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None of the ^above^ just no harm/enjoyment in considering alternative options. Same as if I owned a Porsche, - wouldn't stop me looking at the latest Aston on-line, at a car show or simply parked up in the street and then wishing I had a bigger garage. And bank balance. I sometimes look at multi-million currency yachts and houses I will never own, plus more affordable ones I could if I wished. Call it an 'enthusiasm for the industry as a whole'.

I miss the year when you could scroll through that list and read 'LUMIX S1H' and shout, "get in there son!" Maybe one day (year) we will see LUMIX or more likely Nikon in the list...

So the forum is pretty good at the moment thanks to some spicy discussions, it would be boring if we all agreed all the time, but I also think we should encourage people to come back - big names from before like Mattias Burling , Dave Maze, they are missed. Maybe we could occasionally drop them a note to say so. I can't promote the forum myself, it just looks like I am spamming people with my blog. Maybe that's where you all come in 🙂 Would some of you be willing to post a few links here and there in popular Reddit groups, on DPReview and on social media groups? It would supercharge the place and get us noticed more... Then we'd have some great discussions with new people, and regain some control over the camera community in an independent way, rather than everything being hoovered up by the big US social media giants who are opening supporting a fascist regime at the moment. Never been a better moment to get our independence back from social media. Mark Zuckenberg and those like him are pure evil. The forum way is a better way. It offers everyone here a higher profile and higher involvement. The better our content, the better the discussions, the more people will come... I know a lot of forum posts have to reference other people's talking point or content, so a topic can devolve into lots and lots of URLs to social media, or YouTube video embeds. But rather than have rules around this, which I don't want to do, it would be great if we could encourage people to join who will use the forum a bit like having their own blog - Posting original hands-on opinions and content about cameras and shooting... Our own insight is better than constantly referring to that of others - It would be good for the community. Just some thoughts and open to more ideas too about how to grow this rather nice place that we've got.

I wonder if Panasonic's collaboration with ARRI means we'll see a resurgence in popularity in Panasonic mirrorless being used. It's a smart move by both Panasonic and ARRI. For obvious reasons by Panasonic, but it helps out ARRI too. At the moment it's too easy to go with VENICE as your A Cam, and be able to use FX6/FX3/FX30 cameras as chash cams, or even a B Cam. Or if you need to go do a week of pick up shots, but you're running out of budget, it's no big deal to use a FX9/FX6 instead, or even slum it with a FX3/FX30. Does ARRI have these easy options? Not really. If you've been shooting with an ARRI 35 then what is your crash cam? Or a B Cam on the cheap? Ok, you might say "BMD Pyxis" or whatever, but that then introduces new workflow hassles you have to be careful about. It's not quite as seamless as Sony's ecosystem. What if you need to run out of funds and need to do pick up shots for a week, what will you use? Get an old ARRI Alexa Classic on the cheap? But that requires a fairly substantial supporting crew... if only you'd shot on a VENICE you could now be grabbing quickly the shots on a FX6! Thanks to the ARRI / Panasonic collaboration then a lot more people will be seriously thinking about Panasonic for crash cams / C cams / etc, and feeling more confident in shooting on ARRI on a shoestring budget knowing it will be relatively seamlessly easy to do pick up shots on a Panasonic if the worst happens and they run out of funds. Also for ultra low budget shoots, where you think you might be doing post in house, thus it could be argued "it doesn't matter" what camera you are shooting with, as whatever quirks the workflow has then you have the dedication to iron out the kinks, but.... what if you have hopes and aspirations that maybe you'll get an injection of funds so you can the finishing touches done by a proper Post House? It's going to be a lot easier if only you'd gone with say a Sony FX6/FX3/FX30 than if you were using a Nikon Z6mk2 / Fujifilm X-T3 / Panasonic S1H / whatever. So likewise they might now be giving more serious consideration to say a Panasonic GH7 over a FX3/FX30.

