Leaderboard

Here is an S1 frame grab with my beloved contax Zeiss 50mm 1.7, this was shot in HLG and hasn't been graded at all, just pulled from rec2020 back into rec709. I think the color and dynamic range speaks for itself:

Really well done. I am sure the Bride and Groom were thrilled with it. Congrats.

Just browsed a little in the sub €200 range. The GX800, EOS-M, Nex-7 etc are all easy to find, but also obvious and a little boring. But the original RX100.. that could be fun.

I've written this elsewhere and on my first ever camera review, but the S1 is the most professional-feeling mirrorless camera I've ever used. In my opinion, it is perhaps the first true professional mirrorless outside of the GH5. I've used the A7s, A7rII, GH5, and EOS R. The GH5 has hung around, but the rest were all returned or sold. Yes, it's bigger than the rest, but once you put a lens on it, the difference isn't terribly noticeable than any other full-frame camera (and still feels a bit smaller/lighter than any full-frame DLSR). Compared to Sony, Panasonic's IBIS is superb, as is its color science and general image. The image quality is fantastic and I can't wait for the 10-bit and V-Log update - I think that will be a big step up. Image quality feels on par with the EVA-1 or C300 that are often my A-Cam already when they are all set to a Rec709 image. I really hope Panasonic or Sigma get some native f2 primes out for it fast, because I'm not on board with the giant f1.4 lenses most manufacturers seem to be creating now. I use pretty much Contax Zeiss lenses with it and it's a great combo. The AF with the 24-105mm is really very decent in video and I don't notice a huge difference for normal subjects (people walking, one-man interview AF) than with the EOS R. But I'm manually focusing video 98% of the time, so I don't really mind if the AF isn't great and the Sigma adapter AF isn't great. For native glass, the AF in photos mode is very fast - don't notice it to be any slower than Canon or Sony for the photos I take. My only gripe with it right now is the lens selection - in a few months, Canon will have a great selection of RF native glass and their adapters work flawlessly. Sony has an amazing lens lineup now and the lenses Zeiss are making for them are awesome as well. Same with Fuji - worth buying into that system solely for the lenses and compact size and I've thought about it. But all in all, the S1 is the most professional full-frame mirrorless camera out there. The only thing that competes on specs and usability is the GH5, but the S1 definitely seems to have a lot more detail in the image and the full V-Log coming seems like it will give it the best dynamic range in the mirrorless game. -- With all that said, I'd guess I'll buy the S1H when it comes out, unless there is a crop in 4K or just in general doesn't live up to the hype. But I have a feeling there are some serious goodies awaiting us (still holding out hope for an internal ND...)

As I started this mess I wanted to give an update some time later AVC-I at 400 Mbps beats the xxxx out of ProRes 422 and I could not see any difference to ProRes 422 HQ at naked eye and pixel peep Looking for explanations I believe is due to two things 1. intraframe predictive coding on 16x16 blocks that achieves high level of compression than standard discrete cosine transform in ProRes 2. CABAC entropy encoding squeezing additional bits without loss in the clips It is difficult to average what the benefits are compared to ProRes but is not difficult to see that they are at least 30% based on perceived quality As there are no fast enough SD cards this is limited to 30p on the GH5 but in terms of non RAW capture this appears to be very good And with this I think I have closed the case I opened myself

Thought I’d found an interesting lens... But just getting over excited.

Thank you, yes they are on holiday in norvey now and the write me that he crying with happiness while watching the trailer ?

I own the S1 and the x-t3 and the latter surely feels like a toy in comparison (I used to own the a7riii too and while I loved the output when it came to photos I never managed to warm to the wonky colors and ergonomics on the video side). I really like the S1 and can only agree with what is written above. I use it with M-mount voigtlanders so I’m not really concerned with the sub par autofocus. I’m extremely excited about the 10bit internal vlog and pairing it with @Sage‘s Alexa lut. Thinking about switching my x-t3 to a GH5s but I think I love the Fuji too much. With regards to size: my Fuji paired with the 23mm f1.4 is taking up just as much space in my bag as the s1 with the Voigtländer 40mm f1.2. The Panasonic setup is a lot heavier though.

