Jimbo

More impressive than the camera (which looks great) is that XF18-120mm. Parfocal, minimal breathing, weather-sealed, and a power zoom built into the lens! Fantastic. Lenses make or break a system and Fuji just laid down the gauntlet to other manufacturers. Sony and Canon have some impressive cine options, but no lenses that are equally at home in photo and video mode. This XF18-120mm is a new breed. Panasonic have some incredible lenses in both m43 and L mount, but I sure do wish the Lumix division would work with their video division and turn some of their beautiful stills glass into cine versions.

Hey guys, don't know if you've seen but great deal on the S5 at the moment in the UK. Wex have the camera + battery + grip + 12-60mm + 50mm for £1,599 after you apply the £200 discount code, meaning you're getting the camera for around £850. Incredible features and image quality for that price point. Nothing comes close as far as I'm aware. I wonder what this push is about, whether a new model is inbound, or whether it's about getting as many people trying Panasonic as possible to increase market share over time when people see what you get with a Panasonic camera compared to the competition. I hope it works. I am half-tempted to go full full-frame (currently using S1 and GH5s) but damn I love my GH5s and need synchro scan in my back pocket for work, and still prefer its ergonomics to the S1.

I have a pouch on my hip with a 3 stop, 6 stop and 7 & 2/3 stop NDs that I use for all my professional work. All my filters and lenses have Xume magnetic adapters on so I can quick draw 😃 I've been using m43 cameras (and now S Series too) for 10+ years. At first I used vNDs but I found they regularly caused image artefacts in different lighting situations which wasn't acceptable so when the Xume adapters came to market I quickly switched to fixed NDs. I'm pretty fast even for run and gun assignments, and used to quickly dialling in aperture/ISO to bridge the gaps in my NDs. However, I really do want a cinema camera that has NDs built in now. The Canon C70 and Sony FX6 are well thought out and very tempting small cinema cameras. However, I'm hoping the Panasonic team have something up their sleeve. I'd say the three main things keeping me in the Panasonic camp for now are: 1) Trust in these small, bullet proof cameras in any professional environment (studio running for hours, middle of a field getting drenched by rain etc.) 2) A solid, sensible priced B Cam option (S1 and GH5s my current combo) 3) Panasonic's approach to firmware updates and giving customers all they can. No other manufacturer comes close!! Regarding putting NDs in small bodies, I have thought before that putting a single 3 or 4 stop ND on the grip side that you could activate would be awesome. 3/4 stops is a very handy amount of ND for most situations! Good interview, Andrew!

I've been on the good ship Panasonic for 11 years now, using the GH series for my video business. Last year I got an S1 to pair with my GH5. I love the combo as an A/B setup for interviews, and for location shooting having the GH5 with the stellar Leica 8-18mm on the gimbal ready to roll. It's a small and powerful system I can put in a single backpack and the Lumix cameras have never missed a beat for me, bullet-proof in professional environments. However... after a brief flirtation with a C200 I crave built-in NDs and more video-centric ergonomics. The C200 was too heavy and large for my tastes, but the C70 is close to the perfect A camera for me. I'm very tempted. The main reason I haven't switched already is Canon don't have a bullet-proof B cam in their R series line up yet, nothing I would trust over a GH5 for the wide range of work I do (sometimes having to lock off a camera and let it run for 2 hours). I love Panasonic, I want them to keep my business, but the temptation is getting greater. It sounds silly, but a GH6 and S1H II with built-in NDs (up to at least 8 stops) would probably be enough to keep me and upgrade both cameras. I trust them to knock all the other features out the park.

Hi Jeremy, I love the image and OIS on the 17-55mm f2.8, but do be aware that it suffers from zoom creep! Great run and gun lens when you can hold the zoom ring, but if you are on a tripod or forget to hold the zoom ring and point up or down then expect your lens to retract/slide out. Apparently some people do own copies that don't creep, and other's hack it with an elastic band, but it wasn't acceptable for me for professional uses so sent it back. Such a shame. I am saving up for the Canon 18-80mm T4.4. For low light I will my Sigma 18-35mm and accept a bit of shake when handheld.

@kye great feedback, thanks man! Yes, the time limit hampered every element so was very interesting way of working. I think it was a case of wanting to limit the time so I finally (finally!) completed something from end to end and published it without getting overly precious. I overthink everything so it was a great way for me to "break my duck" so to speak. Great feedback on the acting. I think my bro did a phenomenal job given the time constraints, but sure he would also agree that we could have delivered so much more with better writing, more rehearsal, more prep time for me to fully understand the character and be able to communicate that etc. Seriously considering setting my self a short film challenge during this Covid lockdown madness. But the only problem is my girlfriend does not want to be in front of camera so I'm left with the cats... 🙂

Hey Kyle, I have a C200 and attached is the option in the menu that allows me to turn it on/off through HDMI for livestreaming... Hope that helps! James

Guys, thanks so much for taking the time to watch the film and post your thoughts! Awesome. I posted this over a year ago so it's a nice surprise to see these today. @Displayhd - great feedback on audio! I have very little experience with sound design but since releasing it it was the thing that struck me most when watching other people's more accomplished shorts. I barely used any location or foley sound and relied heavily on the music and the character's audio. Big learning point there! Yes, my bro was actor. He definitely has some natural talent and we're hoping to get together and make some more shorts together soon. He'll appreciate that feedback, and agree we could have leveraged more emotion, particularly if the script was more fleshed out. Given the time we had we were relatively happy with the script, but yes sooooo much more we would have liked to have done with it. I don't mind that it poses a few questions, leaves some things a little mysterious, but I don't think we drew the story our strongly enough. hehe, it's funny, we recorded a number of panther approaching shots, with me running, jumping out of the bushes and growling at him, and it was so difficult pulling focus while running and jumping and landing the framing on his face (I was having to shoot close to wide open with the Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 as the light faded) and then we decided we had to record something more simple for backup. I was wide open at iso3200/6400 at the end, retaking the shot trying to get something that would at least make sense! Strangely in the edit we started by using one of these running takes, but it felt a bit "b-movie' which wasn't quite the right vibe. There are some "outtakes" here showing some of the failed attempts haha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPqztHFSLPc&t=1s Love the idea of 8 hour production with most time on script! I think limiting time, giving yourself boundaries, is great for creativity. @KnightsFan - thanks man!! I was really pleased with first shot too. Actually, I think it was my favourite shot and then went down hill from there haha Again, great feedback on audio! Would have loved to use boom mic, but it was just me and my bro doing everything so we had to go with lavalier. Great idea going out and re-recording some of the audio. I think with better planning I would have definitely made time for this because of the value it would have added! Agreed, there could definitely be a little more background on who died. We wanted it to be somewhat ambiguous so people could draw their own conclusions, but it's a little too loose. Thanks so much again for your comments, it's great motivation to start thinking about the next one.

Wow, yeah, this looks great man! Heavy grade required for that look? What light/lens did you have on her for the close ups?

Happy new year all! I’ve finally (finally!) made my first short narrative film. I’ve been a full time videographer for 8 years now, writing on and off in my spare time, but never actually got out and turned my writing into a film. So I decided enough was enough and asked my brother if he was up for the challenge of making something in our home village over Christmas. 8 hours writing and pre-production, a single 8 hour day of filming, and 8 hours of editing. Loved the process. Lots of lessons learned. Here’s the result, and would love your feedback. Cheers, James

I was thinking Mac Mini and Blackmagic eGPU might be awesome combo? I'm using FCP X so think it leverages the eGPU power but hard finding good info online.

Ha! I’m British so my finger swearing approach is slightly different. However... I think 2 x American middles would work nicely here ?

I have to disagree! Panasonic have had an absolute hit with the GH line, culminating in the GH5. If they can bring their incredible video prowess to a full frame body where we get Panasonic video AND 42mp stills with 13+ stops of dynamic range, Varicam-esque colour science, and two card slots for the pros, then they will strike gold. It's basically two fingers up to Canon and Nikon, hence the countdown and 6 month early announcement. Damage them pre-orders... I just hope they excite with the lens lineup.

If I were in the market for an all-in-one video camera, then this looks excellent. I do sometimes get to a point of complete saturation in the pursuit of the perfect camera setup for all my work and think about throwing the towel in and buying something like this!!! I was seriously considering the Panasonic AG-DVX200 at one point. But there was something weird about the image... Image looks great here.

An exciting move from Panasonic. A full frame sensor with GH5 features and I'm sold. It won't replace my trusty GH5, I'll just add it to the stable when it makes financial sense for my work (or when I can't wait a second longer for full frame v-log!) I'm most fascinated by what lens mount they go for, and what inherent advantages it will offer. I think this new and exciting full frame mirrorless war will be won and lost on the mount design and lens options. The Nikon Zed (=P) launch lenses are underwhelming and seem larger than their predecessors, with them citing a new level in optical performance, while the Canon R lenses are incredibly exciting and smaller than their predecessors -- perfect! I hope Panasonic don't got SL... those Leicas are big and heavy. Fingers crossed they go proprietary and lean towards the size/features of the rumoured Canon Rs. If all the manufactures make accelerating fly-by-wire focus rings I'm going to shoot myself in the face... I want Panasonic to knock this out of the park. I think Sony will fear them most out of this new marauding FF pack!!

Beautiful, thanks for the share Zak. The noise looks very organic to my eyes, and them colours!!! Wow.

