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7 weddings in and impressed with the S5ii. Getting used to the flip out screen but would still rather have the multi angle tilt from the S1H. Prefer the files coming out of the S5ii over the S1H. Those from the S1H are just a little too soft for my taste in comparison, probably due to the OLPF. However, possibly due to the OLPF, I prefer the photo files from the S1H. The exact opposite of what is supposed to be… Moiré, only seen one single mild instance in one single clip and not a single time in a still photo. AF has been great but not perfect. No AF is and I still prefer to use AF to acquire initial focus and then flip to manual. Unless tracking where I have to rely on it. Conclusion to date: For me, S1H is the ‘better’ stills camera and the S5ii is the ‘better’ video unit. I don’t miss my S1R’s at all. I thought I might, but do not. 24mp is more than enough for my needs. What is still ‘missing’ for my needs? I have come to the conclusion that as much as I’d like to go to a 2 camera set up, unless I can rely heavily on pulling stills from video…and for that I’d need 6k 50/60p 422 10 bit as a minimum, the 3 camera approach works best. On that basis, I would like 3 things in the future: 1. 3x identical bodies rather than 2 + 1 2. 6k 50/60p 422 10 bit internal (min) 3. A smaller and lighter lens to replace the Lumix 70-200mm f4, even if it topped out at 150mm. I will continue to use it until either Lumix or more likely Sigma does, but it’s the one lens I ‘need’. All things considered, the S5ii has to be the best overall camera I have ever owned and the only thing I’d change it for at this point in time is an X model purely for the aesthetics.

Yes. Also when on sticks and or a monopod. IBIS is a fun tool, but no when to say when.

Well now here’s a curve ball… So back whenever it was that the X was officially announced, I preordered a pair. The wait time for France was long so I cancelled and bought another used S5ii. But I just received notification that my new X came into stock, they took the funds and arrives tomorrow. I thought I had cancelled both but what with them being French and all… Aaaaaaargh… I could send it straight back, or keep it, order a battery grip (needs it for the 70-200 f4) and sell the S1H with its battery grip. Financially, it’s little difference, just the cost of the grip really. The pros are; smaller, lighter, faster, newer camera plus all 3 bodies identical (except aesthetically) and I can bake in my preferred LUT. Cons; can’t think of any actually other than it would mean saying sayonara to my S1H.

Amendment to the above: 120P 4K is NOT an S&Q setting. It is a normal option for XAVC HS, along with 60P and 24P. Thus, audio is recorded. There are two bitrate options: 200 Mbps and 280 Mbps. Both 10bit 422.

The 4K 120P license is now available (as promised for June). There is a slight crop. No active or dynamic active stabilization (which also had a crop). 120P crop is about the same as shooting with active stabilization. No Clear Image Zoom. No All-I. Can use HEVC (XAVC HS), at 280 Mbps. No added cost, at least in the US.

Interesting. Neither my G100 nor my GH6 have "object prediction" as part of their settings. I'm also a "keep the subject in the center" type; so, I understand where you're coming from. I also have the 12-32 and it's been a regularly used lens. I've even been able to add the Panasonic wide-angle teleconverter on it and it works very well for video as long as you shoot in 4k, making it about a 24mm angle of view with IS (with my G100). The lens is also super sharp. The only bugaboo with the lens is the lack of a manual focus ring, but this isn't that big of a deal.

I think one very important bonus of this alliance would be the fact that it gives Panasonic a very important missing piece in their ecosystem: a truly professional cinema/ENG camera with 12-bit, XLRs, docu-style body etc. If you're buying into an ecosystem for the first time Sony offers such a great upgrade path for starting one-man bands with the A7-IV, FX3, 6, 9, Venice. No matter what level you start at you can always upgrade while keeping your lenses. Same goes for Canon. Panasonic really misses that at the moment. Panasonic currently offers some of the best hybrid camera's on the market and then after that there's nothing.

For video, 'Continuous AF' Mode 2 with the default 'Set 1' AF settings (sensitivity 0, area switching 0, object prediction +1) and a slightly smaller custom version of the diamond-shaped 'central pattern' focus area for most situations. For wildlife I often use the animal subject detect with a smaller focus area. I rarely film people so I almost never use human/eye subject detection. I don't use tracking AF either - I'm normally a 'keep the subject in the centre of the frame' person. From the manual:

How about renting a Canon C70? If the sun is out, shooting in a forest can require a lot of dynamic range, and the C70 will deliver on that end. Also, it has long battery life and with a relatively small file sizes. Since you are working alone, the built-in NDs and dual pixel autofocus will make your life a lot easier and your "keeper" rate will be higher. Of course, the C200 covers these bases too, but is either a bit soft (H264) or will require denoising (raw) in post. I made a living with two C100s for five years, including several shoots in the forest. I loved that camera, but it didn't have the dynamic range necessary to capture pools of light as well as shadow detail in the woods. Of course, it's possible to work around it: Otherwise, you might look at the FX30 or S5ii/x -- but I haven't used either of these cameras.

On my last trip I ended up using the GX85 and 14mm F2.5 as the main setup, and the saved profiles defaulted to the lens being wide open at F2.5. I did a single AF (using the back-button focus method recommended by Mercer) and then hit record, and normally didn't AF again during the shot, although I only do short takes typically as I'm shooting for the edit. I also used the 2x digital zoom, so that emulated a 28mm F5 lens on MFT. According to the DOF Calculator, this lens wide open would have infinity in focus when focusing anywhere further than 17ft / 5m away. I have since done some testing and the lens is sharper than 1080p (which is what I edit in) when wide open, so not much advantage to stopping down other than for extra DOF if I want it. My videos are about the people interacting with the environment so DOFs that obscure the background aren't really necessary and beyond lending a bit of visual interest and depth to the shot, aren't desirable. The DOF with the 14mm wide open was almost too shallow for closer shots, as I'd want to show more of the environment. This was likely wide open, simply for the low-light advantage, but I wouldn't want to blur the environment any more than this: ..but it did provide a nice background defocus for detail shots - this one is with the 2x engaged: I've since decided that it's worth it for me to sacrifice a bit of speed for greater focal range, and will get the 12-32mm F3.5-5.6 pancake zoom when I travel next. I could just use my 12-35mm F2.8 lens, but it is significantly larger and I think the extra low-light (F2.8 vs F3.5) on the wide end isn't that much. I don't typically use the longer end in low-light situations, and definitely don't need the extra speed at the long end for DOF - at 3m/9'10" the 12mm F2.8 has a DOF of 23m/75' and at the same distance the slower zoom at 32mm F5.6 has a much shallower DOF of 1.6m/5'3. I can always carry that lens in my bag in case I need it, along with my 50/1.2 prime. Obviously having larger apertures for narrative work would be desirable because you want to have consistent T-stops across the range and also to have the potential to open up a lot more if it is artistically appropriate to the emotional arc of the story. Every good movie has a moment where the main character feels overwhelmed and disconnected, so needs a long shot of them with everything else blurred, right? 🙂

Great analysis of the power saving mode from Points In Focus (has done some great tests/commentary of the R5/R5c over the last couple years - def worth checking out!). He got a 40% increase in battery life in 4K 60p - which tracks with the numbers I'm getting at 4K 24p XF-AVC.