I'm stoked on S1H...gonna have to review the S1 though...I know this...and I know I am probably gonna love it. It seems to create extremely rich files and love the color science. Such a shame no reliable video AF....but you can't have everything. S1 or S1H will pair perfectly with my CONTAX Zeiss lenses..

I am happy with it, is a robust camera with nice foto feature(post fokus) , good raw files, robust HLG and 4k50p and unlimited in 25p. Last weedings was me A cam and i like it Mixture of HLG and 4k50p Flat, osmo pocket and Mavic2p

ok.... listen... I bought something for $175 US already... I didn't know the shipping and duties are all supposed to be within $200 too. Shipping + duties easily makes it well over $200.... Just take it as it is.... I'm participating in this goddamn motherfuckin competition alright...

So you're making a documentary?

I will certainly include that in my review... with maybe a full comparison video as well..

Fixed!

Watch this and see why small cameras and rigs are important even for Sky TV https://www.newsshooter.com/2019/06/26/the-real-chernobyl-from-commission-to-transmission-in-two-weeks/ You really don't need that blasted external recorder.

Well, it's a Panasonic brand, so the lens might actually be made by Leica!

Nice images!! You win the $150 challenge! oh, hang on...

Assuming the video has similar audio in the file, you can sync directly in the timeline. Go through one clip at a time, put the audio file and video into the timeline, select them both>right click>synchronise and then select one of the audio tracks. If that doesn't work, you could get the Pluraleyes plug in/standalone app. https://www.redgiant.com/products/shooter-pluraleyes/?gclid=CjwKCAjw0tHoBRBhEiwAvP1GFeU42qxLPNL-AoZGJFWQ-nX0IJIMNObILay69jctQtQ6Q8057H2L0BoCyeAQAvD_BwE For this you basically open all your video and audio files in and click synchronise. It does it all and is very accurate, you can then create an XML, which can create a pre-synced timeline in Premiere. Good luck!

Just over budget, but the original rx10 as well, they even gave that one the XAVCS update. I snagged a rx10 at the end of March for $245 during a KEH sale.

I think a lot of people base their dislike about Smartphones if they have an older one., and by older I mean even a 2 year old one. My iPhone XS just kills my iPhone X I had and the X killed the iPhone 8 I had before it. They have been improving at a amazing rate. So unfortunately unless you keep up with the latest and great phone you are Way behind compared to say your friends 40D, because Canon has made nearly Zero gains on their lower end cameras. They used the same sensor for years and years. The Canon 80D my son had was a big let down output wise. Soft photos and soft videos. The DPAF was nice, but that was about it. A big, fat clunky body to boot. The EOS M I have has a better output than the 80D had, or no worse I think. Even the CS is better on the EOS M. Not a fan of the modern look they have now on their DSLRs. But sure if I was going on a vacation of a lifetime a Phone would not be my top choice. Probably a 1" mirrorless camera of some sort, or a m4/3, even the Canon M50. But in some places you probably are Only going to get away shooting with a phone.

Cool. I've spent time (well over an hour) with it in my hands and capturing images in two different shops. Having never owned a full-frame DSLR, the size is an adjustment but what I think about more is what it will be like to point it at people relative to my X-T3. It is so much more conspicuous. But I am sooo impressed with the build of the camera and the color is exceptional, the possibility of high-quality audio (the pre-amps on the X-T3 are reasonable but the Z6 is deplorable), no record limits for 24/25/30p 4k make it viable for interviews (and my C100mkII can be a b-cam), stills far exceed the the flexibility of the X-T3 for event shooting (high-DR & high-ISO scenarios), etc. I've rarely relied on C-AF for video (wait - lying... C100mkII all the time - but those cameras can fill different niches.) Interesting. I would be purchasing this as a true hybrid stills/high-end video camera. I've shot (in shops) and downloads raw files that I can find. I've had a notion that the files respond "differently" while I worked them in Capture One relative to the Fuji. Without question, tho, is the ability to recover shadows cleanly relative to the Fuji - such an improvement.

