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I don't have any plans to upgrade in 2025. Two C70s is plenty for me. If anything, I want to shoot more little passion projects with c-mount lenses on my EOS-M. I've also joined a screenwriting group and purchased an old AlphaSmart word processor which seems a much better place to spend any time and energy that is not sucked up by work.

If you want a GFX 100 series body and plan to use electronic EF lenses, that one seems too good to be true. If the seller has good feedback that seems legit and relates to other camera stuff, resistance may be futile. That or roll the dice and try bidding on some 100s's to see if you can nab one under $2k.

I also found a deal on one in Japan but the lack of info has me concerned. I’m still thinking about it though. $1,800 US with a 10% coupon and $25 FedEx shipping. BUT…. That includes a Fringer EF autofocus adapter so it’s really like $1,400 for the GFX 100. i also really need the small form factor of the 100s or 100ii so I’m still resisting the OG 100 first model. That industrial design is so cool though despite the size. I especially like the look of taking off the EVF and going “headless” if anyone has more guts than me here’s a photo. If I drink too much tonight I may end up pushing the buy button. The prices of used 100s models has surprisingly gone back up the last couple of months… I’m wondering if the new cinema camera announcement has people looking for cheap B cam options? That’s definitely my plan. *Also, I guess the SL3 thread has been hijacked by GFX talk. I originally was thinking 61mp Sony sensor models for the high res but why mess around when you can go big with a GFX…!!!

It was in their used clear out but it looks like they have all sold.

Google's version looks good, too. I do think we're still a couple years off from good, reliable video generators for serious videos. 2025 will see a flood of "content creators" using it for sure, but gluing together multiple layers of neural nets and traditional programming into a cohesive unit will take some time. Image generators typically work on multiple abstraction layers, so the model has a concept of what a "cat" looks like inside a prompt "cat holding a beer." To solve physics and object permanence, I believe that video will need to have a concept of 3D space and objects in that space, and specific characters are conceptualized as a character that can be reused, etc. So I think significantly more work will need to be done on each layer of the network to get beyond making portraits with minor movement. Then of course going off my earlier comment, I think that a significant constraint for something like Sora is that it's designed to be used by absolute amateurs. Professional software, like an integration into Adobe CC or DaVinci Resolve, can expose more controls or even basic scripting (e.g. in Fusion) and expect users to reference a manual to learn it all. The user base for that is so much smaller, it will take more time to get there.

Google VEO 2 look to have excellent physics... here's a You Tube Video comparing AI video models at starting at 15:39. Kling just release 1.6 on December 19th, the day this video was released so this is most likely the Kling 1.5... 1.6 of course supposed to be better. One thing to note - film makers need consistent characters and the are ways to train the image generator for generating a starting video image frame. Kling allows you to train it to generate consistent characters. I think 2025 will be when AI video comes into it own.

If I understood this correctly, with the S9 you can shoot both video and stills with TWO crop markers at the same time? Can anyone with an S9 confirm or deny. Ideally, I’d like to shoot raw + Jpeg but with X Pan mode on for stills, ie, the Jpegs would be 65:24 but the raw files 3:2. At the same time, I’d like to stick 4:5 crop guide on so I can keep my social media stills in mind (in post). With video, shoot 6k 30p open gate with 2x crop guides; one 65:24 and the other 9:16. Thanks in advance.

Actually, it would be worth me crossing the channel on the Eurostar to pick one up! What/where is that 25% off deal?!

Yes, this is their weakness, for sure. I don't think those Sigma primes really cut it. I've said it before- they need a 28mm f2 and 40mm f2. If they want the S9 to succeed, that's what they need. The more the merrier. Samyang and DJI should do something more at some point too.

Yes please. My 3 current zoom trio is their f2.8; 20-40, 28-75 and 70-180 and that was partly what sent me to Sony for my stills needs because they are just as real world good as their 24-70 and 70-200 counterparts, but much smaller and lighter. I really like the latest Sigma 70-200, but it's facking huge and heavy compared with the Tamron 70-180 and as above, real world, there's nothing in it image-wise. Samyang of course make their 35-150 equivalent in L Mount but it's too big for my tastes. If it was internal zoom, I could possibly make a case for it but anything over 1kg as a lens these days, is a hard no for me. I was always put off the f1.8's from Lumix though because they just look so dull and for the few primes I have had in L Mount, went with the f2's from Sigma with their metal build and aperture rings.

I think L-Mount's weakness, re: lenses, is in a more affordable/consumer sense. Sony and Canon have a lot of options, for all price brackets, that L-Mount doesn't hit. I think Lumix has a bigger issue than not having affordable lenses that average users can get (namely getting their cameras into the hands of average users to begin with) BUT it probably doesn't help. Average users, and heck, even some enthusiasts, don't always need f1.8 or f1.4 lenses. A bargain set of compact f2.8 primes wouldn't hurt the system, I don't think. With that said, their current lenses are excellent and are among my favorite I've ever used, as far as new lenses go. I also think they are excellent value for what they are, though I know some people can't get over how much more expensive they are vs. their Sony and Canon counterparts, particularly the f1.8 primes. But the build quality and optical performance of the f1.8 primes blow both Sony and Canon's out of the water. Still, price often is what dictates people's spending habits. I do wish Tamron would enter the L-mount, but I have a feeling that they don't because Sony owns a piece of them. They've rolled out lenses for pretty much every other mount at this point, even RF, so there has to be some reason for that. I suppose you could argue it's because there isn't a big enough customer base, but Fujifilm might have an even smaller one and they've released lenses for them.

