zephyrnoid

The market is resegmenting itself. It is moving towards this quadfurcation segmentation model: - Mosty Still with subpar Video (Nikon Df for example) ( perfect for still shooters that want to grab some video 'notes' on ocassion) . This segment breaks down further into finer end-user granularities and you know what those are - Mostly Video with less than ideal Stills ( perfect for video shooters that want to grab some still 'notes' on ocassion or as in my case, knows how to make those subpar stills SHINE) This is the key category for me as it is the as yet emerging one without a clear solid path. - All Still (Digital Hasselblad, Leica Medium Format,LArge format Digital) - All Video ( You know the suspects here- Alexa, Red Epic yada yada)

"if there was some way, however it may have been, for film cameras such as an FM2 to shoot motion pictures as well, would engineers back then have foregone that opportunity?" YEs! BAck then professionals filled niches. Now-adays eveyone wants to do everything and they do--- BADLY ;)  

This is why I chided Andrew for omitting a 15 step gray strip. It would answer your question graphically. DR is about the number of VISIBLE and measureable discrete 'values' that can be recorded and displayed ( or printed ) , inclusive, from 100% Black to 100% white so a 13 step range is 100%Black, 100% white and 11 other values in between. Shop around Google search for more in this. Low light sensitivity is completely separate.

LOL! "who would buy something that looks like it came from a time capsule of the 50s." I would! Today's my birthday and I love the 1950's . Your mistake is that Kaypro was a way past the 50's. But I could care less what it looked like- it simply has to perform. As I teach in my classes Looks BEHIND the lens don't count. Looks only matter in FRONT of the lens

He's right actually. I can prove it in about two long pages if I must.

Great Article and comparo- though a 15 step gray strip would not kill you Andrew ;) "The difference in look between full frame and Super 35mm you know already. All else equal you get a shallower depth of field on the 5D Mark III and a heavier fall off in brightness towards the edge of the image with lenses when shooting wide open. This can be a very attractive look. It’s also easier to isolate the subject from the background when using a wide angle lens on the 5D Mark III (i.e. 28mm) than it is on the KineRAW MINI (18mm)." FF sensor may indeed yeild "an attractive" look IF only you can hold the main subject in critical focus in shots with moving actors, locomotion etc, which is the principle reason Super35/DX/APS-C are the ideal compromise for focus leeway with M43 absolutely too difficult to get anything out of focus unless you are using very long focal length lenses. So frankly, I keep chanting the Super35/DX/APS-C mantra :wub:

....but Panasonic has something new up it's 'sleeves' so we shall see.

When I 'retired' from photography in 1987, that Olympus infinity was my staple Point & Shoot. I got a start in ebay selling with it too. BUT then I graduated myself to a digital point and shoot in 2004 (Nikon coolpix5000) -just for grins and you are right. It was a huge pain to use, BUT once I got the hang of it ( about 6 months ) I learned to live with it AND it paid me back in 'spades' $$$. SO much so that I added a bigger sibling in 2009 (Nikon Coolpix 8800) for a book project and that has definitely paid off in spades $$$$. Not to sound smart arse or anything, but you might rethink this thought..... "the digital variety are just not fun to use and are a real pain" because after the pain has passed, there is nothing but pleasure and the zero cost image capture is just amazing ... Judge for yourself>>> and oh! there are about 10,000 other images not shown here in various categories that are even more spectacular waiting to be published. Never underestimate a teenie weenie Nikon sensor... Someday I will graduate to a DX/APS-C/Super35 soon I hope.  

Well. I see you don't get it. My cynicism will win you over. First, some waxing of nostalgia of my own. I actually giggled when I spotting this 'Df' on a facebook thread this morning. It immediately reminded me of my bread n butter Nikon FM2's of which I owned three. So Kudos to Nikon for picking the 1980's for a so-called 'retro' throwback. 1980's! Not the F or F photomic of the 70's. What can I say? I feel old. Now to this>>>>>>>>>>>> "But there’s really no such thing as a retro camera market." Wrong! I've studdied the Millenials like a hawk and have written some pieces related to how the retro market was shoe-horned into the Hipster Generation. I will not share my opinion of why this has happened but it definitely happened.EVERYTHING has to be retro to sell properly to Generation 'Zero'. You see, the reason that stills cameras have been the big ticket bread and butter items versus say an affordable Digital Bolex type rollout is that Millennials ( the target demographic ) do not have the attention span to edit anything longer than 15 seconds so they can't actually STAND video . That is why the retro stills cameras will be a huge hit. Quick, Easy and looks perfect around the neck while globtrotting on Grandma's Trustfund cash ;) Instructions: 1) Turn camera on 2) pose as a Spoiled Rotten 'Vintage Ivy League Scholar' with matching period retro styled digicam while wearing $1,500 worth of retro threads* from Brook Brothers while shooting 'made for Instagram' snaps of your friends making silly faces. 3) Functionality? Get the shot onto your Facebook wall ASAP. 4) This is a camera that you'll want to pass on to your kids as a family heirloom ;) :D

A really great article!Spot-on all around. Thanks

There is always the possibility of positive regression. What with all the privacy issue on the Internet, I predict some reversion to older pathways. For example: I just invested hugely in DVD & BluRay media for distribution as it's WAY more private than internet distribution. My Millennial kids are thinking of taking chemical photography classes for heaven's sake :( I think that unless CODECs improve substantially and the disctriubtion models are made more private, a lot of people will stream back to good-ol theaters and home movies ;)

As I have written before on 4K 1) It's an excellent archive resolution for forward thinking filmakers as long as the footage is 10Bit or higher RAW or comparable 2) It allows for excellent cropping leeway so your Editors and Directors love it too. 3) It helps the makers of HW make more money off you since you need more expensive Edit systems and storage 4) The TV business drives this to an extent and they are always looking for the mide/long term consumer upgrade path. That's how they make thier money. For now, 2K, 1080p are here to stay but I'm sure 4K delivery will be the norm in the future. Anyone with really good 4K foottage now will be banking cash in 5 years. That's what we call an investment

AS A DP, I am interested in controlling my background blur for compositional and lyrical effect. Sure, the Speed boosters will increase that some but not enough for me and the bokeh looks inferior. There's a reason the Alexa uses a Super35 sensor. Thanks!