I've only had an S1 available to me for about two weeks now. I've shot more stills than video — raw files hold detail really well even at 12800 iso — though I haven't quite gotten the hang of how the sensor fully works, recoverable detail almost seems split between shadows and highlights and will just take some practice and getting used to. Pretty robust sensor though! For video, the HLG profile is holding dynamic range very well, definitely a leg-up on the GH5 and NX1 that I'm coming from. Color seems fantastic. I've used the 24-105 kit lens for a couple quick, close-up b-roll shots and autofocus worked surprisingly well. Manual focus, even by wire, is surprisingly good too, lots of options and is repeatable. Ergonomically I like the camera — nice and beefy grip — some of the buttons are a bit spongy for my taste though. I shot a quick interview handheld the other day just using the video enhance IS (similar to the GH5's IS Lock) and I was definitely feeling the weight of the camera by the end of it, especially with the vertical grip. I'm very excited to see the big new VLOG update though, 14 stops of DR and V-gamut, this is going to be a beast of a camera.

Yes, I gave Mattias specifically as an example of someone who is living with local sources of very cheap secondhand gear! A golden paradise indeed.

I am enjoying it. The firmware / V-LOG / codec is out in about 2 weeks and is already being tested. Definitely the most feature packed pro mirrorless cameras, more modern tech than the Sony bodies and one the best images you can get. Downsides? It's a big beast of a camera, definitely not 'mirrorless size' by the usual sense of it, definitely more like a DSLR with no mirror. Autofocus cannot be relied on for video and the Sigma MC-21 adapter has been very disappointing so far.

To help our Aussie friends, shipping cost is not included in the $200. So if just the camera is under that limit you're fine, and hopefully you might even have something that cheap lying around on your shelf to take part in with. @Mattias Burling doesn't seem to struggle with price at the other 'end of the earth', that remote Siberian wasteland of Sweden... In fact, he gets his stuff so cheap, I once considered moving the blog there. Mattias will be doing this challenge on a RED Weapon he traded in some bottle caps for.

You're still much more likely to snag a bargain in Australian than New Zealand! I remember one time I almost almost purchased the Sony a7Smk1 because it was so cheap in Australia compared to locally in NZ, but I just couldn't figure out the logistics of getting my cousin in Sydney to buy it and the a7S to be paid for before the sale ended ? :-/ A missed opportunity for me. Ditto audio, I'm far far far more likely to find a bargain in Australia than NZ! (is where for instance I purchased my Cedar DNS-2 from, a guy in Melbourne) But yes, I do very much agree that in general Australian prices are far worse than many other parts of the world (such as the UK / USA / Asia), could be worse though... you could be living in NZ.

MONTHS??? Oh if only I was so lucky! There was one time when I order a stone tablet that took so many thousands of years to get to here that the frozen ice pathway connecting the continents had melted away. Thus it is trapped there for now on the wrong side of the oceans, I'm waiting for the next ice age and continental plate shift to happen so that the pathway here reemerges.

Or a huge sensor "I am a DSLR fan for shooting video. I have used them for ten years across Asia, whether sneaking around Burma, avoiding the authorities in Kashgar, Xinjiang or the Tibetan regions of China. In fact I use them everyday. I’m based back in London now and have used my Lumix GH cameras in forty new countries in three years, from Colombia to Kazakhstan from Iceland to Iran. Every time the M43 form factor is gold." and this one goes to the guy that put the new JVC in the same sentence with the Sony Venice! "Micro four thirds truly is the DSLR video king. I know what bigger sensors and cameras can do. I shot the Queen’s Christmas Message with a fully rigged Sony Venice and lenses I could barely lift."

