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Very true. As someone who has fielded 5000+ enquiries and booked 800+ of them over 20+ years, I can identify with the process. Provided your work is of a standard and potential clients can find you, it very much comes down to; price, first point of contact, followed by connection. I have a question on all my contracts which asks why they specifically chose me and the result is a pretty consistent: "Love your work, exactly what we are looking for", (happens prior to any form of contact or me even being aware of their existence, ie, them finding my on-line or social portfolios). "Speed of response". If I am still awake and an enquiry comes in, I will at the very least personally acknowledge receipt and interest and a promise to get back to them at a specific time such as "first thing tomorrow AM". I know some use auto-response software, but I never do and keep it personal at all times. "Clarity of information including pricing provided". When you reach the point someone asks, 'how much?", simply tell them how much or more often than not, you will lose them at that point. "Personality, - we felt we clicked with you straight away". Often the job will go to the person/company they click with first, or at least gives you a massive advantage going forward. The above are not necessarily the exact words or phrases used, but more or less exactly what they are saying every time. And in case you think 800 from 5000 is only 16%, "so what about the 84% you lost?!", there are many reasons but no excuses including; Price. Cost is the biggest one by far. The vast majority enquire (or inquire if they are American) often with little to no idea what my type of services might cost. For most, it is above their at the time projected budget and that's fine. Style. Extremely rare. They are unlikely to even make contact in the first place unless they liked your shit. Not a good fit. That one is a hard one for me as in it's very difficult for me to put off, never mind say no to a potential client, but it happens occasionally. Simply not available in the first place. That is around 20-25% of all enquiries. Finally, I don't like the sound of their job so turn it away at their first point of contact. Currently, over 50% of enquiries immediately go politely in the bin. My enquiry to booking ratio of the actual jobs I want is somewhere between 75-90% so I think quite good actually. As Kye said, if this kind of info helps anyone, particularly noobs trying to get into business, good. Quite simply, showcase what you want to be booked for. Keep clarity a priority. Don't put obstacles in the way for clients you'd like to book. Always be honest (as you can be) and certainly not deceptive or desperate and accept you can't book them all!

People seem to be obsessed with nit-picking the colour science of cameras, but indicate they don't colour grade for one reason or another. To me, even a few simple adjustments can improve the image so much more than the differences in colour science between manufacturers. In fact, the image out of camera is like a plain sponge cake straight out of the oven - it's nice and the quality matters but it's far from the final result. Colour grading is also talked about as being super complicated, and it can be, but it doesn't have to be. Simple grades can still be really powerful. Here are some examples from online, to show how much of a nice image is camera colour science and how much is colour grading. ARRI LOG: With ARRIs LUT: Grade: The above grade was done using only white balance, the lift / gamma / gain controls, a vignette, log wheels, in that order. To look at skin tones, the holy grail of camera colour science - here's a before and after.... before: Then on top of the previous look, here's additional treatments to give it more of a film look. These additional adjustments were: Gain (to lower exposure), white balance, saturation (lowered), darken shadows, in that order. Which was inspired by this frame from Sicario: Here's the video showing the whole grade: https://youtu.be/8GkcqEA72QM Next example - SOOC: with 709 conversion: Grade: Video link: https://youtu.be/fRDjEB6ryyQ Next one - with 709 conversion: Grade: Video: https://youtu.be/OmBBYHMi_ek Next one - SOOC: With 709 conversion: Grade: Video: https://youtu.be/UNW_8jcGJqw There are literally more examples online to count, but I just focused on the more neutral looking colour grades, as the people doing dirty film grades probably don't care about skin tone minutia when they're going to pummel the image with Dehancer etc. So, what's the TLDR? Even half-a-dozen simple steps applied in addition to the manufacturers LUT can make a huge difference It's about making small changes to make the image look slightly nicer, and they add up The reason that fancy cameras look incredible is because the colourist takes the great work done on set and expands on it How do I get started? Look at the image and work out what tool might improve it (if you have no idea, just try the basic ones) Wiggle whatever tool back and forth, deliberately going too far one way and too far the other way, then find the best spot Compare the adjustment you just make to see if it makes the image better or worse, if it's better then keep it, otherwise undo (sometimes a really good adjustment will look completely natural and the 'before' will look like something is being applied to the image and is damaging it) Go to 1. Repeat until you can't find anything that makes the image look better. If you're using another image to inspire your look, then for step 1, just look at both images and work out what looks different about yours, and try and fix it. Is it brighter? Darker? More contrasty? A different colour? More or less saturated? Adding a vignette to lighten your subject or darken the other areas of the frame is a good trick. Looking to find anything in the frame that's distracting and de-emphasising it is really useful too - even just lowering the brightness or saturation can really stop it from fighting for attention. Even by the time you've adjusted these basic tools, you'll be well ahead.

just an interesting sidenote: basically every belgian dp agrees that the standard arri r709 conversion is way too tame. thats why they always shoot with a custom lut (usually per project)

I confess, I did once have it on me. But then was once out of breath and I inhaled too deeply near it, and accidently swallowed all of the cameras.

