IronFilm

At least here in New Zealand, they engaged in the sleight of hand of swapping "flatten the curve" for "elimination strategy".

I've noticed with the GH series Panasonic has had a tick-tock approach. One cycle of the GH series release, is a big leap forward, then the next one after is a refinement. GH1 to GH2: GH2 is what put the GH series on the map. GH2 to GH3: essentially a refined and perfected GH2. GH3 to GH4: big leap! 4K got added. GH4 to GH5: essentially a refined and perfected GH4. Thus if the GH5 is the "refined GH4", does that mean the GH6 will deliver a big leap forward for us? Fingers crossed. (it does mean though if the GH6 is a big leap forward, I fully expect the GH7 to merely be "a refined/perfected GH6")

Thank you, you made my earlier point that I've been repeatedly saying. Video professionals. Not audio professionals. Or in other words, you're taking your recommendations for audio from people who don't place a #1 priority on audio. This is very much like going onto graphic design forums and asking for advice on cameras, and being recommended a Canon 5Dmk3 or mk4 (or a T2i at the lower budget end). Are they still "capable cameras" which can get the job done? Yes, of course they are. Are they in most cases a good recommendation in 2021? Hell no!! They're an outdated sub optimal choice. Same is true of the G3/G4/416/etc, yet people keep on parroting recommendations (just like is happening in this thread) without any wider and deeper understanding of the context they have against the current competition. Just like people who brought a 5Dmk4 for filming with because their friend used a 5Dmk3 for years and recommended it to them. (you know many of those people existed for 5D buyers!) And Audio Ltd. And Wisycom. And Shure. And Q5X. And.... You do realize it is my full time job (when we're not in lockdowns... gah) I have working in the sound departments on film/tv sets? I live, dream, and breath this every moment. I've got exactly ZERO connection to Sony whatsoever (aside from owning Sony cameras/lenses/wireless, all of which I purchased with my own money). I've never even ever communicated with anybody from Sony even once! (aside from when I rang them up once to find out the costs in NZ to do the 4K upgrade for a FS700) I've laid out my reasons earlier in this thread as to why I see Sony UWP-D21 as the best sub US$1K buy for new wireless. (address those, rather than ad hominems) With Lectro 200 series (or with a bit of luck, 400 series) as the best sub $1K buy if going secondhand. While Deity Connect Wireless being the best choice at the level below, if you're forced to look for a wireless for roughly half the cost of a Sennheiser G4. However, if you're going this dirt cheap I'd be starting to suggest you consider wired lavs instead (or perhaps maybe even the new bodypack recorders that hit the market recently).

There were definitely many serious mental issues that arose out of WW2, both from those who went to the front line, and those who stayed behind as well. That's not something we should want. (& yet, many desire lockdowns) We should universally recognize war as "a bad thing", any comparisons to the worst war in history is a horrifying thing to do and should be a wake up call that we're doing something wrong! (not that I believe a month of lockdowns for say Londoners is equivalent to a month of WW2 was for them, but still.... the fact that the effects of lockdowns are so severe that people find it a reasonable comparison to leap to is in itself I find concerning ) I completely agree with all your points I quoted in this paragraph, especially what I bolded at the start of your paragraph. We're being artificially pumped up at the moment, but the hangover will arrive eventually. It can't be pushed off into the future forever. "Fear the Boom and Bust: Keynes vs. Hayek" (rap battle)

Hang on, how did we get to be talking about slavery in a general sense??? I was very specifically taking about timecode! 😅 As of course obviously we shouldn't in general ever have the camera be the master for timecode! 😮 Hell no. You want that to be your audio recorder (assuming it is of professional standard), or one of your timecode boxes to be picked as master. (then everything is slaved to that)

Last time I checked, I'm subject to the orders of the government. (hence why I'm currently in living in lockdown, if this can be called "living") And yes, we do indeed work for long stretches of the year without remuneration, as what we produce gets stolen away by the government. Did you know Tax Freedom Day doesn't arrive until mid April in the USA? (and not until May/June for New Zealanders!! Yes, we spent nearly half the year working for the government!) That's longer than many past slaves of history spent working for their Masters!! We're living in the matrix, we're cows being farmed to feed the government machine. (a video made by one of my friends, enjoy the kiwi accent)

A way to stick with your current gear, while spending only a very small amount of additional cash would be to add a remote follow focus. As there have been some usable prosumer ones which have recently become very affordable: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1438685-REG/tilta_wlc_t04_nucleus_nano_wireless_lens_control.html This is assuming you are working with an AC, who could handle this. Or you can rig up a contraption to somehow juggle using it yourself while operating the gimbal at the same time. (not impossible, I've seen people with this configuration, but is tricky)

Remember the lie of "flatten the curve" we were sold back in 2020?

