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Maybe a lot of the reviewers are just thankful to do an easy review so close to the holidays. No need to do much work reviewing the camera when it's basically just like the last one. "The last one was just fine and this one, being basically the same... is also just fine."

But when Nikon keeps an old sensor in a sub $1000 APSC body and upgrade everything else, the internet says "what a bummer". When Sony does the same, in a $6500 body, YouTubers call it "mind blowing", "perfect flagship". If Canon does the same its called "corporate greed", but when it comes to Sony its called "strategy". It also debunks the old stupid notion, again, that Sony Semi keeps the best and state of the art sensor for Sony Imaging! Sony Semi can't send the best when Sony Imaging says "We don't want the best, cause its high development price lower our profit margin, thanks". So Sony users are stuck with 8k30p, and non downsampled 4k, for the next two years, while users of the other Sony Semi customer have 8k60p and downsampled 4k60.

Obviously is a lens that exists to compete against Canon's 28-70mm f2 Are Panasonic and Nikon going to bring out their own versions of this next as well?? Is this lens going to make @MrSMW once again rethink his wedding filmming / photography setup? (or no? Too heavy?) Is going to have a RRP of US$2898, and will be shipping this Decemeber. You can see here what the lens looks like on a FX3, not too badly sized: Sony also announced a new Second-Generation Flagship flagship camera, the Sony Alpha 1 II Also will be shipping in December, and is priced at US$6,499 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1861705-REG/sony_a1_ii_mirrorless_camera.html Key Features: From a videographer's perspective, not really a huge upgrade from the mk1?

From Canada they say it is the perfect camera.... Too bad Sony segmentation still doesn't allow open gate on these units. So perfect my as* BTW price increase demonstrate that the market is shrinking, shrinking, shrinking...

Nope, but… Well I am interested in it and was aware it was coming and for me, it is another lens that I am VERY interested in except for one fact, it’s a bit expensive 🤔 Until 2024 came along, for my needs, lenses have always been the Achilles Heel for me and I have both wanted and needed fast do it all lenses. At the end of 2023, the ‘best’ option I had in L Mount was the Leica 24-90 f2.8-4 which was; big, heavy, variable aperture and not especially fast for indoor / low-light work. Since then, all under 1kg/2lbs, we have had; Sigma 28-45mm f1.8, Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 and now this new Sony. My system has been L Mount for photo & video for 2 years with Sony coming in this year for stills. Nikon is coming back for 2025 for me as a hybrid option, as in can shoot stills alongside my main Sony (A7RV) cam, plus video alongside my Lumix. But, as I am down to just 1 camera and 1 lens for L Mount and STILL no sign of any S2H or S2R, I have decided to throw my lot in with Sony & Nikon for 2025 and onwards. Why? Lenses. More specifically because I can lens share across both Sony and Nikon bodies with any e Mount lenses including if I fancied it, putting this new 28-70 f2 on any Nikon Z body. Except I won’t because for one single fact and that is whilst any e Mount lens can be adapted with near native AF and IBIS on any Nikon Z body, you do not get the in camera corrections that you get with using native lenses on Sony bodies, so I am somewhat wary of using e Mount lenses on Nikon bodies. More for stills than video, but a couple of tests required on that department before fully committing… But back to this lens specifically… Faced with a choice of Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 for indoor and low-light work plus Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 for outdoor, for the SAME cost as this new 28-70, this new 28-70 does not make financial sense to me. It’s a stunning lens in isolation and if you do not need longer than 70mm, possibly great, but as above, I can’t see how it could work for me with this pairing of Sigma lenses which cover FAR more bases for the same total cost. The camera doesn’t interest me. The S5ii does all I need and the Z6iii, most likely my main video unit for 2025, arguably even more and providing it can work with the Tamron 28-75 f2.8 which I am going to test on my Zf, will almost certainly be my video A cam. Actually, I have tested that combo for stills over several weddings earlier this year and for stills, worked very well other than the odd vertical distortion that was a bit of a PITA to fix in post, but for video should be OK. Mostly I am happy to see these new fast zooms which were but a dream only one year ago.

I scored an awesome Black Friday deal on a music effects VST plugin. It was 40% off, but allowed coupons to be applied after that, so some quick googling and I got it down from $199 to $86! I've recently been getting the sound design and music side of things sorted out, so I'll be writing custom music and sound design for my videos as well. Remember - sound is 50% of the movie... at least!

Not exactly Black Friday but the service I use to buy cheap used gear in Japan has a bunch of 10% off coupons that work in their auction sites. https://buyee.jp/yahoo/auction Just scored a very nice lumix S5 for $550 including FedX shipping to the U.S. with a coupon.

My favorite right now has to be Sony. After years of squeaking by with old cameras from several different brands, with odd adapters and cheap lenses, we finally invested in a complete Sony package this year. Overall just a really solid offering when it comes to cameras, image and feature wise. The FX6 is the best documentary camera hands down IMO. E-ND, 4k120, 4 channels of audio, good ergonomics etc. We're pairing that with a couple of FX30s for studio work, solid image and great for static use. And an A7R IV, which has been an awesome camera for some light video combined with photography use. The really nice thing is we can use all of the above mentioned cameras in a multicam shoot if we want, and they will match decently in post.

Mine will arrive in the next days. I will do the initial tests with the kitlens and take it from there. Thanks for the overview! I will get back to it!

It's honestly what makes me the most excited about new camera releases these days, it helps push down the prices of the older secondhand models. Bring on the Nikon Z6 mk4 & mk5! (and a Nikon Z60 pretty please!!) Will make the Nikon D750 and D500 that much more affordable on eBay

No, AF is not supported at all. There is a Sony adapter for A mount lenses to E mount bodies but it’s only for photos and has no video functions unfortunately. I shoot video/films and rarely use autofocus so for me adapting lenses is all about the image IQ first and I can usually live with other issues. Most likely I will end up getting the whole set rehoused in the future to PL or LPL anyway.

