerald thanks for the detailed review, love your input and thorough study of the camera features. Myself is a Z Cam E2 user for more than a year, I used to run into this super weird issue that when I turned "notification" feature as "on" in Z Cam menu and record the footage directly in Ninja V in 4K, the cross mark and safety boarder shown on the screen are burnt together with my video footage into my SSD. You won't imagine my face when I went back home and found this out right in front of my camera. It was a concert I was filming but fortunately we have three cameras so I didn't become the event spoiler. Phewwww....
Shinzy Chan Not really sure where you are coming from in this one. I said in my experience my cameras i had weren’t saving them either. I never said no cameras do that or whatever and then asked him which ones do. I legitimately wanted to know. I wasn't being sarcastic. Tone on the internet can be misleading. and I was joking around with MAKE . ART . NOW. I could care less if he buys or tests an F6, even tho I like his content a lot as well. I wasn’t bashing Gerald either. I in general like his stuff, but I’m allowed to have an opinion on his review. I think overall it was great but a few things I think are misinformed a bit. I think this is to be expected when you only have a camera for a few days to test. I like cameras that shoot beautiful images. I shoot canon, blackmagic, zcam, and others. The f6 shoots beautiful images. It’s a shame to see so many turned off to a camera over what I feel is an exaggerated issue that I don’t think in practical use would be much of an issue at all. Thats really all my issue is with this video. Not sure why you and others are so worked up with some negative feedback over a video. Seems like unnecessary drama to me.
I really hope that the ZCAM team will consider every point you mentioned for their future firmware update. Great video as usual Gerald! I only wish you tested the phone app to use as a monitor. I'm really curious about how it performs.
I was really considering the Zcam but unfortunately there are so many quirks I am thankful I waited for the A7SIII that I finally received. Thanks for this review!
Great review! I've been using Z Cam products for a while and I love them. Most of my use happens on set and, in that scenario, the Z Cam is much more convenient than both the Pockets and the S1h. Much more versatile and adaptable to rigging. I hope to see your gripes fixed with firmware updates and I'm curious to see an update on your thoughts in the future. Oh btw, Kinson and a few of the engineers have been known to fix those corrupted files so there might be an easy fix that they would be able to share with you.
Love the review man! It's funny after seeing your in depth review, I think of all the people who ripped on me and my team for getting two Fx9's because the specs on paper looked worse than the Z-Cam.... I love being able to work with a small log file from the Fx9 that doesn't require extra steps for post production. I do appreciate what the Z-Cam team is trying to do, innovation is always important for the industry. Remember the first cameras black magic put out? look how far they've come! Keep crushing it man
You’re the first reviewer i’ve ever watched that’s mentioned any of these issues and boy do they seem like production headaches. I’m glad I picked up the Terra 4K instead!
Only half way through but this is already the best review of the F6 so far, no one talks about the file splitting or file saving issues. Right back to the review
Damn I wish the P4K was more boxier 😭 As an avid PC builder this cam makes me moist. EDIT: I think ZCAM is a very strong competitor, great form factor, good io, specs are very strong too and they seem to have active support and patch release. They haven't been in the market long but are filling a gap (watch out RED). Budget, high quality cinema. These issues are very fixable problems that new software and new iterations of cameras can fix. This also means healthy competition to Blackmagic range. More competition is always good (Intel v AMD, AMD and NVIDIA...). I wish there was kind of an "open source" camera that allows any raw codec to be enabled. Buy camera, install whatever codec tickles your fancy. Bob's your uncle. Hang in ZCAM and keep iterating. Two years when I plan to look for a new camera, ZCAM will be well on the cards, hopefully...
Blackmagic are more than likely going to join in on the boxy design. It’s cheaper for them and they then get to sell people the Assist Monitor they have recently been pushing.
I have the E2-S6 the app is awesome and actually the best way to control the settings outside of the add on grip. It doesn’t work well with wireless so going wired into the USB port is suggested. It also doesn’t work wired on android so iOS wired is your only option.
I compared the two. Definitely a Z-cam win for me. Although I really hope Kinson kicks out some updates to fix the issues mentioned in the video. He did say he is working on it.
So I didn't get the F6, but I got the S6 instead. Price is down to $2500 (camera only) and suddenly the price to performance ratio is just perfect for me. What I've shot on it so far (nothing special just yet) looks absolutely amazing, and especially compared to my old camera I've had for 9 years, it is making a massive difference for me already. Most other cinema cameras available right now are way more expensive at around $4000 starting out with no accessories, and the exceptions like the BMPCC might be cheaper but it has extremely bad battery performance, which I absolutely NEED because of the content I shoot. The Z Cam has its issues, namely getting all the accessories to be a fully useable rig (which sucks starting out), but so far I've found my E2-S6 to be a great camera to finally introduce me to the world of cinema camera work. I've been getting much better with my color correction, and the content already is clearly better than ever before.
@Felipe Courtois Yes, it's EF (NOT EF-S, don't mix those up). I've loved it. To be fair, my previous camera was 9 years old by the time I got this one, so I badly needed a significant upgrade. Finally getting something that has great assist tools built in, Log profiles, and a simple modular body is great. Now even though the S6 is $2500 USD, with all the accessories I've had to get for it, I've paid probably around $5000 for the entire setup. That's with camera, cage, handles (top and left side, not the RVLVR handle, which I still want to get), Atomos Ninja V, SSD, Rode mic, Sigma 24-105mm f4 lens, cables, batteries, Color Checker Passport, and new tripod. So if you buy a camera like this, unless you have a lot saved up to spend ahead of time, expect to piece together the camera rig in stages. I know not everyone will have this problem, but I did, because I'm not particularly well off. Since getting this camera my ability to manipulate the images has gone up dramatically. My content looks better than it ever has, even when shooting content that was essentially the same as what I was doing before getting the camera. Both Rec709 and Log profiles look spectacular from the camera, and both are easy to manipulate in post. I haven't recorded anything in RAW yet, as I don't need to, but the other formats look awesome on this camera. Oh! Keep in mind, some of the issues he mentions in this video have been fixed in new ZCam updates since this video was posted. Also, the S6 doesn't even have some of these issues at all. Although I haven't done personal tests, I saw another reviewer who tested the color shift issue when adjusting ISO and apparently the S6 doesn't have this issue, or it is lessened at least. The 23.98 fps issue on the Ninja V where the monitor turns it into 59.94 DOES exist on the S6, even on the newest firmware. I haven't been able to update my Ninja V yet however. When shooting, I record directly into an SSD that is firmly mounted to the camera, NOT the Ninja V, but when shooting, the monitor can, and often does, cut out for a second or two from time to time before pulling back to the image. Since I'm not recording on the Ninja, I don't experience any issues with my recordings, but please keep this in mind. Speaking of recording, it has 3 ways of recording. CFast cards, SSDs, and through the Ninja V (or other HDMI out setup). I got a deal on the camera and it came with a 128GB CFast card, but I decided to buy an SSD to use as my primary drive instead. CFast cards seem to be way too expensive for me considering the price per GB is nearly 1:1 until you get up to a TB, when that tends to cost around $700 instead of over a thousand. Since using the SSD I've never had any issues recording to it. Just make sure you get the correct mount to attach it to the camera. The Samsung T5 and T7 drives aren't recommended, as they're supposedly not fast enough. I think the T7 MIGHT be fast enough but I don't have one to test. I use a Sandisk Extreme Pro Portable 2TB SSD and have never had issues with the speed of that drive. It always keeps up, even when shooting 6k. According to the camera, it can also record 6k 24fps ZLog2 video for 15 hours before filling the drive I have. Battery life on the other hand is great. Since the batteries are those Sony NPF batteries they're cheap to buy and easy to find pretty much anywhere. Autofocus is bad. It's really slow, and doesn't keep up very well. It can grab focus, and keep it without hunting, but it isn't good with fast moving content. It IS great with ISO, exposure, and keeping appropriate white balance, even when using auto settings. I've used auto settings a lot and it keeps up nicely. The focus peaking helps immensely with focusing though, and the other tools help dial in the image you want easily. The menus take some time to learn as they're laid out a bit oddly, but once you learn it, it all makes sense. Nearly every button can have its function changed to anything you want it to as well, which is great. It's an awesome camera, and I think if I had plenty more money to get something better I would've done that, but considering the price for the exceptional image quality you get, I'd say it's ABSOLUTELY worth a look. I haven't regretted buying that camera even once. I wanted a cinema camera, and at that $2500 USD price there isn't much other competition. The rest of the competition in that price range is primarily DSLR type bodies, which I didn't want. If you want something that can be very small and simple or become fully rigged out to be a professional movie camera setup, the ZCam has the versatility to do that. The body is fully aluminum and VERY sturdy. The lens mount is awesome as well, as it is a cinema style locking mount rather than the typical DSLR type twisting mount. I have the MFT lens mount adapter as well with the metabones MFT to EF adapter, and it looks exceptional. It has its issues, but I think considering the price you're paying for the level of amazing image quality you get, it is an incredible bargain for a cinema camera. I addressed as much as possible here, so hopefully this is pretty comprehensive. Haha. If anyone has any specific questions let me know. And if I have to test something I'll try and remember to do so, so you can get an answer.
