Leaderboard

Summerando makes it muchio choosy in the optica cover snuggle width vicinity maximus. Deep Joy

I took a look, but the immediate migraine made me want to go and have a lie down. I'll get Emmanuel to translate and give a concise breakdown.

And this is where it falls apart for me... As a 'one & done', a single body with longer of those two zooms is OK...to a point...the 100mm in MF point being not even half the reach I need. Could I compensate with cropping? Yes, that's why I prefer a high MP camera for stills, but even 100mp is pushing it a bit taking what is an approx 80mm lens in FF terms, to well over double that and f4 for anything low light, (which can be quite a bit of my work), is borderline too slow. I had and used the LUMIX f4 24-105 and it was not the best experience other than outdoor and day time. And this is the 'weakness' of MF for me, - the sheer physics over 100mm in FF terms, - it just gets too big, too heavy and too slow. For my specific needs. On the other hand, the 2 body approach could work, but is utterly dependant on each unit being much more compact and light over a single 'one & done', though the combined size & weight of 2 units might be more. For a 2 body approach to work, it HAS to be primes only and something no bigger ideally than Sigma's f2 range, so their 20/24/35/50/65 and jumping up to 90mm, f2.8. On a body ideally no bigger than A7RV or at a push, Z8, a set of 4 would work for me and of course these are native to Sony and almost native adapted to Nikon, but to Fuji GFX, I don't think so? And even if a workaround could be found, it comes back to the same thing and that is, "then what is the point?" as in you switched from one solution to another that doesn't benefit you in any way so why? Same as I love the idea of a Hasselblad X2D prime set up, - I would absolutely love it...but I think more with a rose tinted spectacle approach than a real world one. And that is without considering the cost! So right now, the SL3 for me still remains the single best option all factors except cost considered and that is where it does not and cannot work for me. A pair of those with a 4x prime Sigma set up would be nuts, but nuts beyond my means. My A7RV to me is my 'poor man's SL3'. And it is a very fabulous poor man's SL3 so until such time as something significant changes, it remains in it's role.

Don't get me thinking about that one! That's been in and out of my shopping basket numerous times and in some ways, is the ultimate option for stills. My stills needs anyway. The ONLY thing that has really stopped me has been lenses. Just how do I get a small/light/compact kit that can cover everything from 20-200mm providing nothing slower than f2.8 FF equivalent and no smaller than 24mp at the long end... With MF Fuji, the body can do it, but the lens/whole system, not quite, or rather the compromises are ones that I am not prepared to make. Having said that, a pair of the things with a set of 3-4 primes and... aaaaargh, nooooooo. Change for me at this point in time has to bring something quantifiably useful because my needs have already been met. It's interesting looking though and I think sensible to at least look at any and all options because that in itself can sometimes provide a creative aspect not previously considered. So I look and I consider.

It’s called ‘timing’ and ‘progress’ respectively isn’t it as in just a few months back, some of those older cameras might have made sense, but with march of time, increasingly less until such a point as they do not. I don’t think we are quite at the ‘do not’ stage yet with those models, but launches like the S1Rii start to compete and once the prices drop and firmware upgrades happen, should make even more sense. The SL2 with zero tilt screen option for one thing would just kill it for me. But as it does 8k it gets all the chatter. I said it somewhere else above, but IMO they should have launched it as a 6k beast and locked all 8k function for say 3 months and opened that up with firmware. But then there would probably have been as much furore over that choice! I suspect so. Especially once prices dip below 3k. I’m still not sure I would buy it for my needs because of the way I work and as my principal video unit, the S9 works better (minimal size & weight on a free-standing monopod) despite the S1Rii being a MUCH better camera in hand and full stop. For stills, Z8 vs A7RV vs S1Rii, I could make a case for any but still favour the Sony, and not just because I have one. For video, as things stand, I would pick the Panny with the Z8 a very close second and the day it gets full LUT support is the day I would give the nod to the Nikon.

