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Pleased to announce that my Pocket4K app for Android is now complete and is with beta testers so barring any calamties will be available from the Play store on the 21st of December. Here is a screen shot with a quick run through of the features from top to bottom : Across the top we have the controls for Aperture, ISO and shutter angle. Next up we have the colour temperature and tint controls, the preset white balance selectors, the Auto White Balance button and, of course, the Record button. Beneath that we have the 8 snapshot memories which you can use to store and instantly recall 8 different custom settings of ISO, Aperture, Shutter Angle and White Balance. To store the preset you long press on the memory slot that you want to use and to recall it just short press. Haptic feedback is given to indicate that the preset has been written and the currently loaded preset is denoted in orange (M1 in the shot above). Presets are stored in non volatile memory so are always available in any session. Next is the focus controller, which is operated using the slider and/or the fine tune buttons. A long press of the button moves instantly to closest focus and infinity respectively. The AF button in ths row activates the single shot auto focus. To accompany the focus controls, you then have 6 memory slots (A to F) to store focus points and you can switch instantly between them by simply pressing the required one. In addition, next to these are the controls for A-B-A focus transition and the speed control. Again, all focus points are stored in non volatile memory for use in any session. Finally we have the controls for applicable MFT power zoom lenses with the same interface as the focus controls (including long press for instant minimum/maximum zoom) and 4 non volatile memory positions for later recall. There is another function that it can do that I'll let you know about closer to release date and I will put up a little demo video of it in action late next week.

I just bought the fringer ef-fx adapter and it works well with IS lenses and the autofocus works well on recent canon lenses. My Tamron is old I guess so it doesn’t autofocus as fluidly.

With Sony bodies, you can always count on there being major heat

I can agree with this. With face detect and on my Ronin, I had issues. With all of that set off and then just normal area AF on, have very little issues. But since getting the follow focus motor, I have been fully manual all day and love it 1. Get a Tripod/Monopod/GImbal 2. Did you not do ANY research on this item before you dropped 1500$+ and then complained about it online? In a forum full of people who do their research?

Microphones are not like a telephoto lens such as a 200mm would be. Thus I suspect you're looking in the wrong places here in imagining what you think you want. Is this a seated staged interview? What kind of interviews are these? Indoors? Outdoors? Quite possibly the best way to get acceptable audio here while a solo shooter is (however the best step is to first not be a solo shooter! & have a soundie) to have a C stand with Boom Buddy for the boom pole to position the mic just half an inch above the frame line. (an example of a very low budget recorder and mic to consider if doing these outdoors would be the Zoom F8n + Deity S-Mic 2 Shotgun with a blimp) As the three most important rules of thumb for audio is: Location! Location! Location! (the location of your mic that is) Next most important tip to consider: your location again! (but in the sense of what is your shooting environment? As if you can improve it any form then that will lead to better audio too)

I expect to see this statement posted again in 2020 as well....

The Nikon Z6 is a great camera. But for me I find getting consistent results can be a challenge in low light. I tried out the 24-70mm f4 Z lens, but found to get correct exposure I was pushing the ISO higher than I wanted to. But when I slapped on the 35mm f1.8 Z lens, the same ISO values seem to be acceptably clean. I thought 4000 ISO would yield equivalent noise regardless of f-stop. At least I don't recall needing to use different max ISO for different lenses with any of my other cameras. The Z6 can give pleasing results, but the consistency is hard to nail down... there is more of a learning curve with the Nikon. I'm sure it's nothing that cannot be mastered. But it's something to be aware of. The rear LCD does show the noise, which is helpful. I would love to see Nikon release a LUT for this camera. It would also be great if Adobe would add some support for the NEF files. As for the preamp noise... it's blown out of proportion. While not the cleanest, it is usable with a good mic. If you need super quality sound just record externally. The lens used in the video below is the 35mm f1.8 Z lens at f1.8.

I'm understanding what you're saying, it's just that the Z6 seems to behave differently than other cameras that I have used. I'm leaning toward the idea that there is something else going on correction wise that is affecting noise levels. It's nothing that cannot be worked around, but it is an additional consideration when planing a shoot. I might have to dig into the settings to see if there is anything enabled that could be the culprit.