No body comment on the Gopro? Maybe I should have use Gopro instead of Pana for the upcoming docu I m shooting

I think it just confirms the on-going trend that in the broadcast/videography world Sony is the leader with Canon still present but trailing behind. Panny, Nikon & Fuji are so far behind they're basically absent although that could potentially shift in years to come. I've noticed the Sony dominance within my own local docu/concert/event scene. Its to the point where if you don't show up with Sony gear, people look at you funny. If you want work in that scene you basically just gotta be a Sony operator. I'm not sure how to explain it other than Sony FX ecosystem is really popular and yeah they have a head start with a FF range from A7 to FX3 to FX9. Also the A7S3/FX3/FX6 sensor is a lowlight champ with super low rolling shutter which helps a lot for run & gun docu style work. Also S-Log3 is kind of the standard in production houses. C-log is acceptable too. Other log formats can be problematic to hand in. For example I haven't even figured out how to expose/grade Nlog correctly so it would be complicated to send N-log footage to a post unit not familiar with it. Might sound silly but its workflow stuff like that that can dictate a brand/format choice from another.. and part of why ARRI dominates the cine world.

The void gap that can be filled is business talk. I fear it is too tech / creative oriented. And the business side is ignored. Openly communicating about prices/locations/jobs seems a bit taboo at times. While that part is the part that feeds their kids( most important. ) and I feel most creatives arent naturally gifted in that division.

I think all needs can be broken down into 3 cameras. So first we have a do-it-all high spec camera, such as EOS R5 II or Nikon Z8, Panasonic S1R II or Sony a1. If your client is asking for 4K/120p you'll be able to deliver. If your creative endeavor needs 8K and so on... Or you just want the absolute maximum image quality for $3k+ But second we must have an art camera. That's for taking on trips and personal strolls around town, bit of street photography but high fun factor, unique ergonomics, plus good enough video to capture nice 4K in low light, perhaps with decent autofocus. I'm thinking Fuji X-Pro3, Sigma BF or Fp-L or Fuji X100 VI. If you don't care about video on this camera then Sony RX1R is a lovely walk-around artistic camera with a high fun factor. Then third we absolutely do need a high-end smartphone camera. Of course 3 doesn't cut it for a lot of professional work situations, so your choices might vary! But these I reckon are the main categories. Just depends on price. You can get a good high spec work camera for much less than $3k like the Fuji X-H2S. If I were to add a fourth category it would be a medium format camera, such as the GFX 50R, GFX 100 or a Hasselblad. But so far I have about 25 categories in reality... High-spec all-rounder (Z8, EOS R5, GFX 100) Art cameras (Sigma Fp-L, X100 VI, Sony RX1) Retro digicams (Powershot G6, and about 500 others) CCD cameras (Olympus E300, E-1, Hasselblad H3D II Kodak 39 megapixel and others) Foveon cameras (Sigma Merrill stuff) Infrared modded cameras (in my case took the IR cut out of my RX100 IV and Panasonic GX80) Impulse buy cameras Cameras I have bought twice Cameras bought to sell for a profit Latest cheap camera that I end up not needing DSLRs DSLRs with Magic Lantern Raw Video Sony E-mount cameras for Leica AF adapters Zoomy cameras with fixed zoom lens (FZ1000) Broken cameras I am trying to fix at the moment Run & gun shot getters with a smol sensor (Nikon V2) Cameras with a CD drive (Sony Mavica) And compacts with a flash and CCD sensor for the Polaroid look I am forgetting anything?

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.

um... huh. Unsure what to make of this.

So meanwhile let's look at what that means in the real world away from pixel peeping tests and number of stops. 14.2 stops so you can get an unusably bad image 5 stops under exposed? Or does it have a genuinely big creative impact / image quality benefit. After all it is "class leading above all other mirrorless cameras" so it must be pretty special and not just 1% better dynamic range than a 3 year old Nikon Z9, right? And just because it has 1% more "test setup" dynamic range does not make it a better mirrorless camera than the Nikon Z8, because it's a lot more expensive than one for a start and with a far worse range of native lenses, and a less flexible system mount. I do like the sRAW codec for 4K/60p, smaller file sizes, huge EVF, and the body design is a decent evolution from the original. But the DR and C-LOG2... Meh. Many more important things to consider overall like the system mount, codecs, handling, prices used and new, and so on.

Current setup for work: Panasonic S5iix, S5ii, S1H, Osmo Pocket 3, and an S1Rii once it's out. I'll downsize a bit once I have it. I've always liked having two cameras that perfectly match and then one or two more that can easily match for bigger shoots. Although, it's much easier to match any modern camera than in years past. The vast majority of my shoots are just one or two cameras: two for interviews, one for b-roll. For personal stuff: iPhone 15 Pro. Occasionally I'll use one of my Panny's for this. I've gotten hugely into film again lately. My collection has kinda exploded in short order. Nikon F100, Nikon FE2, Leica M6, Voigtlander Bessa R2, and I just added a Fuji GW690iii. Shooting film has really reignited a dormant part of my creative brain. The limitations of not having the capacity of 3000 photos on an SD card or being able to preview and immediately review my photos has been such a great exercise for my creativity.