I have been testing one of the Backbone GoPros (a Hero 11) and it has been pretty awesome so far. I have primarily been using D Mount lenses, a bit of a forgotten group of lenses since the image circle they project is too small for 1" sensors, however the Gopro sensor is very close in size to standard 8mm film and I have been finding after some color grading the 8mm look is very much achieved. There are a few real gems in D mount. Usability of the Backbone Gopro is slightly hampered by the fact that the touch screen is the only source of control or viewing, and it won't export anything useable as a video out to external recorders, but the thing will shoot a decently high bitrate with 10bit color in a flat profile internally. Not bad. I'll be using the cam more extensively next year on a project I'm planning now, but will be able to post some tests soon as well. The phone image quality looks awesome so far btw Cosimo that Vega 20mm doesn't look bad at all. Love the character these tiny lenses produce.

Panasonic, if they bring out a S9II with mechanical shutter, evf and hotshoe plus full hdmi for 1499, a GXX with a GH5II inside for 849, a S2H with FF 60p and internal ND for 2999, a GM6 with 10bit 150mbit 4k up to 30p and 100mbit HD up to 60p for 799. The latter would be a beautiful bonus, though a very beautiful one indeed.

Honorable mention to DJI - because they are thinking kinda outside the box. And choose to grow in unexplored markets. They started with drones, and snowballed the market - except in some niche sectors, they crushed everyone else. Second marlet tried was cine, with the DJI Ronin 4D - which I think is the most innovative camera of the decade. A lot of completely new stuff there - the LIDAR Af with the depth map for manual focus, the wheel control, the 4 axis gimbal. Not so great in ergo, but was an amazing achievement. This path they not suceed, but was a ambitious 1st try. And the Osmo Pocket 3 - almost everyone that tries it falls in love (including me). Amazingly easy to operate (my wife is using it to make social media videos for her clients, she knows NOTHING about filming, and the videos come out very good), very good stabilization, and the image quality is like 80% of my X-S20. The only camera that I ever used in auto ISO - its metering is VERY good. And in a very unusual and compact form factor, a REAL pocket cam. There are rumors that they will enter the traditional camera market - I have my doubts, since all the markets already established that they entered they have no (the Ronin 4D) or ok success (action cams and gimbals). They rise on unexplored paths - and I guess that if they make a camera, would be breaking some molds. (albeit I suspect that the 1st breaking mold camera should be - or MUST be, to be a success - the 1 inch "half-frame" Fuji)

Favourite COMPANY or favourite cameras? From a personal point of view favourite company is definitely Sigma... Family run, different, innovative, the best of all the companies at modern lenses, and best bang for buck too on those. The Fp-L may not be the best all-round mirrorless camera... this would be the Sony a1 or a Nikon Z8... But they're a proper thinking-man's camera company and embolic of what makes Japan so special when it comes to their family run companies. Sigma behaves the opposite of American anything-for-profit evil entities. Their APS-C primes are lovely on a Fuji body, and much better bang for buck than your Sony GM primes for example or Canon RF. In terms of favourite tools by one company overall - if I had to pick just one or two then these would be by Sony, the a7 IV bang for buck is very good, Sony a1 and a9 III are all-rounders with faultless capabilities in every area - there's very little you can't do armed with one of these Sony bodies... In fact ever since the a7r II and a7s II they have been on a very good incremental improvement path, starting with ergonomic improvements, then colour, but really in every single area of a camera spec they have not put many a foot wrong. Favourite company though? Not a chance. I don't agree with their hugely inflated prices on lenses and the higher-end bodies, I don't care for any of the top brands in terms of companies - not Sony, not Canon, they are a corporate shadow of their former selves in terms of philosophy and company culture. Fuji would be second to Sigma for me as a company - their strategy is unique and there's nothing better in medium format, APS-C or compact cameras than what they're providing in 2024... X100 VI, GFX 100 II, X-H2 - wow what a trio that is...in terms of the ULTIMATE power, feature-set and specs the GFX 100 II is better than anything, even Sony a1 II. Third favourite company would be Atomos... haha only kidding.

I'm certainly loving my FX30. So easy to use and get good results from.

Yeah, I’m always surprised more people aren’t as excited about the X-H2s as I am. I know there’s a bias against Super 35 still but the huge popularity of the FX30 shows me it’s not all Full Frame these days. For anamorphic shooting the 6.2k open gate is awesome. And ProRes? Amazing deal for $1,500 used right now. I’m looking at the specs of the new Fuji X-m5 and thinking it will make a great B or C camera to the X-H2s. My ideal traveling doc setup is going to be GFX 100ii - Stills and static video shots X-H2s - Action and gimbal, handheld. X-M5 - C cam third angle, street cam. I picked up a number of older Minolta AF lenses this year for really cheap and metabones makes a MAF to Fuji X speedbooster for them. Having the full set of lenses for peanuts including a lot of fast f/1.4 lenses is going to be fun to play with.

Next Monday I will be buying my final camera* and it will be from the same brand that I have bought in every one of the last five decades. Nikon. *insert your own rolling eyes gif here

You are right! : ) As much brand agnostic (actually quoted by @Danilo Del Tufo with that slogan a couple of decades ago : D) as @Django! Another reason more to mention manufacturers instead since it is a way to celebrate a manufacturer cares about building it up ; ) The idea came from someone else @IronFilm mention both of them I also praise ATM. A manufacturer is much distinct from a brand BTW ;- )