But the gain is the same. Granted with a lower f-stop you can get away with less light. But if the gain is equal should not noise be equal?

I think the challenge will come from China. It will probably get fierce... Look at the drone and gimbal market. There are not shortage of contenders. Competition is good for the consumers.

I’m going to chime in here... And, this could be purely anecdotal... but I’m sure many of you guys will be able to relate. I find myself doing this once in a while, but I can’t imagine doing this every single time. I do it in times of convenience (e.g. when I’m on the go; or when someone is already watching something on the television that isn’t as interesting to me; or when I can’t find what I want to watch on TV... etc.). And, whenever possible (if it’s possible), where I have to share what I am watching on my phone... I just mirror my phone screen with the media box that I am using... I don’t think televisions are a dying breed... especially with streaming services like Netflix, Crave and Hulu around... my wife and I peruse through Netflix when we aren’t busy and the kids are in bed. They have some decent content and I’d rather watch that on our 40in TV than a 5in cell phone. What I do notice is my reliance in front of a desktop has reduced A LOT.... I would spend hours upon hours on them.... even now... this post is directly from my phone. I only ever touch my desktop for video/photo editing and the rare instances where I need to scan something and/or need the word processor. @webrunner5 I'm sorry that you have to and/or had to go through that... I can't fathom what you've been through, and I really can't imagine being away from a movie theatre that long. Speaking of which, I don't think Movie Theaters are a dying breed either.... those are alive and well, in my opinion - no theater is closing down due to lack of business in my area. In fact, some days - especially on opening night - the popular movies are sold out (at least where I live - and its been like that for years now).

The F1 is very versatile in that you can use their add on shotgun mic module or their other stereo mic modules as well as the add on dual XLR module but be warned that the XLR module can't provide phantom power.

Even with sharpening set to minimum it's still too sharp for some - each to their own I guess. I nealy ruined a couple of shots a couple of months ago when I accidentally left the sharpening at 0 and not -5 and had to do some softening in resolve to get it to look natural. and not over sharpened.

Wtf? Do people on this forum even work in production? EVERYTHING with a budget I work on is Alexa with fast lenses close to wide open, big soft LED sources, and practicals that play as real scene lighting. Low light levels are the current flavor, not only for speed (HUGE on paid work where producers are trying to save pennies anywhere they can), but because at those intensities, lighting looks about the same to the eye as it will to camera, as opposed to high levels where you'll often have no idea of your ratios until you pull out a meter or a monitor. This also means controlling your sources, blocking light, and choosing visually conducive locations becomes more important than ever, as your keys aren't nearly bright enough to knock errant light down. Maybe we need to make a topic detailing current industry visual and sound techniques, just so we're all on the same page with how things are done now and what matters.

How do you know he doesn't have a second dude pointing that thing right at someone's head and out of frame LoL. But yeah the Zoom is a good choice.

I am not going to try and tell you what to do, but one thing you should think about is that your Canon lenses - as good as they are - will still continue to go down in value. I don't expect them to go up in value (unless you have a very rare canon lens that is a true collectors item). Most likely Canon (and third-party manufacturers) will continue to make lenses for a long time in Canon mount, and some / many will improve upon the lenses you already have. Again, not telling you what to do. But if you ever decide which system you want to use, then do realize that whatever lenses you currently own will (most likely) continue to depreciate their value (although generally not as quickly as camera bodies).

Hopefully, DJI or a 3rd party will make wide angle converter for that snap-on magnetic mount. 28mm could feel cramped in certain situations and I would not mind loosing some light transmission that you'd get with a wider-lens.