Me also. I have 3 problems with the cinema these days and they are: 1. In the UK, they seem to be full of people who talk, scroll on their phones (distracting flashing lights in the dark) and munch munch munch munch munch relentlessly and the sound of other people eating is not a pleasant ASMR. 2. In France (where I live), about 1 in every 20 screenings, they offer a VO option (version originale) for language and being a Brit, of course I don't want to watch a movie dubbed into French. These screenings are usually pretty low attended...which is good, but they insist on adding sub titles in French and that is extremely distracting because you can't help but read them. Or you are focusing so hard on trying not see them...which is impossible. 3. The majority of movies released these days are shit. I don't know if it's due to the Covid years, the strikes, tastes or whether the market simply demands dumb stupid shit, but most of the movie posters even look like those stupid juvenile YouTube thumbnails. I don't expect every movie to be made for me or be highbrow or a cinematic masterpiece, but for every movie released these days that I might be interested in, there's about 20 series I can find. And I don't have to go out to watch with French subtitles. Mrs SMW is ging to the UK for a weeks as of tomorrow morning so I am temporarily regaining full control of the remote and the first thing I am going to watch (rewatch) is Ripley on Netflix. Best thing I have seen on that channel. Then I am going to rewatch 'Tales From The Loop' on Prime as I especially enjoyed the cinematography of that one.

I'll send you my bank details so you can transfer the funds. Let me know when they have done that and I will confirm receipt and then once I have purchased and had a play with the new cam, I'll let you know my thoughts 😉

Sure, Sony lens lineup a decade ago wasn't nearly as complete in pricing & range as was EF. Sony has done a great job building its lens collection with the help of Zeiss, Sigma, Tamron etc. Not to mention all the esoteric/anamorphic E-mount lenses from boutique companies. Today DSLR lenses like EF aren't nearly as popular due to size, weight & poor video AF performance. The C70 wasn't that overpriced in the sense that its an actual cine camera with pro I/O, ND filters, large battery etc. It also had a pretty singular DGO sensor from the top of the line C300 mk3. FX3 was basically a rehoused A7S3. The main issue is that C70 was RF S35 but with zero APS-C RF lenses so you had to get the speed booster to adapt old EF glass. Really convoluted approach.. C80 is what it should have been from the start. Still for solo docu work I'd take a C70/C80 over an FX3 for the NDs, internal RAW, battery life & I/Os. You'd have to step up to FX6 for a fair comparison. FX3's competition is R5C.

Nothing against students but you can tell they are part-timers at MPB.

Bo Burnham filmed his Netflix comedy special "Inside" on the S1H, too. Yeah, by the time they released the C70 (for $5500) the landscape had radically changed. It was only three months later that Sony released the FX3 for $1600 less than the C70 and 18 months later that they released the FX30. Unless you were a loyal Canon user there weren't many reasons to buy one of their overpriced cinema cameras when there were more affordable and, arguably, better options. If Canon had released the C70 for $3500 things might be a bit different today.

I fully agree the lack of RF cameras and lenses does harm Canon both now and recently. But the big shift over from Canon to Sony happened in the 2010's, and I think back then the lens/camera mount was less of a big deal. In fact arguably Canon's EF mount was a "strength" of Canon, on their side. (and I'd say is linked to why they were then so slow to transition away from EF, which is not to their detriment)

One things no one has mentioned yet is Autofocus. FX6 and a couple of FX3’s make a pretty solid doc package on the cheap and might be able to eliminate 1-2 crew members/operators if depending on AF for talking heads and run and gun stuff. I’ve missed a few big shots on the GH5 on interviews using manual lenses. I was in a contrasty low light situation and thought I was ok with the focus range to be able to lock off a second angle on he GH5. I didn’t notice that the talent had adjusted their chair forward and about 20 min into the interview I looked over to see a soft image on the monitor and cursed myself for missing it. That would have surely been saved with Sony AF on the FX3. Same with AF for gimbal work replacing more expensive steady cam stuff with a 2nd AC operating a FIZ. The FX6 can be built up into a good looking full size camera to impress clients meanwhile the small size of the FX3’s can be used like @IronFilm mentioned as crash cams or car mounted stuff. Good rolling shutter and low light performance along with small travel bags for airplanes makes it all a pretty solid setup.

