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Lack of sharpening gave it a really smooth image and color science was pretty good. But the codec is something I never want to deal with in my live again. 😭

1DC was immediately noticeable when doing the singular comparison, it looks so organic and much less digital compared to the rest.

To be truthful I’ve been a bit surprised at the latitude and dynamic range Nikon FLAT offers. Maybe not as much as NLOG, but there is definitely info in the shadows if you dig deep enough. It handles highlights terribly, so it’s best not to overexpose. And the shadows still do have limits, if I have to dig too deep then I hit a threshold where yes there is detail, but it’s undersaturated and some color-noise/mud is introduced. That being said so far I’m impressed with how much I can pull back from the shadows without destroying the image. Then again, lighting conditions were nice on my most recent shoot. I’ll have to do some mid-day stress tests and comparisons, and I’ll let you know what I find. I may start a new thread where I compare NLOG to Nikon Flat.

Well there is that John. The OM-1 with the ‘kit’ 12-40mm f2.8 was hardly cheap at 2800 euros (I think) which is far more than say a Lumix S5 and a Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 which is just one full frame ‘equivalent’. Sony A7iv also basically the same size. Ditto XH2S (more expensive) and XH2 (less expensive) and it was the latter that confirmed my own decision making process which was… I like and ideally want the most compact system I can without sacrificing quality. I think many will have that same requirement and when the option might be full frame vs 4/3rds, I think 4/3rds is just going to increasingly lose out. But then I am a business user which I am sure is not the greater portion of the market so maybe see things with a slightly different view…

The DJ1 is $329; the Hero 11 is $399 with FREE subscription. That price difference does not seem to be so significant given the very real advantages of the Hero 11. The 120 Mbps bitrate (HEVC) and 10bit color are available for all modes.

While I agree that those 1DC files are next level frustrating - it's a night and day experience on something like a Mac Mini M1, which is pretty affordable nowadays. All that to say now more than ever cams like the 1DC and all the RAW ML enabled Canon dslrs are hassle free treasures imo.

And that is just it, how many these days are looking for this over an arguably more complete hybrid? I dunno, but I guess less and less each year…

Loved loved loved my OM-1. Loved as in past tense, because I sent it back for refund sadly. ’Sadly’ because although it was superb; A. I decided to switch direction regarding my future ‘next gen’ camera system from a single Z9 with a pair of OM-1’s to a pair of XH2’s with a single XH2s. B. It was never going to work as a sole system for me but that was not really an option I was considering anyway, - simply as above, ‘2 Robins to 1 Batman’. C. Cannot justify it as a personal camera or any other role, financially. Loved it for it’s chunky compact nature, ergos, build, menus etc, but disliked the flip out side screen (as I do with all cameras, but if I am going to compromise, it will be there) and could not realistically contemplate 4/3rds for my photo needs for the next 3 years (the length of time the next system must work for, unchanged, as a minimum). I wish them well but they are no longer Olympus and although the market for 4/3rds is not dead, for new users especially, I’m sure it’s dying.

I think that was inevitable really - why use scarce, expensive component supplies to make low-end, low-margin cameras when you can use them for high-end cameras like the OM-1 instead? Here in the UK, Olympus/OMDS cameras seem to be becoming almost invisible outside of specialist camera stores. The big John Lewis department store chain (which has always had sizeable camera sections in the bigger stores) has recently dropped the brand, despite keeping Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sony & Panasonic. It'll be interesting to see how 'down spec'd' the video features are in the upcoming OM-5 compared to the OM-1 - I'd love a smaller/lighter camera with 4k50/4k60 capability... (...and OMDS please, please do something about your soft 1080p video - it's embarrassing in 2022 - and why is the OM-1 8-bit 4k video softer than the 10-bit version?)

Direct comparison with the new DJI Action 3 from PotatoJet. Both have their strengths and weaknesses but generally I feel like these are a pretty solid. DJI obviously very aggressive on pricing, which might steal a lot of potential GoPro customers.

Synth reviewers on YouTube are plagued by copyright strikes when they demonstrate filter sweeps as someone has managed to convince the YouTube content review clowns that they own the copyright to the sound of a filter sweep. If I could convince YouTube that I own the copyright to the phrases "Hey, whats up, its your boy..", "with that being said", "lets get into it" and "I have been sent this for free but..." then I'd be rolling in it.

Thanks man, much appreciated. With the prices of newer cameras, it's always good to have more options that are not insanely expensive, especially if the actually AF correctly like you said (I only use Nikon Z lenses for fan boyish reasons, though).

Makes it far more logical by a country mile to buy it in the PL mount version instead of the EF mount

It definately can. FYI I currently only have 1 lens, a Tamron SP 45mm 1.8, being used through the FTZ adapter. AF works well enough for talking-head purposes, but it can hut a tad bit at times, and the lens will occasionally lock up, warranting a restart of the camera. I believe it is specific to this lens however; I was able to try some native Nikon F-mount glass through the FTZ; autofocus felt snappy and confident without hunting issues. Even with the Tamron I trust it for simple talking head footage.

In case you haven't been following rumour mill there is one more video oriented APS-C camera coming: FX30. So far all we know is: 26MP 4k120p Same FX3 body Almost the same FX3 video specs Announcement in late September $2500 It basically sounds like an XH2S (Sony) sensor in FX3 body. But no way will Sony give us 6.2K Open Gate. Cine EI, LUT support, Sony AF and active cooling might still win me over as it would be the perfect B-cam to my FS7.