Guess what, after a long week-end of reflections, she has finally decided to go for the 300 PF (+ tc1.4), and get rid of her Tamron 150-600 ! The latter has become a real penalty as hiking is often involved when we operate. Now, if money was not an issue, the 500 PF would have been a target. We can find the 300 on the used market for around 1100€, which will be covered by selling both the Tamron and a Nikon D600 (already sold !). This little gem will better suit our needs ! So, now, as we will share the tools, we have to choose one or two complementary lenses : Nikkor 200-500 f5.6, 70-200 f2.8 or even a third party 100-400. As for a 80-200 f2.8, I need to check if it is compatible with my FTZ adapter (edit while writing, as it appears to be : https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/camera-lenses/dslr-lenses/index.page) Oh, that is good to hear ; I really want to add a 17-35 f2.8 and a 28-70 f2.8 to my kit, and the prices are really more interesting at mpb than here in France (c*ap, the 28-70 "Bourne" is not part of the official compatibility list...but it is an AFS and should work 100%). While the catapult launching is an appealing idea, I am not sure and, frankly, quite concerned about the potentially hazardous result ! I was born in Normandy, at the seaside, and, as far as I can remember, the dominant winds came from West, North-West. So, I fear my package from the UK could drift and finally land into Paris, right among the yellow riot ! I now live in the Alps, and it would be a long and perilous journey to reach my package during those dark days... Not counting the fact they block each roundabout, so it would really be looooong ? OK, I'm digressing....

A warning about the camera: the EVF hump is very close to the mount in the front of the camera, and some adapters / focal reducers could not have room to fit. The Viltrox EF-M2 enter tight, the Zhongyi Lens Turbo (FD to m43) did not enter at all.

People are getting 4k TV by default , its not like they really really want it, it is just that you can get a 4k TV for 5-10% more than a 1080p one, or no more 1080p model. In fact if 4k was successful in anyway, there would have been a premium on that, but like 3D, no one cares. The reality is that young people are watching movies on their mobile phone or tablets. We are living the MP3 audio transition but for video. It is really sad for people like us who are a bit passionate about image quality but that's a big trend. The TV manufacturers and as a lot of other consumer electronic product are experiencing a shrinking market because people just can't see a big difference between 1080p and 4k at normal viewing distance. The only thing that for me would push big sales again would be a cheap tech for much bigger screen size. If you could get 80+ inch screen for 1k etc, then people will go back buying TV. Display size does make a difference in the viewing at least for me. Sincerely there is about 100 pixel difference between a 1080p and 2k screen. If you can tell me how there is a huge difference, i am happy to hear that. When I am talking about 1080p, I am not talking about Canon 5d style 1080p which is barely 720p, but true 1080p-2k from camera like the Alexa. In my country most screen are still 1080p-2k and until now I have never seen a pixel on 10 meter wide screen.

Zoom F1? Just a nice self-contained lavalier mic/recorder?

Most people do not even have theirs P4K yet, and you are selling it for 500-1000$ already?! Get a grip guys! At the moment there are cameras offered at higher than retail price on ebay. This camera is a huge success already, and it well a lot more before the end of its cycle.

Sure you get resolve with it but I don't know if people buying it or selling it will actually remove $300 from the price. $1000 used is a more realistic estimate in the short term. Just depends if something comes out that can really compete with it. Some cameras hold value for years. No camera is a good investment if you plan to jump onto the new hot item everytime though.

If we start going down that path of logic then we could say crazy things like "and in maybe not so long ish the Z Cam E2 will be on sale for $400" which makes the BMPCC4K "twice as much the way I look at it"

Andrew, any news on the Pocket 4K review ? I've been checking EOSHD twice a day for the past month. I can't wait to read your take on this little monster.

I don't think it's just a grade. If the detail is not there the grade will not have any information to recover. In the video he is demonstrating the WDR of the Z-Cam. If it was nothing exceptional, I'm pretty certain he would mention that it was no better than say his GH5. I have perused a few of his videos, and I see no "secret sauce" regarding highlight/shadow recovery. It's one thing to have shadow detail with blue skies It's another thing to have shadow detail in cloudy conditions where you want to get the richness of the blues, with the grays and bright whites that are not blown-out... all while maintaining detail in your subject. Try this with the GH5 or X-T3 or P4K for that matter and you will likely see blown whites in the clouds. Without the DR, something must be scarified. Assuming he is not using a graduated filter. While I would be the first to agree that all of these cameras can produce great output in the right hands, I think you might be oversimplifying the matter... which is, the Z-Cam seems to have the advertised DR. I see you have posted a link to some HDR footage... have you had a play with it? I have a fair idea of what is possible with all the cameras I have owned. I'm quite certain the Z-Cam's footage is more flexible than most... if not all the cameras at this price point and below. Reliability, and needing to send the camera to China for repairs is the most concerning issue imo. Except, there is no one in the foreground and no cloudy skies to contend with.