Maybe that isn't the wildest and craziest idea ever then. The Nikon V1 is about US$130-ish (Nikon V2 can be found for only marginally more cost, but V3 would be crazy expensive), and the Nikkor 10mm f/2.8 is about US$70-ish, a slightly pricey combo for something so old with a dead mount, but not too bad either. 20 minute recording limit though. But it does have that bonkers 320 x 120, 1200 fps slow motion option. I do quite like the idea of getting the Sony RX0 (either mk1 or mk2), as they both have a mic input. Maybe in a couple more years the RX0mk1 will have dropped down to something super cheap. Or maybe if one my plans for a 360VR production become viable, I'll end up buying a handful of RX0 camera bodies for that purpose. Then people will be asking me if I'm happy to see them or if that is just a big cellphone in my pants? Watched a video last night that was saying something quite similar: "...why did you bring me in today? What was it about my qualifications that made you attracted to my candidacy?"

You essentially have two separate routes: - MotionCam based on Android for raw aquisition; or - iPhone 15 Pro Max; not much else.

That camera is still too big to be my EDC camera.

My impression is that it's really about the right part for the job. Physically smaller resistors are easier to fit into smaller circuit boards and around small chips with lots of pins, etc, but also have lower power handling, so it really depends on the application. I think over time most electronic devices have a relatively constant number of parts. As time goes on and we want more features and higher performance you'd want to add more chips, but as we gradually work out common combinations of functions we create chips that combine many functions into one. For example, back when CD players were the thing, there would be a chip that read the signal off the disc, a DAC chip that converted it into analog signal, and then an amplifier that drove the CD player outputs which go to the preamp or amplifier. Later on they made digital processing chips that sat in-between the signal chip and the DAC. Later on they made chips that did all 4 of those functions. So regardless of the thing you want, there's likely to be a number of chips that you need to have, you'll need to make them work together physically and digitally (with the right configurations etc) and you'll need a controller chip to enable the user to instruct the chips what to do (change modes, change settings, record, stop, playback, etc).

I think we are long since past the point where your average Sony/Canon/Nikon/Fuji/Whatever mirrorless is more than a few simple clicks or sliders away from being indistinguishable on-line. I've seen so many side by side comparisons and can't see any difference at all such as in, "look how much better Y is compared with X!" and it looks near enough identical to me. Same with the stills side. Waaaay too much emphasis on SOOC unedited files. Comparing like for like across brands. Of course we can find an increasing proportional difference if we start comparing apples with kumquats... Now things like difference in IBIS capability or wobble etc, some very clear differences, but modern sensors these days? Nah.

Kinda tempted by this, as my SmallHD SDI monitor broke on a recent shoot. US$99 for the very fully featured app (even does automatic start/stop recordings! Following along with the ARRI/VENICE camera): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/video-assist/id6464140279 Then for just a couple of hundred dollars, this does both SDI or HDMI capture to USB: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1572701-REG/lilliput_uc2018_sdi_hdmi_to_usb_3_0.html https://www.newsshooter.com/2023/10/18/video-assist-pro-hdmi-sdi-video-monitor/ And would be used alongside an iPad Mini (6th Generation), that's only low US$300 ish on eBay

The tips for networking I've learned for networking in the corporate world (which is likely to be broadly similar) are: Be brief - people like it when you respect their time Say something in the message that is unique to them - this shows them you haven't copy/pasted to a million people Tell them why they might contact you Tell them how to contact you Tell them how to check out your previous work A message as simple as "Hi - I loved your work on project X, I do sound on similar projects. I'd love to work with you - if you have something coming up get in touch! <link to bio>". What I learned about networking: People hire people they get along with, skills are necessary but are a secondary consideration When meeting people, establish rapport with the other person first, ask questions about their own work and projects, don't talk about yourself or pitch unless they ask If you can solve a problem for them or give them advice (that is welcome!) then you'll stand out and be seen as useful If they ask about your work, don't embellish or diminish it - successful people can often tell when people are bending the truth (even on gut-feel) and its an instant fail Focus on understanding their situation and challenges and try to help You probably know much of this, but in case you didn't, and also for the lurkers, thought I'd elaborate.

