stephen

Yes, 2 new cameras coming in the next 3-4 months. The video oriented one expected in April may have Nikon Z6 III stacked sensor. Plus S1R II preorders are more than expected. Good news for Panasonic / Lumix. I hope Panasonic / Lumix will have more success and market share in camera business.

You can always use optimizations and make timeline with NR and lots of color grading play in real time. For Example - Top Menu ->Timeline -> Timeline playback resolution -> Half or even Quarter. In most cases Half or 1080p from 4K would be enough.

This is logical, you are most likely right. There were rumors about possible DJI L Mount camera coming. Not sure I am willing to wait and see what this camera will bring. The risk of being disappointed again still exists. In some of the videos about Nikon Z6 III that I've watched was mentioned that you can choose Panasonic V-Log gamma for Nikon NRAM video footage in Davinci Resolve and color grade accordingly. In general I think it would be a matter of time to find a way to color grade Nikon NRAW quickly and effectively and get the picture I want. Good thing about Nikon NRaw is it could be more compressed than ProRes RAW as Andrew mentioned and it could be imported directly in Davinci Resolve. There is no need for transcoding. Panasonic S5 II X is great, have no complains. At the end I may keep this camera and use it with manual focus and canon EF lenses. Problem is how long L mount will live. This is what worries me. At this point I am still not convinced L Mount will have a long life . Of course I may be wrong. Current Panasonic announcement was not convincing and it looks future Lumix S1H will not come next month. Maybe it's time to move for me, we'll see.

Same for me. Being exclusively Panasonic (S1, S5 IIX) for cameras and heavily invested in L Mount for lenses (mostly Sigma), decided that unfortunately it is time to switch. I hate doing this but Panasonic's future and L mount's future in general looks shaky for me. IMHO Andrew's thoughts and analyze are correct and my gut feeling too. I am OK currently with S5 IIX, cameras comes and goes but I am afraid L mount lenses value will go down too as time passes. Better to act now and save some money while I can. It will be a combination of Nikon Z and Sony FE for cameras with FE lenses exclusively. Maybe one Nikon zoom. We'll see Option 1. - Nikon Z8 mostly for video and some photo + Sony A7R III or Sony A7 IV mostly for photo and some video Option 2. - Nikon Z6 III mostly for video and some photo + Sony A7R V or Sony A7 IV mostly for photo and some video. Also interested in hearing Andrew's first impressions and opinion about Nikon Z8.

If we look at S1R II as a photo camera with some advanced video features, then yes it is good. I would choose it over Sony A7R V. As a hybrid camera that can do both video and photo well it is not at Nikon Z8 and Canon R5 II level as those two have lower rolling shutter. Nikon Z8 price is the same, Canon R5 II is more expensive. S1R II rolling shutter at 6K and 4K 24p/30p is 23ms. Compared to S5 II (21ms) it is basically the same. Not interested in 8K. I am disappointed because was expecting similar to latest Canon and Nikon rolling shutter performance, sensor with faster readout times and improvement over the previous generation. Being also more at the video side I am not sure that 4K 60p and 120P are enough for upgrade. Maybe later when price goes down. I am beginning to realize that at this point in time only Canon and Sony as sensor producers are safe bet in the long run. Gerald Undone mentioned that Panasonic should consider giving as an option a line skipped version for 6K and 4K 24p/30p in order to improve rolling shutter performance. Line skipped 6K on a 4K timeline may look good. 4K 120p already does the like skipping apparently. We don't know what are the reasons for Panasonic to choose this sensor. I've heard before that Panasonic may not have access to all sensors Sony semiconductors produces. S1R II has a lot of nice features lets hope sales will be good. There is a more positive balanced review from Media Division. On at least one 8K and mostly static shots I already can see rolling shutter effect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4_oyevhTc8

Yes, just watched Gerald Undone's review. Video capabilities for me can be summarized with one word - disappointment. I expected a fast sensor and it turns out this is not true.

Like most here I am happy with S5 IIX. Rolling shutter is not a problem for what I shoot, 24Mpx are enough for photo and don't need 8K for video. I though that with S5 IIX can finally forget about cameras, relax and enjoy taking photos and videos. Now with all specs and some photos of Panasonic S1RII out, can feel GAS pressure increasing 🙂 Guess it is human psychology. Always wanting more. 🙂 Apart of the body which is basically a copy of S5 II, everything else is as I was hoping to be. Shutter closes to protect the sensor when changing lenses, Sony A7R V style LCD, 5Mln dots viewfinder and a switch for photo/video. Lack of top LCD screen is not a problem for me and third party grip to extend slightly the handle can solve potential issues with body ergonomics. Well done Panasonic. The best part about S1R II is that Panasonic is still in the game. We had some doubts after the long wait. I hope they stay longer in camera business, not only because I've bet on their camera bodies and L Mount in general but also because having more choices is always better for us users.