Keep in mind that if you are also a stills shooter using Capture One and if you would need to upgrade C1 to use the S1Rii, you can preorder the camera from Adorama and between the free media and the discounted C1, it is a $3k camera. This might be the first time I jump at the pre-order phase. No doubt there may be some realtive deals (open box or otherwise) by mid & late summer, but for the maybe couple hundred dollars of additional savings, I think this camera will be making my professional life much easier for months already. False color and switchable, discrete photo/video modes alone is worth several hundred over four months to me. Then pile on everything else.

This is an interesting point about the lenses. Also Nikon DSLRs I seem to remember had weird quirks with the aperture in video mode which took them an age to change. Cameras design has two major fields... ergonomics and tech specs. Get both right and you have a good chance of producing something nice. Which is what the Z8 has achieved. The best ergonomics and best tech specs. Now the third thing is price and if you can do flagship specs and the best designed camera for cheaper than your rivals can, the only things stopping people buying it are lenses and brand loyalty, which are tough issues. Panasonic for example has a brand and lens mount problem, in a way they always had during MFT as well. Nobody can decide if it's a LUMIX or a Panasonic. Or whether Panasonic stands for LUMIX or kitchen appliances. Nobody can quite be comfortable switching wholesale to L-mount, they don't know how committed they are to it after the big gap between flagships and the focus on mid-range tittle tattle. Plus Canon and Nikon just have so much momentum behind them from the prior DSLR mounts whereas Panasonic have had to start from scratch. Anyway I don't mean to keep knocking Panasonic, there's still life in the old dog yet, I just think they could learn a LOT from what Nikon are doing right now.

This is quite an eye opening chart.. https://ymcinema.com/2025/03/06/the-cameras-behind-sundance-2025-documentaries/ In the earlier days of Cinema EOS the C300 and C200 were all over the documentary filmmaking scene. Now it is all Sony... a7 series and FX. Has Canon mismanaged transition from Super 35mm to full frame in the cinema world? It is beginning to look like it. Meanwhile Panasonic are not in the chart, which is a shame as the GH1 pioneered documentary style shooting with mirrorless cameras and a large sensor, when everyone else were shooting pro ENG or camcorder small chip.

The 28mm and the XM5 should be a treat. S5 and the 135mm on sticks would lovely, maybe even in S35. I'm getting exited to test my S1H on sticks with the 90mm. @Ninpo33 S1RII, like the S1H before, could be the h264 and h265 camera of the year besting all other Dslms in these codecs up to Iso 12800. All Intra h264 and Prores HQ should provide pretty much the same quality anyway. Can a variety of crops be used for Prores Raw, like S16, S35 and 4to3 ratio?

I Currently have the Fuji X-M5 and the LUMIX S5 with adapters for both with either a GFX100s or a S1Rii on the way next. Still getting used to the little Fuji and haven’t tried the 90mm or 135mm on there yet. I have a m42 speedbooster for Fuji from Kipon but it’s been getting stuck on the camera and I worry about damage. Plus it’s a little ridiculous on the tiny little body.

I agree about the FP's size. It's the biggest complaint I have with the camera. To get the best codec, you're doubling the size of the camera. I know rigging up cameras can be fun and some people have made a career of it on YT, but the biggest appeal for the FP was its small form factor plus raw video. Without a dedicated color workflow, and the ability to keep it small, it's now just a 4K raw camera that isn't any smaller than the R5 (as you said) but without the AF and IBIS. Ive gotten some nice footage from the FP, but its hardly worth the hassle. All that said... it's still a pretty cool little camera. Am thinking about trying one of their native lenses with it before I give up and sell it.

I'd love a monthly "challenge" (as long as it isn't a competition) to inspire the creativity of members. Perhaps the one suggesting the theme could change monthly too, with the previous month's suggester choosing the next month's suggester along with the suggestion!