Electronics are so complicated now that it's almost impossible to build your own stuff without having thousands, or tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment. My dad loves electronics and messes around with Raspberry Pi computers to make automated things (like a greenhouse where there is a fan and motorised window which he can control to keep a desired temperature range etc). He had sometimes had issues building the little temperature probes, which are little chips that you mount on little circuit boards. He printed out the circuit board pattern and etched the circuit boards himself, but when it came time to solder on all the components around it, he found that the surface mount resistors he'd ordered were too small for him to see! Not too small to pick up and work with (which they were) - they were literally too small to see on the piece of plain white copy paper he'd put them on. To give you an idea, they would easily fit into the grooves on your fingers that make your fingerprints! He had to order a new batch and hope that they were bigger (they were) but still very very difficult to solder by hand. You could just say "use human sized components then" and that works sometimes, but with digital communications lines between chips, the length of the trace between the two chips matters, because depending on the physical length of the trace they work like echo-chambers with the digital signal bouncing back and forth, and also as antennas both broadcasting the digital signal to the surrounding areas and also receiving other digital signals from surrounding areas, so even just by putting two chips the wrong distance apart they can fail to talk to each other. I wish it was easy, but it's really not. Plus, then you have to program everything. Have you seen the code for Magic Lantern? They're only modifying the firmware that Canon has written, you'd be writing it from scratch!

EOS-M ? Bigger sensor for not much bigger footprint and generally available for sub £150 including the stabilised kit lens. Thats just it as a regular camera but of course there is room to grow with RAW video though that’s far from compulsory. Ditto room for expansion with the lenses both their own and also some interesting cheap options from Meike and 7Artisans etc. Plus adapters for EF either speed boosted or with variable ND. For most people the EOS-M is all about Magic Lantern but outside of that it is a great option as a very cheap compact but expandable larger sensor camera.

I will upgrade it to my own bodyweight if you like…because it is not going to happen 😉 Otherwise no idea on an EDC with a 3.5…which just goes to show how different each individuals needs are!

Well you can buy and try iPhone 15 as your main camera. There is no better way but to try it personally. My limited experience with iPhone 14 Pro and more extensive with Android RAW showed me that smartphones as cameras have many limitations. The list is long. At the end it is a simple choice: Can you live with and/or work around all those limitations or not. For me answer is clear: I can't and don't want to. I prefer the inconvenience to lug 1 to 2 kg of equipment more for several kilometers, but have great experience shooting rather than the other way around. Here are some examples: When testing iPhone 14 Pro as a camera I used it as GPS navigation too. Mounted on the front dashboard of my car in sunny spring day with temperature around 25-27 degree Celsius it overheated and shut down. Had to stop my car and swap it with my Android phone. It took more than 30 min for IPhone to cool down and be usable again. If you want to have some decent footage you still need ND filters, this means a special case or cage for iPhone as minimum plus probably a handle. How long will the battery last? So maybe an external battery too ? Or external SSD ? But both can't be used at the same time. 🙂 You see, if you want a semi decent footage and shooting experience, you still have to prepare and take several other items, spend time planning, etc. With time and experience for me the weight of my camera bag up to a certain limit is at the bottom of my inconveniences and concerns. As a camera that is always with me, in my pocket though latest generation of Android phones or iPhone 15 Pro are something that I can't resist. 🙂 Another case to use them would be when I go out for a day or more and am not sure do I want to shoot something or not, will I have the time or not. Having a smartphone as a camera + maybe a case with ND filters for those casual shoots is great.

The new Raspberry Pi 5 just got released a couple of weeks ago. It's a very impressive new release, for instance it has 5 active PCI Express lanes (useful indeed for us video geeks). There could be some interesting new developments harnessing the new power of the Raspberry Pi 5 that were not possible with the older ones.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm-x100t/4 oh never mind, it seems like its 1080 video quality is pretty bad. (and of course, no 4K) Hmmm.... I see that there is the "EMA-1" Which allows Olympus point and shoots such as Olympus XZ-1 (CCD video anybody?? haha), Olympus XZ-2, or Olympus XZ-10, etc to use any mics I can feed into that 3.5mm input. By using "the External Microphone Adapter EMA-1": https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/802459741-USE/olympus_147592_sema_1_microphone_adapter_set.html (I wonder what Olympus point and shoots are compatible with this that have the best video capabilities??) I lose/break my celphones too often for that to be a good idea! ha, I stick with awfully cheap smartphones

Amazing what iPhone could do and literally just came here to post this video haha

Controlled and properly shot/graded side-by-side Alexa 35 vs iPhone comparison.. It looks great but (spoiler alert!!) it's not as good as the $110K camera package, especially when pointing into the sun..