Some revision and a little mantra ( attached) to chew on. 1) Resolution is not as important as Color space. I'll take 10Bit 2.5K over 8Bit 4K any day 2) Built in ND filters matter a lot since many of us need them to knock down the sensors in bright light and NO I do not like taking the time to constantly deal with filters in my mattebox every time I change shots. 3) Panasonic will be wasting time and an opportunity if they release anything 'Pro' in a M43sensor ( Please forget the Speedboosters- that's more unweildy hardware between the rear-element and the sensor than I care to deal with in a supposedly 'Pro' camera) So have a look at my mantra and goodnight all !  

If Panasonic have strategized the Enthusiast/Pro film maker roadmap properly, we should simply leave our dream wish lists at home and do this instead: Map out your requirements for actual production based on real deliverables, then make the list knowing that unless you have an Alexa budget, you are not going to get everything in one package for $3K or less. Forget the "I wanna have it all in a DSLR style camera" too. Canon really got this roadmap right with the C-series. Let's see if Panasonic can do the same. If not....KineRaw Mini could be the better road to follow ;)  For now....I'm selling off extraneous gear to boost the coffers... popcorn in hand :)

Panasonic is smart. They wouldn't hire me but are glad to suck it out of our heads for free. No matter. Getting the right camera out there is what matters right? So this will be great but you know what I'm gonna say. Are we going to be be stuck with shooting overpriced super fast glass just to get enough background blur with wider lenses because they can't deliver this all with a  bigger DX/APS-C sized sensor ?????????????????????????????? C'mon Panasonic. You are ALMOST there :) T A L K 2 S O N Y

Good comparo Andrew. Thanks. Overall, the GH3 is the best camera esp for Hybrid shooters. As I have said many times before, if Panasonic delivered some some 'gap filling' features and talked to Sony about a DX/APS-C or even a Super35 sensor rather than the annoying M43 in there; I'd be all over the GH. DR on BMPCC looked really good . Real world production workflows just don't accomodate RAw or even 4K IMHO. C'mon Panasonic.... GH5!

I just wept the other day as I read news that Ilford ( owners of Cibachrome ) would cease operations. That's the same pain some of us felt when Kodak got out of the biz and Kodachrome25 was no more. The latest hype to revive 'film' ( AKA CHEMICAL photography ) is just that- Hype to capture the imagination of the Hipstagram Generation, who ought to be focused on content and style instead. I hope it doesn't take off as chemical are as bad today as they have ALWAYS been in the history of photography.  

Great lens and sensor choices! Wish it focused close to 2" in Macro ( esp with fixed lens) but I imagine close-up lenses will fit. This drew a chuckle out of me... >"Velvia film mode." Fuji Velvia  film was purpose made by Fuji to compensate for the brutality of the old film > printed color paradigm - which resulted in lost saturation in final repros especially of the greens, blues and reds. In an ideal film mimicing world it's Kodachrome25  film stock that we really want in a Digital compact preset not Velvia!   USB 2.0 (Hi Speed) ? Isn't this an outmoded interface by now ? Ought to be USB3.0 at least

"when it reaches 1% there’s usually much more left in the battery than the camera implies, usually as much as 10 minutes." 1) you're NOT supposed to deplete lion batteries lower than 10% as it shortens battery lifespan 2) All batts, even lions, are subject to bounceback so it's normal for them to over-deliver Beyond the meter when left to rest (camera off).

"manufacturers do not get involved with purposeful leaks. Every time a leak occurs it has the potential to negatively impact sales of existing models on the shelf. We had the info jointly sent to us by a known source. I am actually quite reluctant to publish it at all." You got me totally befuddled with that one. So we all agree to wait and see? That's cute.

Very often the sharing of a high value 'rumor' is pre-shared with select press with the condition that the PR department that shared that rumor gets first dibs on the release (that what they get paid for right) . It's called a 'Publication Embargo' in the business. We respect that because it keeps the rumors flowing. Albeit, the forums and blogs get second place in right to release- but it's better that having NO advance notice at all.

Please read my prior posts ^ 4K is for oversampling. cropping and archiving. Shall I dub that "COA"

Not sure if the interview revelations are related to the " future of the GH-line" as the text of the Panasonic person's message is "The consumer has to lead" relates to the delivery of 4K at Broadcast not of consumer cameras capturing in 4K. Did I get that correctly? A second point not conveyed by the interviewee is that we (the shooters) deem 4K the ideal capture format for 2K delivery since we are taking advantage of oversampling , crop capability and archive value of 4K, unrelated to the lack of installed 4K TVs. The line about the AVC Ultra as being the favored codec in the roadmap is very encouraging but I'll ask the obvious question. How does this decision impact the current NLE hardware/software setups that are in place by those editing in REDCODE, Prores etc? - I sure hope HW/SW revamps are not going to be necessary. So I hope the " future of the GH-line" has something to do with all this since the interview seems directed more to Professional Broadcast vs Consumer Netcast customers.

Can you share with me in confidence and under 'embargo' ? I've been needling panasonic for a year and am always hopeful that they've actually been listening  :rolleyes: