Leaderboard

Funnily enough, I’ve been at my storage unit today going through stuff in the dustier boxes buried at the back to do exactly the same. During the quest, I found this and concluded that Panasonic really do hate us now. Was there ever a camera more inclined to make you pick it up and go out and film with it.

One little hack is to look for the PD150, and PD100, these are the "pro" versions of the VX2000 and TRV900, respectively (with XLR boxes and could do DVCAM). They were rarer and of course more expensive back then, but can often be found cheaper nowadays because people just aren't aware they existed and they don't show up in searches for the VX and TRV.

Well I haven’t emptied the box marked “Clothes - misc” yet so maybe my leather hot pants will be in there.

I think you definitely fall into one or more of these categories though (I'll happily admit I fall into at least one of these categories myself! But at least I'm consciously aware of it? Thus if I'm ever upgrading my stills camera, I won't go for a Z8 or Z6mk3, but rather a D500 or a D750): You're a professional, thus the marginal cost of an upgrade is even lower for you (because of tax write offs). Plus as a professional if an improvement gives even a barely measurable 1% improvement to your revenue that is still enough to make it cost neutral to upgrade to this year's model. Also I think you can admit you're a bit of a gear addict? Who enjoys obsessing over camera tech 😉 (you wouldn't have thousands of posts talking about it if you didn't) For sure, I'd rather show up on a professional photoshoot with 3x Nikon D750 than one Nikon Z6mk3! (plus having 3x D750 would only cost a bit more than half of what a single Z6mk3 would cost)

All I know is that I’m super excited to be able to scoop up the older 4 year old tech for bargain prices right now. Older S bodies are dropping in value like crazy and if you need an extra camera to sit on a tripod for multi cam shoots we are really spoiled these days. I think I’m going to grab a Leica SL2 now that they are selling for $2,000 US. We’re reaching the point in video where photos were a few years back. A lot of cameras can do 4k/24 raw 12 bit and 4k/60p internal or external. Now it’s all about IBIS and AF and other features to help out filming or workflow. If you are comfortable with manual lenses and adapting things it really is a buyers market. Fun times.

On Sony body Sony lens is more stable than Tamron.

In Berlin I've been trying to find a DVX100 for a while and actually they are pretty rare now. There's also the TRV 900 Sony handycam which has a certain appeal with a nice Zeiss on the front. The VX1000 and VX2000 I am also looking for, but some of the prices have recognised the current inflationary conditions of 20%, plus VAT, plus Instagram tax, plus seller remorse, plus Sony Handytax, plus tips https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/sony-dcr-vx1000-e-minidv/2796362065-245-3433 There is however a TRV 900 for 100 bucks at a local junk shop... with a C31 error. This error was famous as it was apparently fixable by "giving the camera a good smack". So if I can get the shop owner out of earshot for a few seconds somehow so I can whack the shit out of his camera I might be in luck? Maybe he needs a bit of DIY and a few window frame nails doing anyway?

What a gem Your next shoot... (23:33 if it doesn't queue at right spot)

One thing that’s really nice about picking up older tech is that a lot of the bugs have been worked out and there’s a whole knowledge base to dive into on forums like this. Cameras in particular seem to be released these days with half finished firmware and it could be several months before updates and fixes finally show up. Not to mention, major updates like on the S1 which unlocked all new features and made it a different camera altogether. Really nice to be able to pick something up for 1/4 the original price with the bugs all sorted and get to work. Not to mention the ability to have 2 or 3 older camera bodies for the price of a single new one. Now if they would just give us open gate on a few of the older cameras like the Sigma FP…!!!

There are also some sensor smear issues visible at times with very bright stuff in the frame. For me, it's not very objectionable even when it is there, but I've noticed it in a few scenes.

Okay, so I did a test. Using a Digital Bolex and shoulder mount rig, three lenses, 5.5mm, 10mm and a 17mm. I mounted an iPhone with a holder, had it facing up with the app SensorLogger to record gyroscope data. I started the app a few seconds before rolling the camera. The Gyroflow software seems to figure out how to auto sync them very well somehow. (I didn't try the plug ins for Resolve or Final Cut.) It took awhile to understand how it works but I think I got it now. This video helped a lot. NURK FPV - The Definitive Gyroflow Tutorial https://youtu.be/QAds3x8UU1w The results are very good. I'm impressed. I shot in 2K so finishing in HD would mean potentially not losing any resolution. I'm mostly interested in just smoothing things out a tiny bit so this should be good. I like this better than operating a gimbal. I need to play around more with it though. There are some points with smearing that comes from a 180º shutter. I'll do another test sometime with a narrower shutter angle/shorter shutter speed and see what that looks like. If this becomes a normal part of my workflow I might want something simpler, like a GoPro or something. (It is one more thing to do when shooting.)

We should have a marketplace here on the forum. I have a ton of stuff I can't be bothered to sell but would happily give away in return for the postage cost.

Agree, they only really need to address cropping (faster readout) and some kind of ND if possible. They’ve got just about everything else right.

Arrived in Seoul and recovering from flights etc. A storm rolled in and I grabbed some shots with the BMMCC. I'm just getting used to the low-light limits so these are test shots as much as anything. I've done almost no grading to these at all, but they look like movie frames, I'm really impressed.

It really looks like Panasonic is getting some momentum with improved AF. Hopefully their extended time between releases just means they don't want to bang out incremental upgrades. From my admittedly distant view, the S1->S5->S5II releases each brought a substantial upgrade, more so than many other product lines. With the new XLR2 module and 32 bit float, they entered a whole new realm of camera feature, and it would be odd if they didn't bring that to their FF L-mount line. I hope Panasonic adds 3 things to a new S1H or BS1H model. 1. Faster readout--this is the only image recording upgrade I care for, compared to the S5 2. Compatible with their 32 bit float XLR module. I assume any flagship cameras will support it going forward. 3. Internal NDs. I guess at this point I'm fine living without them, but we can always hope, right?

GH6's sensor was designed by Panasonic and OEM manufactured by Taiwan Nuvoton Technology (which acquired Panasonic's semiconductor business in 2020, and shares a 49% stake in Panasonic's wafer fab joint venture with Towerjazz)