Sounds like you should do option #3 then, purely by a process of elimination as the only one remaining. Ask yourself this: Would you ever ever ever film anything without even once looking at your camera's monitor? So why would you do this to your audio?

Good lord no!!! 😮 Make it be the slave, not the master. So true.

By: 1) finding the budget for pro wireless Or: 2) finding the budget to hire a Sound Mixer Or: 3) using the lav with a bodypack recorder, along with a virgin sacrificed to the gods under a full moon while praying that this plan all works out without a hiccup

That's true for non-professionals at sound, those who are not full time working in the sound department. They are the wireless of choice by those who are not specialists in this field. They're used by wedding videographers, camera ops, and shooting preditors, etc They get rented out by photography rental houses, or general videography rental houses, and such. They're not the primary rental of any specialist production sound rental houses. I thought it is important to make this distinction very clear, Sennheiser G3/G4 are chosen by people who are not knowledgeable about sound and don't need to rely upon it as their primary income. It's like asking a MUA about the best ring light, rather than a Gaffer.

Nope! But it's just the facts: Better range with the Sony Better ergo design with the Sony More features with the Sony When you really compare them head to head, it isn't even close, Sony comes out on top. I am a pro. And I'm saying, don't buy a new 416. If you're choosing on the basis of reliability, then you sure as hell don't choose a Sennheiser EW100 G3/G4. And those "rental houses", they're not specialist audio houses (their normal rental stock would more likely be Lectros), they're general photography/videography rental houses. (thus you should take their opinions on anything audio with a massive grain of salt! Or even better, keep the salt to yourself rather than waste it on their audio opinions. As keeping the salt would be worth more than what their opinions are)

Go for a cabled lav then, such as one of the cheap Deity ones. That's even cheaper! With waaaaay better reliability and quality.

/Zaxcom Lawyers have entered the chat.... Perhaps Rode is willing to contest hard in court this bullsh*t patent? And Rode thinks Zaxcom is smart enough not to try and take on a much bigger company than themselves in court, as Rode could make this run on longer with legal fees than perhaps Zaxcom could cope with. Rode isn't the only one willing to fight it either, the case with Lectrosonics is still ongoing. In the end, I think the patent expires in 2024 anyway? Absolute MADNESS that this wasn't included! What was Rode thinking???

Absolutely. The new Sony FX series is going to be bought by people, and will prove to be popular as there are people out there who want them. The tv series I was working on today had the vast majority of the cameras being FX9 or FX6! (with a few other Sonys thrown in there, like the Sony F5) How many FX cameras in total? I didn't even try to count. But just in the sound department (and we're way in the minority compared to the size of the camera crew! Of course, as is always normal) we have five of us. And that's just on this one shoot.

But if the Panasonic S1H is so much better, why did you get the Sony a7Smk3 instead??

NO TIMECODE!!! There is exactly ZERO chance that this will get Netflix Approval in the current form. Timecode & eND alone make the FX6 worthwhile instead for any professional, at a cost of "only 50% more". That won't cut it at all for Netflix commissioned projects.

That's the same type of logic behind recommendations such as buying a new Sennheiser 416, or a Canon 5Dmk3. Both are a bad, or at least suboptimal, idea in 2021.

This is a great thing! Especially when you're working on very disorganized reality tv shows like I was today (or when you're working productions which are trying to be "stealthy" and/or catching the subject off guard), because then I (who is manning the audio mixer) will be always able to tell at a glance if the cam op is rolling or cut.

The lens hood makes the difference seem bigger than it is.

"No" is my opinion of anything from Synco Sony UWP-D21 / Deity Connect / Sennhieser G4 (in that ranking order) is my bottom line when it comes to barely acceptable as prosumer standard wireless.

Sigma 28-70 f2.8 + Panasonic S5 makes for a crazy compact yet powerful combo! Yes, MFT is still smaller, but not by much?

That's a marginally small difference that feels worth it. If you have your heart set on Sennheiser, then don't buy a new G4, get a secondhand G3 instead. You're not missing out on anything when comparing the entry level G4 vs G3.

The D850 is a decent enough camera for filming with (especially for your purposes from the sounds of it, a D850 might even be called "overkill"), it is a camera many of us would have killed for only a handful of years ago. Rather than buying a secondhand Panasonic GH5, put that money into buying a Sound Devices MixPre3 & SmallHD Focus.