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What a f**king roller coaster. I was sitting in a broadcast truck editing packages for an international surf event in early March when the first Gov "recommendations" came through. At about 10am, producer comes in and says "we just got word, we're wrapping this today to be safe", which meant they ran through the final 2 days of the competition in one and had about 14 hours live on air that day. Driving home the next day (8hr drive), every time I pulled over and checked my phone, another Gov update and another job cancelled. $80,000 of bookings gone by the time I got home. 2nd child on the way, wife just gone on maternity leave, and a contract signed for a house to start building, and suddenly all my income for the next 8 months was gone. This was immediately following 3 months of bushfires where basically no video production other than news had happened because the entire state was blanketed in smoke, and you couldn't even go outside without having a coughing fit. And that surf contest had been my first job in months. I picked up a few other jobs closer to home, mostly editing stuff for Zoom conferences, but barely enough for bills, until things finally started to pick up again in September. Throughout that period the biggest issue was that I live close to a state border. Many of my clients are interstate, even though they're only a 45 min drive away. Any rental gear I need comes from across the state border. If I have to fly to my own states capital, I usually drive over the border and fly from there. But that state border was closed. My state was open to them, after the initial 6 week lockdown, but I could not travel there to access gear, flights, clients, locations, etc. So even if clients did want to shoot, I couldn't. Then from Sept to Dec I was probably the busiest I've ever been (not counting single jobs where I'm booked for several months), with lots of stuff for local business, or international brands that simply didn't want to risk any travel to the area (which was also becoming famous as a celebrity destination where Hollywood stars were moving to escape the pandemic). I'd spent a lot of time during the bushfires perfecting my SEO and local marketing, so it was good to finally see all that pay off once filming was possible. Then in the week before Christmas, another outbreak (an outbreak here is considered ONE single case, who is not a returned travel in quarantine; usually a worker at a quarantine hotel) meant that my last day of work for 2020 was basically spent fielding cancellations for Jan/Feb, so again I was back to nothing after barely struggling to get on top of bills and thinking that I might have enough spare to take the wife out to dinner for the first time in a year. That was a tough couple of months and my wife made the decision to go back to work earlier than she'd intended, but she's also a sole trader so that's not earning us any money yet while she gets everything set back up. And then finally last week, bookings started to roll in again to the point where I'm now at capacity (beyond it, actually, but I'm not in a position to say no) from next week through the end of May. I'm just crossing my fingers that state borders stay open moving forward because some of that work in interstate. Talk about a train wreck of a year.

Putting the R6 through its paces during winter school break. Shot in 8-bit standard profile using a mix of 4K & (100FPS) FHD on a 2K timeline. Various AF modes were put to use (Face Priority, Face & Object tracking). Camera was set to Auto-ISO. Overall I'm pretty happy with this camera, given the sub $2.5K pricing. No fancy features just solid IQ, AF & IBIS. Zero overheat even at the beach today with 20 celsius. Of course I will keep testing but my confidence with Canon is somewhat restored, I will probably go with a C70 down the line for more pro work.

I'd say that's a bit of an overstatement. You may not need any of this year's new offerings, or last years. But you have no idea what other professionals are shooting on, or what equipment will make their jobs easier or what will help them book more jobs or sell more productions or help them boost their rates. If you don't like the way the market's trending, awesome! Vote with your wallet. I won't be getting an FX3, or a A7SIII for that matter, or an FX6, a Pocket 6K Pro, or an R5 or an R6. But I'm not going to pretend that just because these cameras, or Panasonics offerings or any number of other cameras out there don't work for me, are not the right camera for someone else. The whole idea of individual shooters determining what other people need is quite silly. Yes, the market might offer a whole lot of choices a whole lot more quickly than it did in the past. Some of it is pure marketing, as the FX3 seems to be. But a fair amount of it is due to more rapid technical innovation, some of it is due to market disruptors like BMD and the new breed of Chinese cine camera companies forcing the big dogs to compete on price and features. And some of it is camera companies scrambling to see what features and body styles will get a shrinking market excited. In the end, we actually benefit from these new releases, if we're smart enough to weigh the options carefully and only buy what we as individual shooters need and can swing. That's the way I see it, anyway.