@@pavelzherdzetsky5655 Oh it's great. I'm with a wedding video company at the moment and it makes great video. My rig is too heavy though. I have the camera, a sigma lens, Atomos monitor, Rode mic, camera cage and handles, and a steadicam/monopod. I wouldn't say it's specifically made for this quick run and gun type stuff, but it certainly works. A lighter setup would likely be more appropriate for this, however the quality of the picture this camera gives is amazing. I cannot say enough good things about the quality it gives me. I'd much rather be doing cinematic/narrative work instead, as I feel the camera would get a better workout on that front, but otherwise there's no major issues this camera has that I feel make it a bad setup. It IS heavy as I mentioned, but that's understood. The autofocus is basically nonexistent, but with focus peaking working exceptionally well on it, I never have issues keeping it in focus except when I act like a doofus and turn the focus the wrong direction, which isn't the camera's fault. All the other things like exposure, and shutter angle help keep it at the correct brightness any time. You can set shutter angle to 180 and ISO to auto (for MANY situations), and as long as you're shooting in Log it'll basically take care of exposure for you. The negative is lack of good autofocus, and that's pretty much it outside of the weight. I've NEVER had footage turn out looking bad with it. I shoot in Log, and I also have a Colorchecker Passport chart, and that makes it super easy to deal with in post. Footage shot in lower resolutions than the 6k it's made for is all super sampled too, so you'll still get astronomically clear footage as long as you're good with your focus. I don't have the electronic ND filter yet, so I can't speak on that. I DO have a different lens mount though, but I use it to adjust to Micro Four Thirds lenses, then a Metabones adapter to put it back to EF, which then gives me a slightly wider focal length, and it takes my f4 Sigma lens down to a f2.8. That's kind of a weird convoluted thing, but it works really well, and helps give these wedding videos I've been making lately a beautiful shallow depth of field that couples enjoy seeing in their videos. I really love this thing though, and if you have any other questions, just let me know!
Ok so I just typed out a LONG reply and it doesn't look like it posted for some reason. UGH. Anyway... The biggest issue with the camera is probably the weight. I've been working with a wedding company lately and between the camera, lens, monitor, the mic (which is super light), the handles, and the Steadicam/monopod I use, it's not light by any means. The other major issue with the camera is the auto focus. It doesn't really have autofocus at all. The way that I use the camera I just have focus peaking on at all times and as long as you are paying attention to that on your monitor then it works totally fine. I will say that I have NEVER gotten bad footage from that camera. And considering the run and gun work that I'm doing right now, I've been using Auto settings for the ISO pretty much all the time. It always keeps up, and it doesn't give me troubles. I don't use shutter speed, I use shutter angle, and I just leave that at 180. The camera always keeps up even going inside and outside. It may not be as accurate as using T stops on a cinema lens, but I'm also not Richie Rich so I can't afford that. I typically set the color temperature to a single color temperature for a certain environment and then just leave it, and then I use my color checker to adjust the color in post. As long as you're shooting in Log then it's super easy to make adjustments later on. And I can't adjust constantly from shot to shot while a wedding is happening. Despite that, the auto color temp keeps up quite well too when I have used it. The camera has weight and autofocus issues, but otherwise it is an amazing camera that has always produced beautiful shots every time I've used it. Also, if you're shooting below the 6k max resolution it will super sample your footage to the full resolution of the sensor, so your footage will still turn out super crisp and beautiful regardless. A monitor is a MUST with it. The camera is basically unusable without one. Also you should probably get that RVLVR handle with several settings that can be adjusted on the handle. I don't have that yet, but it'll make it work that much faster when I do. I didn't get the electronic ND filter yet so I also can't speak about that. CFast cards are too expensive per GB, so I rely on SSDs attached to the camera, and the one I use is great and has never failed. It's the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable. It's 2TB, and it never fills up (I've not shot RAW footage just to be clear), and it never has issues keeping up with the data rate. I think the camera would likely be better for cinematic/narrative driven work, as it's a bit heavy for run and gun work like I'm doing right now, but it also doesn't cause problems for me, and it always produces beautiful footage for me. It has every time.
This is the review we all deserved ! Thank you so much for this you gave so much insight about this camera. I was going to buy this and all these things do affect me. You really help me with this quality content. 😊🤝💯
This is not really an issue unless you pull the kill the power to the camera complete. You can tell it at what Voltage to stop recording which is a non issue then. Also you can set a max of 60 minute segments which really to me zero issue when shooting for cinema or narrative.
What a good idea, to use the Storyblocks spiel to test the audio -- actually prefer that to Marvel character synopses. Gerald's always refining the program and doing the work. I even appreciate the explanation for why "zee" instead of "zed."
Are you willing to give the E2-F8 a go? 8K supersampled down to 6K or 4K seems like a wonderful concept. One of the drawbacks I have about these cameras is depending on HDMI to record output rather than a mini SDI which could even support an 8K output.
Thanks so much for this video, Gerald! I'm looking at the S6 myself due to cost/need, and having someone do an in-depth on this really helped me understand the pros/cons. Cheers!
Yesterday a new firmware was annonced in the zcam e2 group which adresses the issue that you mentioned with corrupted files. The cameras now have a recovery function if you reload the media back into the camera and use the derivater tool in menu
Thanks for the honest review. Z Cam is a new company that is making huge waves right now, but they still need to get some fundamentals right. In a year or two I'm in, but in the meantime, it sounds like a camera that I cannot count on for client work.
The ZCams have been so impressive so far but I don't think they are quite there just yet. Will be keeping a close eye on them tho, I think their next generations of cameras are going to be something else!
Gosh! How did we ever shoot movies on film, with a mag change every ten minutes? This video was over at 10:23 when you said I can’t record long form on this camera. No kidding! It’s a cinema camera. The right tool for the right job should always be the mantra of these reviews, but the millennial generation is more concerned with spec shaming than actually making films. The best camera to shoot with is the one you can access when there is a story to tell. Go out and shoot something, and experience that joy - there is no fulfillment in gear worship...
Bit harsh mate. Define a cinema camera I challenge you. Lots of cameras use that term and I really don’t see what truly defines a “cinema camera” all I see is people like you using that term as an excuse for its shortcomings.
