Andrew Reid

Some interesting teardown shots in it!

It wasn't around in a camera in the 70s though was it. The patent isn't on the type of compression, it is the use of it in cameras! Much as it sucks we have to place most of the blame on companies like Sony who sat on their arse doing nothing for cinema or RAW codecs until it was too late and some sunglasses salesman had done it first. Again the patent isn't so broad, it applies to compressed RAW when it is recorded to solid state media not magnetic tape! It might be controversial but it isn't bullshit. If it were bullshit, they'd lose vs Apple's lawyers. RED were early out of the blocks with the RED ONE and compressed RAW. It was developed in 2005/2006 when the ALEXA didn't even exist and pros were shooting MiniDV tape!

It really does just look like every other camera out there. The content is all dross. Not a cinematic or emotional moment in any of it. Though of course that isn't the camera's fault is it? It is brash eye candy only fit for tv ads. I would expect the X-H2S's image to be very good but so is the EOS R5C, A7 IV, GH6, OM1, Fp, Fp-L, 1D C, NX1, XT-4, A7S III and so on. If it makes full use of the film simulations with ability to simulate grain styles like the Alexa 35 and has 14 stops dynamic range in 6K then I'll change my mind. Then it is progress! Otherwise it is merely another good offer in a sea of good offers, if you get what I mean.

Are you sure it is not just a broadcast safe range clipping problem in the NLE?

You do realise that dynamic range is about contrast don't you. Difference between lightest and darkest regions. His entire face is evenly lit, so you just need a strong ND and expose for the mids. Sorted.

The AF is fast as a whippet in good light and L-mount lens, but it's very variable! It is very unreliable with Canon lenses through MC-21 so not like a Sony in that regard. But it is a big step from the Fp when the conditions are right! I have a Panasonic 24-105mm S lens to play with so will give that a go on the Fp-L next. Here's where I think the main appeal of the Fp-L is though... 1 - Small manual focus lenses, with ability to crop into that enormous 9.5K full frame sensor... especially in 4K mode where resolution is pretty constant until over double your FOV. Handy to have a tiny 35mm F2 Leica M mount lens on there and use it like a pocket size 35-70mm F2! 2 - Landscape photography. Very nice results for that. Wider range of photography with artificial lights is a bit of a faff though because of the rolling shutter and banding under a lot of electric light sources. 3 - The Cinema DNG factor. In 8bit it can be a bit ropey in the highlights but the 12bit files are THICK. Also the full frame RAW stands up really well even though it is pixel binned from 9.5K, I can barely tell a difference to oversampled 4K. Aliasing is really well controlled and it doesn't lack detail! 4 - I think it appeals an upgrade from the original Fp if you liked that. It is a bit on the expensive side considering it is basically a different sensor in the same box, but I do think it is quite unique to have 12bit Cinema DNG (with an SSD) + 61 megapixel stills in one pocket size body running off a GH2 battery. Bit easier and cheaper than using a RED! 5 - The EVF is definitely a quality piece, but not a reason to get the Fp-L over original Fp since it now works with both. The viewfinder is massive and very high res.

Meanwhile Canon's version is 2500 euros! Any 16mm F2.8 zoom is going to take some serious glass, so these are not easy to make. I think it shows how much is going into the pockets of shareholders at the publicly listed companies vs private though. Sigma can do this kind of lens for 1600 euros less than a corporation. And they are making less of them too. Which means the profit margins at Canon / Sony / etc. are absolutely enormous and we're being seriously ripped off.

Do we really expect a company not to patent their invention and surrender billions of dollars to competitors? I am playing devils advocate here. If RED keeps winning the legal cases, you've got to assume their patent works. If the combined force of Apple and Sony can't overturn the RED patent you guys need to look at the US patent office and courts as they are the ones making the decisions, not the guy who invented lossless compressed REDcode.

