Oliver Daniel

These recent camera releases have resulted in a significant amount of velocity and trolling right across the web. Every camera is good these days. Every single one. Nor is a single one of them “underwhelming”, why has the bar suddenly been raised so high? Because Canon put 8k in a mirrorless? The S1H, the A7SIII, the R5, the X-T4 all have a purpose to fit your needs. If you can’t shoot good footage with them, the issue isn’t the camera. If one of these does n’t fit your needs, buy something else. I get excited about cameras, but they are just cameras. They are worthless without artists, documentary filmmakers, journalists, Youtubers.... the audience mostly doesn’t give a f**k what it was shot on - as long as it looks good, sounds good and provides value in form of information or entertainment. That time arguing over cameras could be better spent on learning more about lighting, composition, sound or editing styles. Sure, I did pre-order the R5 and cancelled it. Instead I’ve swapped it for 2 A7SIII’s because they fulfil a creative need. And it’s not the end of the world if it’s all just hype - the EVA1 and GH5 still exist and allow me to create on every shoot. For the argumentative, trolls and naysayers, it’s time to get romantic about the craft again. Show us your work. Make more stuff. Have some fun. Create memories. And grow the hell up.

This video has some really beautiful A7SIII footage in there, and a lot of it. A couple of wonky skin tones but mostly lovely colours. It’s in Chinese.

Most camera launch films, for one reason or another, are usually very poor and don’t show off the camera too well. From launch videos, and the vast majority of YouTube and Vimeo uploads - the colour from every camera looks pretty whack. Even though the original A7SII did have weird as hell white balance, nearly everyone on the internet made it look like a turd, but you could actually get some really juicy colour out of that camera with PP tweaks and grading. Phillip Blooms paddle film with Atomos was dull as dishwater with the usual quick fire FilmConvert grade. That Japan one was regularly badly exposed, lit, colour corrected and graded. It is baffling the big brands approve these edits to advertise their cameras. There’ll be loads of great looking footage shot with this camera. I just hope the white balance is fixed!

Besides body design, stills, anamorphic modes and possibly colour - it's better featured and has more lens options. But true, if Panasonic sorted their AF in the mk. II, they will be very very hard to beat.

I honestly don't understand why people are feeling "very underwhelmed" by this camera, what do you expect? I feel the Canon R5 has seriously skewed expectations, but we know in the real world how this has burnt (sorry) potential buyers. Who gives a monkey's if it doesn't have 8k? No other camera in this price range does what this camera does. In some ways it's better than the FX9. Seems like the perfect video tool for those who don't want or can afford something bigger. Well done Sony! (and please, no hush-hush cripple hammers!!).

Pre-order for R5 cancelled. Too much smoke and fire. 😆

Camera sounds pretty amazing so far. So did the R5. Let’s hope for no facepalm cripple hammers!

Of course there’s a lot to like, but some very very serious caveats for video shooters.... 1. Overheating while just turned on and doing nothing. 2. Forced to use lower quality 4k on a camera you’re buying for oversampled 4k. 3. 4k120 file sizes are absolutely huge. 4. H265 10bit codec impossible to edit natively. 5. Pretty much forced to record externally to avoid missed shots. 6. RF lenses cost is astronomical. 7. Jello in 2020. Still. I’m actually very surprised at how little attention the Youtubers (besides Gerald) have given these shortcomings. It’s because it’s the GRAIL camera, isn’t it?

My R5 pre-order is 0.1% away from a very sad death. Just imagining a scenario when you turn up to shoot, the client says "would you mind getting a few stills for us first before the slo-mos?", and you're like "erm... where's the nearest fridge?"

Yep, as it sinks in and the dream fades away, I don’t want to have to worry if the camera will get through the shoot when I’ve got so much other things to prioritise. For many little things, I’m sure it will be “just fine”, but for pro work, “just fine” is not acceptable. My gut feeling is that the A7SIII will win the mirrorless king of video battle with hopefully a minimal Sony Cripple Hammer!!

Just watched a bit. I strongly believe this is indeed A7SIII footage, I can’t think of any other camera with these imaging characteristics. Although it’s rough v-logger style, looks great!

I did believe due to their excellent reliability over the years. I even pre-ordered, which I never do. Told my crew about the issues and they pretty much said “fuck that”, after with “but will they sort it? Will they?” Like they know how much benefit the R5 would bring to a shoot but genuinely upset and quite angry it would be released this way. “We’ve always got the GH5” they said. 🥳 My R5 order is on the brink of death. The R6 is dead. All I want is lightweight 10bit 422 full frame at 4k60fps (120 is bonus) with amazing AF for single shooter gimbal use. Stills also required but not a dealbreaker.