@@philipbloom Thank you for your response, Philip. Another friend asked me the same question the other day. My answer was this: a cinema camera is any camera that is placed in the hands of a capable cinematographer. Not operator, not photographer, not videographer - cinematographer. I specify this because, cinematography is a distinct, and deliberate process. Cameras that bear the “cinema” moniker, conform to that philosophy and workflow. Whether digital, or photo-chemical. I know I don’t need to convince you of that. Your reputation precedes you, and rightfully so. However, you are helping to prove my point, in a way. Can we agree to stop asking a hammer to do the job of a wrench? If you need a video camera, do not lament the cinema camera for its alleged shortcomings, choose one of the many capable video cameras. When you say, “people like me…” To whom do you refer? Professionals? Filmmakers? Because those are my ilk. I gave 30-years of my life to the craft, and was mentored by many unique and amazingly talented people. To be a filmmaker is to be a problem solver. We do not have the benefit of making excuses for much of anything. We are held accountable for quality, timeliness, and equity at every turn. Often, we are not allowed the benefit of choosing our tools. They are chosen for us. Therefore, we do not excuse a camera for its shortcomings, we forgive it - and we learn to work within its limitations. That is the conundrum we face regularly. And for his tireless work on this issue, I thank Gerald sincerely. I wish I had a dime for every time I was handed a piece of gear that was just shy of “perfect” for the job. I realize that this is at the root of what you do, Gerald - and I applaud you for it. Believe me when I say, I am in agreement with you on your role. My comment was more of a reaction toward those with the mindset that a perfect camera exists at all - and that if one could simply identify it, everyone would produce impeccable films. I watch a lot of RUclips. Mostly for the benefit of my students. I feel it is my responsibility now to direct those in my charge toward credible sources of information. As a teacher, with ten years at the lectern, I feel I am constantly expected to offer some form of template to young filmmakers, that will heal all their anxieties and short-comings about gear, skills, and workflows, and give them a “recipe” to follow for success. I try always to educate folks on fundamentals, and concepts that transcend equipment, because, as we all know, today’s darling camera is tomorrows donkey. And that is a shame, because the donkey is, more than likely, still a fantastic camera in its own right - and is no doubt capable of amazing images given the right opportunity. Any of the owner operators out there reading this can attest to that fact. I fear that this is a side effect of consumerism, and profit motivated manufacturing, more than effective creativity. Cinema cameras, like cinematographers, are imperfect vessels. We do the best we can, in the moments that we have, with the materials and assistance available to us. Our work is, at best, a representation of the combination of best plans, and best possible prep versus the realities of day-to-day production. Should we try to mitigate our challenges, by qualifying our gear? Of course. That is our due diligence. However, eventually, it is time to shoot. Which might also translate into the time to buy, so one can go out and begin the real work of creating content. I am willing to bet that, if you are a dedicated shooter, any camera you buy will be one in a series of rewarding growth steps toward your evolution as a filmmaker. So, as someone once said, “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want, or wish you had at a later time.” After all, it is only a movie. Cheers to you both.
I love the p4k, and this is also a great camera too. I just wish bmd followed the square/rectangle form factor. Either way though I shouldn't complain, I'm grateful to be able to afford an amazing camera that has the power we never thought imaginable 10 years ago. People will complain about anything these days. They just need another reason to buy more stuff.
Darn, I didn’t want to allow you to monopolize my time and affection for reviews so I tried to give other people an opportunity....but as usual, your review is my favorite. Oh well, you’re a monopoly ;) -Adam
definitely a GREAT video!!! i love that you really go in details covering the aspects of quality, low light, etc ... Comparing whats written on paper and the reality coming out of the camera!!! you have the same video for the S6 ????
Ummmm, the battery thing may be a bit off base here. My understanding is that it will end the recording and save the file if the battery voltage is too low, and will not let you continue recording from there. So, unless you randomly pull the battery out mid-filming, or the battery is poor quality and it completely bails out of existence then and there, when would you ever run into this issue?
Bumping the battery loose while holding, using a janky v-mount adapter, using mains power and the power flickers for a second, going from 2-pin to d-tap for rigging and something happens to the connection or your d-tap battery, etc. Even if the odds are low, anything that can potentially destroy footage that can't be reproduced needs to be talked about. If it wasn't a concern, why do they have the file splitting in the first place? When I asked the CEO, he said to prevent file corruption due to power loss. So it's a real enough concern for Z CAM themselves to program a workaround. Potential buyers should be aware of this.
Gerald Undone But you didn't mention this issue in the context of a sudden power outage or accident occurring. You explained it as though if you just run out of battery then you lose/corrupt the footage but didn't explain that the camera will not let you just simply run out of battery and that instead it will stop at a low voltage, save the file, and give you a warning. That seems quite unfair to me and irresponsibly misrepresenting the complete facts.
Gerald Undone Man, this is super disappointing. I've spoken to quite a few people (including friends), that now think because of your review, that if you run out of battery, you will lose your footage. I've been watching and sharing your videos for a long time and I've always been a fan, but in the same way your critism should help companies improve, critisism towards you should do the same. You've made a pretty damming statement and provided no or inacurate context, and have (perhaps unintentionally) misinformed your viewers about a pretty important issue, and that's really gross. I really hope going forward that you take the time to be more exact with your wording and explanations, as people (including myself) put a lot of weight into what you say. A completely fair review would have ALSO explained that the camera will not let your battery naturally die without saving the footage and giving you a warning, and I hope you can see this too. Still a fan, and have/will continue to defend your completely fair and accurate points made in this and any video, but man, this was sadly irresponsible.
@@TheAlexGivenGuy I think it's also irresponsible to trust your footage to a feature that could fail due to setting the voltage cut off too low, the battery or external power being knocked out (yes this happens all the time), or just incorrect voltage reporting.
Christy Kail yeah that's fair, and that is why I'd always suggest users take advantage of the hot swapping battery feature by having a v-mount and an NPF battery powering the camera for redundancy. I don't trust any camera, and think it's wise to always have a backup, no matter what.
Great review. Given me a lot to think about before purchasing this. Would love to see a follow up in 6 months time to see how many of these issues are addressed
That power interruption file loss is ridiculous. TASCAM has a similar problem with their field recorders, or at least they did. Both the DR-60D and DR-70D would lose the entire file if power is lost. I used to use them for recording podcasts and long form interviews and it happened twice, (once on each recorder) where I lost over an hour of audio because of a power failure. Now I've moved to the Zoom F6. Back when RED was the only game in town, we just accepted these weird glitches and comparability issues and just dealt with expensive proprietary media and accessories. But that was then and this is now. We shouldn't have to use Z-Cam's software to stitch together audio. Hopefully, they will continue developing for this camera line and work out the issues with firmware updates. Still, I'm glad that companies like Z-Cam and Blackmagic exist, bringing more tools into more people's hands at a price point that isn't the cost of a new BMW.
I have a E1 camera from Z camera, which is like a GH5 "action camera" and not at all a Cinema camera. great review, I was considering one of these or a Mavo.. before I got an S1H thanks for highlighting the file save / power / external recorder issues.
Just when I thought I had learned a lot about video, along you come with a review that covers topics new to me. Back to studying, I guess, but thanks for such a comprehensive review.
Thanks for exposing this cam the way it should. I am shooting with the Bmpcc 4k and I would love the smaller, modular design. I've been reading a lot about the Zcam, but all these points you mentioned are NOT covered in any of the posts. I think ZCAM is a great company, making exceptionally well cameras, but it just does NOT beat the BMPCC series.
Most have been brought up in the forum, but not by a prominent voice so I'm glad he did because almost all of his gripes have already been fixed. I much prefer the form factor and usability of the Z Cams over the Pockets, but they are all great cameras. You really can't go wrong nowadays.
So much good info .. Im going to have to view this twice, I'll come back in 10 minutes....to finish You know ...I probably would have done better in College Chemistry if Gerald had been teaching it. It's the cadence in the speech that makes his major points memory recoverable. Good on you Mr. Undone
After watching the review. My opinion is, the Each and every manufacturer should ask a review of Gerald then retify the flaws then realise the final product.Gareld digs deeper than you expected.
I used the S1H and that love affair lasted about 2 seconds as in the end I didn’t like the color science as much, and yes I heard what you said about color but to me it’s everything. I have not tried the z cam but that rec709 does look awesome 👏🏻, having that in a workflow makes things so much easier. In the end I preferred the Canon R colorscience/image over the Panasonic, the R just looks so cinematic. I also used the BMPCC 6k and I must say the color straight out of camera seemed a bit off, but the BRaw is amazing and so easy to adjust unlike other camera’s color science like Sony which I feel like I’m fighting it in the end (way too much work). I am however curious about the Z Cam since it can now do prores raw. I am however still waiting for the Komodo (which seems like a z cam ripp) but I do love me some of that RedCode which is so easy to work with, almost as easy as BRaw.