It isn't harsh light on his face. It's soft and diffused. It's a bounce light, reflected fill light. It isn't direct sunlight. Whenever somebody says that a certain brand rather than a specific tool shows "nasty specular highlights on skin" that is almost certainly a red flag for bias on this forum. It doesn't, what's out there just looks like any old marketing shit so far. Could have been shot with practically any camera of the last 5 years. There is nothing that stands out as special in relation to the X-H2S and it all looks too clean and too digital. Plus it is on YouTube - where are the original files? Show me the original files from the X-H2S and then you will convince me if it is a step forward or pretty much the same as everything else.

It is all a bit shite.

To be honest I am not that impressed by 12:30. Everything is evenly lit, there's no contrast. It isn't a great test of dynamic range. Plus Kate Bush has really overdosed on the botox. 7:30 is just pointless eye candy with some smoke. Am I missing something? It isn't exactly Blade Runner is it?

The problem with all these adapters is they lack a clear setting and change colours & reflective surfaces. I would much prefer a digital alternative to filter glass!

Ah there's a new one? Completely missed that. Sucks having to buy a new lens though just for video AF.

I've not tried that. The Fringer was really good, the only viable one I've tried so far. As a side note, I've noticed the Metabones Speed Booster absolutely zaps along in all sorts of AF modes on the OM-1. Mega good.

My thoughts on the Fuji X-H2S https://www.eoshd.com/news/thoughts-on-the-impressive-fuji-x-h2s/ Did anyone spot a 4:3 anamorphic mode or is it just 3:2 open gate?

I would be ok with Nikon Z9 even if it shot uncompressed raw. Maybe 12bit, not 14 or 16 to save space. Maybe 2.35:1 aspect to save yet more space. And even 2.8K rather than 4K to save yet more file size. Then a Nikon app for Mac & PC which turns it into compressed RAW off-camera so you're not filling terabytes of expensive SSDs with bloated uncompressed RAW files. Hopefully Nikon can be smart and creative about this if they lose the lawsuit. And get BRAW in there ASAP too.

Nothing makes me happier than calling out their bullshit.

Not surprising to me that Blackmagic refuses to fix a camera when it is a day older than 12 months. They are an awful company to deal with if you have a problem. They will throw it back to you and sometimes even put the blame on you. That's just my experience but heard similar from a lot of other people as well.

It may sound excessively broad now, but someone has to be first with the round wheels and going over 50mph. Not defending RED, just think there is probably a valid reason why Graeme's work keeps beating a lot of big companies in expensive patent lawsuits. Where was the almighty Sony in 2005 with their lossless compressed RAW codec?

Of course that's part of it, but you also need a generally dumbed down society like ours is becoming, and millions of willing participants. Oh dear we are taking pot shots at me now I see. I haven't been very active in 2020,21 and so far 22 has been building up well to shooting more in Berlin, but like many other people I am not at the top of my game after the global pandemic of 20-22 and it will take years to get back to full motivation with new collaborators in this new phase of life and of my career. 12 years is a long time to be shooting and doing what is just one long project, EOSHD. Especially when the audience is as thick and as nasty as people like you, who don't appreciate it even after 12 years and even though they take advantage of the knowledge on this site and of others on this forum. By the way I don't seek the great guru Gerald's work. If he did some commercial shoots I couldn't care less about watching it. I just question why he hasn't even got a single photo to his name let alone a video. It is deeply disturbing to me. Because you would think a camera expert would be interested in actually using cameras. When he has finished making money from YouTube reviews, it is sad to think all these cameras, lenses and hundreds of accessories just get boxed up and sent away or put on a shelf. That is bizarre to me that someone with privileged access to $100,000s in equipment literally has zero interest in using any of it! I am not even expecting a movie from the guy, anything will do - any evidence whatsoever of a talent, stills or moving, maybe not even evidence of a talent but at least the willingness to try shooting at all. He just doesn't seem to be motivated. Or willing to even bother, and that is a major red flag for me when it comes to a supposed "guru" of filmmaking tools. So that willingness is not there, the bare minimum of images from him aren't there most likely because he makes his living selling cameras to gullible sheep like you instead. It's a far more lucrative line of business. If you want to know just how gullible the masses are, go and look at Steve Huff's pivot to the paranormal world of complete bullshit, and see how that is doing in terms of the subscriber numbers and viewing figures versus camera reviews. We're talking 13 million plays on a single video. iPhone app sales likely in the tens of millions of dollars. This is the sort of bollocks people like you would probably consider a "success". Whereas I see it as a symptom of a horrible cultural disease. Oh you agree with me. OK. You had me confused there for a moment. I would agree 110% with you on that, but do tell me what have you done exactly to push back against people like Bloom, as there are a lot of them in particular hiding in plain sight all over social media and YouTube, especially in the narcissistic ego driven world of filmmaking and photography. Collective Western society has decided that an entire economic system should reward the marketeers and salesman turned 'content creators' instead of artists and filmmakers. And the theatres are full of franchises and Disney shit for the basic bitch general public. I just sense from you a kind of resigned acceptance and at the same time kicking me for good measure, claiming you can't find what you imagine I seek from Gerald or whatever. 9.5K sensor in the Fp-L. 1.3x crop mode is a full pixel readout from 7K (approx.) crop of the sensor. The camera supersamples 4K RAW data from this 7K RAW data to give us more RAW data. DCI 4K 12bit Cinema DNG RAW to be exact. This RAW video format is not debayered or compressed. It is stored as RAW pixel values when it hits the card as Cinema DNG. So yes it's real RAW. At 9.5K full frame it pixel-bins. That's real RAW as well. Any more questions?

