Andrew Reid

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/eoshd Take a look especially if you're in the UK!

Noticed when I had the EOS R3 before sending it back, the stabilisation didn't work properly with manual focus lenses. It does let you dial in the focal length into the menus but the performance just wasn't there, lots of micro jitters. I see it is the same with the R7? Cripple hammer strikes again! I wonder if they are using gyros in the lens rather than in the camera body? RF lenses and some EF lenses seem to be fine. Anyway, I am still thinking of giving one a go as it is quite cheap for what it does and all the results I've seen from it so far seem to suggest the colour mojo is there. Also there is now a C-mount adapter for EOS R mount which I am keen to try on this as it does approx. 2.8x S16 crop in 4K/60p crop mode. Shall I pick one up, or stay clear?

This first shot is spectacular. Bet it looks even better in full res with the fine noise texture. @QuickHitRecord mentioned a Sony A350 above. This was my first ever non-Canon DSLR back in 2008. I now have two. My advice to everyone is go and seek one out before they're gone forever. It has one of the final Sony CCD sensors ever made, and is pretty high res for the era - about 14 megapixel Image quality is just flat out gorgeous AND it has live view AND phase-detect AF in live view 🙂 It is better than the Leica M8, has even more mojo. And it is $90!

There is just... something about it... https://www.eoshd.com/news/a-look-at-the-pentax-k-1-why-im-not-over-dslrs-for-photography/

The idea of editorial independence was enshrined in the BBC’s founding Royal Charter in 1927, which stated the corporation should be “independent in all matters of internal control.” This was a way of ensuring the BBC’s coverage was not subject to political interference or pressure from any external sources such as the government. Now the editorial independence of the BBC is at best completely neutered by the Conservative Party. Many talented journalists have left. In many respects the best news organisation in the world has taken to sourcing stories purely from Twitter and social media. https://www.eoshd.com/news/controversy-at-the-bbc-and-impartialitys-true-meaning/

The dark mystery of folder 999_FUJI https://www.eoshd.com/news/why-does-fujifilm-cripple-my-memory-card-in-other-cameras/

When our music turns rubbish and our language ugly we know there's trouble ahead. Filmmakers and photographers seem to be on the way out, to be replaced by something altogether more homogenous - the "content creator" or simply "creator". Why specialise when you can just "create stuff"? New blog post: https://www.eoshd.com/news/creator-replaces-filmmaker-meet-thy-creator

It's learning...

Might sell them my 1D C first.

This was the answer when I asked again after training it! 🙂 It is interesting in that it won't write a naughty poem about Trump, but it will write all this about me. Some "fine tuning" needed?!!

Clearly overhyped, but with strong long term potential to destroy the planet, AI natural language chatbots have taken 2023 by storm. I admit, it's an entertaining spectacle. They're fantastic at certain things and it's nice to see a new type of tool born, but I can't help feeling it is capable of wildly fantasying about things that never happened. I also think there is no way a large company like Microsoft or Google will truly let this technology off the hook and it will be incredibly heavily censored. This means first prize in AI will go to a startup and you better sell your Google shares right now. But should you trust it? EOSHD sets out to find out, by putting it through a camera nerd exam. https://www.eoshd.com/news/hows-ais-camera-knowledge-unhinged-chatgpt-stalks-eoshd-and-makes-up-controversies (It doesn't go well)

Quite the eye opener 🙂

That is because ProRes 422 HQ in LOG looks just as nice, with smaller file? ProRes on the Nikon Z9 is my next thing to test... Would be interesting if that comes out better than N-RAW wouldn't it!

True, true.

Will do, I might reshoot the Sigma Fp-L in 12bit first to give it a fair crack of the whip against the more expensive bros.

You could say it's a bit of a dogs breakfast?

500Mbit in HEVC is like having 1000Mbit in H.264, so that A6500 (which I still have btw) was 100Mbit and still stood up well, so the a1 truly has some thick files going on. X-H2 ProRes would be an interesting comparison. I love the idea of RAW but it never seems to compel me to use it that much. Sigma Fp-L 12bit needs a test though...as does the 5D3 Magic Lantern as that truly was proper RAW!

