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Shooting 4K and downscaling in post is a pretty good way of getting high quality 1080p, and it may record in a higher bitrate too. I have done image quality comparisons of different resolutions given the same file size, and you're normally better off with the higher resolution, so even if the camera shoots the same bitrate for 1080 and 4K, you'd still be better with the 4K file.

To be fair, the filmmaker didn’t ask for his work to be posted here and torn apart.

@Kisaha It was actually your passionate advocacy for the Focus in a thread from a few months back that encouraged me to take another look at the real benefits that I'd be getting for spending the extra cash, and to take another look at the reviews. When I factored in that the mount is good enough that people were looking to get it for non-SmallHD monitors, general enthusiasm for the touch interface (which most inexpensive options don't have, or if they do, it has issues), questions about support/documentation for the inexpensive options, and that I am an "Apple guy" (we have 4 Macs, 3 iPads, and 2 iPhones in a household of 2 people) and like setups that I know will work well out-of-the-box, it seemed like the best choice. Also, just realized that I didn't do the @ thing right in my earlier thanks, so thanks again to @KnightsFan for all the info on the A5!

I used to use the same size Lowepro from their Runner range quite a lot and it will take a lot of gear and a lot of abuse. It was useful for travelling when budget airlines got a bit more strict with weight limits for carry on as its half the weight and a lot less conspicuous than a Peli 1510. The downside to it being able to take a lot of gear is that you take advantage of that and it can add up to a lot of weight to have on your back. I got in a London cab with it on fully (over) loaded once and slipped and ended up on my back like an upturned turtle and the cab driver had to come and help right me. Not my finest hour! I can definitely attest to the durability of it as I've had sat in snow, mud and rain while I've been working and its never had a problem keeping my gear dry or protected from bumps, knocks and taxi floor impacts. Bags are ridiculously overpriced though aren't they? Obviously its a worthwhile cost when it comes to protecting gear many, many times the price of it but even so its still a bit of a piss take and there is definitely a tariff when it comes to getting a photo specific bag versus a similar generic bag. Reminds me of this sketch about wedding cakes Incidentally, there are some surprising prices returned when you put 'Lowepro' into the search at Aliexpress........

So I just got my second X-T3 after having sold my first to get a Z6, but then got struck by remorse and rebought the Fuji. After getting used to the Z6 and being able to compair them side by side some things are worth taking into consideration if you’re looking to buy one of these cameras (sensor size notwithstanding). 1. The build quality of the Nikon is second to none. The X-T3 feels flimsy and wonky next to it, and my copy has a slightly misaligned lcd. The previous one had a slightly misaligned grip cover. Feels cheap and not very confidence inspiring. And the lcd on my current copy is almost impossible to clean from fingerprints whereas the Nikon lcd wipes off super easily. Very strange. But I don’t think this is due to the assembly in China, the Japan made Fuji cameras I have owned have never felt well built with various bugs to complement them. 2. Easy of use. The Nikon switches very smoothly between stills and video with separate settings stored in each mode respectively etc. The Fuji is a mess. 3. Heat management. When shooting 4K 400mbps all-i (h264 or h265), the Fuji gets very hot very quickly. Has anyone tried to record a longer interview or concert with the X-T3, internally? I imagine it will overheat around the 45min mark. The Nikon never gets more than slightly warm. 4. Autofocus. This is where the Fuji shows it’s a more mature mirrorless system with a smaller sensor: with the newer lenses it’s faster, more accurate and more reliable than the Nikon, both in video and stills. In low light it’s autofocus obliterates the Z6 in all modes. 5. Auto white balance. The Nikon is amazing and never manages to get it really wrong, even in difficult mixed lighting. The Fuji is fine in daylight. But I absolutely love the fact that you can lock the auto white balance on the Fuji, such a handy feature in a pinch. 6. Video quality. The X-T3 is by far a more capable video camera with outstanding codecs with less artefacts. The rolling shutter performance is noticeably better and the Eterna profile with DR400 looks stunning out of the camera with a beautiful highlight roll off compared to the Nikon. The colors of the Nikon is very appealing though, it feels less instagramish than the x-t3. 7. Sexiness. Despite all its shortcomings and frustrations the Fuji is more fun to use, I feel. As Andrew noted, the Z6 and Z7 are very utilitarian and a tad too big for my liking. Very subjective matter this, ofc. Final thoughts: If I were to rely on a camera as a working tool, day in and day out I would keep the Z6, but as I’m not making a living off of the camera I might sell it. But I was almost shocked when I got the X-T3 again, it literally feels like it’s gonna fall apart in my hands compared to the Nikon (and I imagine the Canon EOS R).

The colour and grade on that video looks terrible but maybe that's the 'organic/filmic' look that people want? I've got the original BMPCC and I liked it a lot but the P4k is better in every way apart from size. The codec ( esp RAW) is so malleable that you can get any look out of it you want as long as you have the grading skills. If these are just limited to slapping on a 'film LUT' then I can see why it may be a disappointment to some people.

Thanks to all for the input! After going back over some reviews, I realized that I might have been conflating Focus OLED reviews with the regular Focus, which has generally gotten very solid reviews (with some misgivings about the custom cable). Along with the recommendations here and a couple things I like about the available Focus kits (basically comes with everything I'd need, plus the Sony dummy battery that I can use for personal stuff with my RX10 IV), I decided to go the SmallHD route in the end. Should be here Monday. Thanks to @Mmmbeats for the pointer on possible mount issues - I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks also to @KnightsFan for the detailed response regarding the Lilliput A5 - I very nearly went that route, but since I've been able to get some good deals on the rest of my kit, I decided to splurge a bit on this piece.

SmallHD Focus, which is a very good monitor, I would recommend replacing the mount, which is very well designed apart from the cold shoe connector which has come loose on me a few times (and I'm reading, others as well).

A7S II + canon FD 35mm 40$ lens. No IBIS, no AF, with Sony colors that people can't live with, no 4K.

@DaveBerg In your footage I see virtually no motion blur, so I think that particular clip is a fast shutter. To be honest, I'm don't see the jitter you are talking about. It's possible that you have a more critical eye than me, or even that I am so used to an NX1 that I am blind to it. If you get a chance, can you do a side by side with another camera that doesn't have the jitter? Preferably in 4k so it's super obvious. If you don't have the camera with you then no hurry, we can always keep investigating this later. Another possibility is that the player you are using has issues with its HEVC decoder, which would explain why you see it and I don't. Here on EOSHD we've already discovered problems using the builtin Windows 10 HEVC decoder inside Da Vinci Resolve Free. (This seems unlikely to be the cause, but worth mentioning as we haven't ruled it out yet). If this is the case, then if I transcode your jittery files on my end to, say, ProRes, then the jitter should disappear. If this is true, then it's either a problem with your settings or a genuine glitch/broken part in your camera. (Hopefully the former!). However, if you are viewing transcoded footage then it could still be a decoder issue. What firmware do you have? Any hacks currently or previously installed? Does it occur with all lenses? To rule out lens issues, have you tested it with an adapted manual lens? If you tell me a specific set of settings (exposure, picture profile, white balance), I'm happy to shoot some tests on my end and send the files for you to look at.

Yeah and I F ing hate Slo Mo Stuff. It is so stupid how often it is used. And what is crazy the footage still looks like shit in slo mo. I can't imagine how it would look in a normal speed all jerky, shaky wise. This Run n Gun crap is just that, crap footage. Buy a damn tripod. Sure for vacations and home use yeah, but for something half serious, no way.

My previous bag was a Lowepro protactic. Lowepro bags are extremely well made, good looking and comfortable. However, there was one major problem for me. The divider system was extremely fiddly and prone to falling apart. This was especially true in my case as I chop and change layouts quite a bit. My current backpack is the Peak Design 45L travel backpack which has by far the best divider system I have come across. Currently in Rajasthan with two Sony bodies, 8 lenses, a Mavic 2 Pro + stuff, ipad and laptop. I think it is well worth taking a look at - it is certainly high quality and pricey! But people tend to either love or hate Peak Design and I guess I am a bit of a fan boy (I have 2 of their everyday messenger bags.) There are plenty of youtube videos on the product..

The third thing of which you can be certain is that you will never be able to say "that really is enough bags for me now". I'm pretty sure that if I had to move house that I could transport most of its contents in the various bags I've acquired over the years.

Why? Don't humans still use eyeballs? If it produced great images at launch why shouldn't those images look great today? I can tell you now, when the MK3 comes out I'm getting one.

@Geoff_L Sounds like the Z6 will be a perfect match for you. I forgot to write this but when it comes to stills quality between the two, there’s no contest.

Thank you Simon, great points, and exactly my feelings. Before I buy the Z6, I've ordered an XT3, as I was using an XT2. I've opened the box, took the camera out of its cocoon and, before mounting a lens, inspected the sensor, as I read that some people found dusts stuck under the first layer (do not remember which filter it is), and had to send it back to Fuji for repair. And, I was lucky enough to find a big dust in the middle of the sensor ! So, I've grabbed my rocket blower, trying to remove the spot. As I was blowing, the part around the sensor (do not know of what it is made, but it looks like dark fiber "paper"/cardboard) was moving like hell. Oh, I couldn't believe it, was like a toy made of paper... I sent if back asap, and waited for the Z6 to be in stock and compare it to the A7iii. I've loved so much things in the XT2, but hated more. The Z6 fulfills those bad points (for my usage at least), despite, I know, having less sexy video appealing. I want a robust hybrid for photo + video, and the Z6 is a better choice for me. I agree with your and Andrews view, it feel more like a tool (exactly what the big dslr feel like, to me). Plus, I absolutely hate the plague of the instagramish style ? Seriously, the image out of the XT3 is really beautiful, and I might reconsider it later, as I will buy a second camera, more video oriented, to complement the Z6. I will look at the bmpcc4k, bmpcc, gh5s and the XT3 (or XH2 if it come out one day). There are a lot of great options for us ; just need to find what suits you best.

I think there is something wrong with me. All the videos I see the last couple of years are in a slower motion than I experience in life. I am not sure if reality is slow, and I too fast, or I am just.. well.. slow!

Best choice in my opinion. It is the absolute lightest/smallest and less power hungry small monitor, with the best mount (even though is a very simple design, cheap knock offs have so many shortcoming and problems. Mine stays where I want even with the largest of the F batteries), best touch User interface (you won't believe it until you own it!), build quality is OK (mine is still in perfect condition, I would rather have it in some kind of aluminium alloy) and most important, really view able in direct sunshine.

I had a GH3 and got rid of it pretty quickly. It was nice to use but the HD quality was pretty mediocre and resolution wise not true HD and looked more like 720p upscaled to HD. 4k-HD is the way to go and most good NLE's will allow you to work in an HD timeline with 4k material so you have no need to do any manual downscaling.

Where is Jon?! Point me ton his comments. I missed his vitriolic attitude! DISCLAIMER: this is going to the general topic. To the point now, most professionals work with M focus, with non IBIS cameras and deliver 1080p, and the percentage must be something like 95% of the total world output, or even more. Because 400 people on youtube use only AF and IBIS doesn't make it the norm. For everyone youtuber there are dozens of hundrends of photo/videographers, from 50€$£ videographers (yes, they do exist and they use mainly camcorders on a monopod) to Hollywood and Bollywoodameramen amd everything in between. I see most people here do care for youtube or something, but real life is a lot different than the latest war on specs, and the world is not only Australia and North America. The vast majority of the world still work with 70D and C100 cameras and produce glorious - low bitrate - 1080p videos! Professionals and big production companies do not change cameras at a whim, only a few, and "rich" hobbyists (rich, in comparison with a 2nd or 3rd world country hobbyist, which, you know, is something like 6-7 billions of people!). So, the adaptation of technology is not as fast as we think from this forum. Most people and organisations I know still shoot Canon by the way. 80D is like a dream for them. There are a few cameras that made a dent in the industry. C100/C300 was the first wave, FS5/FS7 the last few years (after the C300mkII release, Canon have lost most of the market), GH4/5, A7sii/A7iii are some other cameras that sold really well.

I mean its not like the downscaling will give more work. It will only offer you better flexibility and image quality. Also just something to think about, a hybrid camera that shoots 4K will have a higher resale value going to into the future.

I ran into this when I had "Natural View" turned on.

If you need to trancode for the reasons you explained I can understand this as a reasonable solution. I tried it a while back and found an obvious increase in things like banding in smooth tones like skies unless I used one of the highest quality settings with 4.4.4 chroma subsampling but the file sizes got incredibly large. ProRes is after all a lossy compressed codec. Depending on your type of subject matter and how much you need to grade this may or may not be important.

