Andrew Reid

Shooting with the new Sigma 45mm F2.8 for L-mount, I realised the same thing I did when I first shot anamorphic at F5.6. Beautiful rendering matters, not just wide open, but at slower apertures. This doesn't get enough attention! Sometimes I want to see that background, and not have it completely creamed out, but neither do I want to give up the '3D' look or beautiful out of focus rendering and fall-off. What is the best rendering lens at F4? I doubt you'll find answer on Google. Let's test.

The laptop screen is just an example, I am talking about shooting in a room with mixed light sources. Sony can't handle it. It is total shit. 8 years of fucking it up and still nobody fired.

To suggest Leica is putting a red dot on a Panasonic body may be right when it comes to the LX100 or lower-end, but the Leica SL / SL2 is a completely different thing. It may use the same sensor as the S1R and it may be a technical collaboration with Panasonic lending a few chips and programmers, but that really is where the similarity ends. S1R doesn't shoot 10bit or 5K for a start! And even if you consider it just a higher-end version of the S1R that is not even such a bad thing.

Try the old Canon 28-70mm F2.8 EF, it's parfocal and can be had for as little as £250 Best kept secret of the EF lenses this one is.

I am very interested in the new L mount Sigma lenses, that's the newly designed 24-70mm F2.8 in the Japanese video. Will definitely try and pick up one of those when it's available in the UK!

It's all a bit garish.

I think if Deakins was let down by his Alexa and dreadful skin tones, he'd consider it a big waste of time. And I think that way about Sony's cameras. A big waste of time. I can spend hours dialling in the right settings which look great for one subject, but awful for another. A7R IV is a camera that does well for landscapes, but naff for human subjects... And if you dial it in for skintones, suddenly you have problems elsewhere, or it lacks impact. The white balance system seems to use the sensor, it doesn't handle mixed light. If anyone can figure out how to stop it from making a 3200k lit interior look like Donald Trump's face when there is a 6500k laptop screen occupying 1/100th of the shot, please write the answer below.

$180 for 50,000 views This cow is sponsored to the hind legs. Does he declare it on the videos? If not, it's breaking the law.

Looks like a worst case scenario because he has it on the end of a 200mm lens or something. Would like to see a test in the different modes, at 4K/60p RS should be less for example. He doesn't say what mode the clip comes from, could be 4K/24p It might be that RS has gone up in that mode, due to the sensor being the same as the 1D X Mark II, with expanded readout. Image processor probably the main change. Remember 1D X Mark II could already do 4K/60p in 1.4x crop CameraLabs is not a good source for video info BTW. So take his observations on video with a heavy pinch of salt.

Thanks for your observations. I have some related ones. 1) The build quality is indeed very good. It feels like a £5300 camera, but in the way a classic sports-car feels expensive, not in the way of an expensive utility vehicle that takes knocks. That is the S1. A work tool. This is more something you look after, if you get what I mean? 2) I prefer the SL2 menu, ergonomics and tactile feeling to the S1. That is just my opinion though, others will differ! 3) No it is definitely not a sports camera. SL2 is a manual focus camera for me. AF is very fast for stills with the Panasonic S lenses, but not reliable. It is similar to the S1 in that respect. I cannot for example shoot through a glass window, if it has so much as a spec of dust on the window, the AF system will focus on the glass rather than the landscape behind it.... To name just ONE example. And in video mode it is barely usable. The AF system at Panasonic and Leica needs a total overhaul, phase-detect AF. 4) See 3! 5) There are some missing features, I expect they'll add these in a firmware update. The original SL got quite a lot of features added later. 6) Personally I prefer the much slimmer body of the SL2. The grip is very good for heavy lenses. 7) Agree on the Leica colour science. It is probably the best I've ever seen. Very important to the film look. 8 ) Of course in stills mode the Z7 and SL2 share a similar sensor. If you look on DXOMark the 46MP sensor in the SL2, D850 and Z7 is at the top so hard to see what could be improved, aside from going to medium format. In video mode it's a different story. 10bit on the SL2 and far more codec options. ALL-I, 5K anamorphic 4:3, etc. Also built in L-LOG profile and I feel the low light performance is better, noise grain is more film-like, and of course again colours are better. The SL2 has many other advantages over the Z7. The body is totally a different experience, unique on the market today, the EVF is spectacular, manual focus is peerless, don't even need peaking or magnification half the time I am using it with M lenses, responsiveness is great, the user profiles are super handy, to switch modes at press of a button, no consumer junk on the body, no mode dial, dual card slots, all in all I don't think the SL2 lacks for anything apart from the AF, and some kind of 8K full pixel readout. The image in full frame is super detailed but is occasionally aliasing prone with a very sharp lens and hard black lines on white background... like a test chart... rarely on a real subject but occasionally the tiny high frequency, hard contrast lines appear on clothing or buildings. And also the IBIS, rolling shutter, dynamic range, all super.