Well it looks like Nikon are up for a fight over this. https://www.slashcam.de/news/single/Interne-RAW-Aufnahme--Nikon-haelt-RED-Patente-fuer-u-17452.html "Nikon disputes the validity of the RED patents, arguing that they were applied for too late at the time and should therefore not have been granted. Nikon points out that RED already offered a camera for pre-order at NAB 2006, in which the relevant codec technology was integrated, but it took more than a year before a patent application was filed. The patent, which was only registered after the fixed one-year period had expired, was wrongly granted from Nikon's point of view, since the patent office had no information that the technology had already been implemented and offered for advance sale" Seems they are going down the route of "the only thing we've violated in the Z9 is a patent that should never have been granted in the first place". Not to mention, of course, the defence of "how can we be violating a patent when we can't get our arse in gear sufficiently to actually deliver the fucking camera anyway". At this rate, RED could probably sue them for infringing their patent on painfully delayed availability of cameras after launch. Although, as I've said before, I do wonder whether the lawsuit and the tight availability are actually linked.

The patent is about as dumb as one that says you are not allowed to sing in the key of C. Just crazy stuff.

Andrew, let me describe two of the biggest issues with RED's patent, ignoring how insanely stupid it is to patent compressed RAW above 23fps: 1) Their patent was filed over a year after the camera was on the market. It is invalid on that basis alone. 2) The patent should never have been granted because it is SO GENERIC AND BROAD. It covers not truly lossless RAW video, but visually lossless RAW. What is the definition of visually lossless in the patent? That the average person can see no difference. That's literally it. None of RED's RAW video is actually lossless. If it were, why would you have options of 3:1, 5:1, 8:1, 12:1, 18:1, whatever they are - or now I believe they're just HQ, MQ, and LQ. None of those are truly lossless RAW like you can shoot in most stills cameras. They are lossy RAW. So, by being granted a patent for visually lossless (to the average person) RAW, they have effectively been given domain over both lossless AND lossy RAW. Lossless and lossy RAW existed in stills form prior to RED developing a single thing. They took that and said "ok give us a patent on this except at 24fps or higher" - which, by the way, a number of cameras do now (there is no defined limit of time in RED's patent for how long it can shoot, because again, it's as broad and vague as you can possibly get). It would be fair if they had a patent on REDCODE RAW, just as I'm sure BM has one on BRAW and Canon on C-RAW and so on. But to patent something that already existed - and simply taking it to the next logical extension - and then being granted that patent with excessively broad language is simply wrong. It would be like if someone had patented all forms of audio compression. Instead, patents were filed on audio compression formats, like DPCM (the first) and coding standards (AAC, MP3, DC3, FLAC, etc.).

Just a an update. RED still haven't shown up at my door. I did started locking up in the evening and hiding the camera in the safe houses. I started checking if I'm being followed. On this side of sanity (hopefully), I finally shot some material. Clients I often collaborate with suggested that we try playing with format of the visual research and use moving picture. It's usually stills photographic work. Since the whole job was more of a exploration case study I decided I may as well push and shoot RAW. I have mostly XQD cards and SD cards. XQD was able to record about 7 seconds of 8K at 50p before interrupting. Slight disappointment (but there was a twist later on). So I went and bought CFast B cards. San Disk were easiest to get quickly, 128GB holds 5 min 40 seconds at 8K60p and RAW quality NORMAL. I went with SDR and Nikon FLAT, used waveform and kept ISO at 64, partially because I carry the habit from the stills and partially to keep aperture values reasonable. I only played with the footage a bit on the flight back. In Resolve 17 on Mac (you have to run the app under Rosetta, so affecting the performance) it edits without issues on 16 inch M1 MAX. I've been out of serious video for more than 12 years so tweaking it is going to be a bit of challenge but also why I really tried to get it right in the camera. The picture didn't break when I pushed it hard in Resolve. The camera's ergonomics are great for photography. For filming - I'm not used to stills cameras. I feel it basically needs to be rigged to get the best of what it offers. Monitoring is good, it has a mode where the LCD shows everything an assistant would need. Speaking of, the viewfinder on Z9 is the best I used on mirrorless camera. My workdays are sometimes 13, 14 hours and the eye strain can get too much (I'm squinting at you GFX 100s). I can't comment on the autofocus for video as all of the lenses I used were manual focus. What might be the most interesting part for me is that camera runs really cold. I don't know what kind of processing TICORaw uses but the whole focus on low hardware requirements they've brought from their broadcasting background seems to be paying back. While the first part of the job was at 18 to 20 degrees Celsius and low humidity, the second one was at high 30s and low 40s with very high humidity. The camera just kept going. The card surprise that happened at the end was that I tried 8K normal quality RAW at 24 and 25 and XQD card recorded without issue for minutes on, full capacity, without problems. This material can't be shared but if someone wants, I can shoot short and specific tests and send over the RAW footage. Maybe skin tones, cadence and highlight/shadows but not longer than 15 seconds each. Which brings me to the main problem of the RAW. You need a data wrangler and increased budgets for storage.

Kewl, everyone. Thanks for sharing insights. I would love to see some Z9 experimental film fromus forum lovers or one with a Red is fine too. 🙂 There were some awesome posts in the Sony Cinealta F3 thread. Short glimpses into the image quality of the camera, fun to watch, often quick little sketches, crafted with passion and the illusion of effortlessness.

Well, there are lawsuits about chord progessions in specific scales. So some lawyers argued that, e.g. a progression in a key in minor pentatonic is copy righted. It's a very sad world.