I think you're onto something. Getting people out of pixel peeping and into actually making (and sharing) stuff is an unmet need. Think about all of the hobbyists who caught in a cycle of constant upgrading and never shoot anything other than their cat or their significant other making coffee. I know that EOSHD has done this at least once in the past. DVXuser used to do it too. A couple of brainstorms that I may have shared before: 1) A monthly challenge that imposes a creative limitation each time (i.e. shoot everything at f/8; use only natural light; shoot in standard definition; shoot something in the style of Wes Anderson; use a pre-2012 camera; capture a short scene about a conflict between two joggers, etc.). The prompts can come from Andrew or member suggestions. 2) Old camera "round robin". Established members pitch in a low-value camera body and ship it to the next member, who tries to get the best footage possible out of it before shipping it to the next member, etc. All results are shared and discussed. Maybe there would have to be several of these going, one for each continent.

I'm getting bored of putzing around with the FP. Great little camera, especially for what I paid for mine, but I'm tired of the SSD and although I like the internal 8bit 4K cDNG files, V90 cards are just too expensive, especially when you see what CF Express cards go for. That said, I still have my 5D3 and other than the inherent sharpness I am getting from the FP, I find the image from the 5D3 ML Raw to be more pleasant. Even though the last thing I need is a new camera, I know I need to upgrade at some point, so I'm thinking about which way to go. On one hand, I've always had the most pleasure from shooting with Canon cameras... and the best results, but Canon doesn't really offer what I want at the price point I need to be. I do enjoy my friend's R7 I've been messing around with, and find the h.265 files to be pretty good if you nail the WB and you gotta love Canon's AWB. But I really don't want to spend Canon money for their lenses. So that lead me to look at the Z6iii and I must say it looks like an amazing machine. It pretty much does everything I could need and want in a camera. Have you tested the ProRes Raw in the Z8? If so, how does it compare to NRaw? It doesn't seem to have much benefit in the file space size compared to NRaw when in Normal Quality? But as a FCPX user, ProRes Raw sounds pretty tempting. Also does the Z8 have the binned/skipped (unsure which it does) full frame, 4K raw? I saw a negligible difference even when zoomed in 200% in a YT video I watched.

My fault so need to apologise when I read it back it looked exactly like you’d interpreted it ! I guess the Jazz English must be catching.

I really do think this is a solid release. I do hope that we get more overheating tests and if there is an issue a firmware update to somehow fix it. Having overheating issues with active cooling is wild. I do think I'll end up picking up a S1R. Having a higher resolution stills camera for taking promotional photos of performers in higher resolution could be really useful.

Not to take his job, but the tl;dr is that less than 50mm focal length has very very few entries which cover without vignetting. The wider, the fewer. Above 50mm, it increases quickly.

Someone has made and maintains a spreadsheet guide to the coverage (or not) of lenses on the GFX. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uxvvpxJ9QVFFyh0pW2rs9KBmUW9vlh-d-VnbcLDCTn8/edit?usp=sharing

Exactamundo. I know there are a couple of FF primes that work on the GFX due it being 'not quite medium format', but I'd need a range that met my needs and ideally, all one single line. This is why as things stand, in a few weeks, for my S9, I will be picking up the LUMIX; 18mm f1.8, the 50mm f1.8 and then undecided but either the 85mm f1.8 or the 100mm f2.8, all over the Sigma range. I prefer the Sigmas, especially for photo, but I'm looking at this as head over heart and those boring looking, but consistent size, weight, filter thread, fast silent focusing dullard LUMIX's have to win in this situation. Not without the glass, but well, physics. I'd rather it had 100mp though just for the insane cropping. Right now, I have a single with 3 zooms and with my Mr Sensible head on, no better option. However, if his alter ego Captain Sensible (look him up if you don't know) takes charge of the ship, a pair of the things with a set of 4 Sigma primes might just become more attractive... The Zf would have to go to make room however and I'm not sure about that at this time.