There are, they're just not what you'd call 'competitive' Australia has historically been subject to the 'Australia tax' which makes new goods about 40-80% more expensive due to lack of competition through wholesalers having a monopoly across a geographic area, and while this is currently diminishing, I still get a lot of "this item does not ship to your location" on Amazon, and retailers here haven't really adjusted to internet pricing. In terms of local second hand goods, shipping costs somewhat kills price competition: People here who are spending even a few thousand on luxury items like electronics, fashion, or even art, often fly to Asia to buy and then bring things home in their luggage as the total cost is less than buying locally! It's a good thing though, it somewhat curbs my bower-bird-like curiosity ???

I'm waiting on a couple more parts to arrive next week but I've picked one of these cheap RC transmitters up as a starting point. You can connect the receiver to the Micro and assign controls to each channel of it so a full turn of the wheel will take the focus from near to far etc. This one has 3 channels (the wheel, the trigger and a switch) so probably looking at focus, aperture and record but I'll need to modify it to remove the springs so that the wheel and trigger don't return to the central point when you let go. Its more or less the same size as those cheap LANC handles so is size appropriate and will be quite neat to have a wireless control handle.

I'm still not sure you can infringe a patent just by making something which attaches to something else and passes on a signal. That would rule out a lot of stuff, wouldn't it? Anyway, hopefully my Techart E-Z adapter arrives in 2-3 days, before the Nikony lawsuit does!

Thanks. They're just jpegs off the SL as I only used the lens for about an hour after I got it before resuming holiday mode so today has been the first chance I've had to look at what I did with it so I was just pushing them to make a LUT with for when I do some video with it. I want to use it on the Pocket4K (or my newly acquired Micro ) but I don't know whether its just me but I don't seem to be getting much joy with M mount lenses on MFT. I picked up a dirt cheap A7Rii a few days previously to use with the TechArt to have a poor man's AF high res Leica M but only got chance to have this quick go with the 7Artisans 50mm f1.1, which I love on the SL, but the jury is out with it on the Sony although, again, I'm just pushing jpegs about so need to have closer look when I get more time.

A couple more from the 7Artisans 28mm f1.4 that I got the other week.

So looking at eBay in Canada almost everything ships from the states. Most of the items take 2 weeks to ship. So in places other than the U.S. and Europe a time limit of 2 weeks does make it more challenging

Man that would be a VERY exciting comparison

I doubt everyone who makes E-mount lenses have a royalties and licensing agreement with Sony!? Chinese companies in particular. 7Artisans? I doubt it. Reverse engineering some electronic contacts and then making a translator chip for your own adapter, I don't think is infringing on a patent. And Techart / Metabones don't ever seem to get trouble from the manufacturers they make adapters for. Techart already has a Canon EF to Fuji GFX mount Autofocus adapter for example, and they didn't get sued for lens mount license royalties. Infringing on a patent would be creating a camera with E-mount, and exact same protocols. An adapter is not the same thing, it's a mod, not a new camera. Patents and trademarks apply to specific articles.

I'd prefer if people use a lens they already have. Unless you don't have anything lens-related that's under $200, spending another $100 on a lens is getting away from the low cost spirit of the competition, as is adding rigs, speed boosters, etc. Rules are: Camera body under $200 US on eBay. If you are in a country that has different currency, just translate $200 to your local currency. That's your budget. If your camera is already in your possession, it has to be found for $200 or less, (or equiv. in your currency) using eBay and other online stores as a price guide. Put simply, it has to currently be in stock for that price. No finished auctions or faulty units can count. Has to be a live deal. Can be online or offline at local shop. In Europe and UK we'll have £200 / 200 euro as the budget, to keep it simple... 200 across the board in those 3 currencies, and the rest are converted from $. Gorilla pod or tripod only. No other rigs, cages, shoulder mounts are allowed. I'm gonna say Speed Boosters are indeed allowed. Although not strictly in the spirit of the task, I as a judge would be more impressed if you used literally the cheapest possible lens and adapter and make them look good anyway. Yeah, I'd say a cheap speed booster for $50 you might already own is just about in the spirit of things... But I think I will allow metabones as well, as like you say, end result is pretty similar... so metabones owners aren't put at a disadvantage from the owners of cheap stuff. As for filters, use whatever... Again the end result of an ND is cheap to create, but if you only have a top of the range $200 ND lying around on a shelf, may as well use it and pretend it cost $10

