Leaderboard

I never thought about it that way but I think you're right...... Sony delivers enormously expensive firmware updates, they just come with a free camera!

It's likely that most footage you've seen from the Helios is when it is at its peak swirl settings, which is what it is famous for, but that requires the right combination of subject/focal distance and background distance/contrast. Lots of people buy a Helios and are disappointed because it's no-where near the swirliness they see in all the pictures. Here's a more general review of one of the models, focusing beyond the swirl and including a bunch of normal compositions. Also, it's worth pointing out that while the Helios does swirl, so do lots of other lenses from this time, and they do so almost as much. Once again, the internet glorifies the one that is "the most" of something and the ones that are a close second get no attention whatsoever (link with timestamp): Also, and this is quite controversial I know(!), but it is possible to close the aperture of these lenses(!!), and this tends to increase contrast and sharpness and reduce flaring etc - all the things that happens when you do this to other lenses(!!!). Here's a range of compositions comparing the lens wide open and then stopped down (linked to timestamp): Plus, all the swirls happen further out from the centre of the frame, so if you use it on a crop sensor then you're effectively cropping out the worst part of those optical distortions. Plus, lots of well known and highly prized cine lenses also swirl quite a bit, yet the films shot on them aren't a swirly mess. Here's a controlled test of a bunch of them, just skip through it looking at the string of lights in the background: and finally, if you crop to a wide aspect ratio, the "swirl" will only be seen on the very sides of the image, which means that the swirls are limited to being quite close to vertical - very similar to an anamorphic bokeh! Here is the Master Anamorphic 50/1.9 - potentially the most optically correct anamorphic lens ever made, and yet the bokeh is oddly-shaped with cat-eye rendering and also differently shaped towards the edges vs the middle: Compared with a swirly spherical lens like the Super Baltar 50/2.3: The character of the bokeh changes on the swirly lens from anamorphic-like on the edges to normal in the middle, which some might find distracting, but you might also find to be less distracting because it limits the distractions to the edges of frame rather than being directly behind the subject. The Zeiss CP.2 50/2.1 has very similar rendering to the Baltar above, and yet is known as a relatively neutral lens and is a workhorse of Hollywood: What I find far more distracting in bokeh is the edges of the shape, rather than the geometry of the shape. Take this example of perfectly round bokeh balls and see how distracting the ones on the right are.. and don't even get me started on "bubble bokeh"

Nice profit generating process there! Seems that Panasonic G7 sells for sub $300 these days on ebay On the topic of Panasonics, was working on a film this weekend being shot on a Panasonic S1H

Problem with FF is not the housing in itself. It's the dome/port which goes with a wydeangle FF lens. Yes Olympus camera are well renowed among pro uw photographers but for video, Pana features are in another league. For underwater photography, prior of the latest mirrorless FF revolution the market king was Nikon with its D850. With the new Z series and new mirrorless mount Nikon failed to give a valid lens selection for underwater use and now most photographers are switching to Sony A7R line. It's a complicated topic. A stellar lens topside could be the worst underwater.

LX15

That makes a lot of sense to stick with a GH5s. Hopefully, the S5ii's AF will get into the M43 cameras. I think it will. It basically is with Olympus cameras. Actually, have you tried the OM-1? I know a lot of pros use Olympus cameras underwater.

I film 99% underwater and very deep so for me a small setup is paramount. M43 ticks alla my requirements and I'm happy with my GH5, GH5S and GH5M2 except.... AF. A good underwater housing costs about 4500 euro and it's tailored on a specific model. So an upgrade for underwater shooting is very expensive. IMO GH6 fratures doesn't worth 4000 euro plus the camera body. I will consider to upgrade only for PDAF. You cannot imagine what Sony autofocus is capable of underwater. It's the market standard but I hate Sony colors.

Even NZ get hit by the strike https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/writers-strike-hundreds-of-locals-out-of-work-after-hollywood-blockbuster-shuts-down/3KQJ5AC2LZE5BHN3HDWX5ZYUHE/