The attention seeking, race for sensations, lifestyle vlogs, all that has somehow crept into many of the channels about enthusiast and artistic subjects. I don't think it makes a very good bedfellow to the arts. If you are constantly going bigger, bigger, more more more, I think it is greed, always looking over one's shoulder at a competitor or another youtuber and trying to outdo them for attention. I am not against spending lots and lots of money on camera gear, I do it myself. But I am against the internet becoming a exclusive walled garden and a show-off's playground. It is also a very personal and persuasive form of 'consumer advice'... well, consumerism. I probably own 10 headphones due to one channel I liked, Z Reviews. He was charismatic, knew his stuff, an incredible enthusiast. but the HYPE... oh the hype. Then you see the comments under it, all backing him up and saying, yeah, get this... get that... it is a recipe for bankrupting your audience. It gets boring fast, all this hype. If every release, every week, every day, is AMAZING then it becomes monotonous. I'd prefer to see a more level headed approach but still with the HYPE and excitement - only when justified. Just turn the fucking dial down a bit, pleeeeease.

One of the best YouTube channels I know An interesting experiment

Pro Color nearly ready for the A7R IV / A6400 and it might include a handy Creative Style this time which works on some Sony cameras without picture profiles (*cough* A9 *cough*). Will reveal all next week. The white balance system Sony is using baffles me. You have so much as a slither of different temperature light source in the frame and starts going wobbly adjusting for that, wreaking the dominant light temperature in the scene. The Leica SL2 is an Alexa for colour. In 10bit L-LOG you can apply the Alexa LOG to Rec.709 profile in Premiere and it is 100% perfect. No secret there who Leica are working with on their colour science. So I started by matching the A7R IV to the SL2 and I think I have made some progress. If Sony does not dust off their old Minolta / A900 colour science soon, I am going to be very rich. Apart from the same old dreadful white balance and uninspired picture profiles, it's a great camera!

Must be some very wealthy sponsors involved, most artists I know don't have 1 million dollars a year to spend on stuff they don't actually need. So if we are seeing extreme gentrification of the internet, with nothing but hipsters, then count me out.

Look at the amount of money on screen here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJe8uQhM2G4jJFRWiM89Wg/videos I am not making any comment on the quality of the channel, clearly people like his content. I might even like it. Haven't watched any yet. But what is amazing is the relentlessness and the amount of money in the gear he has used in just 1 month. - C500 II - Macbook Pro 16" - EOS R and new RF Speed Booster - Arri Alexa (a snip at $6000) - Mavo LF - 90D - Insta360 - Moment anamorphic And that is just in 1 month, a little under 1 month in fact. Hardly anyone can compete with this relentless pace. And even fewer can afford to. It looks like the doors are swinging closed to YouTube as we speak.

Cinema5D buried their test for 6 months and now we know why https://***URL not allowed***/ursa-mini-pro-4-6-g2-vs-g1-dynamic-range-and-latitude-test/ How is it nearly 13 stops dynamic range when the image falls apart and goes green when pushed up 3 stops Not only does it look worse than the old G1 camera, probably worse than the new 6K Pocket as well, although that camera has its own issues to say the least.

I liked the D750 in 2014. A7S had more features for video but D750 had better quality 1080/60p in full frame mode, better stills and nicer colour. D780 does have a few advantages over Z6. Body won't feel like a consumer toy at least. 2 card slots. Maybe better AF with Nikon F lenses in video mode compared to the hit and miss FTZ adapter. In fact Z6 was hit and miss in stills for AF as well, not quite pro. Nikon should get 10bit N-LOG internal sorted though and stop dicking around with HDMI. At least do it over USB C. Come on Atomos, drop HDMI, it's 2020.

Seems a similar tech to the FS5 e-ND. The question is... Why isn't it more widespread by now.

No didn't say improved over A7 III. I am just continuing to call it very good IBIS, because that's what it is. That said it is not THE best. S1, S1H, S1R, Leica SL2, GH5, E-M1 II all have more effective IBIS. I can shoot handheld with 85mm F1.4 at 1/8 on the Leica SL2 and get pin sharp 46MP results. I do like the A7R IV, just wish Sony would rip out the entire UI and start again. Their 2008 cameras were better. I should know. I own an A900! Should write a blog post about it. A900 was a joy to use. Responsive. No fuss. Superb menus and Minolta colour science. The A7R IV for me will be my main E-mount camera and autofocus cam. The Leica SL2 though will be my main filmmaking and manual focus lens camera, inc. anamorphic. The S1H although amazing, lacks that Leica charm and minimalism. It's like a computer. And Sony even doesn't know what charm is. I am sure the A7S III will be a monster on the specs sheet. Looking forward to the new codec. But like I said, it's no Leica.

