The 15 Most Beautifully Designed Video Cameras

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

Everyone goes gaga over still cameras so I thought I'd put together a list of what I felt was the 15 Most beautifully designed cameras made for video:

Here's 15 to 8:The 15 Most Beautifully Designed Video Cameras - 15 to 8 | wolfcrow
Here's 7 to 1: The 15 Most Beautifully Designed Video Cameras - 7 to 1 | wolfcrow

Enjoy, and don't get hurt.

[Tim Lewis]

An interesting list...

I have not really followed the digital Bolex camera, but my first impression of it today was "who hit it with the 'ugly' stick?". Eye of the beholder and all that, I suppose.

Can't argue with number one though.

[Brian Drysdale]

I'm not sure the Blackmagic is a design, it's more a specification inside a box

[Darren Levine]

Sorry but i just don't get what your list is about, i usually appreciate a good writeup but im just lost on this one.

maybe because you are calling them "beautifully" designed, maybe it doesn't translate or your intent was abstract, or meant inner beauty, etc... but at face value it just doesn't match, cameras that people love aren't built for beauty, they're built for function, though beauty can be taken into consideration in their design. your 3 criteria sort of indicate your reasoning but don't really seem to nail things down.

You sort of put 'box' cameras as your antithesis, but other than the sony fs series, there aren't many box cameras out there other than the bolex and BMC which made your list, just a bit contradictory, though i get what you were trying to get at with design being neglected for simplicity.

it's also disjointed to be putting the kitchen sink in there, webcams and cinema cameras and ceiling cameras.... why not film cameras? why not gopro? it's hard to know what the boundaries are if there's such a wide gap apparent. I was expecting ENG/cinema acquisition, and it's just odd to be throwing in entirely different purposed cameras. Maybe a separate list!

i appreciate the effort and don't want to discourage, it just didn't make sense to me

[Glen Vandermolen]

I agree, the list seems to go everywhere, but it's the OP's parameters, so he can pick and choose.

I'll play along and pick my top 7 favorite designs. I'll narrow it down to ENG/EFP/digital cinema type cameras, pro-level. using digital acquisition. No tape, no film.
This is based purely on its aesthetic appeal, not functionality, although the two can go hand in hand. Like aviators say about aircraft, "If it looks good, it'll fly good," or something like that.

7. Digital Bolex. Retro never looked so good.
6. Sony F5/55. Boxy, but in a good way. The PMW-300 could be included here.
5. Canon C300. The design just makes me want to hold one.
4. JVC HM-700. Slim and light.
3. Panasonic HPX-370. Beautiful flowing lines.
2. Arri Amira. Arri got this one right.
1. Ikonoskop A-Cam dii. I love the design. Too bad the company's having such financial troubles.

And to prove that functionality doesn't equate to passing an eye test, some of the best cameras also look the ugliest. As an example:
Alexa, any RED camera, FS700, AF100, HVX-200.

[Charles Papert]

It is an interesting exercise, but I too agree that function is too important to have physical looks overwhelm the idiocy and simple mistakes that can accompany the best-intended design. Case in point: #2 on this list, the BM camera. If the company did in fact say "if box cameras are the future, then it might as well be a pretty one', it's even more embarrassing that they chose arbitrarily to put the connectors on the left side of the body, blindly ignorant to the fact that if the camera was put into service as a shoulder-mounted system that said connectors would protrude into the operator's space. It's a stunning mistake and one that immediately disqualified that camera from me (and I'm stunned to learn that the upcoming 4K camera will use the same chassis). The idea behind a box camera is that it provides a platform to build on and accessorize, and if one has hobbled that possibility from the get-go, one has missed the point and you might as well build a camera in the shape of a banana.

I do agree that JVC had a slam-dunk with the HD100 design which continues through to their current lineup. I actually brought in their 700 series cameras for a fast-moving handheld shoot a few months back; my operators had never seen them but vastly preferred the form factor over the comparable EX3 type body. I think Sony has the right idea with the F55, in that accessories snap to the back extending the camera out over the operator's shoulder.

For anyone who is looking to shoot in an environment that requires more than camera body and lens, the reality is that whatever the beauty of a non-box camera presents, it will immediately become sullied by the necessity to mount into a cage so that it can be festooned with gadgets of all stripes. The more curves, the less mounting surfaces and thus the FURTHER from a clean aesthetic the final result will be. It is nothing short of mind-blowing that even pro level cameras are being introduced that instantly require third-party design solutions to make them field-worthy; the fragile viewfinder port on the F55 comes to mind, and how many cameras come with strain-relief clamps for HDMI ports? I was always impressed with the included part on the 1DMKIV that did just that.

For the record, I think the Alexa is just beautiful, but probably because it's my unqualified camera of choice for all of the "important" reasons!

[Paul R Johnson]

I expected a very different selection, and was quite amazed two of my favourite cameras made it, including the No. 1 - of which I still have two, still doing the job, and looking very different to boxes with knobs.

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Glen Vandermolen

some of the best cameras also look the ugliest. As an example:
Alexa, any RED camera, FS700, AF100, HVX-200.

I actually like the raw look of the RED (got a soft spot for industrial look):
http://tinyurl.com/nlzekdt

But my all-time favorite is the Canon XL-1 (number #4 on Sareesh's list):
http://www.onequality.com/images/lar...on-xl1_LRG.jpg

-- peer