{"id":57735,"date":"2015-06-10T09:24:38","date_gmt":"2015-06-10T14:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=57735"},"modified":"2015-06-10T09:24:38","modified_gmt":"2015-06-10T14:24:38","slug":"is-the-aja-cion-the-biggest-bust-in-modern-filmmaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/is-the-aja-cion-the-biggest-bust-in-modern-filmmaking\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the AJA CION the Biggest Bust in Modern Filmmaking?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We had high hopes for the AJA CION – but it seems like the camera might flare out before it even gets started. Let’s take a look a the CION situation.<\/h2>\n

Top Image Courtesy of Film and Digital Times<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you’ve been following us here at PremiumBeat<\/a> you might recall the\u00a0NAB 2014 post we wrote<\/a>\u00a0about\u00a0the AJA CION<\/a>. If you don’t remember the article, well, it basically said that we were excited to get our hands on the camera. In 2014 things were looking good\u00a0for Cion, but the camera\u00a0quickly ran into problems. Namely, it wasn’t released on time. While it’s not uncommon for a camera to be delayed, the Cion was released almost 6 months late on\u00a0December 22<\/a>\u00a02014,\u00a0to the dismay of all those who pre-ordered.<\/p>\n

It was only a 3 months later\u00a0at NAB 2015 that Blackmagic<\/strong> announced updates to the URSA<\/a>, and then introduced us to the URSA Mini<\/a>. Suddenly things seemed bleak for the CION.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Is<\/p>\n

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So, while at NAB 2015, AJA decided to lend the CION to filmmakers<\/a>, as a way to show professionals what the camera could do. AJA President\u00a0Nick Rashby<\/strong> said in a statement:<\/p>\n

AJA is known for its generosity to customers with our support, return, and warranty programs, and as a private, diverse company we can make bold moves to show the community that we\u2019re very committed to the professional camera market. We\u2019ve invested heavily in building out a special try-and-buy loaner pool of CION cameras that we\u2019re making available so that any interested shooters can experience this camera and the incredible film-like beauty of these images for themselves before committing to a purchase.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This move was seen by many\u00a0as a move of desperation, almost as if they couldn’t give the CION<\/strong> away in light of low sales numbers. However, when you actually sit down with the camera<\/strong> and look at what all it can do, you come away impressed \u2014 and before NAB 2015 the $9000 price point<\/strong> seemed reasonable. But again, Blackmagic<\/strong> dropped the URSA<\/strong> update and the URSA Mini<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now you can buy a 4.6K camera with 15 stops of dynamic range for $5000<\/strong> and a standard 4K Mini that utilizes 12 stops of dynamic range<\/strong>, the same as the CION<\/strong>, for $3000. In order to compete with this,\u00a0AJA announced their “Summer of Savings”<\/a> promotion which cuts the CION<\/strong> price nearly in half, down to $5000. But is it enough? Only time and sales will answer that question. And to be honest, AJA may be extremely limited on time.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Dynamic Range Problem<\/h3>\n

Cinema5D<\/a> did a comprehensive overview of the CION<\/strong> which shows us the ins and outs of the camera. They also made the discovery that while the camera is listed\u00a0to have 12 stops of dynamic range<\/strong>, it actually measures out at 8.2<\/strong>. Even if the dynamic range measurement of the URSA<\/strong> fell short, it would still be around 11 stops.<\/p>\n