IronFilm

Swedish is just Danish said with a funny accent.

Depends which countries and which states you're referring to. I'd say there is a bigger difference between New York and Alaska, than there is between Sweden and Norway.

My monopod has a fluid head on it.

I WISH isolationism was the dominant thread of politics in America, unfortunately the constant nonstop wars USA gets into decade after decades proves that is not the case. American politics is very very much so interventionist, and not isolationist. (and wars are but one way that Americans meddle with affairs overseas 😕 ) Was USA really the winner in WW2? Technically the conventional thinking is indeed that USA "won" WW2, but if it was any kind of victory at all it is was a borderline pyrrhic victory. https://www.fff.org/2012/02/16/won-world-war-ii-2/ "Those who seek power are not worthy of that power. " ~ Plato (basically if someone wants to be a politician... that should rule them out as a good option!) "The best argument against Democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

I've seen this configuration too a few times on sets. Basically you take a monopod, and stick the bottom of it into a little "pocket" (such as a very strong drink bottle holder) which is attached to a sturdy waist belt.

Unfortunately if you lived in NZ and closely followed the ridiculous slapstick comedy of events here, then you'd realize NZ's government is no exception. They're a reactive committee too, to put it charitably, and a very slowly reacting one too. We only look so good to the rest of the world thanks more to dumb luck than anything else, and due to the amazingly good hand of cards the gods dealt us in the first place. Because we're a low density country, which is an island by ourselves (easy natural barriers to defend ourselves with! Zero land borders with anybody else), in the middle of nowhere (sandwiched between a sea and an ocean), with only one city that is also the most remote city in the entire world! If last year was a computer game simulation we were playing, you couldn't hope for a better starting position! It's like playing the game on easy mode. How much credit can you really give our government when they're playing the game in the easiest of easy modes?? (oh plus also, during the earliest months while everyone in the world was trying to figure out a response we were in the midst of summer, and didn't need to be in the extra hard mode of doing this in middle of winter. Yet another natural factor that was in NZ's favor) Then on top of this, we also had one of the world's harshest lockdowns a country has had for initially for quite a long while. (good for squashing a virus? But the economic consequences of that are not trivial and can't be ignored forever) And yet, we still had to later on in the year go into a second lockdown. Fingers and toes crossed that we don't get a third!

I wish! Should have splurged out on one of the knockoffs years ago? But would like to read more reviews about them. For me I tended to use tripod/monopod/shoulder-rig. Know the feeling! I tend to do the splits to get my height down lower when using a shoulder rig. But of course that is a very uncomfortable position, especially if shooting for long days. Which becomes VERY uncomfortable if you have to shoot anybody notably below average height. Unfortunately at only 6' 3" tall I feel that cradling the camera then goes a little too far on the too low side of things for it to be an optimal general purpose shooting stance. A couple of camera ops I know who are taller than I do however use this approach as their default manner of shooting (with a RED Gemini, which is also better suited for this style of shooting). Perhaps if I owned a Cinesaddle that would get the camera up just those extra few inches into a better position, and take the bulk of the weight of the camera too, a win-win.

Same problem with WFM on the GH5, it is "too large", perhaps if I was able to turn up the transparency of the WFM box then it would be more tolerable to leave it up & on?