I think a big part of why Canon lost to Sony in the low/mid segment is the change of mount & lenses. Canon were super slow to update their cine line to RF and still have this problem were only C70/C80 are RF and the rest is EF. On the Sony side its just E-mount through & through for over a decade. This consistency makes it a lot stronger to build and invest in the ecosystem. Not to mention RF mount has almost no S35 lenses and is closed to third-parties. That whole strategy just backfired on them big time imo. I still like Canon cameras and lenses but it's a much weaker ecosystem than Sony. Now Nikon have a chance to enter this market with Z-mount RED/Nikon cine line. Fuji are attempting with the Eterna but I feel that's going to flop, should have gone with a Fuji X APS-c sensor like the one inside XH2S.

Having no 4K60P really killed C300MK2, its pretty much DOA Same for C200 with no 10bit and TC, dumb move C100 MK II have no 4K, that is really start of the fall It was around that time I got the FS5/A7S/A7RII, a really nice set for slow mo/4K/AF and keep size reasonable small... while if you go Canon most of them only have 1080P except 1DC

Exactly. This chart is no surprise to me whatsoever. I've been saying for years on EOSHD that Sony is dominating in the low / mid budget professional market. (with some exceptions for particular niches or parts of the world) Basically ages ago then C300mk1 dominated the low / mid budget professional market (with the C100 mk1 / mk2 or even the 5D mk2/mk3 or similar being the even cheaper options people would do if a C300mk1 was out of reach). The Sony FS700 struggled to be as popular for various reasons, really only finding a thriving niche as being the #1 go to option for low budget slow motion shoots. (is why I'd even sometimes see both a FS700 and a C300 on a shoot, with the bulk being on a C300 but some specialist shots with the FS700). Plus there was the Sony PMW-F3, a fantastic camera, but in pure sales number it just couldn't compete against the much cheaper C300mk1. Or the cheap FS100, likewise when the street price of the FS100 and C100 are so close together, then almost nobody is going to be choosing the FS100 over the C100mk1! (although by mid 2010's Sony had aggressively dropped the street price of the FS100) So Canon really had a lock on the low/mid budget market. (although yeah, the C500mk1 was a bit of a failure to truly launch, ditto the C700 at the end of the 2010's) But once the Sony FS7 launched in the mid 2010's then it was almost "game over" for Canon, as the FS7 was so very far ahead of the competition, it wasn't even close. By the time the C300mk2 was released the FS7 already had a substantial lead, but perhaps Canon's huge market presence with the C300mk1/C100 means it could have caught up? But the C300mk2 was priced quite a bit higher than the FS7, and it just wasn't beating the FS7 in specs by enough to justify its price (heck, in some ways the FS7 was better than the C300mk2. Such as Sony still remained the best option for slow motion). The C300mk2 simply couldn't overcome both the early lead the FS7 had built up and it's handicap of being double the price! wtf Eventually Canon did bring down the price down by a lot to be kinda closer to the FS7, but by then it was too little, too late. And as more time went by, Sony just further fleshed out their ecosystem, with the FS5 (a cut down FS7, not perfect, but a very reasonable Sony alternative for the C100 crowd), the a7S series, and even the VENICE above it on the higher end. What was Canon doing? The C700 was a flop. C500mk2 came out very late in this product cycle (more like a FX9 competitor? Kinda, they both launched roughly at the same time). The C200? An interesting but kinda flawed product (no TC?? No 10bit 4K???). & Canon didn't have a response to the a7S series during this time period either. It's no surprise that Sony so dominantly ran away with the low/mid budget professional market. Eventually in the 2020's then Canon came out with quite nice cameras like the C300mk3/C400/C70/C80/R5C, but after giving away most of the 2010's to Sony to do as they wish, it's a nearly impossible uphill battle on their hands that Canon has.

https://a.co/d/9Sdo13M here’s the Amazon US link. It’s from Tarion, which has mostly been in the lower end tripod and lighting market until late it seems. I’m hoping to put together a longer written or video review soon. It’s pretty sturdy; I’d compare it with the construction of a very well made child stroller like one from Baby Jogger. I realize that comparison won’t land with many folks, but if you know strollers, you know that’s pretty high praise. It’s very sturdy for what it is, but there is a bit more play to things than a fully metal Innovativ cart, but it also weighs far less. It’s excellent off road on frozen New York ground, wood, cement, and pavement. I haven’t yet taken it into loose gravel or stone, but I imagine the 9” pneumatic tires would handle it just as well as any other. On the whole, I think it’s the right cart for me. Solo operator with mirrorless cameras and several 100-500w lights and smaller grip equipment. It allows me to load in all (or the vast majority) of the gear I need for most shoots and importantly gives me a nice working area up top. I drive a Ford Explorer, so I have room for gear, but not much room for a big cart. The small-ish folded footprint of this works well for me. Let me know if you have any specific questions!

