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(Above, shot on the NX1 & full frame NX-L). The Samsung NX1 is at this moment in time the best value for money 4K Super 35mm camera with the best ergonomics and autofocus. I still end up using my NX1 more than my Sony A6500 and Fuji X-T20, which pale into insignificance vs what Samsung did nearly 3 years ago. Now the NX-L speed booster has developed further since my last article and I've been shooting a lot more with it. Read the full article

I was lucky enough to grab a Proxiscope from Max as soon as it became available...he had previously sent me his prototype to do a test fitting on my DIY close focus modded pre-36 iscorama. Here follows my review after using it for a few weeks... Full Disclosure: Although I was graciously approached by max to test out his prototype, I did not take up on the kind offer of a discount in the purchase price of the final housing. This was due to me wanting to give an honest review, as well as back someone who was going to add a great partial rehousing option to those with iscorama 36 lenses. Therefore my review is from the perspective of a regular customer. I am very happy to report that the Proxiscope housing works flawlessly, not only with MC and pre-36 models- but with lenses that have already been DIY modified (cutting/ shaving stopper and body to allow grub screw stopper to be inserted for new stop etc). This is possible due to the proxiscope locking metal collar that completely bypasses the original plastic section and the front section having an integrated relocated metal stopper. The ingenious design allows the new front to enable the same close-focus ability as the DIY mod, but in a MUCH more elegant and reassuring way. No longer is the fear that the grub screw will work loose and let the rama front go smashing to the ground for example. The integrated focus gear to the design is much better than any third-party gear ring, as those never quite conform properly to the isco's tapered front. The anodised finish of the Proxiscope is very complimentary to the original isco design as it does not spoil the classic look with obnoxious bulges or with added weight that then restricts it to rail mounting. Focus markings are clear and are denoted in meters, I think feet measurements are also an option. The Proxiscope comes in a nice wooden box, with all the tools needed to install, with easy to follow video instructions to be found on YouTube. Installation takes about 4 mins and can be 100% reversible to original factory condition. In a world where everyone wants something for free, some may question the price. These people need to take just a second to consider the design time, R&D testing and small-run costs of getting anything of quality made these days. Also the fact that the current cost of a Tokina +0.4 combined with a decent focus gear will run you a comparable amount - without actually giving you the benefit of an 'in-body' solution that the Proxiscope does...Oh, and it's under half the price of the cheapest VD rehousing mod (that you have to wait 90 days+ for!). So, all in all...a very impressive product that massively improves the practicality of using iscorama 36 lens types for modern film making whilst still maintaining the isco's classic look and light weight. Rehousing is solidly built with clear instructions for installation. Fully compatible with 'factory' iscorama 36 lens types...as well as those with previous DIY close-focus modded lenses. (pic below shows slim UV filter attached - not part of Proxiscope)

If Sony whips up a full frame 4K 60p DPAF camera and throws in that electronic ND filter for good measure, I’ll buy it . . . price tag and color science be damned. Barring that, I’m looking for the next MF Fuji to do 4K, or to just bite my tongue and run around with a Canon Cinema camera. (I’m no fan of Canon’s approach to their pricing/lineup/feature set, but a tool is a tool and DPAF is hard to ignore when nobody else has it.) I don’t know why, but I prefer cameras that are a little off to the side of what most people consider the norm. I was a GH2 shooter way back when Canon DSLRs were the flavor of the year, and stuck with that until switching to the NX1, and the other camera I was considering at that juncture was the Fuji. Truth be told, all else being equal, I would argue that Fuji’s color blows everything else out of the water, south of RAW cameras (Arri/Red/Blackmagic). Canon’s colors are okay, but seen so often that the look is worn out. The NX1’s color is decent too, great even once you know how to reign it in, but it tends a bit too punchy and overstated for my tastes. It can have a way of (for lack of a better description), simplifying colors. Red is just red. Green is green. Colors tend to look primary, and complex shades sometimes feel lost or overpowered. For many shoots, this works great and is no issue. Also, it correctly handles skin tones right out of the box. I’m talking video of course, the photo side shooting RAW is very pleasing and malleable in post.