For clarity, the “them” in this sentence is still referring to Hasselblad. So, something from their parent company DJI (ie the incorporation of their video tech) will make Hasselblad more relevant. Although it has to be said that a mirrorless camera from DJI might cause far more of a splash with a far bigger modern audience who’ve been using their drones, action cameras and gimbals than would a cost reduced Hasselblad with comprehensive video features. Those of us of a certain age might well choke on our pipes and unexpectedly fill our incontinence pants in excitement at such a Hasselblad but we are literally a dying breed so it might well appear under the DJI guise if it happens.

I don't know if any primes for the GF system are even close to as small as Sigma's f2 range - and that includes the 50/3.5 which is, as GF lenses go, pretty tiny. It won't benefit you at all. For the sort of work you're doing, full frame is most likely the sweet spot for still photos (and maybe APS-C for video?). The A7R V is a hell of a camera and 61 megapixels is way more than enough.

Yes, readout at 6K60p is faster than for 8Kround with 15.5ms. @Andrew Reid Pixel to pixel 4K120 should provide same resolution as it does on Sony FX3 and A7SIII. The S1RII has a 2x cropped gate in 4K120 pretty much the same as a FX30 in 4K120. With the higher sensitivity and dynamic range of the sensor it could possibly mean only one stop of higher noise in this 2x cropped 4K120 mode at isos up to 12800, compared to the full sensor 16 to 9 gate of the FX3 and A7SIII and one stop better than the FX30 or a GH6/7. But that's an estimation. Tests will show. Colour and a high resolving unsharpened image with good latitude regarding textures and colour could be strengths of the S1RIII.

I’d add to that the integration of wireless BLE timecode for multi camera and audio recorder sync.

I had the debate myself over SL2 vs S1R a few years back but in my case the need was primarily hi res stills and only a secondary need for video and at the time, not log. The S1R easily won that argument. It was, for stills at least, a better, but 1/2 price SL2, though the Leica beat it on design and badge. Obviously. But time marches on and though many of us consider the S1R and S1H well overdue and this latest launch is not quite what many hoped for, but cut out all the hysterics and simply ask yourself, "is this a good piece of kit for my needs?" and that is the only bit of info that is actually relevant. I have warmed to it and could make a case for it, but still wish it had been 60mp+ for my own selfish reasons!

Oh yeah for sure. I think it’s already a deal for what it can do and paying full price at launch for this one is easy. The $6800 Sony A1 is another story. I buy a lot of open box/gently used gear from Japan on various shopping sites so I’ll probably wait for one of those to pop up in the next few months. They have a lot of 3 day sales with 10% - 15% off coupons and free shipping. Plus there’s no tax so it will be just under $3k very soon with the deal.

This all highlights something else that I feel plagues Panasonic: too many modes. I don’t know how they pare that down, people would surely complain? They should possibly consider ditching an entire codec just to start. Having internal ProRes basically tops everything, do they really need h.264, h.265, long-GOP, Intra… the endless scrolling list of slight permutations is also a HORRENDOUS way to lay it out.

135mm is a nice little compact design and made by Komine. I love the look of the Series 1 lenses with the little cut out/ aperature window on the lens body. Yes, It gets a little confusing with all the different companies making lenses for Vivitar at the time. There were a couple models and you can tell them apart by serial number. All of them are good build quality and a good deal. Performance is nice, especially for the price but some of them have an issue with oil leaking onto the blades. 22XXX - Kiron/Kino Precision Optical made lens - 37XXX - Tokina made lens 28XXX - Komine made lens

My assumption is that it'll come out at around $12-15k. I would really love to be wrong and have it come out closer to $8k. IMO, you're on the right track. The 100II is hands-down the best camera I've ever owned/seen for still photos. That's subjective, of course, and someone who shoots sports would almost certainly disagree. It's not much better than the GFX 100 was, of course, but with the II, I feel like the video went from a sort of neat, but very limited bonus to something that's genuinely usable. Would I spend more to lose the ergonomics for stills (hopefully not the ability to take them at all) for about the same performance, a couple more modes (such as open gate full sensor), and professional I/O? Absolutely not - especially if adding a cineback/rig/whatever gets me some of the most important i/o upgrades.