Great thread idea. Maybe we can all hold each other accountable as we strive towards our goals. I'm a career DP/videographer. I'm 14 years in at this point. In 2024, I want to: Finish updating my reel (always a struggle) Finally put profiles up on Mandy, StaffMeUp, and IMDB Reach out to a different producer every other week Write and direct at least one short scripted narrative Not spend any money on camera gear (unless something breaks and needs to be fixed) And shoot a couple of projects with each of these two old MX bodies, so that I can decide which to keep and which to send back out into the world

Exactly this one. Almost glued to my camera, barely use another lens nowadays. Works as a native Fuji regards to AF, and works good with IBIS - X-S20 IBIS is better than the X-S10s, but m43 Panasonics and Olympus still are a bit smoother.

I wanted something that would carry on the spirit of the original X100 I preordered before it went on sale in early 2011 and then became my dual purpose 'EDC' (though that term I don't think existed back then) plus candid work camera. It was brilliant at that role, at that time, albeit with pretty bad battery life and sloooooow autofocus. I don't know why I 'moved' on from that after only a couple of years, - chasing something 'better' I guess, except nothing came close and I drifted into just using my phone. The phone though is just a device to me. Utterly convenient, but utterly without any joy in it's use or the in the results it produces. The only other element the X100 lacked for me was the ability to change focal lengths. I love the purity of the fixed lens approach but the reality is, for the work side at least, sometimes I need wider or longer. I tried the '28' and '50' adapters with the X100 and they were kind of OK, the 28 feeling quite natural but the 50 nose heavy and spoiled the use of that camera. Plus not quite long enough. Oh and at just 12mp, more than enough for my personal needs but a tad low for work. I had considered and came very close to opting for the Ricoh GRiiiX and if it had just been for personal use, would have been the one due to size and that 40mm focal length which I really like. But I have to consider my work needs so went Nikon Zf with the 40mm f2 SE lens. I've been flip-flopping all year long regarding going back to Nikon but the announcement of the Zf sealed the deal. I never saw it coming (wasn't really looking) but a few weeks ago when the World was alerted to it's imminent existence, I knew they had made my 'X100' for 2024> Arrives tomorrow I think... It won't be going back. Not the slightest question mark over its purchase. So many times I put something in my shopping basket only to remove it before hitting the buy button, or hitting that buy button and then within 24 hours, changing my mind. With the Zf, I did a preorder and then canceled and then looked at it again and re-pre-ordered. Not even a hint of a regret since doing that and that's the first time in a decade I reckon. As to use, personal will be 100% photo and work not entirely sure yet but probably around 50:50 photo/video, - it depends on what other unit I get to replace the Lumix S5ii's I am replacing... It's not exactly cheap, the Zf, but it's what I have been missing in spirit/ethos for both personal and work. A tad larger, but far more capable and versatile than the X100. Only real gripe is the flip out screen over a tilt, but kind of got used to flip outs with the S5ii's all this year. If I change my mind, I'll eat it's weight in leeks (I hate leeks) live on YouTube.

Yeah, I have and use one of those:

Hot thread. Let's keep em coming! 🙂

Plus (keeping all the usual good stuff, except very sadly the top display is going 😕 ) : New 25.2 million pixel image sensor New engine 8.0 stops of image stabilization 7.5 steps Dual IS C4K/4K 60p 4:2:2 10bit V-Log 1.84 million dot tilt free angle monitor 3.68 million dot OLED viewfinder Dustproof and splashproof Pre-continuous shooting function Real-time LUT C4K/4K 10bit 120p/100p 8 direction joystick Wifi Bluetooth Recording to a USB drive is cool! Yes, the way I understand is that: 1) G9mk2 is announced and immediately (or fairly soon afterwards) available to purchase 2) while "the development of" the GH6X/GH7 is announced, with their available being either late this year or perhaps next year

ZV-E10 sell in troves, at least here in Brazil - I am in a Telegram group that only, in there, more than 70 people bought it.

As the amateur here - almost no plans. Loving the X-S20, and in Fuji world, would be only interested in this camera repackaged in a X-E3 body, IBIS included. And this will not happen. Lens wise, shop closed - the customs rules were stricted a lot here, and now buying a lens means a 92% increase from US prices...but was a thing that I predicted, hence I bought almost all the lenses that I was planning for the future. Will play more with my vintage ones - the Canon FD 35mm f/2 Concave works very well in the camera, and I have the guess that the "Leicanolta" MD 35-70 f/3.5 will work too. Will almost halt buying gear - I'm 52 now, wish to retire at 65, have a wife and a 5 year old child, and have nowhere near the conditions to stop working at 65 and kept them in a confort life. Time to start saving seriously.