I've shot extensively with both, IMO when shooting video IBIS is vastly superior at stabilizing the image and reducing the micro jitters when shooting handheld. Plus the 5d4 file sizes, ugh. Though I would love DPAF on my a7rII, its not worth the mjpeg files for me. So shoot Cine 4/2 which has been shown in tests to have the same DR than slog, its just distributed in a different way and you don't have to overexpose then pull down highlights.

I still think that we'll not see a real competitor for NX1 for some years to come, mainly because all the main investments are into the FF or M4/3 field. So APSC is a bit left behind, with only Fuji in the game.

Yeah he had this video about gear:

I think that depends. For weddings if you shoot rapidly and lots of photos, then AF would be more important and the same maybe if you are shooting for something like a Newspaper ot if yu are shooting a trade show where you might only be there for a short time but not everyone shoots that way. For me, for events, decent low light/high ISO would be more important and for real estate AF would be below decent high ISO and also in many instances being able to shift a lens. Many wedding photographers will supply fewer images and be fine with manual focus or just use AFS (which just about all cameras are good at). I think real estate might be better with FF simply because it is easier to get wider lenses. A7s with Canon 17 TS-E shifted (otherwise the building would be leaning back quite heavily to fit it all in) and at ISO 25600 and for the second, it is shifted quite a bit at ISO 51200

My point being there is such a stigma about Canon cameras on these forums when Canon DSLRs have and still are being used on network television. I work in the trade show industry and easily 95% of all trade show videographers use Canon DSLRs or C100s. I’ve seen a few Sony’s and strangely, one BlackMagic Pocket. Obviously this is anecdotal, but I am just referencing what I’ve noticed on the trade show floor. And I would bet that other than this microcosm of pros, the majority of small budgeted videography is shot on Canon cameras... be it DSLRs or the C series. But back to the point, it is not my intention to persuade Mark into buying a Canon, I was merely stating there are options and if color and AF are top priorities, then Canon is definitely worth looking into. I only asked you if you’ve ever used a Canon is because I know how obsessed you are with color, so I thought you may enjoy testing out a Canon... be it an 80D or a 5D4. Maybe hold off on another couple Veydra lenses and give a Canon camera a shot... it would make a great blog post for you ?. I bet it looks great. I look at a lot of videos online and I mostly use my phone, but then when I find one I am particularly fond of, I’ll watch it on my 40” . I try to separate things because I can be easily distracted... so I have a laptop and iPad for screenwriting, a laptop for editing, and then I just use my phone for watching videos, posting/reading forums, Instagram, etc...

I'm traveling right now, transcoding takes a loooong time on my travel machine. Native files are slow on my MacBook, but much easier to deal with. When I'm back home in a couple months and working on my hot-rodded iMac, I'll convert to prores first. Cheers Chris

Lol, true that, I guess so. Anyways, it's good to know for sure. Well, there are a bunch of 25 and 35mm lenses with AF in f/1.2-1.8, but 5mm is quite a bit, might make it someone's favourite focal lenght or 'just not quite it'. -- ah wait, you mean the 16mm, don't you. In that case, yeah, this will have electronic control, is quite a bit brighter and perhaps optically ahead. Of course you'd lose the 'cine primes' advantages (matching with the other Veydras in both optical 'vibe'/color as well as dimensions, having the gears, being all metal and such). But then again, it's also about half price of a Veydra, so... yeah, definitely something to test out, if you're not pursuaded instead by the Leica or Olympus ones mentioned.

It is not as far off as you might think. Max Yuryev did some head tracking comparisons between C200, A6500 and GH5 and I would say the A6500 did pretty well. The AF from A9 & A7rIII is supposed to be even better than A6500.

I had the a6500 for a while and felt the IBIS was very good, especially at fixing the RS issue, but then when I bought my 5D3 and 24-70mm f4, I was blown away by how steady that lens is. The IS on that lens gets great reviews, so I just figured it was a one off. But then I bought the 35mm f/2 and was blown away yet again by how steady the lens is. With a strap and my elbows at my sides, it’s damn near rock solid. With that being said, my comment wasn’t intended to be a pissing match between Canon IS lenses and Sony IBIS, I just wanted to express that I know IBIS is tempting but the OIS on Canon lenses is pretty impressive and often goes unmentioned. I understand why people are annoyed with the large file sizes of mjpeg, but since storage is pretty much the cheapest of “accessories,” it never really bothered me much. Anyway just throwing it out there in case Mark hasn’t considered it. Honestly Mark would probably do well with almost any camera on the market since I would imagine most real estate videos are watched on cell phones. If I were shooting real estate, weddings, trade shows, or any event really, I would think AF would be one of the most important features needed, so I would stop reading this site and go buy a Canon.

