jonpais

There's no box for 'super interested, but haven't updated anything yet.'

Yeah, good idea to remove batteries from gimbal when traveling. ? I had a similar experience with Zhiyun's customer service. very fast turnaround time, but I did have to pay $25 for shipping the unit back to China. They returned it by FedEx free of charge within a few days of receiving it. The long handle on the Crane could come in handy if you do many shots in inverted mode, aside from that, I agree, it could be a bit shorter.

Shoot a video of the problem and email it to Rose at Zhiyun tech this morning. She'll probably respond this afternoon. service@zhiyun-tech.com

People like me. I really dislike the tiny, mushy, unresponsive buttons for WB and ISO on the Lumix GH4. I also happen to prefer the aperture rings on lenses like the Nocticron 42.5 f/1.2 and Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 to changing the aperture electronically. But that's just me, heh.

if Panasonic doesn't hit it out of the ball park with the GH5, I may very well invest in the Fuji system.

Here's another clip for comparison, shot with the Panasonic Lumix G Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm f/1.2 at f/2.8 along with a Hoya NDX8 filter, again with contrast and sharpening in camera (Lumix GH4) dialed down to -4. I simply dragged and dropped the file from the SD card to YouTube. In all fairness, in the clip taken with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 I posted previously, I believe focus was on the dress, not the subject's face, and I was using a gimbal. For this clip, I used the iFootage Wild Bull T7 carbon fiber tripod, and shot from (almost) head-on. My first impression of the PanLeica is that it's fucking incredible. Build quality is excellent, AF is fast and spot-on. It's also blisteringly sharp. I said before (or did I, can't really recall!) that I'd never pay $1,600 for a PanLeica lens, and if the manager of a local shop here hadn't offered to sell it to me for $1,050, I would never have purchased this lens. Now, I have a favor to ask of Michael Ma - can you share any footage of people shot with your $1,300 Summilux 12mm f/1.4? i just learned that Donald Trump won the election - WTF???

I've yet to see a single video I haven't liked with this camera - is it that more talented people are buying the XT-2 or what?

Here's a clip I just dragged and dropped from the SD card directly into YouTube. Lumix GH4 and Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN for MFT. It was shot with sharpening and contrast turned way down (-4). The test I posted earlier, most of the shots were around f/5 or so. This one was at f/2.8.

Yeah, but who pans that fast when shooting anyhow?

Just having single AF in video mode with the Sigma and Speed Booster is awesome for the way I work. Between my camera, lenses, stabilizer and Metabones, it's already difficult keeping up with all the firmware updates!

The Sigma is a huge chunk of glass, not ideal for traveling. Also, it doesn't get all that wide either. But whatever Jase decides to get, I'm certain he'll surprise us all with his videos. ? I was ready to bite the bullet today on the Samyang myself, but nobody had one in stock here. There are a ton of online reviews and tests of the Samyang (overwhelmingly positive), but I've yet to see a single decent video showing how sharp the lens is shooting out on the streets.

399 euro, what the hell? 279 euro, okay, that's reasonable. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are very few reviews of this lens aside from the E-mount version, and next to no actual videos that are any good, at least for someone who does mostly street shooting like I do. I know some online reviewers were saying the lens they had (E mount) was noisy, large and even de-centered, Some trolls were even saying that Sigma doesn't bother about quality control. But the micro four-thirds copy I have looks fine. And a last word about AF noise - I never, never, ever use continuous AF while shooting, so I don't see that as an issue, at least not now. And I'm not very optimistic about the GH5 having super-duper continuous AF either. Edit: I set my GH4 according to Gordon Laing's recommendations to avoid focus 'hunting': The Lumix GH4 has three main focusing modes, selected with a dedicated collar on the back: AFS (Single), AFC (Continuous) and MF (Manual focus). The AFS mode is actually labeled AFS / AFF, with the choice adjusted in a menu and set to AFF by default. This means when the GH4's AF switch is set to AFS / AFF, it may actually be operating in AFF mode and automatically switching between single and continuous as it sees fit. While this seems to work well in casual use, I prefer to set it to Single AF in the menus so I know there won't be any unexpected hunting. There's two pre-focusing options, one which refocuses as you recompose, and another which focuses on the AF area when you first bring your eye to the viewfinder. Both allow the GH4 to essentially focus on a likely subject before you've even had a chance to think about pressing the shutter. They certainly speed up the operation, although again I preferred to override this and turn both off.

Here are two graphs from LensTip.com comparing the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 to the Sigma 30mm f/1.4. So already the 30mm f/1.4 lens at the widest aperture is getting usable results, by f/2 the resolution at the edge of the frame has surpassed the older design, and at f/2.8 the results can only be called sensational. This again shows the advantages of fast lenses - they have a chance to correct for aberrations before diffraction sets in from around f/5.6-f/8. So the newer lens might have one or even two more useful stops than those lenses whose widest aperture is f/2.8 or f/4. I'd say any lens that has three stops where the lens achieves critical sharpness is more than acceptable. Of course, I'm aware that there's more to a lens than just resolution. With the Panasonic Lumix G 12-60 mm f/3.5-5.6 for example, the performance at the widest aperture in the center of the frame is great, less so as focal length increases, and at all apertures, the edges of the frame are nothing to write home about. Which is why, if I were to purchase a zoom, I'd rather have one with more modest parameters. But again, all lens manufacturers are racing to meet the market demand for zooms that cover a wide range, especially for those who travel and don't want to bring along a ton of lenses.