Canon: “Our new R5 will have full frame 8K RAW and 4k120fps 10 bit, no crop.” Pana / Sony: “Oh shit! What cooling system does it have?” Canon: “A stick-on fan from Tilta.” Youtube: “The BEST cameras for CINEMATIC footage EVER. PERIOD. GRAIL.”

Yeah Gerald is pretty much the only person with a unit who is bothering to test it properly. Baffling really. Certainly stands out as one of the most comprehensive, less bullshitty reviewers. What I’m interested to hear is how the camera performs with constant short bursts of recording with 4k60fps and 4k120 over an hour period with a 15-20 break in between each hour. That’s how a lot of commercial and music video shoots go these day’s. Also it seems that for professional use, you will have to use a Ninja V and transcode 4k120 to ProRes in post. If the Titla cage works, it might be a Frankenbeast (that may at some point turn into a hellhound at any moments notice). Depends if... with these “workarounds”, the pros of the R5 outweigh the negatives. But if you think more about this, it’s a bit silly. It’s 2020. Within a year, Panasonic might blow this offering out of the water.

I’ve been excited about it, expected it to work fine and put in my pre-order. Sadly, that pre-order is on the brink of death. The Cripple Hammer exists!! Seeing videos of people using fridges, ice packs and fans just to help the camera work is just not acceptable. Even as a B-cam. People are going on that the non-HQ 4k mode can run forever, but what’s the point in buying this just to use the low quality mode? To get the most out of the R5 - the addition of RF lenses is a big investment and certainly not worth it with these issues being the elephant in the room on a shoot. Its cool to see what Tilta has done, but I would find having an accessory like that really annoying. What if you have a beard? Haha. I’m still going to try the camera and rent it for a hard as nails shoot, with my EVA1 and GH5 at hand. See how it goes in the non-Youtuber real world.

Sounds better than the R5 for video so far. What serious limitation will it be with? I don’t think many people have recovered from the R5 / R6 bombshell yet. Twice in 2 weeks would be deadly. 🤣

Where did this image come from with the LCD screen? Not posted on SAR.

I regard myself as a pro shooter as that’s how I earn a living. I’m almost always leading a very small crew, and shoot solo without focus pullers. I’m currently on the EVA1 and GH5. I always use an external monitor. The Canons interest me because of the very lightweight DPAF on a gimbal up to 4k120fps, the creative possibilities that brings and other obvious benefits such as colour and full frame stills. Using external could offer that peace of mind, if in fact what people are chattering about is true. However, I do have an issue with the issue existing, when I don’t have the problem now. We’ll see.

Seen some comments on FB about the R6 not overheating at all when recording externally. But I’ve seen no evidence. Also, Gerald Undone has concluded the R5 overheats in 4kHQ after 1 hour 14 mins when recording externally. Even though it seems the cameras should be fine for a lot of situations, just knowing the issue is there could be really annoying.

I’m excited - got my camera cage sorted and ready to go!

Despite the overheating, I think this camera will be a great tool for many, many people. I timed my takes and breaks with the EVA1 and GH5 on a boxing product shoot yesterday, shooting 4k50p all day and some 2k100fps. Up to 1 min per shot at 50p with 3-4 min gaps in between (much longer when a change of scene), and 2k100fps for about 15-20 secs with bigger gaps. DPAF II would have come in very handy for the tricky gimbal shots. GH5 was tricky in manual focus (no focus puller). With the A7SIII creeping up though....

What an absolutely, ridiculously unexpected announcement. I’m glad RED have been finally “overtaken” in specs, it’s great for the industry. It’s likely I won’t use this new camera as I do a lot of quick moving handheld work, and the original UM Pro is just too damn heavy for that. Love the image though.

What the actual f***. Who on earth is going to use 12k? Who is this for? I don’t get it. What a strange day.

Even though I had new lights delivered today, it’s been a bit of a shitty one. That made me happy, thank you! I just wanted to add that I’ve been told from a trusted source who I can’t identify, that this new Sony plays “What’s up Youtube” said in no apparent language at 6k 120fps as an audio LUT. Also this feature comes with an IBIS only 2k 480fps burst of synth pop audio soundtrack from Artlist, sponsored by Squarespace. There was mention of a crop mode featuring Gerald Undone who appears via micro HDMI and is baked in the image. It’s said to be a talking loop about beam angles on lighting fixtures and LUX at 1 metre with the Canon R5 when recording at 4k120fps for 15 minutes. The source is from YouTube and he talks about the growing Tim Apple tree in his garden rather than his experience of the camera. He has the fastest readout in the world when captured with big eyes and a large mouth on a rolling shutter sensor called Cinemartin Fran.

Still no word from anyone to say how the overheating performs when recorded externally. Is nobody allowed to? 😂 The R6 on my pre-order is pretty much dead. Still 50/50 on R5.