I am sure you are sure of many things. You cited newsshooter completly in the falsest possible manner. I am sure that makes your recent comments even less convincing.

The 30mm has a firmware update you should install to fix distortion. Information at following link, I cant find the actual download link at the moment (they dont make it easy to find). The 16 will certainly need help with distortion and won't affect my decision. Looks like there was also a 30 firmware update for focusing with Olympus camera/s. I will just wait for a review or two before buying the 16mm with the 2.8 19mm reviewing much lower than the longer lenses. https://www.sigmaphoto.com/article/notice-to-30mm-dc-dn-micro-fourthirds-users/

@mercer i actually doesn't deal directly with the couple. I shoot for the bridal shop, and it's the bridal shop requested contrasty and saturated colour. btw, here in this small city I stay. there are still lot of people shooting on 5D2 60d & 550d...... yet to see any photographer/videographer shooting on 5D4... videographer here are jumping ship to Sony, while almost all wedding photographer still sticking to their same old trustworthy canon/Nikon dslr.

Monitoring is one nightmare, recording the other. Van Hurkman does say that HDR was no excuse for buying a new camera, as long as it could record LOG, but this is probably true if you have an Alexa, an Epic or at least an Ursa sitting on your shelf. It seems as if stretching 8-bit LOG (at least that without HLG-mode) to 2020 values will result in banding and posterisation (by which I mean colors in the upper midtones are noticeably thin). Pocket ProRes (which is 10-bit 422 with up to 13 stops DR) looked better than RAW (too many artifacts). As of yesterday, there is another option of 4k 10-bit with good DR available: the Micro Studio 4k got a firmware update and now allegedly holds 13 stops as well. My buddy has three of those for live events, and he has the Shogun. Have to give it a try. The upcoming Sony A7Riii features HLG in 8-bit. How well this is going to work remains to be seen. As a matter of fact, those Sony hybrids have very good DR, the current models as well. Wouldn't it be technically possible to add an HLG profile via FW update? ;-)

Thanks for the suggestions on drumming up business. The 1/160th of a second flash sync speed of the a6500 (and the 1/200th of a second on the D750) are somewhat annoying. In essence, when i am photographing a room with a beautiful sunny view, I have to stop down to about f/11 and crank my speedlights all the way up in order to capture the view. Even sometimes at 1/200th of a second I get banding with the flash on the D750, so that is kind of a wash between those two.

FF looks to be as good as the S35 in low light at least up to 12800: It also has a very usable 1080p 120fps:

Well, Mark already said he has sold off most of his Nikkor, Nikon Mount lenses, so it is not entirely unreasonable to go to Canon... especially since refurbished 5D4s recently popped up on the Canon store, during a sale, for less than $2400. Best AF in business saves time. Also Canon lenses with IS are as good as Sony IBIS. So if he didn’t have the $3500 for a D850, he may have $2500 for a 5D4.

I got an Alphatron for cheap Here is my run and gun anamorphic setup (still have to find shorter cables!). Here on a tripod but I use it on a K-3 pistol grip :

For video away from what you are doing there is always weddings and parties I guess (not something I would want to do for pay- too nerve wracking). There will be a LOT more wedding work here in Australia soon I think because of legalizing same sex marriage. Kids parties? Engagement parties? Offering stills and video? How do you find the 1/160 flash sync of the Sony and 1/200 of the Nikon? Enough? The other thing for me would be the 1/4000 max with each of them. No problem indoors but I guess it depends on what the light is like there. For architecture, I would keep looking for a "cheap" Canon 17mm F4 L TS-E and it works great with the FF Sony's (and ok with Canon DSLRs even).

Meh. I think Panasonic simply decided it was more sensible to let people choose their own viewfinder, rather than ship one which might not work for everyone (but everyone would need to pay for, via a higher price).