I like it. A lot. But just purchased a used L Mount Panasonic 24-105mm so it's covered! Looks perfect for a Sigma FP though or one of the new Sony's.

With me it's the waiting, - I have a moderate amount of patience but absolutely zero tolerance and the world seems full of idiots. When I say 'full of', I mean enough to fuck it up for those who are not idiots. Yes it will recover. Think The Black Death, Spanish Flu, WW1, WW2...stuff comes back. Usually, it's so gradual we don't really notice it until we lose it again. And we will lose it again, ie, be living in some future shitstorm at some point in the future whether it be financial, war or pestilence. I'm quite fortunate in regard to the social side of things being something of a social retard anyway. I'm one of those that could actually live on that deserted desert island, but I do appreciate that for many...most even, the lack of social contact etc sucks. Hang in there. I don't know if 'the good times' are coming back and there are bound to be some changes, but I think that once most of the cloud has lifted, we will be able to see clearly a lot more of the positives than we can now.

Awesome, thanks Mr. Freeze. ntblowz, theres a few others making 3500mah batteries, I just ordered some from Patona and will test them against the Blackmagic branded one once the camera gets here.

This constant release of new cameras is kind of a new thing. It used to be much more common for people to shoot with the same camera for 10 years. It’s all GAS anyways, no one actually needs any of this new gear.

I believe part of Panasonics woes is this exact problem. The Sony juggernaut marketing machine is now eroding the classic word of mouth professional back-channel chatter. At the tip of Sony's Marketing spear is YouTube.

Simple answer, because Panasonic didn't send them a bunch of stuff and a free camera to review and return.

Man I hope you will get through this, I m pretty sure 2022 will be a massive rebound for the world.

What annoys me the most is how some youtbers in those reviews are already saying how this camera is the best mirrorless option for serious filmmaking. Cinema camera my ass ! The S1H is still the king of professional video centric mirrorless ! It has everything that this Sony FX3 doesn't have as a proper cinema camera : - 4K DCI (even 6K) - Anamorphic modes - Shutter angle - Synchro Scan - Possibility to import Luts in camera - waveform, etc. How those "reviewers" could forget how much the S1H is more suited to professional video shootings than this FX3 !

Matching different cylinders glass from different anamorphic scope is equivalent of a cylindrical Galilean telescope running backwards, finding a match with different systems that meet the afocal condition. Here are few prototypes I put together and some sample shots. I hope you like, thanks! .

What a cutie. On the Sigma Fp: And on the Sony A7C: What makes this lens stand out? At time of release, it is the smallest and lightest full-frame F2.8 standard zoom for mirrorless systems. Available in Sony E-Mount and L-Mount for L-mount cameras from SIGMA, Leica, and Panasonic Compact and lightweight, perfect for everyday use and travel. At just 16.6 ounces, it is almost a pound lighter than the 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN | Art lens (31.4 ounces). Fast maximum aperture of F2.8, providing consistent low-light capability from 28mm to 70mm. SIGMA Art-level optical performance, with incredible sharpness throughout the focal range. Gorgeous bokeh rendering that softly blurs the background and brings your subjects to life thanks to both the nine-blade rounded aperture and optical formula. Lens offers excellent edge-to-edge performance with well-controlled axial chromatic aberration and sagittal coma aberration. Dust and splash-proof mount with water and oil-repellent front element coatings. Working distance of approx. 2.8 inches (7cm) at 1:3.3 magnification at 28mm for close-ups and casual macro opportunities. SIGMA's Contemporary line strikes an excellent balance of both superb image quality and day-to-day usability. Stepping motor for swift, accurate, quiet autofocus for both still and video. Compatible with AF-C for eye-detect AF and real-time tracking. Made in Japan

The 20-60 is a gem. OK, it doesn’t have the uber shallow DOF that say an f2 or faster does, but compared with an f2.8...at the wider end at least, there is not that much difference. In lower light at the longer end, 60mm f5.6 vs 70mm f2.8 it’s a lot more noticeable. But in decent light and/or at the wider end, it’s a great bit of kit for the price. I’d have both!

Yes but why include it in the FX line if it doesn't have cinema camera features.