It is time for a good old fashioned EOSHD article. Everything you’ve seen so far on YouTube is meaningless - yes it is. Check out a new novelty on the web... with my WRITTEN BLOG POST! https://www.eoshd.com/news/is-n-raw-real-raw-nikon-z9-under-the-spotlight-at-eoshd

This is a good article and really spells out what's at stake https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-chatbots-chatgpt-google-bard-microsoft-bing-break-internet-search-2023-2 How on earth will independent blogs, magazines, review sites, forums and pretty much everyone else get noticed in an era of ChatGPT taking over from traditional web search? It's the beginning of the end for user generated content outside of social media platforms. Very sad indeed.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/feb/09/google-ai-chatbot-bard-error-sends-shares-plummeting-in-battle-with-microsoft Google off to a bad start.

Well, EF on E-mount is good. On L-mount it didn't make sense until they sorted out phase-detect AF with the S5 II, now it does. On Nikon Z the Finger EF adapter works great. On Fuji the same but all the good EF lenses are designed for full frame and there are better, smaller, cheaper choices for APS-C. I really think the days of EF are numbered now there's so much mirrorless glass. It's just that RF is a very closed mount, no Sigma, no Tamron, you are stuck with what Canon says and does. For example on the EOS R3, even at that level it is crippled with non Canon-branded lenses. The IBIS stops working properly. So if I were to commit to a mirrorless mount it would be Sony E, followed by L-mount. Sony E I can use on Nikon Z as well. I found myself using my Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 E-mount lens so much more than the Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8 recently. It's just better.

Tech starts off as a toolset and morphs into an all consuming culture. Much of the way we live our lives today is shaped by technology. A simple tool for convenience is how it gets a foothold and then before you know it... plenty of unintended consequences. When the internet was merely a tool for example, before social media, it didn't have as large impact on culture, politics and people's social lives. It was ticking along as a knowledge-base, a store front and a source of entertainment quite nicely. Then suddenly you have people working from home, socialising from home, and when they do venture outside, they are staring at their phone constantly. Here's how I think AI will develop. Step one, is the complete obliteration of Google, they are the next Blackberry. That's not to say they won't have skin in the game, but you can be sure (as ChatGPT is showing) that as the "establishment" they will always be a step behind the cutting edge like Nokia vs Apple. Google can't even get their established products working well. Search is a total mess. YouTube isn't fulfilling full potential, and their smartphone business is a bit player even after all this time. Step two, is widespread unemployment. Companies simply won't need as many staff any more. Some jobs will be entirely obsolete. Going to be fun! Step three is where it takes a physical form. Starting with the very rich, they will be able to train a physical form of AI to go out and simply do their job for them whist they sit at home drinking gin. Step four is the complete replacement of all human beings.

So a bit better than shit then. Thumbs up!

Yes but the R6 image vs 1DX3 there is no comparison. 1D X Mark III just stomps all over it. Especially with the internal 5.5K RAW. Do we actually know if the R6 II and R8 are the same image quality wise just because they have a similar sensor? There's a lot more to it than that. It's not one of Canon's flagship sensors. That would be R3 and R5 sensors. The R6 II sensor is a mid-range chip, and only just catching up with the Sony A7 III sensor from 2018!

Sales make no difference to your use of the camera, unless in the case of the NX it gets discontinued of course, but that's rare. You shouldn't concern yourself with what other people are buying in large numbers! Just pick what's right for you. Actually it is an advantage to choose something different to the masses as you then have a tool and image that stands out. NX1 still stands up well today but Samsung had bigger fish to fry with their smartphone cameras. They felt the mirrorless camera market just wasn't big enough, taken as a whole, not enough growth potential compared to smartphones. I have to say they were right. It is a bit like Exxonmobil deciding to quit gasoline and going into olive oil instead. It isn't at all though is it. It doesn't have IBIS. It has pound shop ergonomics. It probably won't even let you shoot video in the PSAM modes like R6. It has a tiny battery and silly single card slot you can't get at when it's rigged up or on a tripod! The EVF is probably the size of a pinhead and the codec bitrates are probably crippled with mud. Add to that the not inconsiderable price difference between £1699 + £1699 again for a lens, and compare that to a beautiful vintage Contax Zeiss on a second hand Panasonic S1 for £1000, and you must really have to prioritise autofocus over literally everything else artistic to get an R8 instead! EF is on the way out now, it's been a good run. I can use my Sigma E-mount lenses on both Sony and Nikon cameras. Sony A1 and Nikon Z9 way to go for me. Absolutely zero appeal in the R8 even as a curiosity or a second (20th?) body. Whereas X-H2 gives me 8K ProRes!