Not in the slightest bit surprising to me. There is a big market for consumer advice and shopping television. Why would I be jealous of a shopping television presenter masquerading as a filmmaking guru? Not jealous of Bloom the narcissist personality disorder Sky cameraman either in case you're wondering.

Yes please would be great to see some samples from the Z9, especially RAW. Shoot it whilst you still can and before RED comes and takes it away 😉

Yeah, it's a really good sensor. The reason I went for the Fp-L over something like an S1R is as follows: Storage is getting cheaper and M1 Pro absolutely flies in Resolve now. I will jump back on the Uncompressed RAW 4K wagon. 500GB T5 SSD cost me £59 brand new. The Fp cages and SSD mounts are really small and light. The 61 megapixel sensor is a step up from the S1R sensor which is already cutting edge. If you don't mind a slight 1D-C style crop to APS-H (1.3x) you get an oversampled 7K image in RAW video mode up to 30p. That's going to look very nice in 12bit Cinema DNG. Better than BRAW. Real RAW. Huge sensor. So a clear upgrade from the original Fp which was pixel binning the RAW from 6K. It is tiny, with an EVF and runs off a GH2 battery. Can't say the same about RED or Blackmagic stuff!

Audiences also decide they want 40 showings a day of Marvel tripe at the cinema. "The individual doesn't get to decide?" That is pure nonsense and is like saying I shouldn't have an opinion because he's popular. He is basically a marketing guy. If you want to look to a marketeer product salesman as the ultimate authority on filmmaking tools that's your choice. I think it is a slap in the face to all the better qualified people who actually shoot, when the audience is obsessed with social media influencers. I also can't stand the way Philip Bloom comments on every video, and Gerald pins it. The cynicism of that. It's a big circle jerk and the sheep love it. I want no part of it. If you enjoy his creatively non-informed non-shooting non-real world reviews I don't mind but it is a shame large audiences can't reward people with more principals and more talent. Kubrick used a culinary analogy as well. The best restaurant in town rarely has the biggest queue outside. Is the most popular music the best? Is the most popular food the healthiest? Best quality? McDonalds?? Bloom shouldn't be anywhere near being an idol, especially knowing what I know about him. Popularity on social media only means someone is good at communication, presentation and marketing. Gerald isn't creative, he can't even be bothered to shoot a single still let alone video. Either he has no interest in using all these cameras he has, or he is embarrassingly bad behind the camera and embarrassed to show his work. Therefore I won't be taking my advice from him simple as that because it's just pixel peeping and specs sheet pimping, without any real life usage of the tools.

They were first to do it though weren't they, whilst the big corporations snoozed!