C70 is a real cine cam though with built-in ND's, TC, DCI 4K, shutter angle, waveform etc. Basically all the things people were expecting from FX3 and that are missing. That said yeah it's not a bad cam per se, pretty awesome even for a mirrorless, just not really worthy of the FX line imo.

Speaking of the camera getting here CVP here in the UK called me saying they are getting my unit in today.

Shoot Arri, get more jobs, sell more productions, boost your rates. Simple.

@kye You have the GH5, right? Have you tried the 6K Anamorphic (open gate) with (Cheap) Anamorphic lenses? See if that helps you on your quest of moving from the video look to the cinematic look.

The S1H still has the best image of any camera under $10k, in my opinion. And I've used a lot of them. They need to put out an EVA-2 and S2H (or S5H) asap with update AF and they'll be good. I will probably use Panasonic cameras in the future for IQ alone, but AF, 120fps 4k, and a few other of the new bells and whistles are very useful in cameras like the C70, FX6, and this FX3. I'm still not sure Sony has fixed their color and IQ issues fully and their WB seems to be way off - but I'd like to test. FX3 would be excellent if the A7sIII didn't exist, and frankly, the A7sIII shouldn't exist, not the other way around.

I feel for you man. What a disaster.

Or accurate diffusion of any source that is clipped, or diffusion of any source that is out of frame... but he'd know that if he read the thread I linked to. I guess when I said "more info than you ever wanted" I was being prescient - he really didn't want the info in the thread!

Really Panasonic is so frustrating. They would have fixed the shitty AF and makes real marketing strategies, they would own the video mirrorless market right now. But they don't want to change their DFD focusing tech and they are so lame at marketing themselves and their products. My S1H was a true workhorse and so close to a perfect camera. But I really felt the need for a reliable AF even though I am used to manual focus. it just makes life easier now that I switched to Sony a7SIII. Panasonic should really wake up.

I use Resolve too, but I ingest raw to dpx, exr or prores444 so it's not a problem for me. There's a bit of a trend at the consumer level to edit in raw, but I only see it as an acquisition format.

Yeah, I'm over Matti and Peter and that whole crew of YouTube influencers with their increasingly worthless camera "reviews" and their endless blogs about their hipster lifestyles. Back in the day they actually posted useful videos about shooting and editing techniques, plus their shtick was new and interesting at that point and not totally played out. 0f course, I've come to learn that some of their tips, like how to conform 60p footage to a 23.976 timeline were ass backwards and causing problems with a proxy workflow. Gerald Undone, on the hand, is still pretty good on his reviews. I did watch his review of the FX3, and it's pretty spot on. It hits a lot of the same points as folks on this thread have brought up, including that the biggest real differences between in at the A7SIII are the tally lights, lack of viewfinder, button changeups and the handle with integrated XLR module. He makes a great point that if you are a video first shooter who doesn't really care about the EVF and does care about XLR mics, than the FX3 is a bit cheaper than the SIII and an XLR module. Other than that, it's pretty much the same princess in a different dress.