Yeah, 15.3ms on the 60p modes 7.3ms on the 100/120p modes. it's funny how Lumix were so late to the party with FF 4k 60p but then once we finally get it everyone is all bent out of shape about other features and the 60p just gets passed over. If you're talking about overall specs and performance that might true but it depends on what you're upgrading from. I think it's pretty close when you factor in usability and familiarity of Lumix products. After years with Lumix cameras and workflow it's nice to not have a steep learning curve in menus, functions and post processing. We've talked about being invested in a system and the true cost of ownership will depend on other factors. I shoot a lot of anamorphic so Panasonic has always had an advantage when it comes to crop modes and IBIS specific to that format. That alone makes it really stand out for me. I'm probably going to pick one up once I can get it for below $3k open box/used. I was really close to getting a used SL2 or a S1R and bid on several deals the last 2 months. But now at $2k the SL2 just isn't practical when the S1Rii can be had for just $3k or so. Same goes for the Sony A1 mk1. For $3k used and several years old now it feels like it's loosing its mojo for me compared to what's coming.

Pixel to pixel mode should show the same resolution as the FX3, just in MFT gate. @Walter H Penalty regarding noise could be okay, since the S1RII has very good noise performance. It's a 6K60p full frame camera with the 4K120p mode of a GH7 as a give away. I know the GH7 does it oversampled. Then it's a Sony 4K120 FX30 thrown in for free.:) I would love to see the 28mm Vivitar in action.:) @Ninpo33 It looks like a Vivitar I lens in body design and sturdiness, doesn't it? Iirc from my ebay tours some years ago, it looks just as cool. Is the 135mm as nice as the 90mm? Have you shot with the 90mm? cheers

I rate 4K/120p as a sign of a fast readout. It's not a slow sensor in all modes. It just lacks the latest cutting edge design attributes from Sony Semiconductors to do an 8K readout at under 15ms. So a nearly, but not quite the best sensor in the 40 megapixel range. The EOS R5 and Z8 are better and a few years older. Panasonic are making a bit of a habit of being nearly good, and 5 years late. BTW just watched the full Gerald meltdown. The ending is quite illuminating... He says he's got this great money spinner of a channel and doesn't want people to pull at the yarn to unravel his enjoyment of it. The way he frames it is that the channel is a community, blah bah blah. But this is really about his job satisfaction and he's clearly had it. In some ways I am empathetic. I understand too how annoying people can be. But why does it have to be about the S1R II in particular, he gets loads of other criticism on all sorts of topic. Seems unfair on loyal Panasonic users to pin them as the attack-dog types. Sony fanboys are far worse 🙂

Oops. IG is landscapturer*

This is more or less a similar dilemma to me... In love with that piece made of glass, Z8 (vs S1RII) becomes an alternative for using it along E-mount... A strong minus for L-mount ecosystem without adapters to be compatible with.

In a lot that I've seen, they conclude in the end that the Alexa's picture is nicer, but not 20x nicer (or whatever the price multiple is). They're completely correct. If you're an owner-operator shooting corporate talking heads or weddings or short films with a budget of about $1k, you'd be crazy to buy an Alexa for it. On the other hand, if you're shooting a feature film with a budget of 200 million dollars and the cost for several Alexas is about 0.2% of your budget (as IronFilm pointed out), you're probably not thinking in terms of value, but about the "best" tool to create the image. Similarly, you'd be crazy to buy a 12-18 million dollar F1 racecar to commute to work. It's a terrible value compared to like, a Toyota Camry. But if you show up on the track at Interlagos on race day driving a Camry...

who gives a rats ass