Rolling shutter should be in the range of Sony A1 and Nikon Z8: 8K 24/30p - 14.5-15.5 ms, 4K 120k - 4.8-6 ms. Interesting part is 4K 24/30p where Sony A1 achieves 8ms while Nikon Z8 keeps steady at the same 14.5 ms. 4K 24/30p in APS-C crop should be lower than 10ms. The general consensus is that 14-15 ms is good enough. 8-9ms is Arri Alexa Classic territory. Nothing to complain at. Image in the video and article shows camera body top that we've never seen from Panasonic. I am not sure if this image is representative to the real camera. For me slightly smaller and lighter that S1 / S1R body would be perfect. Having the same body as S5 II for a high end flagship camera doesn't make sense, that's why IMHO this won't be the case with S1R II. If they put also 5mln dots viewfinder from previous generation (S1/S1R) or similar plus a switch for video / photo settings similar to Nikon Z8, Z6 III and Canon R5 II, then I think they will have a really good higher end camera. Panasonic always gave more for the same amount of money than the big 3. Merging S1/S1R line with high end video specs does make sense, they need this camera to compete with Nikon Z8 and Canon R5 II. Panasonic doesn't have any high end specialized video camera in contrast to Canon, Nikon and Sony. It would make sense the second camera expected this year to be much more video oriented, probably internal e-ND filters or some high end video cameras features at more accessible package.

One of the rumored specs says: mechanical shutter - 10Fps. Aha ! Here is what else more S1R II will have compared to Nikon Z8. It will have a mechanical shutter. Panasonic will get off the shelf sensor - IMX366AJK, while Nikon Z9/Z8 uses IMX609AQJ apparently modified IMX366AJK specifically for Nikon to have low readout times for photo, in fact lower than in video. I think photo users will like the mechanical shutter.

It practice it is the same resolution. I don't see this being a problem for Canon with R5 II and Nikon with Z8, Z9. Only Sony can afford to have that many cameras. Panasonic have obviously chosen to have better video specs instead of higher resolution for photo. For me it is the right decision. I am curious to see will S1R II have internal RAW video recording, similar to Nikon Z8. If yes which codec it will use. ProRes RAW like in GH7 ? Will S1R have something more than Z8 ? Otherwise I see no reason for Nikon users or even new users to choose Panasonic over Nikon. I have the feeling those two new FF cameras will be make or break it for Panasonic in camera business.

I can see only one reason not to use Sony 61 Mpx sensor and go with lower megapixel one: faster readout times. We will know soon.

Here is an answer from a pro colorist / editor. It will give you a perspective and a cool tip how to edit any footage on a not very powerful computer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olvTKnLJCJc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTes9KkwmME According to another of his videos, 12K BRAW is so well optimized that it can play without a problem on a Macbook Pro 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ShXVTiGD80

Panasonic S5 II + BRAW vs BMPCC 6K Pro FF - as expected practically no difference in image quality. Downloadable source files are available too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzKtL8p5M8a

Realistic assessment of iPhone 15 pro with Apple Log vs pro Camera in good lighting conditions. Good review and tips IMHO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SiqKfm-8kA Everybody is trying to push some LUTs but you don't need them There is an official Apple Log to REC 709 transform LUT and CST in latest Davinci Resolve that supports Apple Log and works very well

We are different and have different tastes. I like fall in Colorado video. There is some grain applied, color grading is very good IMHO, skin tones are good for me too, overall good image quality. Compare it to other iPhone 15 video posted here and this one for me ranks at the top 10% as image quality. This is exactly the occasion I would use a smartphone, when you are with friends and/or family and your focus are the people and your journey together. Filming is a side job just for memories and some enjoyment of the hobby or profession. For the purpose this video is well done! As a camera and what it can do iPhone 15 Pro is expensive but for smartphone with ton of features, usability and a camera that is in your pocket IMHO it is worth the money. If I am at the end of my 5 year smartphone upgrade cycle it would be on my list for sure. Would I buy LG V60 instead for Android RAW video? No. If I choose Android for RAW video it would Xiaomi 13 Ultra or at least Pro. After 5 years with the same smartphone I want the latest and greatest that shoots good video too, I want a great smartphone that has all the bell and whistles. It’s another story how many of them I will use. 🙂 Price may seem steep but let make a simple calculation. 1100 Euro for Xiomi 13 Ultra or 1400 For IPhone 15 Pro for 5 years / 12 months is 1100/5/12 = 18.3, 1400/5/12 = 23.3. 18 to 24 euros (or dollars) per month for the most used and also useful device is worth it for me. A smartphone is much more of a tool that I use every day, rather than a gadget. And I can save much more money from other activities and things. For me it would be a consumerism if I upgrade or purchase latest and greatest DJI drones each year for example if drones are not my business or profession.

Using lenses wide open at f1.4 for shallow DOF is a recent trend in photography or even as you say obsession. Fully agree. It was not the case 20-30 years ago. People are lazy. Instead of using some additional lighting or putting the model in front of a nice background they prefer to blur the background. I don't find this always appealing or attractive but it is the current fashion trend. In cinema most used aperture for super35 format is f2.8 which corresponds in DOF to f4 for a full frame format. One of the reasons is the fact that is quite difficult to manually pull focus with smaller apertures. Now that we have LIDAR technology this may change. As you said the other reason is that in cinema they prefer and want to show the environment and surroundings as well. Roger Deakins in an interview shared some technical details (camera and lenses) used to shoot 1917. He basically confirms that for day light he used f4 and even f5.6. He says that he used Alexa LF (FF) for shallow DOF. This is interesting as it shows that different people have different views of what shallow DOF is. 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpCD67BEjiA My problem with m43 are the lenses. Focal length changes if I want to use vintage lenses or some other great optics from Zeiss or Nikon or Canon on m43. Those lenses are designed for FF. I can’t get the character of a russian 50/58mm Helios for example as it completely different focal length on m43. I used m43 in the past but moved to FF when BRAW became available with External recorder to Panasonic S Series. It gives me access to huge number or lenses - new or vintage and just simplifies my lens choice. For video close the aperture to f4 most of the times and that's it. In low light I may open it to f2.8 or simply bump ISO to higher value. FF sensor compensates for lower light and more closed aperture with better ISO performance (low noise in high ISO)

Well you can buy and try iPhone 15 as your main camera. There is no better way but to try it personally. My limited experience with iPhone 14 Pro and more extensive with Android RAW showed me that smartphones as cameras have many limitations. The list is long. At the end it is a simple choice: Can you live with and/or work around all those limitations or not. For me answer is clear: I can't and don't want to. I prefer the inconvenience to lug 1 to 2 kg of equipment more for several kilometers, but have great experience shooting rather than the other way around. Here are some examples: When testing iPhone 14 Pro as a camera I used it as GPS navigation too. Mounted on the front dashboard of my car in sunny spring day with temperature around 25-27 degree Celsius it overheated and shut down. Had to stop my car and swap it with my Android phone. It took more than 30 min for IPhone to cool down and be usable again. If you want to have some decent footage you still need ND filters, this means a special case or cage for iPhone as minimum plus probably a handle. How long will the battery last? So maybe an external battery too ? Or external SSD ? But both can't be used at the same time. 🙂 You see, if you want a semi decent footage and shooting experience, you still have to prepare and take several other items, spend time planning, etc. With time and experience for me the weight of my camera bag up to a certain limit is at the bottom of my inconveniences and concerns. As a camera that is always with me, in my pocket though latest generation of Android phones or iPhone 15 Pro are something that I can't resist. 🙂 Another case to use them would be when I go out for a day or more and am not sure do I want to shoot something or not, will I have the time or not. Having a smartphone as a camera + maybe a case with ND filters for those casual shoots is great.

Cinematic Mode doesn't use Apple log. It has all the deficiencies of previous gen iPhone video like tone mapping and sharpening. They were skillfully hidden in post. Skin tones in the last third of the video where face was lit with warm side light are a little bit off.

Indeed ! I was wondering if ProRes 4444 can be used with the new iPhone 15 Pro and this video gives the response. Good and realistic comparison with bigger sensor cameras, not just oh look it is as good as my Sony FS30. Lots of useful information. iPhone 15 Pro is great for video.

This is exactly my experience too. Still have S1 and it still drains the battery to 0 for 4 to 7 days without using it. S5IIX doesn't.