I'll give my personal thoughts on each brand, one by one: Zaxcom: The Nova is a very new product, I see almost no chance of a "Nova 2.0" coming out this year. Deva 24 is a little older than Nova, but also their highest end product which thus has a longer life cycle, I see it as unlikely there will be a Deva release in 2021. Could Zaxcom release a product which is between Nova & Deva 24, or below Nova? I doubt it. Sound Devices: The 8 Series is their latest range, I don't see any chance whatsoever they'll be ending the 8 Series in 2021 and replacing it with something newer. No chance at all. Could the 8 Series be added to??? Is there space to squeeze in a product in between an 833/888/Scorpio? Nope, I don't think so. (but then again, I've been surprised before, when the 888 came out in between the 833 & Scorpio) Could an 8 Series recorder come out below an 833 or above a Scorpio?? Seems unlikely. Scorpio is already their most expensive ever product, and if they released a product below the 833 that might put it too close in price to a MixPre10 underneath it? (but hey, perhaps I might be wrong, and a "Sound Devices 811" will come out? A mini sized 833, with 1x XLR + 3x TA3F all for say just US$2.5K?? I doubt it, but that's an example of how an odd ball product which might come out and surprise us) Now as for the MixPre series, all bets are off here, as Sound Devices has been putting out new updates and variants to this at a furious pace in recent years. As while I "guess" they will not bring out any new MixPres in 2021, I'd also not be surprised either if one (or more!) gets announced. Sonosax: Their SX-R4+ has been around for a while, time for an update? But then again, Sonosax is an extremely small company, and it is to be expected their products will have long life cycles between updates. Aaton: Cantar X3 came out in 2014 (and the Cantar Mini in 2017). You'd think that after 7 years that perhaps an update is coming? But not necessarily, the X3 still seems to be very popular, you never hear of anybody leaving X3 for something "better/newer" and the X3 is still attracting new users to the platform. Plus as a high end premium product (it is after all the most expensive field recorder there is) we can expect that it will have long life for its product cycle. Perhaps next year we might get a hint from Aaton that the "X4" is under development?? Maybe. But I'm not expecting a new field recorder to be released by Aaton this year. Nagra: Nagra Seven came out waaaay back in 2013, surely it is time for an update? Nagra VI is even older from 2008! But no, won't expect an update to these in 2021. Nagra has more or less abandoned the film market, as they're focused instead now on the high-end audiophile market. Verdict: Nagra is AWOL. Tascam: The DR680mk2 & DR701D are now both looking totally outclassed in the budget end of the market once the Zoom F8 came out. And the Tascam HS-P82 is from 2009! Was a nice machine, but looooong overdue for an update. While I'd like to dream that Tascam will bring out a product in the mid range as an update to the HS-P82, and new low end product which is competitive in the new "Zoom F8 Era", I don't see any sign of life from Tascam that they'll do that. In 2021 I expect Tascam to be AWOL. Roland: Take everything I just said about Tascam, and appeal an extra heavy dose of skepticism and pessimism. As nope, I do not at all expect an update from Roland to their R4 Pro or R44. Am definitely expecting Roland to be AWOL in 2021. Fostex: Take everything I just said about Roland, and times it by ten. Fostex will be AWOL in 2021. Zoom: The Zoom F8n came out in 2018, but that's wasn't a major revolutionary update to the F8 but rather a half step refresh midway through the F8's life cycle. The Zoom F6 came out in 2019. 2020 didn't see anything from Zoom in the F Series (unless you count their mini bodypack recorders as part of their "F Series", which technically they are), thus could we see a new product in 2021? I think perhaps so. As these are products which could see a faster refresh cycle, there won't be an F6n in 2021 (as the F6 is the newest), but more likely a replacement to the F8 series.... a "Zoom F9"?? As the F8 is the oldest, and the F8n was a minor refresh. Personally I'd love to at least see a Zoom F4n, an F4 with a few tweaks (such as pro line level outputs, ditching EXH-6 for inputs 5 & 6 instead using 2x TA3F, further UI tweaks, adding bluetooth, USB keyboard without needing FRC-8, etc). But it seems Zoom believes the F6 is the true replacement for the F4 (which is not true at all!), thus I'm not counting on an "F4n" arriving. But something like a "Zoom F8n Pro / F9 / F10 / etc" seems reasonably likely in 2021 RØDE/Deity/Saramonic/BlackmagicDesign/AJA/"Unknown"/Etc: This heading is for all of those wild card unknowns from companies which have never before made a field recorder for the film industry. Such as, could 2021 be the year we see a "Chinese F8" field recorder? A low low priced field recorder like the F8, but from a Chinese brand. I doubt it, but we've already seen a couple of Chinese companies dip the edges of their toe into the water with Saramonic (their Saramonic SR-VRM1 & SR-Q2M) & Deity (with their Deity BP-TRX) making mini recorders, thus is a bigger field recorder next? Again, I doubt it, but this is an example of the kind of "surprise" we might see in 2021. Likewise, Blackmagic Design already makes video recorders (with their range of Blackmagic Video Assist recorders), is an audio recorder next? I doubt it, but who knows. Likewise with that other Australian company: RØDE. What might RØDE have planned? They're an audio focused company, will they surprise us with an audio recorder? And while on the topic of BMD, what about their competitor AJA? They've build video recorders too, might AJA surprise us? I doubt it, who knows though. As I bet 2021 will have a surprise from us, most likely from some unknown left field company which I haven't even mentioned yet. But of those that I mentioned, perhaps most likely (or rather "least unlikely" is a better way to describe it) would be Rode or Saramonic in my wild guess of an opinion? But if Rode did this, it would be a product unashamedly aimed at the YouTubers/videographers. And the Saranomic field recorder would be dirt cheap yet surely also be a huge steaming heap of sh*t (but perhaps after a few generations would evolve into a "not terrible" product). Thus in brief summary, I'm not expecting many major field recorder announcements in 2021, aside from "a Zoom F10" plus maaaaaaybe a MixPre and quite likely some kind of left field announcement none of us are even expecting.

@dgbarar. so which is it?

https://recvideo.app/ Doesn't say if you should hardwire one to the phone, or if it will pick it up over Bluetooth?

We had the theory today that the rise in popularity of Soju could be linked to the increase in popularity of K Pop. But yes, watching Korean TV series could be another avenue. Another personal theory I've got is that Soju is being used as a substitute for RTDs. Especially as you can't buy stronger RTDs any longer, they've been banned 😞 😞 No more 12% Cody's of my youth! (although, I'd prefer 8% as the sweet spot)

Additionally we've been seeing diminishing returns for years with PCs, we're not seeing the same big leaps every couple of years like we used to back in the 1990's or 2000's. (although AMD's Ryzen has been doing well to help pick up the pace again!) Which makes secondhand deals even better value than they used to be, as they're no longer quite so "out of date" after a few years. That diminishing returns with each new model is even more true for photography! They're much more stagnant. Would anybody claim the leap from a Nikon D7200 (2015) to a D7500 (2020) is a bigger leap than the D70s (2005) to D7000 (2010) was? Or that a Canon 60D (2010) to a Canon 90D (2020) was a bigger leap (from a purely photography perspective) than a Canon 30D (2000) to a Canon 60D (2010) was? I just borrowed a friend's Panasonic GH5 so that I can use it for tomorrow's NYE YouTube live stream!! As sadly my GH4 can't act as a USB webcam 😞 He has labelled each of his lenses in his camera bag. For instance his Panasonic 14-140mm has "14-140mm" on the lens cap. For the SLR Magic 8mm he's got "4-16mm"!! WTF That "4 to 16" is the F-Stop range the SLR Magic has. He doesn't realize the difference between F-Stop or Focal Length? Or Prime vs Zoom Lens?? Now and then I get a shocking reminder of just how bad the level of "average knowledge" is out there. Yup. Business skills trump artistic skills. Artistic skills trump technical skills.

I didn't even realize there was so many different flavors of Soju until I started working on this ad campaign last week! Guess it has been a long long time since I last drank Soju before this.

"Free" only in the sense of computing power needed, in that you're enabling a "4K capable" PC to edit 8K via the proxies cheat. But you're still spending thousands of dollars more on storage, and thousands of dollars more on your equivalent camera. Not counting the value of your time either. None of this is likely to make any financial sense whatsoever. But perhaps you don't care about money at all. Fair enough, heck I've spent thousands of dollars on Ironman racing over the years, there is no financial logic to that either! And I'd rather someone has the hobby of 8K filmmaking than playing golf.

Soju is our poison of choice today! (although no, can't drink any until we wrap) As doing a shoot today for an advert of a Soju brand: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJZesHMsF1E/ (the sound that is)

You're not the only one! First DSLR I owned: Nikon D50 First HDSLR that I used: (my GF's) Nikon D90

Exactly, @shooter's budget and "requirements" don't match at all! Even worse that they want it in a laptop.

The difference between an otherwise identical 8K vs 4K setup when it comes to cameras, or to a PC to handle it smoothly, or the extra storage required across an entire film / series, then yes, each of those components is thousands of dollars extra. Are you really saying you've got nowhere that you could put that which you'd get a better return from?

I bet if I did a deep dive I could absolutely get a better bang for my buck system than HP can do! HP isn't perfect. They're not optimizing for the same things as I am optimizing for, neither could they stay up to the minute like a proper computer nerd can. But what do I value my time at for all that researching? Even if only a minimum wage, I could quickly earn the money to have a better system than all that time might have "saved" me in squeezing out my dollars to go further! Getting older and realizing this has made me become a bit less judgmental when I for instance see a person filming with a 5Dmk4 (wtf?!), sure there are many many better cameras for less. But this person might for instance have built a great business on the back of the 5Dmk2 (which was an ok choice at the time, even a "good choice") and then the 5Dmk3 (still an "ok-ish choice" for its time) and just is doing what is in their mind a "natural progression" to the 5Dmk4. They might have spent only a single afternoon researching that decision, if that. And have done exactly zero to keep up with the latest trends in between that 5Dmk3 and mk4 purchase. So what if the GH5 / a7Smk2 / NX1 / X-H1 / etc exist, for the amount of time it would cost him to properly research it, figure out, and decide on "something else" as the "better choice" he could have purchased TWO Canon 5Dmk4! And heck, that's not even counting the hassle and time it costs to swap over his lens collection to another lens mount... he could have bought 3x or even 4x 5Dmk4 by then! From a practical point it just doesn't make financial sense to do the deep dive and go with a different camera system. Sad by true. (this isn't even factoring in non-film considerations, what if he's a primarily a photographer? And only 10% of his income is videography. You don't always know everyone's particular circumstances) This same "logic" behind buying the 5Dmk4, is why many people will also be buying the a7Smk3. So even though over in the other thread I ranted against those who buy the a7Smk3 because of its poor value for money, I also totally understand those who do buy it. Tonnes of people started out on say a NEX-5N, then got the a7Smk1 and made a good living with it, and then the a7Smk2 and be using it professionally day in day out without another thought about camera nerdy specs. Getting the a7Smk3 next is just an easy "no brainer" for them that they don't even have to think about. (although honestly, I'd say the FX6 should be their pick...) My Ryzen 5 Mini PC is quite quiet! I've known HMI ballasts to be noisier. But still, it isn't totally 100% quiet, think it might be borderline inappropriate for me to use it in a Sound Cart build because you can still just barely hear it in a very quiet background. And we in the Sound Department need to be setting high standards!

Indeed! That would be another great option. Just tonnes of other great choices out there other than the a7Smk3 I just tend to be an advocate for "maximum bang for buck" / "best ROI", and at US$3.5K it doesn't seem like the a7Smk3 is that. True, but if someone is looking for a compact low light monster for sub $1K then it isn't too shabby. (especially if someone has a strong bias towards Sony) Their prices have fallen surprisingly low thanks to the a7Smk3 (lower than I expected! As the a7Smk3 was priced so high, I didn't think it would have so much influence on secondhand a7Smk2 prices?). On eBay today I got offered an a7Smk2 for US$800 (came with a Metabones too, so essentially it was US$700 for an a7Smk2? If you could sell the metabones for even just a hundred bucks)

Sometimes you have to be brutally honest with yourself and admit that so called "future proof" is a delusional dream that the likes of RED are selling you. Don't buy the B.S. As in reality, nobody will care about your production a couple of years from now. You're not creating the next "Gone with the Wind" masterpiece that will be spoken of for generations to come. (& that wasn't shot in 8K!) For 99.99% of us, we don't need 8K deliverables. Not this year, not next year, not the year after that, or even the year after that. By the time you "need" 8K deliverables, there will be cameras and PCs out far better than any which are out now, and costing far less too. So why waste your thousands and thousands of dollars right now? Just get yourself a quality 4K camera and PC rig.

I do agree, as someone who has actually built a few systems over the years, that doesn't sound like actually building a system up. You more or less got a fairly somewhat bare bones system, then threw in a few extra choice parts to super charge it up. To be fair, as I get older and value my limited time on the earth more highly, and as I grow more and more out of touch with the latest fine details of latest PC products, I too could see myself doing similar for a future PC "build". Just get a barebones build, then throw in the extra RAM / GPU / HDD / SSD that I source myself. As those things are easy easy to install yourself. Am actually right now using this very second a PC I completely bought from China:

The a7S mk3 just seems stupidly overpriced! You could buy a secondhand URSA Mini 4.6K, or Canon C200, or Sony FS7, or even a Sony PMW-F5 for the same price (OR LESS!!) You may even have enough money left over to pick up a secondhand Nikon D750 / D500 / Sony a7R / etc as a terrific stills camera! Or if you must go with just a single hybrid camera, the previous a7Smk2 is now a steal on ebay for around US$1K or less.

Already exists! You can get the Panasonic GH4 for that price. (well, you need to already own a recorder) And give it another year or so of depreciation, then once the Z CAM E2C shows up (but rarely!) on eBay secondhand it will likely be close-ish in price to $400ish, that has 4K 10bit.