Thanks so much for this. Back to your best work in my humble opinion. Too many visual comparisons of footage neglect the basic design issues of the software. In my opinion the difference between this and a professional camera is these issues aren’t beta tested in users who have already stumped up the cash to buy the camera. It’s called R&D and despite this idea that kitson is personally listening to forum feedback, I would much prefer it if z cam just came out with a camera they were proud of, having thought all this pretty obvious stuff through ahead of release. This isn’t rocket science and basic camera functionality and recording reliability is not too much to ask unless you are selling the camera as a non professional option. Its great to hear the emotion in your voice and the simple good sense that is never lost or compromised by some good old fashioned frustration. Thank you for all your consideration and work.
When battery level goes below the threshold, E2 will stop recording and footage is safe.
If you pull the power all of a sudden then the footage will likely be corrupted.
Nope. A few weeks ago my power drained till shutdown and the 60gb mov.tmp file was corrupt and unrecoverable. Zcam E2 Firmware 0.94.
@@backup6253 1. Have you set the correct low voltage? 2. You can contact Z CAM to use software to recover your footage.
There are plenty programs to recover the footage. what the Camera does is actually record the footage but it doesnt end it so there is no codec applied to the footage.
The one i use wich is "Video repair by Grau GmbH" and works great.
Needs to be fixed ASAP. It canceled my desire to buy this.
@@TheDude-vx6wn fix what issue？
dude. seriously, NO ONE, is going in-depth about these issues like you are. Good on you man, you really are something special for our community.
Absolutely, detailed and precise review. As an owner of both the C500 mk2, as well as FX9 for field production. My personal use is a GFX 100 since I used to shoot medium format on film in graduate school. I likely have a Red Komodo on the way soon and my limited experience is that is an interesting camera coming in at $6k.
Honestly^ he’s the best there is hands down
Frostie-Flake I hope the global-shutter, relatively cheap and simplified Komodo leads to a resurgence in cinematic 180 & 360 VR content. Nice collection of cameras you have there! Goals
Watch CVP
For those wondering, I think every technical issue mentioned is fixed in firmware updates by Zcam. I have an E2-S6 and File corruption, Reliability, color shifts, Etc; its all fixed and I would consider it a very reliable camera at this point.
The way you integrated the sponsored ad with an audio comparison is incredibly smart.
I mean sorta... because I wasnt listening to anything he was saying just how it sounded 😅
Okay...sponsored ad during a mic comparison?
Slow clapping over here.
Exactly, genious
@@wouterelsen7773 Genius, or Ingenious! Make up your mind! 😃
4:38 :)
I have never been so impressed and pissed at the same time.
I listened but I ignored the data - how's that for beating his game
Wow, I feel like I just drank from a fire hose! Thanks for the review. I am a ZCAM user and love mine. I totally respect and appreciate your critique of areas where it fell short. We do agree that ZCAM is a player to watch. Kinson and his team are amazing and I am confident that the issues you bring up will be addressed.
Funny fire hose comment. I am reading this comment 3 years after it was posted. I will definitely think twice if I see this camera for sale used in 2024 with all the issues that are probably fixes in newer versions of the camera. (I sometimes worry about doing firmware update on older cameras etc for fear of bad outcomes)
"I'm Gerald Undone, and I can only get it in on an angle, and only on the third or fourth try."
now THAT is a new intro line
😂 absolutely perfect!
And it was used lol!!
T-shirt worthy?? 😂
Thanks for the coverage Gerald. Reviews like this will hopefully give Z Cam the info they need to keep improving. They've come a long way in a short time. Current state of their cameras is a no-go for me for practical reasons, but the future could be very bright if Z Cam responds in a healthy way.
how come?
@@JSHFilms All the funky "this works but only in this mode or in this mode, these features are not available." Gerald called them out in his video here. I think what Z-Cam has done is amazing and their future looks really bright. I'm just saying that they need to refine things a bit with input like Gerald provides here.
@@curtisjudd I agree and when I watched it! It was turned me down for this camera! Well back to the drawing board for a new camera for wedding videos. Been researching RED Komodo but also gonna wait for the Sony Fx 6
@@JSHFilms Oh yes, excited for the FX6!
@@curtisjudd they are not doing their reputation any good by putting products into the market place with so many issues. They would be far better off pulling this product asap and doing their homework before coming out with a V2.
It's a shame because the concept is good, the PQ looks good, but its just not fit for purpose just yet.
Wanted to add another comment to this video since I've seen a lot of toxicity. My original comment says that I hope your gripes are fixed and I meant it.
As an owner of the F6 all I want is to see this camera improved with firmware updates. I didn't see anything glaringly bad about this review. He talked about the issues he came across or cared about and I think most of them are legitimate gripes. Besides, this was a review from the perspective of someone who's used it as a loaner for a short period of time. Not a guide on how to get around or fix certain glitches from a long time owner.
I hope the Z Cam community doesn't scare you away from making more content if you decide to revisit any of the cameras from their line. I've always enjoyed your content. Keep it up, cheers.
It's 0am, literally the middle of the night, and yet here I am again watching Gerald instead of doing homework which is due in 8 hours.
And gerald supports that .
I'm not mad gerald I'm disappointed.
People don't say "0am". It's either 12am or 00:00.
@@ErebosGR or midnight
You did the sponsor bit... while testing audio inputs? This... is GENIUS. Seriously, it's just smart. 🙏
dude, you are SO HELPFUL. the GOAT of Camera reviews.
I tip my hat to you sir, that is THE most effective way to get someone to watch your sponsor segment, inject an experiment within the video. Great great idea.
Most creative way to make people watch your sponsor plug. Gerald is a freaking genius!
I am someone who tends to skip around in videos a lot but I have a hard time doing that with your videos which absolutely speaks to the quality of what you choose to cover. Great review as usual and the S1h remains my dream next body.
You’re the best when it comes to in-depth reviews. And honesty is key. You got it Gerald.
One of the best reviews I've seen. To the point and well spoken with a direct approach to the pros and cons.
You, Sir, do masterful reviews. Precise, thorough, diplomatic, not nit-picky (is that a word?), awesome details, solid information... Fantastic review.
Good review. I own a couple of Z-Cam bodies, don't necessarily see exactly eye to eye on all the points made, but I'm glad you added your perspective. I think a few of your watchers have gotten a little melodramatic and mis-characterize an otherwise wonderful high value ecosystem. I'd like to point out that there are different types of power failures - when a battery just gets low and the camera notices, warns, and safely shuts down, and the catastrophic power failure from using crappy batteries, old batteries, user error, or the occasional act of god. The upside is that if I put one of my "small batteries" (a large NP-F) I can expect to get the camera to roll for 4-5 hours straight before power failure and if I put one of my "large batteries" (small Gold Mount brick) on, I can expect 5-8 hours of straight use before power failure, so my real world encounters of said power failures are non-existent, as I simply would never let a battery get down too low, I would expect to swing bricks just out of habit from using other cameras. Cool thing about developers is they listen to constructive feedback from user base and constantly improving. My feeling is that the camera is far far away from a "work in progress" and is a very reliable and solid production tool that is getting tweaked. 0.95 seems to have introduced a couple of nasty bugs that didn't exist before, and should be quashed in a few days. You cannot roll back from 0.95 to an earlier version, so that tells me the developers made some drastic but necessary system level updates and anyone who has ever coded something themselves knows, the more you change, the greater the chance of a bug - but I've never seen a camera software team work so quickly and accurately and with an open ear to the community, so for that, I am very grateful and am quite happy with my purchases (E2G, E2-F6).
The ad served as an essential part of the review... Brilliant way to get me to not skip through the ad Gerald. Storyblocks should thank you for that one!
Great information. I have the E2-S6. For the way I shoot and what I shoot its been flawless for the $3000. Gerald is a wealth of knowledge. Being out here in the field, several take away's will be added to my settings.
Carry on G your doing an excellent job of presenting.
The way you break up your videos is wonderful. Thank you for that. And thank you for reviewing this because I've been looking at Z CAM for a while now.
Never been so excited! I’ve been seriously eyeing the Z-Cam as my first cinema camera!
You won't be disappointed!
You’ll love it
This review left a lot to be desired man. I generally enjoy your reviews but I think you got hung up on very specific issues you care about the most to determine if this camera was good. I think that it's important not to just do the spec work but to use the camera in real life, to have time with it and then form your opinion. Cheers.