DNG files from Android RAM footage can be imported directly in Resolve. They also can be labeled in a way that Resolve see them as DNG files coming from a blackmagic camera. You have access to all the settings, like change ISO in post and even Highlight Recovery ! I'll share my workflow with some sample clips in a few days. It is easy if you have the knowledge. Funny enough but to shoot in 4K ProRes 60p on new iPhone 15 pro Apple forces you to use external storage, while with Android RAW you can get 4K at 60p internally on the latest generation flagships without any problem. External recording to SSD is available to Android RAW too. With Xioami 13 Ultra or Vivo x90 Pro Plus 1Tb internal storage at 1000-1100 E, you may never need external one. Going back to IPhone 15 Pro, here is one good example that shows that aggressive noise reduction in high ISOs is also gone with new iPhone 15. Flares are still present but much less than in 14 Pro where they are simply ruining the image. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHT2TEwJJz4 This guy claims that with Blackmagic application you can have Apple Log with HEVC (265) codec. Check the Apple Log part. Hm interesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOZUfWcGCxk

@SRV1981 - I said PROBABLY I would still prefer Android RAW 🙂 Until somebody shares some Apple Log footage that can grade myself or even better, test iPhone 15 with Apple log myself, will hold any judgement. I am skeptical about those comparisons with Sony S Log and FF cameras. We've seen plenty of those over the years with similar claims. I suspect their main purpose is to generate more youtube views. 🙂 Smartphones had never been so good for video, yet nobody throws away their FF, Super35 or m43 cameras and lenses. 🙂 For myself smartphone video will not replace my FF camera and lenses it will just complement them for personal projects and family video. Workflow Android RAW vs iPhone 14 Pro Can only compare with older iPhone model as this is the one I had experience with. Yes Android RAW workflow is more time consuming and space consuming at the beginning You have two extra steps before starting editing: - unpack DNG files from the file container that comes from MotionCam - run exiftool to label them in a specific way so Resolve recognize them as DGN files from a Blackmagic camera However it compensates with easy color correction and grading. With iPhone 14 Pro initial steps are easy and fast, just drag your footage in Resolve. Color correction is time consuming and no so easy, often with extra steps like applying film look with Dehancer in an attempt to hide sharpening and tone mapping. I can do something else while DNGs are unpacked and labeled, those operations can run on the background and do not requite my attention. IPhone grading on the other hand does require all of my attention and skills. I prefer the Android RAW workflow as am able to get the picture quality I like faster and easier. Again this may change with iPhone 15 and Apple Log but need to test it first. One big advantage of iPhone is that it has excellent stabilization combining Optical IS with software one. Raw video on Android often can't use Optical IS or results are not good. At least for some smartphone models. It begs for a gimbal. In general shooting with iPhone is easier and better experience. For me the whole idea to shoot on a smartphone is about having a good camera with you all the time and shoot quality video if you suddenly get an inspiration. You just don't think about it, don't have to take a bag, choose lenses, etc. It is always with you. For the moment Android RAW video is my personal preference but it doesn't have to be yours. 🙂

I don't have iPhone 15 and can't share any examples or direct comparison with Android RAW. Few months ago tested iPhone 14 Pro then two months ago Xiaomi 13 Ultra + MotionCam (Android RAW). I like raw video from Android more as picture quality is obviously better. I expect iPhone 15 with Apple Log to be better than iPhone 14 Pro but not by much. I don't see dramatic difference so far between iPhone 14 Pro and 15 Pro with Apple log. Not in the examples published on youtube. Maybe log footage was not well graded. Yes can share some of the clips made by Xiaomi 13 Ultra + MotionCam and iPhone 14 Pro on the thread dedicated to RAW video on smartphones. Here is a frame grab from one of the clips made using Android RAW video. Background blur is natural from the lens, not computational

Biggest problem with previous generations of iPhone was the extra processing of the video. It was impossible to switch off - tone mapping they use to increase DR - sharpening - noise reduction at higher ISOs Even when using third parties applications Now with Apple log, tone mapping and sharpening can be switched off apparently according to some initial tests https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSqgzddHooM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VojSIi4SgMk Another big problem were flares at night, Apple claims that nano coating of the lenses solves this problem. We'll see Adding the ability to record to external SSD and even SD card is another useful feature. I still would prefer probably Android RAW video but IPhone 15 + Blackmagic application + Apple Log shapes to be a great pocket camera that is always with you.

Blackmagic application for iPhone is a good one. However Filmic Pro already has an affordable alternative. CinemaP3 application has all the functionality and is not that expensive at 16 or 17 $/E if remember well. Latest generation Android phones like Xiaomi 13 Ultra + Motioncam give 4K RAW video 24/25/30/60p and really good image quality that IPhone cannot compete with. Those smartphones + Motioncam are the TRUE pocket cinema cameras of 2023. They really do fit in a pocket 🙂