A quick peek at one of the expansion options for the PBC. This one is a focus controller where the focus range of the lens is mapped to one full turn of the control. Obviously, ignore the electrical tape thats holding it together. The production version will be using gaffer tape.

I want to love this camera. Let's hope that Panasonic can pull off an AF system worthy of a 2019~2020 flagship hybrid camera. AF is currently Panasonic's Achilles heel. They are killing it on almost every other point. I don't mind IBIS... if lockable, like the Nikon's. It just a little thing, and I know it makes zero difference to the performance of the camera, but am I the only one that is happy that they ditched the 1980s LCD screen for a shiney new Oled? It looks soooo much more modern. Frankly the S1/R look very dated in comparison. Dear Panasonic, Can we see more footage? Sharp spherical lenses please. While I love anamorphic (who doesn't?), I'm sure most of us would love to see some imagery using your new L glass... and I'm sure you would love to move some of that glass also... So convince us.

So true, I had to quote this post. Is worth repeating.

My gut feeling is that Avid is dominant at the high end for now, but in the long run (or even merely the short/medium run) is on its way out.

I just received my EM1 Mkii from B&H used department and immediately loaded V3 on it. I am using the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 and the autofocus performs flawlessly. As good as Canon Dual Pixel AF IMO and more reliable than the Nikon Z6. I love the colors on the camera and I feel the size of this body is just perfect. THIS is what I wanted. The EM1X was overpriced and always having a grip made it unnecessarily bulky for a MFT camera. Going to do a review on this new setup soon. I feel the upcoming Panasonic Leica 10-25mm f1.7 paired with this camera will be my go to "YouTuber" camera for a while. I love the color science and IBIS is magical. Only thing "missing" is a good 120fps mode...which I can just get with my Z6 when I occasionally need it. So for now my current setup is this: 1DC on a tripod in my studio setup for that 4K MJPG Canon Log. EM1 Mkii for vlog style, run and gun shooting. Nikon Z6 for 120fps and run and gun shooting/ backup cam. Leica Q (which I just picked up used for a steal) pictures of my kid and everyday life/ instagram shots.

Really cool from smallrig you can build a rig from parts on their website in a 3D space also in real time. A good way to visual any of your future rigs or if you plan to add/build on what you already have. https://3d.smallrig.com/

Lectrosonics SSM or Zaxcom ZMT3 ? However most wedding videographers seem to have absolutely no budget whatsoever for audio... :-/ So, Tascam DR10L? That is only stupid because he is holding the boom mic why to high, the boom pole on an angle (don't! Be level), and is off axis. So much fail by the boom op in one photo.

That would be a stupid ass wedding to attend lol. Oh I didn't get that, can we do take 2! And I can't see nothing but the boom operates butt from the third row seats. Yeah great stuff. They need horse whipped.

Good looking stuff. I'm glad that Nikon is pushing video capabilities of their cameras

It's exactly what the NX1 needs, tones down the greens and over-sharpening. The great thing is, with the hack and Gamma DR you can stick it at ISO 800 and rarely need to go higher, you just push the exposure in post. Really cleans up the image and stops the overzealous in-camera noise reduction from muddying it up. Never shoot at ISO 6400 on the NX1, always at 800 and boost it in post!