Great news, Charlie! Hope it goes really well. My main advice would be don't undersell yourself on your day rate. One man band videographer day rates in UK are anywhere between £200-£800 / day. I normally pitch at £500 / day, but model work is a desirable skill in an industry that has money so I'd go higher. It's easier to negotiate down than up! Be yourself and let us know how it goes! (and we' would love to see your work too)

I'm seeing some beautiful colours here. Very impressed.

Great post, @HockeyFan12. Like an arrow to the core. I think we've all gravitated to this site because many of us are in similar boats. We have big, beautiful dreams but on our quest for knowledge we get caught up in the nitty gritty of tech hoping for some panacea (read: magic camera or lens combo) that will solve the heartache of the long and daunting road we have all chosen to stomp along. It's nice not to be stomping alone, hence why this punk's outpost survives in the wilderness, but it's important we don't lose sight of our goals. And if we don't have a goal it's important, like you said, to spend time working out what that is. My goal is to get my work on the silver screen. Something I've written that maybe I can direct too. 6 years ago I setup a videography business to take a step towards that inevitability, scraping a living for many years, and I most certainly got swallowed alive by the tangible allure of tech, until I realised 5 years had gone by and I had bought and sold more cameras and lenses than I had written words. I was pissed with myself to say the least. So for the last year I've been working hard on priorities and most importantly of all building a daily habit of writing, akin to a daily habit of exercise and eating well. It's work in progress, as is life, you never really solve it, you just get up each day and continue the fight. You need laser beam focus and steely determination to achieve your dreams, and as each day passes we have one less day to achieve it. I feel at peace on the days I have written, and that's all the indication I need that that's where I need to keep my focus. Of course I have bills to pay too so this is where the 80/20 rules comes in. 80% of time working on your current business and 20% of time working on the business you want to be in. Great work, Tim. I'm sorry the film was a turkey but that's not your fault. Are you still writing? I hope so. Thanks for sharing, Andrew. Right, I've done my 80% (editing bloody weddings!), had my break (EOSHD and a cup of tea), I'm off home to write for 3 hours!

Yep, I adore mine. The biggest weakness of the GH3 and 4 were colours and lowlight for me. The GH5 is awesome in these respects and adds IBIS (beautiful, precious IBIS) I've always been looking over the fence at the C Line for my business, but since the GH5 I've stopped looking. It does everything in a wonderfully compact form factor which is amazing for travelling gigs, being unobtrusive and getting otherwise impossible shots.

I have a GH5 and love it. The BM cameras have a lovely image but if I were shooting something "cinematic" I'd probably still pick the GH5 because of its usability. I completely agree with you that the precision of cameras and lenses is killing the magic of images. However, with good lighting and filters you can create fantastic images. I stumbled across this today on a colour grading Facebook page. Really impressed with the look. Shot in VLOG, graded in Davinci, Sigma zooms:

Hello, I normally approach bidding/quoting with a fixed day rate for filming/editing/travelling to keep it simple. If there is 1.5 days of travel, 1 day of filming and 2 days of editing then I quote 4.5 x Day Rate. I think of travelling as lost time where I could have been filming/editing. However, there are always exceptions. At the moment, with new clients where I think there might be more work down the line with them, I'm offering a 20% introductory rate on my day rate on the first job (I'm very explicit in the final invoice that the day rate is at 20% discount) so I can get a foot in the door. This gives me a chance to show them the quality of my work and how easy I am to work with. Also, for a recent quote for a job in Finland with a new client, I quoted 1 day of travel where it was really 1.5, making a point of it but letting them know that I'd love to work with them. I may have got the job without the discount, but I wanted to increase my chances of securing it, especially as there should be more work down the line. Generally I try to give myself a bit of wriggle room with the quote too. A lot of companies, especially smaller ones, will ask if there is anything I can do to bring the quote down. I hope that helps! Good luck!

Nice @Fritz Pierre - something like that telephoto mount could be the ticket!

Nah, different beasts. The GH5 is phenomenal. I can do pretty much any work I need to with it. IBIS + VLOG + those data rates in such a small, reliable package; Panasonic nailed it. However, down the line, something 2/3 times more expensive with better DR + 35mm sensor in a video-centric body would be a nice step up. I think the challenge for Panasonic is offering a proposition that will pull people from Sony FS5 or Canon C100. If it's got Varicam colour science then it will tempt Sony users, and we know it will blow Canon away with respect to feature set. That leaves dedicated lenses (and the new awesome offerings from Fujifilm) + electronic ND as the final bastions of Sony and dedicated lenses + DPAF the final bastions of Canon in my opinion. Going to be a fun June.

Thanks, Hans! Are there any goto straps/clamps you'd recommend?