I don’t know what real life work you do but iso color shifting, audio syncing issue, Long form recording, proxy workflow issue are all crucial for professionals
JulianLeBLanc thanks for your thoughts. I create films both fiction and non. I have used a lot of different types of cameras and gear. Trust me when I say every camera has its issues. My point was that the things he is pointing out and the way by which he is presenting it is not fully flushed out. Having time to actually use the camera in real world situations and projects you find that most of these “issues” are not a big deal at all. So that’s where my perspective is coming from as someone who has used these cameras and others in my day to day work.
@@TristanBarrocks hey Tristan, I've seen your posts in the z-cam group and follow your videos as well! I was on the fence for the F6 but am in doubt again after this video. I mainly do non fiction work where audio is a big deal.(documentary and run and gun) Do you believe that this review doesn't do the camera justice? Would you recommend it for documentary style shooting?
Thanks!
Wouter Elsen hey man thanks for asking the question. It all depends on how you shoot. I’ve been testing and using the E2 for months now and found it to be a solid camera for both commercial and doc work. My main reasoning is because I have a solid background in colour grading, recording audio separately, and using a good amount of batteries all the time. With that being said if you are used to shooting with a fs5 or c100 etc there are things they might do better based on brand and track record. Overall because of my success with the E2 I just picked up the S6 and I am selling the fs5 mark 2. I’m really excited about the possibilities and I’m flexible enough to work with the “shortcomings”. Hope this helps ✌🏾
@@TristanBarrocks Thanks for your reply! I recently sold my FS5 as well. And I'm not used to record audio separately so that might be why I'm not comfrotable with it :-) What do you use to record the audio separately? Because tbh the form factor, being able to make my own perfect handheld rig sounds awesome. I just get nervous at the thought of not having 2 xlr's and combined with Gerald's remarks of audio out of sync..
And image-quality wise? I've been eyeing Kinefinity as well and love the images they produce, any idea how they compare?
Thanks!
Thanks for the thorough, unbiased review! Lots of great information in there for sure! Sadly, as is seen in many of the comments already, many folks assume that your non-starter issues with the camera are definitive statements that the camera wouldn't be good for them, which they may be but I tend to think most people aren't in the habit of recording extremely long clips. No doubt, if I were shooting in a similar style to you I would have the same reservations for basically the same reasons. Luckily for me, and a great many other happy users, I have had an exceptional experience with these cameras in both personal and professional environments. I haven't ever had the camera shut off during recording in the almost two years of using Z Cams(the E2, S6, and F6) so that isn't an issue that worries me and I would think it shouldn't worry others. I am in total agreement that we should have the option to turn off the file splitting option, though! It never creates actual issues for me but I would prefer to choose what is happening for sure. Anyway... thought I'd share my opinion so that anybody who takes your opinion seriously(which I agree most people should... high quality opinions are hard to come by) isn't scared off by assuming your non-starter issues declare the camera a non-starter for herself/himself even though there is so much good to be had in so many other ways.
You for the most in depth technical reviews of cameras on RUclips. Love the channel
At least 3 solid "NO Go's" on this camera. Thank you for the review.
Reviews don’t come more thorough than this. Thanks a lot!
Great to know, footage looks really good, company is constantly grinding and I love the app and ND. But the Pocket 4K is still such an incredible value proposition, every new camera keeps leading me back to it. Sigma FP is getting better looking every day, especially if someone makes an ND EF adapter.
Hi Gerald thanks for the detailed review, love your input and thorough study of the camera features. Myself is a Z Cam E2 user for more than a year, I used to run into this super weird issue that when I turned "notification" feature as "on" in Z Cam menu and record the footage directly in Ninja V in 4K, the cross mark and safety boarder shown on the screen are burnt together with my video footage into my SSD. You won't imagine my face when I went back home and found this out right in front of my camera. It was a concert I was filming but fortunately we have three cameras so I didn't become the event spoiler. Phewwww....
Finally an in depth review of the cam. Thanks for that
"I'm Gerald Undone and I get knocked down, but I get up again, you are never gonna keep me down."
Ive have the E2 S6 and its the best camera I've ever owned!
Cuz the last camera you owned was an A7iii
@@Loqu4 That is true along with the c200
JulianLeBLanc what do you typically shoot on?
@@Loqu4 LOL damn! Why is the a7iii so bad?
what is the difference between the E2 F6 and the E2 S6 ?
2 years later still really love my zcam! Great review!
one of the few channels you give a thumbs up to before even playing...and thumbs up twice after.
*HERALDO* 1 - *ZCAM* - 0
MAKE. ART. NOW. Yoooou son of a beeeech. Time travel us back into the last decade. It was nicer. Kobe was around.
Five bucks says you buy it and make a video about how great it is within the next six months. 😘
Shinzy Chan
Not really sure where you are coming from in this one. I said in my experience my cameras i had weren’t saving them either. I never said no cameras do that or whatever and then asked him which ones do. I legitimately wanted to know. I wasn't being sarcastic. Tone on the internet can be misleading. and I was joking around with MAKE . ART . NOW. I could care less if he buys or tests an F6, even tho I like his content a lot as well.
I wasn’t bashing Gerald either. I in general like his stuff, but I’m allowed to have an opinion on his review. I think overall it was great but a few things I think are misinformed a bit. I think this is to be expected when you only have a camera for a few days to test. I like cameras that shoot beautiful images. I shoot canon, blackmagic, zcam, and others. The f6 shoots beautiful images. It’s a shame to see so many turned off to a camera over what I feel is an exaggerated issue that I don’t think in practical use would be much of an issue at all. Thats really all my issue is with this video. Not sure why you and others are so worked up with some negative feedback over a video. Seems like unnecessary drama to me.
I really hope that the ZCAM team will consider every point you mentioned for their future firmware update. Great video as usual Gerald! I only wish you tested the phone app to use as a monitor. I'm really curious about how it performs.
No one reviews cameras better than you. Seriously, you’re my company’s go-to.
I was really considering the Zcam but unfortunately there are so many quirks I am thankful I waited for the A7SIII that I finally received. Thanks for this review!
Great review! I've been using Z Cam products for a while and I love them. Most of my use happens on set and, in that scenario, the Z Cam is much more convenient than both the Pockets and the S1h. Much more versatile and adaptable to rigging. I hope to see your gripes fixed with firmware updates and I'm curious to see an update on your thoughts in the future.
Oh btw, Kinson and a few of the engineers have been known to fix those corrupted files so there might be an easy fix that they would be able to share with you.
Love the review man! It's funny after seeing your in depth review, I think of all the people who ripped on me and my team for getting two Fx9's because the specs on paper looked worse than the Z-Cam.... I love being able to work with a small log file from the Fx9 that doesn't require extra steps for post production. I do appreciate what the Z-Cam team is trying to do, innovation is always important for the industry. Remember the first cameras black magic put out? look how far they've come! Keep crushing it man
You’re the first reviewer i’ve ever watched that’s mentioned any of these issues and boy do they seem like production headaches. I’m glad I picked up the Terra 4K instead!
Only half way through but this is already the best review of the F6 so far, no one talks about the file splitting or file saving issues. Right back to the review
Damn I wish the P4K was more boxier 😭 As an avid PC builder this cam makes me moist.
EDIT:
I think ZCAM is a very strong competitor, great form factor, good io, specs are very strong too and they seem to have active support and patch release. They haven't been in the market long but are filling a gap (watch out RED). Budget, high quality cinema.
These issues are very fixable problems that new software and new iterations of cameras can fix. This also means healthy competition to Blackmagic range. More competition is always good (Intel v AMD, AMD and NVIDIA...).
I wish there was kind of an "open source" camera that allows any raw codec to be enabled. Buy camera, install whatever codec tickles your fancy. Bob's your uncle.
Hang in ZCAM and keep iterating.
Two years when I plan to look for a new camera, ZCAM will be well on the cards, hopefully...
Braw is open
Blackmagic are more than likely going to join in on the boxy design. It’s cheaper for them and they then get to sell people the Assist Monitor they have recently been pushing.
Thanks,. Perfectly covered everything I needed to know. It's off my list, and I appreciate that.
