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You make fair points, but then ask why the discussion is so binary - just look at the statement you make above. What is fascinating is that you use the word reliable - no camera has a reliable AF system. None. There are literally no cameras available on earth that you could use to 100% get the AF right. The GH5 isn't 100%, but neither is the Sony A7S3, or the Canon R5 either. I've seen multiple shots in recent vlogs where the camera focuses on the background, or on the foreground, or just stops, and these are shots that are making it into the final edit. Think of how many out of focus shots the GH5 created and how few ended up in the edits of YouTubers, then apply that to the PDAF/DPAF cameras and so even they are screwing up on a semi-regular basis. The GH5 was a roaring success without good AF, and lots of people buy it, even now, despite the millions (billions?) of comments online about how the AF is not reliable. Would the GH6 be a better selling camera if it had PDAF? Absolutely. Will PDAF give it "a good and reliablish AF system"? Hell no. Does it "need" a "reliable" AF system? No, because such a thing doesn't exist.

Nikon today launched the Z Fc. Formerly the Df retro plastic camera, Nikon has improved the concept with even more plastic and a smaller sensor. You can feel the retro authenticity during each buzz of the power zoom and the flappy plastic concealing a port used for live streaming. It's every film camera shooter's dream Minox Nikon! --- What did Df stand for anyway? What does Fc mean? Fruit cake? Football club? Are you OK Nikon??

What’s with all the hate, it’s an alternate-looking Z50, and last I checked the Z50 was pretty well reviewed. Granted, I doubt I’ll sell my S1 for it, but hell, isn’t Nikon days away from bankruptcy? They’re trying out something that the masses might actually buy, I get it. Has phase detection, un-cropped 4K, it’s no worse off than one of the Sony APS-C’s.

Wow the S1 holds up well there. Just shows it is a match for Alexa / Amira when you nail exposure correctly. Great colour science. I see the main flaw being that the skin tones go green in his ETTR test and then there's the banding after that, so not quite as flawless as the Amira there but then it isn't shooting ProRes or RAW in his test. Just internal V-LOG I think

I own an S1 and an Alexa Plus and work with Alexa XT and Amira (and occasionally Alexa LF and Venice) footage for my day job work. Technically the gap is narrow. S1 footage reminds me of cleaner Venice footage... but with more skew. The Alexa is really grainy but has a nice texture. Some people denoise it some people add noise to it but for whatever reason I like the noise texture as is most of the time too. Venice has a nice texture, too. Great camera.

I was thinking that the TechArtPro E to Z adapter could give it a lot more lens options but then found this on their product page. I'm guessing if it doesn't work with the Z50 then it won't work with this new pseudo-Df either. Sigma making their f1.4 APS-C primes in Z mount might make it more interesting but they don't seem in a hurry to do that so without a lens lineup this doesn't stack up to Fuji's offerings. And I say that as someone who absolutely loves his Nikon Df. The price isn't far off what you can picked up a used Z6 for these days either. But.... The TechArtPro adapter that does work with the Z50 (and presumably this one) is the Leica M to Z adapter so that would make it interesting for someone who wants the compact retro experience with appropriately sized primes to match but with the bonus of the adapter now providing them with AF as well. With a bunch of cheap adapters this also extends that functionality to other vintage lenses (including old Nikkors too of course) so it could well find a niche there. Hang on, I might have talked myself into getting one !

I think the camera is REALLY beautiful - in fact, the most attractive digital camera just after the Oly Pen-F. I like these "classic looking" models (Oly's OM, most of the Fuji's, Panasonic GXs) because most of the people think that you are using an old camera. More receptive in street shots, security don't bother with it in concerts. I was hoping that the X-E4 would have IBIS (and rear dial / focus mode switch), it would be the perfect camera for me. But Nikon don't have (and I bet that never will have) a strong APS-C lens lineup. And using FF Z lenses defeats all the purpose of this camera. The X-S10 trounces this camera in every regard, except for the looks. Will sell ok, I guess - with lifestyle and japanese people. But not much for everyone else.

Yeah GF1 was a nice little camera. Sometimes simple is better. Something about that first model had quite a solid build quality to it and the white version had a very high quality gloss finish, almost felt ceramic like. These materials, finishes, looks all matter to me which is why the Z Fc is only just about nice looking on paper - Then you realise it is a cheap plastic thing with worst specs than an X-T3 from 2 years ago, so why bother?

Sorry for the delay. I didn’t receive a notification for this post. Regarding your questions, I haven’t noticed any aliasing with 12 bit at all. And with respect to all of the, for the lack of a better term, pixel peepers, those things really don’t concern me. I just ensure that I have the proper composition, exposure and focus. Whatever “artifacts” that are there doesn’t dampen my goal, which is to just create some lovely artwork. Now if I’m experiencing some heavy moire, for instance when I’m downscaling from 4k to HD, then yes I’ll be mindful. However as I mentioned, these “artifacts” don’t bother me.

I almost used my Sony PMW-F3 for a shoot last weekend. (as my B Cam to the FS7) But we couldn't get it to play happily with the BMD ATEM TV Studio 😕 (no way to get matching progressive into it? The ATEM is quite picky, time for me to buy a Decimator?)

It doesn't have any authenticity. It's a fake. A replica. A Minox.

RAW video is always much nosier because it come strait from the sensor. In camera video recording is heavily denoised. Great performance of sensors in low light when using internal recording is mostly result of good in camera denoise. When using RAW footage and high ISO you'll have to denoise in post production. Result will be even better than in camera denoise but unfortunately requires powerful GPU and will take a lot more time for the final rendering. Actually one colorist said that you have to denoise always when using digital camera. 🙂 Another way to reduce the noise of RAW footage with Panasonic S1/S5/S1H would be to shoot at 6K, then reduce resolution to 4K in post. It automatically gets rid of some of the noise. It is also well known fact that BRAW is partially debayered in camera otherwise it will infringe RED patent about compressed video. External recorders are not affected by the patent. While not true RAW, BRAW recording results are more than good for me and major factor to buy Panasonic + Blackmagic Video Assist. BRAW has other advantages as for example multiple quality settings and as result reduced file size. And of course ability to edit straight from the recorder in Davinci Resolve. Using ProRes RAW or Blackmagic BRAW is more choice of NLE than anything else. Quality differences are negligible and visible only in some cases and with heavy pixel peeping. Here is a good test of Blackmagic BRAW vs Prores RAW which demonstrates well the noise problem and differences between the two RAW formats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPB6wrVKHiw

I definitely will, should be a fun camera haha. Try lugging around the 14 pound Alexa 😆 I was considering the Sony F35 or F55 as well but they don't carry the same name as Arri.

I really like your setups, especially with the smallrig side handle. Have you felt the need to drop to 1.3x crop on your fp L to avoid the aliasing similar to 12bit cDNG? I usually shoot 10bit when I need the width (which still looks great) but the raw output being only 12bit I suppose you cannot do this. Gerald complains about the raw output softness of the fp L but it's a sensor speed limitation and not really Sigma's fault. I'd recommend the original fp for strictly video, but I love my fp L.

I really believe that when you belong to a proffesional cast you should never leave suspicions about your competitors. What you need to do is do your job as best you can and that will be what will bring your customer / viewer to you instead of your competitors. It is called professional discretion. I would never allowed such a thread to my crown/forum.

Ah, FML! I just reformated the cards for a shoot tomorrow. Hope the guy who DIT'ed the job copied the whole cards, but I bet he didn't. Luckily it's not essential. He can always use foley.