The only tool here is Peter McKinnon thinking he needs a 2400Mbit codec for YouTube vlogs.

Ha ha very nice Sony, now get back to work https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51015921

And it's not all about specs of course... Colour science, form factor, EVF, usability, menus... Sony is improving in all these areas but biggest advantage they have now is the mirrorless form factor. I'd rather have a 1D X Mark III with an articulated screen, E-mount and smaller body than I would in the EF mount DSLR mould although I see why some people still enjoy that. You can argue that even the larger mirrorless cams like S1 and S1H are unnecessarily bulky and heavy. I like the balance Sony has found with the A7R IV and improved body feel - larger grip, better dials and buttons. Wow, never thought I'd praise a Sony for the ergonomics. Shame the menus and general screen / live-view operability is still shit. Who wants a focus magnification button in playback mode that crops in 1000% and you have to slowly wheel your way back out. Little stupid things like this that Sony still does and Canon does not.

That is a good way to put it, and I stand corrected on the price because it is actually a rip off £6500 in the UK, not £5500 https://www.wexphotovideo.com/canon-eos-1d-x-mark-iii-digital-slr-camera-body-1727870/ That is eye watering in 2020 when you can get an S1 for £1700 or S1H for £3500. So nice try Canon. Come back when you have these video specs in a mirrorless camera for $2000 to rival Panasonic and Sony.

Not sure about 1.3x? Same crop as 1D X II so more like 1.4x in DCI 4K and 1.5x in UHD Shame no DPAF in the highest quality 60fps modes. Does it work in 5K RAW at all? 24p? So a bit crippled, but the main thing that cripples this camera is the DSLR form factor. We are way beyond it. 1D X II came out in 2016, and by 2019 was worth just £2500. So hopefully, many more of us can pick up the Mark III in 2022 or something used, when it will make more sense. I am not shelling out £5500+ for a DSLR and £1000 for some cards, no matter how good that codec is. In the Leica SL2 I have 5 axis IBIS better than Sony, killer codec and colour science, amazing EVF, Leica's sleek body and minimalist controls, 4K/60p, 5.5K anamorphic and internal 10bit LOG for that price, and no need to buy expensive CF Express cards. When I need to dabble in 4K with autofocus, I can switch to A7R IV. Both these cameras shoot arguably better stills than the 1D X III although personally most of the time I am usually as happy with 20MP as I am with 60MP... Landscape shots and cropping benefit enormously from the higher resolution hybrid cameras. And when I want 1800Mbit 4K RAW files, I turn to the bargain Sigma Fp. It is good though that Canon seem now to be abandoning their 'lets piss off every video user all the time' strategy with their stills cameras. Bodes well for next EOS R.

* 13 mins is for 5.5K RAW 60p, yes the 24p will give you more time on a card... still expensive though to get through a shoot with 1800Mbit to some of the most expensive cards on the market. In my opinion yes there are, and they are cheaper. Panasonic S1 gives you 1D X Mark III rivalling codec and image quality for around $2k (with V-LOG update). Although none of them marry 4K 60p 10bit full frame with Dual Pixel AF, they are better in other areas. Principal one being usability and feature-set. Yes you can argue Canon has made the first 4K/60p/10bit/full frame/DPAF camera and those are all headline features, if you wanted all that on a Panasonic or Sony you may have to wait another year or 2. Panasonic S1H however does all the 10bit 4K stuff better aside from FF 60p and the AF...But it is $3.5K and Netflix approved, the image is blazing a trail. This has advantage of IBIS and an EVF too, as well as articulated screen and more adaptable lens mount, cheaper media costs, more options. Leica SL2 is a sexier camera to use, sex on legs, sexier than anything I have personally handled It offers full frame (well, near full frame 1.1x crop) 4K/60p in 8bit and 4K/24p full frame 10bit ALL-I 400Mbit. No RAW but an extensive feature set - very in-depth. Like a supercharged S1R for video. A7R IV is a contender for hybrid stills / video use. The stills side is beyond compare, 60 megapixels, cutting edge AF, large EVF and very good IBIS... although not as steady as Leica SL2 or S1H. Remember the A7S III is on the horizon which is likely to give you the full frame 10bit 4K 60p for $3k mark along with Canon beating AF... Canon 1D X Mark III might be short lived at the top for people who want 4K/60p/DPAF and RAW.