I shoot with GH5's every day at work while all of my personal and side projects are shot on the NX1 and NX500. Obviously the 4k 60p on the GH5 is fantastic. And I quite like V-Log as well, it's far easier to grade than Sony's log profiles, and nicely preserves the dynamic range without destroying colors. I haven't really shot/graded 10-bit footage that much, as it is just overkill for the kind of work I have been doing, and the 8-bit is fine. I like how big the EVF is, and how you can switch between viewfinder and LCD screen easily while recording. There are lots of great and easily re-mappable function buttons, and you can program and save shooting modes in the custom profiles dial much easier and more effectively than you can on the NX cameras, which don't even save the video data at all. Of course, you can also move the zoomed-in focus checking area, unlike NX, and the tilty/flippy screen is preferable to the tilt-only screen. And you can't forget about the IBIS, which is just fantastic for handheld shooting, truly a game-changer for my kind of work, I need a monopod for my NX1 at all times. That being said... I far prefer the NX cameras' photo/video implementation; it is still the simplest, best camera I have ever used for switching quickly between stills and video. No specific mode dials needed. Tap the shutter button to take a picture, hit the record button to record. The NX1 seems to have quite a bit better battery life than the GH5 in my experience as well. It is also lighter and feels better in the hands- the NX1 is an insanely comfortable camera, in the fact still the best I have ever used ergonomically, while the GH5 is surprisingly heavy and a bit bulky. The GH5 also has this very annoying tendency to hesitate for just a split-second or two when you hit the record button, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but it hesitates just long enough that I have double-pumped many, many times, while the NX seems immediately responsive. I do prefer the the menu system on the NX cameras as well. As far as out-and-out IQ comparison, I have one of Luca's speedboosters on my NX1 pretty much all the time, so I have actually gotten quite used to the full frame look, especially DOF-wise, so it almost feels limiting sometimes to only have a super-35 equivalent with a Speedbooster on the GH5. Color-science wise, I can't say I prefer the one over the other - - in good light, I think both cameras look fantastic, with great skin tones and malleable colors -- basically you'll be able to get the look you're going for in post with either camera. The autofocus on the NX cameras is far, far better than the GH5, if that's important to you. And the NX1's internal 6.5k to 4k downscale is still unbeaten, detail-wise. The image is always just unbelievably sharp and detailed. The GH5 doesn't quite match that. And while the low-light and noise on the GH5 is probably preferable (clean at 1600, useable at 3200) I rarely, if ever, need these ISOs anyway, especially with the speedbooster and some fast glass to boot. Of course, I'm not mentioning stills quality at all, I haven't shot many stills on the GH5, but obviously the NX is going to win that competition hands-down, it is still, even several years later, one of the best APS-C sensors ever made, with insanely good dynamic range, especially when pulling shadows. So, bottom line, should you switch? I think that depends. If you're pure run-and-gun, then yes, the IBIS (and the 4k 60p, if you need high-res slo-mo, with the benefit of a good log profile) is a pretty unbeatable combo for video right now. Throw in the 10-bit, and it's future-proofed for quite some time. The low-light IQ is more than enough. I think the GH5 is easily the best bang-for-the-buck camera around right now, and will remain so for quite some time. But if you're already invested in the NX system, which has its own fantastic native lenses (16-50S, wow), IQ wise I really don't think you're gaining that much. Not enough to go through the hassle of trying to sell and offload all my Samsung gear. I quite enjoy the GH5. But I still love shooting with my NX cameras, and don't feel like I'm losing out of for most of the kind of work that I do. So take that as you will.

I have used the GH5 a few times professionally (major TV networks), I prefer the NX1 in every way (battery, ergonomics, menu system). There is an interesting time lapse feature though, and especially 10bit are good for some specific pro jobs. I didn't edit the footage but my impression is that there is a lot more noise than NX in low ISO, and the oxymoron here, but in high bitrate files, higher ISO seem more organic, 3200 is usable, while in NX is not, but in no way is a low light camera, I would take C100mkII anytime for high ISO.

Here lays the misunderstanding. "A little better", "top display looks pro", "a little faster", etc. For a full time stills shooter these are huge features. Flat out deal breakers. Remember, your needs aren't rarely everyone else's.