Their facts are out dated tho.. it’s crazy what firmware can do...
@@NYCMDP yes the firmware has helped alot.
As usually, another stellar in-depth review. Thank you for all that you do, please keep'em coming!
Hope there will be an updated review of this Gerald 🙏🏼 great vid as always
As always one of the best reviews. Thank-you Gerald for creating fantastic content !!
This was amazing! I'd love to see your thoughts on the new RED Komodo when the production model becomes available.
Ooh agreed
I have the E2-S6 the app is awesome and actually the best way to control the settings outside of the add on grip. It doesn’t work well with wireless so going wired into the USB port is suggested. It also doesn’t work wired on android so iOS wired is your only option.
Wait till he finds out it also uses Cfast 😅
I compared the two. Definitely a Z-cam win for me. Although I really hope Kinson kicks out some updates to fix the issues mentioned in the video. He did say he is working on it.
@@joejamesphoto If you made a video about it, I'd love to watch it.
Whoa, first! I love that it comes with a Canon EF Mount. It seems like it’s meant to be a Red killer. I look forward to seeing how Z-Cam develops!
Zcam will be so big in a few years
It reminds me of a mini-RED
Exactly what it is really I love mine.
So I didn't get the F6, but I got the S6 instead. Price is down to $2500 (camera only) and suddenly the price to performance ratio is just perfect for me. What I've shot on it so far (nothing special just yet) looks absolutely amazing, and especially compared to my old camera I've had for 9 years, it is making a massive difference for me already. Most other cinema cameras available right now are way more expensive at around $4000 starting out with no accessories, and the exceptions like the BMPCC might be cheaper but it has extremely bad battery performance, which I absolutely NEED because of the content I shoot. The Z Cam has its issues, namely getting all the accessories to be a fully useable rig (which sucks starting out), but so far I've found my E2-S6 to be a great camera to finally introduce me to the world of cinema camera work. I've been getting much better with my color correction, and the content already is clearly better than ever before.
The s6 is the EF mount model right? How u liking it?
@Felipe Courtois Yes, it's EF (NOT EF-S, don't mix those up). I've loved it. To be fair, my previous camera was 9 years old by the time I got this one, so I badly needed a significant upgrade. Finally getting something that has great assist tools built in, Log profiles, and a simple modular body is great. Now even though the S6 is $2500 USD, with all the accessories I've had to get for it, I've paid probably around $5000 for the entire setup. That's with camera, cage, handles (top and left side, not the RVLVR handle, which I still want to get), Atomos Ninja V, SSD, Rode mic, Sigma 24-105mm f4 lens, cables, batteries, Color Checker Passport, and new tripod. So if you buy a camera like this, unless you have a lot saved up to spend ahead of time, expect to piece together the camera rig in stages. I know not everyone will have this problem, but I did, because I'm not particularly well off.
Since getting this camera my ability to manipulate the images has gone up dramatically. My content looks better than it ever has, even when shooting content that was essentially the same as what I was doing before getting the camera. Both Rec709 and Log profiles look spectacular from the camera, and both are easy to manipulate in post. I haven't recorded anything in RAW yet, as I don't need to, but the other formats look awesome on this camera.
Oh! Keep in mind, some of the issues he mentions in this video have been fixed in new ZCam updates since this video was posted. Also, the S6 doesn't even have some of these issues at all. Although I haven't done personal tests, I saw another reviewer who tested the color shift issue when adjusting ISO and apparently the S6 doesn't have this issue, or it is lessened at least. The 23.98 fps issue on the Ninja V where the monitor turns it into 59.94 DOES exist on the S6, even on the newest firmware. I haven't been able to update my Ninja V yet however. When shooting, I record directly into an SSD that is firmly mounted to the camera, NOT the Ninja V, but when shooting, the monitor can, and often does, cut out for a second or two from time to time before pulling back to the image. Since I'm not recording on the Ninja, I don't experience any issues with my recordings, but please keep this in mind.
Speaking of recording, it has 3 ways of recording. CFast cards, SSDs, and through the Ninja V (or other HDMI out setup). I got a deal on the camera and it came with a 128GB CFast card, but I decided to buy an SSD to use as my primary drive instead. CFast cards seem to be way too expensive for me considering the price per GB is nearly 1:1 until you get up to a TB, when that tends to cost around $700 instead of over a thousand. Since using the SSD I've never had any issues recording to it. Just make sure you get the correct mount to attach it to the camera. The Samsung T5 and T7 drives aren't recommended, as they're supposedly not fast enough. I think the T7 MIGHT be fast enough but I don't have one to test. I use a Sandisk Extreme Pro Portable 2TB SSD and have never had issues with the speed of that drive. It always keeps up, even when shooting 6k. According to the camera, it can also record 6k 24fps ZLog2 video for 15 hours before filling the drive I have.
Battery life on the other hand is great. Since the batteries are those Sony NPF batteries they're cheap to buy and easy to find pretty much anywhere. Autofocus is bad. It's really slow, and doesn't keep up very well. It can grab focus, and keep it without hunting, but it isn't good with fast moving content. It IS great with ISO, exposure, and keeping appropriate white balance, even when using auto settings. I've used auto settings a lot and it keeps up nicely. The focus peaking helps immensely with focusing though, and the other tools help dial in the image you want easily. The menus take some time to learn as they're laid out a bit oddly, but once you learn it, it all makes sense. Nearly every button can have its function changed to anything you want it to as well, which is great.
It's an awesome camera, and I think if I had plenty more money to get something better I would've done that, but considering the price for the exceptional image quality you get, I'd say it's ABSOLUTELY worth a look. I haven't regretted buying that camera even once. I wanted a cinema camera, and at that $2500 USD price there isn't much other competition. The rest of the competition in that price range is primarily DSLR type bodies, which I didn't want. If you want something that can be very small and simple or become fully rigged out to be a professional movie camera setup, the ZCam has the versatility to do that. The body is fully aluminum and VERY sturdy. The lens mount is awesome as well, as it is a cinema style locking mount rather than the typical DSLR type twisting mount. I have the MFT lens mount adapter as well with the metabones MFT to EF adapter, and it looks exceptional. It has its issues, but I think considering the price you're paying for the level of amazing image quality you get, it is an incredible bargain for a cinema camera.
I addressed as much as possible here, so hopefully this is pretty comprehensive. Haha. If anyone has any specific questions let me know. And if I have to test something I'll try and remember to do so, so you can get an answer.
@@1chiTheKillerhow is your camera doing now after 2 years?
@@pavelzherdzetsky5655 Oh it's great. I'm with a wedding video company at the moment and it makes great video. My rig is too heavy though. I have the camera, a sigma lens, Atomos monitor, Rode mic, camera cage and handles, and a steadicam/monopod. I wouldn't say it's specifically made for this quick run and gun type stuff, but it certainly works. A lighter setup would likely be more appropriate for this, however the quality of the picture this camera gives is amazing. I cannot say enough good things about the quality it gives me. I'd much rather be doing cinematic/narrative work instead, as I feel the camera would get a better workout on that front, but otherwise there's no major issues this camera has that I feel make it a bad setup.
It IS heavy as I mentioned, but that's understood. The autofocus is basically nonexistent, but with focus peaking working exceptionally well on it, I never have issues keeping it in focus except when I act like a doofus and turn the focus the wrong direction, which isn't the camera's fault. All the other things like exposure, and shutter angle help keep it at the correct brightness any time. You can set shutter angle to 180 and ISO to auto (for MANY situations), and as long as you're shooting in Log it'll basically take care of exposure for you.
The negative is lack of good autofocus, and that's pretty much it outside of the weight. I've NEVER had footage turn out looking bad with it. I shoot in Log, and I also have a Colorchecker Passport chart, and that makes it super easy to deal with in post. Footage shot in lower resolutions than the 6k it's made for is all super sampled too, so you'll still get astronomically clear footage as long as you're good with your focus.
I don't have the electronic ND filter yet, so I can't speak on that. I DO have a different lens mount though, but I use it to adjust to Micro Four Thirds lenses, then a Metabones adapter to put it back to EF, which then gives me a slightly wider focal length, and it takes my f4 Sigma lens down to a f2.8. That's kind of a weird convoluted thing, but it works really well, and helps give these wedding videos I've been making lately a beautiful shallow depth of field that couples enjoy seeing in their videos.