Events are my bread and butter and they are dominated by Sony. I really don't know many Canon video users outside of corporate shooters, where the C70 is a big hit with them. A friend of mine is also using C100s and I got to use them again recently, which reminded me how much I loved that camera and wanted to get one so bad for the longest time! But here, at least in the northeast, Sony really has taken over from my experience. Meanwhile I'm over here trying to do all of it with my Lumix cameras! Haha!

I've put three chat sticky threads up to talk about 3 quite different subjects. This is for when we just want to chat and talk general things.

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 knew I'd forgotten someone. Hasselblad should expand the line-up, the current choice of two cameras is a bit naff. X-Pan digital would sell like Russian oil to Trump. DJI are perfectly placed to do a hybrid mirrorless camera as well.

I kind of agree but also am personally somewhat wary when it comes down to too much personal detail as to what, how and how much. You never know just who is reading... Information can be taken and used against people/businesses in an underhand manner and I have had this 4 or 5 times in my career, and those are just the times I aware of! In my specific case...not that I wish this to be about me, but to emphasis the point, I have worked my nuts off for over a decade to achieve something in the marketplace that does not really exist, even today. I get self-entitled folks directly holding out their hands for an info dump (seriously such as, "you don't know me, but here are 10 fundamental questions relating to your business I would like answering" and then get all offended when you politely decline) and others slightly less direct but still fishing, usually as seemingly genuine, but fake enquiries that then have a question and then another and then 2 more and then...but I spotted them well before that stage. I won't even reveal the true nuts & bolts to a paying client. And paying clients never ask anyway. But anyway, there are a few here and potentially for the future that can or will only share to a point, especially if a competitor could say, "thanks very much, I shall take that and set up shop on your doorstep for 25% less". There are others who might wish to share but also wish to remain anonymous so their 'celebrity' status keeps things more grounded. So I can understand the reluctance of some, many even to discuss anything of this nature beyond a certain point. I wish it were otherwise, but that's my experience. It's a dog eat dog world!

Great idea! @Andrew Reid There are so many cool people I enjoyed to interact with on this forum. So many cool posts. I would love some of the older discussions to be continued and new topics to be explored in the Eoshd spirit we all cherish. We could share more of the cool findings and lens explorations and footage like we have been doing in the past. My Konica 35-100mm F2.8 needs to be showcased or my 16mm lens set which has been in use for the SI2K from Pillefilm in Cologne until they quit business three years ago and so on. Sharing footage has become less pleasant though with all that datamunching these days, especially when it comes to footage with people and family. It's a challenge we are facing. In addition to the fact that vimeo as we know it has practically dissolved. Maybe i should get a dog like gunpowder which people might enjoy to see being filmed, of course only until @Mattias Burling is coming back. Since we are at it, I would love to see @Ed David swinging a Cinealta F3 around again with his Libatique handheld camera skills. Like said, great idea, Andrew. Maybe another 8bit challenge would be lovely too. Ed David putting the internal 8bit Slog of the F3 to a test. I could do the same. Anyone still with a C100 or og C300 around?:)

I want to see Facebook groups die a death. Let's get the good folk on those groups to come here instead.

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 🙂

The thing I don’t get… and mind you, I work as a 1st AC… even if you’re mostly technically minded, and interested primarily in the technical aspects of cameras, there is still a LOT more to that that Gerald doesn’t get into. Especially with these hybrid cameras, what about rigging? Where are the cage reviews? Favorite top handles? Power distribution? Cable management? Back to the S1RII, honestly my main gripe with LUMIX is their slowness to create cameras that are *physically* geared towards filmmaking. I worked pretty hard on my S1H rig, I don’t think it could get better, and it’s still awkward. I’d rather have a Pyxis. But it’s a tool like anything else, and right now, the S1H is a good tool versus the cost of jumping to something else. I don’t want to rig a new hybrid mirrorless again.