It is not the same. They are talking R, G, B stuff. It is still pretty impressive looking though one though either way, especially at night.. https://***URL removed***/forums/thread/3064390

Didn't the A7s2 have ibis

Some new info on the Hydrogen down the road. https://***URL removed***/news/6697582868/red-gives-us-a-glimpse-at-its-lithium-3d-camera-for-the-hydrogen-one-smartphone

Buy a G7, better camera and it has 4K. Probably same money. You can find them for less than 400 bucks. I Never liked my GH3. Liked the G7. I would rather have a hacked GH2 than a GH3 anyday.

I agree 1000x, I guess I'm fortunate to not be heavily invested in EF glass or like Canons color science at all. If people continue to throw a blind eye at Canons wrong doings they will continue to make gimped products like the 6dmkii, Eos R, and 5Dmk4

Man this not only looks incredible, it is a decent little story and really done so well. What ISO were you shooting at? And how bright was the footage before your correction/grade? Also was this ProRes or Raw and I assume it was 4K? Man I am such a fan of your work. If I can get a quarter of the quality you’ve been getting, I will be a happy filmmaker. I may pick up another Micro eventually after seeing what you do with BM cameras and how John Brawley edits the Micro footage with UMP footage on the show he DPs. They’re so cheap right now, they’re almost a no brainer.

Interesting different (reverse) acquisition approach

Best middle solution: SmallHD Focus

I have the lilliput a5. For the price, it is excellent. I can use it in bright sunlight, it has peaking and false color, and was cheap even brand new. It has mounting points on three sides, and runs off 9v power from the same brick that powers my camera. The color is NOT accurate. If you want to judge color on your external monitor, you will need to spend more money. But if you mainly want a monitor it for flexibility and focusing, I highly recommend the a5. The main problem with it is it only had one customizable button. I previously owned a 7" feelworld and a 3.5" feelworld evf. Both were inferior to the lilliput. The 7" was just too big and heavy, it really dwarfed my rig. The evf was just bad in every way. My impression is the new feelworld monitors are better than the ones i had, probably on par with the a5 for the similarly priced ones. I have used some smallhd monitors briefly. They are certainly better build quality. I cant say they would be worth 5x the cost to me, since i have never broken any of my cheap gear and i have no need of great color accuracy on set. Your needs may differ of course.

Nice looking image. I'm doing the same thing with my GH5 and adapting lenses - using the GH5 10-bit mode to get the colour depth (not quite like RAW, but better than 8-bit) and the lenses to render the scene in a non-clinical way. I've got a couple of Helios lenses, and I have both SB and non-SB adapters for it. One thing to note is that modern lenses can be used as "semi-vintage" lenses too, if you use them wide-open or completely stopped-down, as this will normally soften the image significantly and is one of the things that people like about some vintage lenses. You can also 'cheat' a bit with them and use a bokeh modifier on the front of the lens to change the shape of the bokeh from the normal shape to something a bit more interesting. I suspect that if you have a 3D rather than 2D bokeh modifier then you can get different shaped bokeh in different parts of the frame, the way vintage lenses do, but I'll have to test this. It depends on what you're interested in.

Fuji did a spectacular job this year, except for the puzzling X-H1 release. Panasonic continues to be racked over the coals for giving, imho, the best ergo, codec, features, in a camera. It’s a workhorse but people are still complaining about its very useable (as of Oct) autofocus. Canon shit the bed, plain and simple. Nikon did OK. Sony A7iii weak sauce all almost everything but price.

Thanks, the lens was wide-open, you can notice this looking at the booked balls not showing aperture blades and spherical aberration making everything soft. The other shots are medium format pentax 105 2.4mm

Wow - cool image. People over-use shallow DoF and then everyone gets critical of anyone who uses shallow DoF, but when used in an artistically relevant way it is a valuable technique, as this image shows. Both the fog and the shallow DoF really contribute to the beauty and kind of suffocating feel this has.

I do not see red or arri implementing good autofocus. So not sure why blackmagic should. Its a cinema camera, and ibis or autofocus are not on my havetoo shortlist. The pocket 4k is on place 1 for sure on my list.

Mine worked perfectly with LX100 4K h264 25p, but either HVEC or 10 bit or 50p killed it. I haven't started any serious project, but I foresee proxy/Prores creation as a necessary step.