The holidays haven't been the same since my Mom passed in 2016, but I am trying to make the most of them after beating cancer last year! As far as cameras, I think I am set for 2025. I MIGHT swap out my two S5s for S5IIs, depending on how the year goes. Not that I am unhappy with my S5s, it would just make matching them with my S5II X in post easier. I also might snag a S9... we'll see! But overall I am pretty settled until I see how things look next year or in 2026, as far as Lumix goes. What I have (two S5s and a S5II X) are honestly cameras I could use until the wheels fall off and I'd be happy with them, I'm more just looking at the long term big picture as far as where I end up. Happy holidays to all of you!

Happy holidays from me as well! My holiday plans are spending time with family for Christmas and then flying to Sao Paulo before the New Year to spend a couple of months escaping Minnesota Winter. Wish list? To spend next year making better use of all the gear that I already have, planning to shoot my first feature - hopefully I can get the script written while abroad and everybody's happy enough on the edit for the short (that will become the 10-15 minutes of the feature) that they'll gladly come back for the rest! As for gear, I'm theoretically set, but we'll see how prices are on C80's once they hit the used market - and if the hoped/wanted trip to Namibia works out, debating the finer points of renting vs owning the GF 500/5.6 and how irritating it would be to travel with it vs the 250/4 and 1.4x tc which I already own and cropping from 100 megapixels (rent vs own also to be determined by availability on the used market and pricing there)

Going either the prime route or the variable focal length route, everything is covered out to 200mm. The lenses are modern, sharp, with appropriately consistent coatings. All the Lumix lenses are weather resistant, fairly light with bright options available. They also have breathing correction, unlike MANY more popular brands. Don't like the Lumix lenses, get the Sigma ones and they're native mount too being part of the L mount alliance. You want anamorphic? There's that too. By the way, Lumix can also stabalize those very lenses too along with appropriate desqueezing. If you think the problem is L-mount, it's not- it's you.

£1600 for a GFX 100 is absolutely bonkers. Congrats on the great deal! If you can get a good deal on the GF 100/2, you should strongly consider it. It's one of my two favorite portrait lenses of all time for any system (the other being the Summicron-M 90mm f/2 asph (which also covers pretty well on GF, just without autofocus)).

For that money, if I lived in the UK and could also get that 25% discount, I think I'd jump on one! But they do not ship to France and I'd be stung for customs duty. Fcuk Brexit 👺

Agreed. L Mount is pretty good now especially this year with the Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 and Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 becoming available and probable purchases for me in 2025. Pretty sure I am going to go for the 28-45 as I need something faster than f2.8 for low light work and though not as fast as the 50mm f1.2, has more practical real world use for me. The 28-105 I am still on the fence over and depends on whether an S2R appears. If it does, as a LUMIX version of the Leica SL3, then it’s a done deal and I will trade my Sony A7RV and 3x zoom lenses for that combo as it will cover 95% of my needs as a ‘one and done’ and that last 5%, at the extreme ends, will be my compromise. But if there is no S2R, then there will also be no 28-105 for me either because although it is available in Sony E Mount, I would rather have my smaller trio of Tamron zoom lenses for that compact Sony body. All pieces of the greater puzzle.

I don't get "there aren't any lenses" talk. There are less lenses available than to a Sony shooter but there are plenty of lenses and more are appearing all the time. What lenses do most people really have? A 24-70 f2.8, maybe a wide or tele zoom depending on their work and 2 or 3 primes. You can easily have a decent L mount kit that covers most needs.

That is NUTS!

Last night this thread got me thinking about the GFX100 again after liking the look of it a few years ago. Today WEX alerted me to their sale and I managed to buy a grade 9 example for £1600 (25% discount code). Couldn't resist that!

Well if I did an AI blend of my house with my shed and then set it on fire, I'd get pretty much that!

And.... Hang on, you are him aren't you ?

Snowy Christmas in the french Alps

I will mainly be spending the festive period on very long walks of self loathing and contemplating the sheer scale of the hubris involved in this statement. In 2025, as part of my ambitious expansion plans, I plan to fail miserably at delivering those five products and an additional two new ones.

Always at the top of mine as soon as it gets past October. Still working on a plan to spend Jan-March in the Canary Islands every year... Camera-wise, an S2R please. Reality, a 6 pack of low cut black socks. Wife, daughter, 2 dogs and cat, in our Christmas themed timber shed. Was supposed to be Strasbourg/Colmar, but bigger than expected tax bill.