So I visited a few camera stores this morning, looking for the Samyang 12mm T2.2 Cine lens for u43. Nobody had one in stock. The last store I went to, before I could open my mouth, the manager approached me and asked, "how would you like to buy a brand new Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 lens for $1,050.00?" Suffice to say, I didn't leave the store empty-handed. i think the manager was trying to make amends, because around a month ago I wanted to purchase a Nokotn 17.5mm and they said they'd get back to me later that afternoon, but they never called, so I bought it from another dealer. A couple days later, I went to the shop and told the manager how disappointed I was, since I'd purchased my GH4 from them. While I was there, one proud customer had just bought a Leica SL with 24-90mm lens. I asked if I could hold it. It felt like it was chiseled out of one solid block of steel. Anyway, I stopped at a camera repair shop/coffee shop (yes, I'm not kidding!) on the way home and tried to put my GH4 plus Leica 42.55mm on the Crane, only to realize that the Leica is bigger than the GH4 body. So, I have to find some way of making it fit.

You'd never know this was your first time adding sounds. It works perfectly with the soundtrack. I watched it a few times already. So my big question for you is: one of the things I like most about the micro 4/3 system is that there are so many great lenses, and you can adapt anything you like. Many forum members are purchasing the G80/GX80 for the IBIS. Besides being compact, what would you say is the one feature about the GX80 that you like the most?

You've inspired me to take my microphone and audio recorder out of the closet, Jase. I wish I new something about how to mix my own music. May I ask how you added the sound of the water and stuff? Was that recorded on location, or added in editing? Surely, not the camera's internal microphone? And the editing, did you lay the soundtrack first, then cut the clips to the music, or what? Anyhow, i've got a lot to learn...

or silicon wafer lenses

sounds good! Sorry to go off topic, but here's a video shot handheld with the GH4+Sigma 18-35. Apologies for the poor sound, it was completely unplanned. A few shots with the Tokina 11-16. I love the Sigma.

What camera are you thinking of using the XL with?

Where?

I bought the XL for something like $700 including shipping to Vietnam. It costs $650 USD at B&H. How cheap are you talking?

There is no 18-36 Sigma lens. If you mean the 18-35, with a Metabones Speedbooster XL on micro four-thirds shooting C4K, the resulting focal lengths would be from 27mm-52.5mm. I envy your rock-steady arms.

And here's my brief test: I used a Hoya NDX8 ND Filter for all shots. Free background music from JewelBeat.com

@mercer The Sigma 30mm F/1.4 might be compared to those cameras we call a sensor in a box - it's really just some elements in a black tube. When I go out and shoot, I almost always set the GH4 to manual focus, with one function button for monochrome live view (helps to see peaking), one function button for peaking, and another for AF Mode/MF (focus assist). In very low light, or when I need to work quickly, or if I'm just plain lazy, I drag my finger on the touch screen to select AF. I prefer the last method because I can see peaking with AF - in the other modes, no. The lens barrel has virtually no markings, other than the name of the manufacturer, a u43 logo, a shiny sticker with a 'C' and the words 'Made in Japan'. That's it. The focus ring has no stops. I understand it will behave differently according to how quickly it is turned, but I have no problem with it at all - it's nicely dampened, though obviously it's no Voigtlander. ? There, I'm becoming worse than those trolls who keep mentioning some obscure camera produced by a manufacturer of exploding phones. ? When I was younger, I used to collect classical music, and I'd buy records based on reviews in popular magazines like The Gramophone. When I'd get home and listen to their recommended recordings however, I was often disappointed in what I'd heard, and ended up throwing away a lot of money on mediocre performances. I finally found a critic whose judgement I trusted: my ears were able to hear what he described in the pieces he wrote about. And just like music criticism, lens reviews may lead readers to buy a few good lenses, not buy many lenses that are great value for the money, and end up with a number of lenses that never get used. Take this for example: Unlike the APS-C version [of the Sigma 30mm f/1.4] which undoubtedly sits atop the E-mount range as one of the sharpest lenses avaiable, the Micro Four Thirds version falls behind lenses available in that mount's more diverse lens selection. - DPReview and compare to this, from the conclusion of a review over at LensTip: If you look at the Micro 4/3 system’s line-up it is actually the best lens in its class available on the market. To be fair, DPReview did give the Sigma a Silver Award. ?

@Iwestfall My buddy stood me up yesterday, said he had to fly to Hanoi in the morning. So I didn't get to try out the 5D for myself. Concerning the 18-35, I really don't want to go through a lot just to fly it (removing eye cup, adding a quick release plate, etc.) Bu I appreciate the advice.