My business is weddings. Destinations weddings as in I live in France and they come to France for their wedding. Last year, actual work, I did 4%. That figure is based on me doing 5% of what was booked and losses that make up another 1% from what I did not book for last year, during last year, because there was no last year. Other than the 1 job I did, ie, 1/20 when it should have been 25/25. After some state assistance, my income ended up being around 30% of what it would normally be. I also took out the maximum allowed state backed loan which for me was 9k. I cannot borrow any more and technically, my business is now 9k in the red. 2021 should have been a 'claw some of it back year' but now is at least a "50% at best" year re. bookings & turnover. Worst case, 2021 is going to be a zero work year and realistically, it's going to be somewhere between 0-50% work. I think it will end up somewhere between the 2 figures and be a workload of between 20-25% of what it should have been. It depends on 3 factors: 1: The UK gov being correct and not backtracking on their 'everyone is free' from the 21st June. 2: France agreeing with them. Ha, miles...kilometres behind...if the UK really is that far ahead. 3: Travel. By July, folks in the UK may be able to do as they wish and us in France also, but we may (probably will) still have a travel issue that prevents couples from either going through with their weddings here, or deciding within the next month or so, it's too big a hassle for them and their guests and pulling the plug. I have already lost approx 1/3rd of all this year's booked work through postponement to 2022 or outright cancellation. I lost 2 more just today and expect all with dates prior to the end of June to go with a certainty (had 10, 4 remain) and at least 50% of the rest of the season which is July-early Oct. Bookings for 2022 are quite strong but by my calculations, to claw back the losses of 2020 will take 4 years running at 120% turnover, ie, 5 years total to be back where I was at the end of 2019 financially. Based on the fact that 2021 is pretty fucked already and is going to end up I'm projecting at 20-25%, at least another 3 years at 120% turnover...if that is even possible, making a grand total of: 2 'lost' years + 7 'trying to make it up' years...if it's even possible, for a total of 9 years to be back where I was at the end of 2019. Or after our daughter finished school and hopefully goes to uni 1 year this September, we sell our house and downsize to something smaller and cheaper and bypass having to even attempt 7 years of recovery, which realistically would be very hard to achieve anyway. Longer term, has it damaged the industry? Not really. A least not as far as I can tell. I'm not seeing any great rush to elopements even though social media is constantly chittering about it. Folks seem to be booking exactly what they would in any given year, but just asking hard questions about Covid policy for the future. Mentally, it's not great. I'm not depressed. Just frustrated for want of a better term. Massively frustrated. Having very little money to do anything...not that there is anything to really do anyway, but going into debt when after a lifetime of trying, we had just cleared it at the end of 2019. Seriously, - no mortgage, no car finance, no credit cards, no nothing. For the first time in 25+ years of adult life. I had some funds banked from previous gear sales so have spent some of that on some kit as I'm still doing some very low rate commercial work and freebies plus a few personal projects to stop myself from getting too rusty, but otherwise, we are spending very little. Perhaps the hardest part of it is having zero control or even ability to do anything that constitutes 'having a life' according to how I wish to live mine. Pretty much just existing and waiting...

Andrew is so right about this camera. When I saw the release I was like...OK so this is a worst A7SIII for $400 more with a XLR top handle but all the important cinema features are missing: No internal ND No XLR on body No audio controls on body Same shitty LCD screen without an EVF to save it No SDI They didn't even include a way to secure the HDMI PORT! LOL! Cinema camera my ass!

If you’re in Europe filming on 16mm or 35mm here is an Athens lab we used for a series of commercials anmar.gr they include everything and they’re great!

It really is remarkable how opposite their body designs are from their OS. One is ugly as sin, the other is truly elegant. Unless you need auto focus it's hard to justify getting the C70 over this. There's A LOT of value in this. $2,500 for all of that is a tremendous value.

Internal NDs, tilt screen, and dual mini XLR make it worth the extra $500 over the 6K. This is probably the perfect camera for them to release right now.

The embargo for the a1 reviews ends today so if anyone needs me I'll be working on my thumbnail...

I'm one of the amateurs here; my job is TI, government company. Very, very lucky in the financial side - moved to home office since March 2020 (a thing that I would want even without Covid - ZERO needs to waste 1h30 commuting every day, and have more resources, like better monitors, than in my workplace), no income cutting, could stay safe. Work exploded in pressure though - our team take care of two systems, one that demanded 95% of the work (10 people in the team), the other make a statistical report and basically ran once a year. But this 5% system became used as the database of the government emergency money distribution, and now take most of the team (that is constantly making 10 hours day shifts). I'm one of the few that is taking care of the larger system - my workload almost quadrupled. With a 2 year old that could not go to school (it opened this week, but opted to keep her in home - the Amazon variant of Covid is starting to spread throughout Brazil and already collapsed some smaller cities near here, in one week the ICU cases simply DOUBLED), my wife taking care of her (and not working), one of our cats dying and probably another one dying soon, and almost no outdoor / resting time, the head is melting away. And I REALLY could consider myself fortunate - a father of a friend died from covid last week, several friends got Covid, even staying at home (none have serious problems, thank god), most of my friends are having VERY hard times to pay the bills. And we have a genocide president here that is doing almost nothing to get people vaccinated. Just hoping to get through this with sanity. And moving out of the country when possible (Brazilians will became the parish of the world because of the criminal government) and when economy rebounds. There is no hope left here.