I really love this thing though, and if you have any other questions, just let me know!
Ok so I just typed out a LONG reply and it doesn't look like it posted for some reason. UGH. Anyway...
The biggest issue with the camera is probably the weight. I've been working with a wedding company lately and between the camera, lens, monitor, the mic (which is super light), the handles, and the Steadicam/monopod I use, it's not light by any means. The other major issue with the camera is the auto focus. It doesn't really have autofocus at all. The way that I use the camera I just have focus peaking on at all times and as long as you are paying attention to that on your monitor then it works totally fine.
I will say that I have NEVER gotten bad footage from that camera. And considering the run and gun work that I'm doing right now, I've been using Auto settings for the ISO pretty much all the time. It always keeps up, and it doesn't give me troubles. I don't use shutter speed, I use shutter angle, and I just leave that at 180. The camera always keeps up even going inside and outside. It may not be as accurate as using T stops on a cinema lens, but I'm also not Richie Rich so I can't afford that.
I typically set the color temperature to a single color temperature for a certain environment and then just leave it, and then I use my color checker to adjust the color in post. As long as you're shooting in Log then it's super easy to make adjustments later on. And I can't adjust constantly from shot to shot while a wedding is happening. Despite that, the auto color temp keeps up quite well too when I have used it.
The camera has weight and autofocus issues, but otherwise it is an amazing camera that has always produced beautiful shots every time I've used it. Also, if you're shooting below the 6k max resolution it will super sample your footage to the full resolution of the sensor, so your footage will still turn out super crisp and beautiful regardless.
A monitor is a MUST with it. The camera is basically unusable without one. Also you should probably get that RVLVR handle with several settings that can be adjusted on the handle. I don't have that yet, but it'll make it work that much faster when I do. I didn't get the electronic ND filter yet so I also can't speak about that. CFast cards are too expensive per GB, so I rely on SSDs attached to the camera, and the one I use is great and has never failed. It's the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable. It's 2TB, and it never fills up (I've not shot RAW footage just to be clear), and it never has issues keeping up with the data rate.
I think the camera would likely be better for cinematic/narrative driven work, as it's a bit heavy for run and gun work like I'm doing right now, but it also doesn't cause problems for me, and it always produces beautiful footage for me. It has every time.
Any chance you can revisit this camera? Apparently all the issues have been fixed. Great video btw!
This is the review we all deserved ! Thank you so much for this you gave so much insight about this camera. I was going to buy this and all these things do affect me. You really help me with this quality content. 😊🤝💯
This is not really an issue unless you pull the kill the power to the camera complete. You can tell it at what Voltage to stop recording which is a non issue then. Also you can set a max of 60 minute segments which really to me zero issue when shooting for cinema or narrative.
I'm Gerald Undone, and my favorite color in Hexadecimal is 71637D.
What a good idea, to use the Storyblocks spiel to test the audio -- actually prefer that to Marvel character synopses. Gerald's always refining the program and doing the work. I even appreciate the explanation for why "zee" instead of "zed."
Built in ND ftw. The c300mk2 has it and while many cameras have surpassed it in other aspects at this point, I will never go back to not having it.
Are you willing to give the E2-F8 a go? 8K supersampled down to 6K or 4K seems like a wonderful concept. One of the drawbacks I have about these cameras is depending on HDMI to record output rather than a mini SDI which could even support an 8K output.
Thanks so much for this video, Gerald! I'm looking at the S6 myself due to cost/need, and having someone do an in-depth on this really helped me understand the pros/cons. Cheers!
I bought the original E2 for one specific reason: The High Frame Rate .. I'm done
There is so much content in your reviews. Great job Gerald!
I would to love to see this vs Komodo and pocket 6k for the ultimate 6k king for price and what you get. Great video as always Gerald
loving this review as I've been wondering about the Z Cam's capability. Well done as usual! keep the enlightenment coming 😘
Being able to swap out the lens mounts is brilliant.
Yesterday a new firmware was annonced in the zcam e2 group which adresses the issue that you mentioned with corrupted files. The cameras now have a recovery function if you reload the media back into the camera and use the derivater tool in menu
Thanks for the honest review. Z Cam is a new company that is making huge waves right now, but they still need to get some fundamentals right. In a year or two I'm in, but in the meantime, it sounds like a camera that I cannot count on for client work.
You will sell more cameras if Z Inc. provides hands-on tutorials hence the owners learn fast.
You are the king of sponsor Segways
The ZCams have been so impressive so far but I don't think they are quite there just yet. Will be keeping a close eye on them tho, I think their next generations of cameras are going to be something else!
Gosh! How did we ever shoot movies on film, with a mag change every ten minutes? This video was over at 10:23 when you said I can’t record long form on this camera. No kidding! It’s a cinema camera. The right tool for the right job should always be the mantra of these reviews, but the millennial generation is more concerned with spec shaming than actually making films. The best camera to shoot with is the one you can access when there is a story to tell. Go out and shoot something, and experience that joy - there is no fulfillment in gear worship...
Bit harsh mate. Define a cinema camera I challenge you. Lots of cameras use that term and I really don’t see what truly defines a “cinema camera” all I see is people like you using that term as an excuse for its shortcomings.
@@philipbloom Thank you for your response, Philip. Another friend asked me the same question the other day. My answer was this: a cinema camera is any camera that is placed in the hands of a capable cinematographer. Not operator, not photographer, not videographer - cinematographer. I specify this because, cinematography is a distinct, and deliberate process. Cameras that bear the “cinema” moniker, conform to that philosophy and workflow. Whether digital, or photo-chemical. I know I don’t need to convince you of that. Your reputation precedes you, and rightfully so. However, you are helping to prove my point, in a way. Can we agree to stop asking a hammer to do the job of a wrench? If you need a video camera, do not lament the cinema camera for its alleged shortcomings, choose one of the many capable video cameras.
When you say, “people like me…” To whom do you refer? Professionals? Filmmakers? Because those are my ilk. I gave 30-years of my life to the craft, and was mentored by many unique and amazingly talented people. To be a filmmaker is to be a problem solver. We do not have the benefit of making excuses for much of anything. We are held accountable for quality, timeliness, and equity at every turn. Often, we are not allowed the benefit of choosing our tools. They are chosen for us. Therefore, we do not excuse a camera for its shortcomings, we forgive it - and we learn to work within its limitations. That is the conundrum we face regularly. And for his tireless work on this issue, I thank Gerald sincerely. I wish I had a dime for every time I was handed a piece of gear that was just shy of “perfect” for the job. I realize that this is at the root of what you do, Gerald - and I applaud you for it.
Believe me when I say, I am in agreement with you on your role. My comment was more of a reaction toward those with the mindset that a perfect camera exists at all - and that if one could simply identify it, everyone would produce impeccable films. I watch a lot of RUclips. Mostly for the benefit of my students. I feel it is my responsibility now to direct those in my charge toward credible sources of information. As a teacher, with ten years at the lectern, I feel I am constantly expected to offer some form of template to young filmmakers, that will heal all their anxieties and short-comings about gear, skills, and workflows, and give them a “recipe” to follow for success. I try always to educate folks on fundamentals, and concepts that transcend equipment, because, as we all know, today’s darling camera is tomorrows donkey. And that is a shame, because the donkey is, more than likely, still a fantastic camera in its own right - and is no doubt capable of amazing images given the right opportunity. Any of the owner operators out there reading this can attest to that fact. I fear that this is a side effect of consumerism, and profit motivated manufacturing, more than effective creativity.
Cinema cameras, like cinematographers, are imperfect vessels. We do the best we can, in the moments that we have, with the materials and assistance available to us. Our work is, at best, a representation of the combination of best plans, and best possible prep versus the realities of day-to-day production. Should we try to mitigate our challenges, by qualifying our gear? Of course. That is our due diligence. However, eventually, it is time to shoot. Which might also translate into the time to buy, so one can go out and begin the real work of creating content. I am willing to bet that, if you are a dedicated shooter, any camera you buy will be one in a series of rewarding growth steps toward your evolution as a filmmaker.
