So, doesn't seem that long since Saturation Hall went HD (three and a half years ago we started HD shooting, I think), but thinking of the future, one of these looks rather tempting!
The Panasonic HC-X1000, which I've seen advertised for under two grand here in the UK.
Probably not for a little while yet, that sort of investment would be a bit much at the moment, as we'd presumably have to replace the Mission Control main PC, and install even larger drive arrays, but 4K is definitely coming. Anyone else thinking about their next generation of shooting technology already?
If you will still be distributing at 1080 or 720, an interesting feature of shooting in 4k is that there is so much screen real estate, you can pretty much make every shot a wide shot and then pan around with a "window" in the editor. I already do that with HD (shoot in 180, distribute in 720) and it really helps to get the exact framing you wanted. With 4k, I wouldn't really have to aim at all, just point in the general direction and roll
It's going to be awhile for me too. I'm only 2.5 years in on HD cams that were $3k apiece. I have to amortize them over 5 years, and I saw a little bit of 5k, 6k, and 8k stuff at NAB last year, so I may end up skipping 4k altogether if I drag my feet long enough.
We're look at the Panasonic Gh4 for that reason. Although I will still use a 1080p timeline the 4K gives so much scope for panning and zooming in post.