Well, on the road you can easily drive 160km/h with 100hp. With 400hp obviously, too. But on a normal viewing situation 4K is already a waste while 8k is simply for show off race car drivers were 99% of humanity just shake their head about this guy in a lambo. It is manly just penis size at this point and everybody knows size is very important and storytelling is completely unnecessary if you can have 8k or a lambo respectively.

Let me ask you this... why do you want higher DR? For me it comes down to being able to get detail in my subject without blowing out my background. From what I have seen Z Cam might be accomplishing exactly this. And I believe their DR claims... at least from the footage I have seen, might be accurate. The desert video reminds me of what I have seen in iPhones photos with HDR enabled. The AI features are great... and I appreciate the effort. But nailing down AF will get them more mileage imo.

I don't know about holding back, but it's all about priorities, I think. Z Cam is a bleeding edge company. They make 360 cameras and are actively working on integrating AI into their cameras. Z Cam has a smaller community, and many owners at this point expect bugs and workarounds--it's the price of using bleeding edge. Blackmagic is focused on bringing cinematic imagery at a low cost: they care more about color science and integration into pro workflows than they care about high frame rates and next gen tech. Their target audience is more likely to have learned on film than Panasonic or Z Cam. The P4k is also significantly cheaper than the other cameras, the fact that it even competes spec-wise is impressive. Panasonic is orders of magnitude larger than either company, and needs to compete with the other giants (Canon, Sony, Nikon), both today and tomorrow. Their products need to have near 100% reliability, and be easy for consumers to use. A single bug could kneecap initial reactions to a product, permanently damaging their reputation. Why spend the R&D money on 4k 120 if Sony isn't, and when that money could go towards QA? Of those three companies, it seems to me that Z Cam has the most incentive to innovate with technology. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Z Cam ends up with the best specs.

The sensor spec show it is capable of this performance. Why no real time AI in current camera as? Why no built in CGI like smartphones can do? The Z Cam reportedly has both of these capabilities. So perhaps they are using a more capable processor? Red, Blackmagic, Panasonic... are not gods. I believe the lack of features might be due to holding these things back for gen 3, 4 and 5... etc. I recall see a Z Cam video where they demonstrated face thinking and eye enlargement. Granted I would never use such features in most circumstances. But it could make for some cool horror or scifi fx... in camera!

Yeah, if you're looking for long reach on Nikon, don't overlook the 200-500mm I really really want one. It's cheap and has awesome VR that works great with the Nikon Z's Also, if you're putting the zoom set together, you really need the 80-200mm 2.8 to complete the set. It's amazing glass for cheap these days

Thank you! The GH5 versions already work well with mine, but it would be nice to have an official version for my GH5s. This is good news indeed.

There is no downside to the PF except for the price and if you want to use it on a non Nikon body. I would definitely urge you to try the original on the Z body though to make sure it feels OK in terms of balance. Bear in mind that my experience of it is using it was on big lumps like the D3s and D4 where the weight wasn't an issue. On a much lighter mirrorless it might be a different story especially as the adapter will be adding to the heaviness in the nose. With regard to using the PF for wildlife then the huge reduction in the weight in the camera pack vs the original will pay big dividends over the course of a day if you are trekking or whatever. What I would say though is that if the 300mm might not have enough reach then whilst it works very well with a TC but you are then at f5.6 (plus more money for the TC) so I might suggest she looks at the 200-500mm f5.6. Its the same aperture with a bit more reach and a lot more flexibility albeit at the expense of a bit of weight. It is a fantastic performer though and would be another compromise option worth considering, especially as it is significantly cheaper. MPB are good guys and I've always had good service and prices. They are only in Brighton so with a following wind they should be able to deliver stuff over the channel to France with a decent catapult. Which will probably be the only way to get goods off the island post Brexit !

That's pretty nice! RAW huh...

Resolve Studio NR is pretty good as well and I reckon you can squeeze another stop of usable DR out of the GH5 with good NR in post....

From the BM forum. "I had one for about 2 weeks, I sold it on ebay for $2,050 and bought another one which will be delivered today." That is almost 1.5 times of the original price.