So, as someone once said, “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want, or wish you had at a later time.”
After all, it is only a movie.
Cheers to you both.
I love the p4k, and this is also a great camera too. I just wish bmd followed the square/rectangle form factor. Either way though I shouldn't complain, I'm grateful to be able to afford an amazing camera that has the power we never thought imaginable 10 years ago. People will complain about anything these days. They just need another reason to buy more stuff.
True story
Darn, I didn’t want to allow you to monopolize my time and affection for reviews so I tried to give other people an opportunity....but as usual, your review is my favorite. Oh well, you’re a monopoly ;)
-Adam
Did they fix that file corruption bag already in 2021? I’d like to buy this camera but that issue is huge!
definitely a GREAT video!!! i love that you really go in details covering the aspects of quality, low light, etc ... Comparing whats written on paper and the reality coming out of the camera!!!
you have the same video for the S6 ????
Thank you Mr. Undone. I was considering this camera, but your in-depth review makes it obvious that this camera will not meet my needs.
What are the temperature values of Z cam? Is there a problem with the cooling?
Ummmm, the battery thing may be a bit off base here. My understanding is that it will end the recording and save the file if the battery voltage is too low, and will not let you continue recording from there.
So, unless you randomly pull the battery out mid-filming, or the battery is poor quality and it completely bails out of existence then and there, when would you ever run into this issue?
Bumping the battery loose while holding, using a janky v-mount adapter, using mains power and the power flickers for a second, going from 2-pin to d-tap for rigging and something happens to the connection or your d-tap battery, etc. Even if the odds are low, anything that can potentially destroy footage that can't be reproduced needs to be talked about. If it wasn't a concern, why do they have the file splitting in the first place? When I asked the CEO, he said to prevent file corruption due to power loss. So it's a real enough concern for Z CAM themselves to program a workaround. Potential buyers should be aware of this.
Gerald Undone But you didn't mention this issue in the context of a sudden power outage or accident occurring. You explained it as though if you just run out of battery then you lose/corrupt the footage but didn't explain that the camera will not let you just simply run out of battery and that instead it will stop at a low voltage, save the file, and give you a warning. That seems quite unfair to me and irresponsibly misrepresenting the complete facts.
Gerald Undone Man, this is super disappointing. I've spoken to quite a few people (including friends), that now think because of your review, that if you run out of battery, you will lose your footage. I've been watching and sharing your videos for a long time and I've always been a fan, but in the same way your critism should help companies improve, critisism towards you should do the same. You've made a pretty damming statement and provided no or inacurate context, and have (perhaps unintentionally) misinformed your viewers about a pretty important issue, and that's really gross. I really hope going forward that you take the time to be more exact with your wording and explanations, as people (including myself) put a lot of weight into what you say. A completely fair review would have ALSO explained that the camera will not let your battery naturally die without saving the footage and giving you a warning, and I hope you can see this too. Still a fan, and have/will continue to defend your completely fair and accurate points made in this and any video, but man, this was sadly irresponsible.
@@TheAlexGivenGuy I think it's also irresponsible to trust your footage to a feature that could fail due to setting the voltage cut off too low, the battery or external power being knocked out (yes this happens all the time), or just incorrect voltage reporting.
Christy Kail yeah that's fair, and that is why I'd always suggest users take advantage of the hot swapping battery feature by having a v-mount and an NPF battery powering the camera for redundancy. I don't trust any camera, and think it's wise to always have a backup, no matter what.
lol... ok that intro comment was the first one that made me laugh.
Great review. Given me a lot to think about before purchasing this. Would love to see a follow up in 6 months time to see how many of these issues are addressed
That power interruption file loss is ridiculous. TASCAM has a similar problem with their field recorders, or at least they did. Both the DR-60D and DR-70D would lose the entire file if power is lost. I used to use them for recording podcasts and long form interviews and it happened twice, (once on each recorder) where I lost over an hour of audio because of a power failure. Now I've moved to the Zoom F6.
Back when RED was the only game in town, we just accepted these weird glitches and comparability issues and just dealt with expensive proprietary media and accessories. But that was then and this is now. We shouldn't have to use Z-Cam's software to stitch together audio. Hopefully, they will continue developing for this camera line and work out the issues with firmware updates.
Still, I'm glad that companies like Z-Cam and Blackmagic exist, bringing more tools into more people's hands at a price point that isn't the cost of a new
BMW.
I couldn’t imagine a better guy for reviewing the RED Komodo than you. Pleeeease!
I have a E1 camera from Z camera, which is like a GH5 "action camera" and not at all a Cinema camera.
great review, I was considering one of these or a Mavo.. before I got an S1H
thanks for highlighting the file save / power / external recorder issues.
Just when I thought I had learned a lot about video, along you come with a review that covers topics new to me. Back to studying, I guess, but thanks for such a comprehensive review.
Gerald, I didn't think it was possible to overdo the magenta for you. Who knew?!?
Thanks for exposing this cam the way it should. I am shooting with the Bmpcc 4k and I would love the smaller, modular design. I've been reading a lot about the Zcam, but all these points you mentioned are NOT covered in any of the posts. I think ZCAM is a great company, making exceptionally well cameras, but it just does NOT beat the BMPCC series.
Most have been brought up in the forum, but not by a prominent voice so I'm glad he did because almost all of his gripes have already been fixed. I much prefer the form factor and usability of the Z Cams over the Pockets, but they are all great cameras. You really can't go wrong nowadays.
Great review! Really loving your channel. Great job with the details that so many overlook or just don't take the time for. Keep it up!
When you make it into a Gerald Undone video from the live chat! 😭👏 Great review buddy
So much good info .. Im going to have to view this twice, I'll come back in 10 minutes....to finish
You know ...I probably would have done better in College Chemistry if Gerald had been teaching it.
It's the cadence in the speech that makes his major points memory recoverable.
Good on you Mr. Undone
Most of those issues are out of date at this time. They have have 2 firmware updates since then.
Just as I went into bed. Guess I'll go back at my pc and watch. *CriesInEurope'
Man you went in on this review still👌🏿✅
After watching the review. My opinion is, the Each and every manufacturer should ask a review of Gerald then retify the flaws then realise the final product.Gareld digs deeper than you expected.
I used the S1H and that love affair lasted about 2 seconds as in the end I didn’t like the color science as much, and yes I heard what you said about color but to me it’s everything. I have not tried the z cam but that rec709 does look awesome 👏🏻, having that in a workflow makes things so much easier. In the end I preferred the Canon R colorscience/image over the Panasonic, the R just looks so cinematic. I also used the BMPCC 6k and I must say the color straight out of camera seemed a bit off, but the BRaw is amazing and so easy to adjust unlike other camera’s color science like Sony which I feel like I’m fighting it in the end (way too much work). I am however curious about the Z Cam since it can now do prores raw. I am however still waiting for the Komodo (which seems like a z cam ripp) but I do love me some of that RedCode which is so easy to work with, almost as easy as BRaw.
Thank you for making this simple. Will wait for them to make corrections. 🤘
Thanks so much for this. Back to your best work in my humble opinion. Too many visual comparisons of footage neglect the basic design issues of the software. In my opinion the difference between this and a professional camera is these issues aren’t beta tested in users who have already stumped up the cash to buy the camera. It’s called R&D and despite this idea that kitson is personally listening to forum feedback, I would much prefer it if z cam just came out with a camera they were proud of, having thought all this pretty obvious stuff through ahead of release. This isn’t rocket science and basic camera functionality and recording reliability is not too much to ask unless you are selling the camera as a non professional option. Its great to hear the emotion in your voice and the simple good sense that is never lost or compromised by some good old fashioned frustration. Thank you for all your consideration and work.
Man, that's some review! So much information presented, great job!! 👍👍
Great review Gerald ! Appreciate the honesty and testing .
Please keep up the good work
"I'm Gerald Undone. And yes, I am Gerald Undone."
CAN YOU do a Dec 2020 update review ????? thnx
about frame rate issue, you go to menu connect - HDMI - format - auto - 4kDCI24P, now you can choose 23.98fps via HDMi to Ninja V.