j_one

Looks like they’re sticking to the Sony Alpha 7 strategy moving forward. Reusing the chassis with slight tweaks. Hope not. The S5ii/g9ii body is fine. Mid. Not necessarily cheap feeling. But it doesn’t feel like it will last for years either; I’ve already had to send it in for servicing on the shutter mechanism, and some buttons are already loose.

I shot S5ii h265 yesterday as b-cam to the ursa mini pro, and for some shots I'm really preferring the S5ii image. Consider the fact that the BRAW out of the S5ii bypasses most of the complaints people have with the L2 processing…if you can deal with a monitor and latency…that image is literally the best you can get for its accompanied features under $2.5k, no question. I’d agree though, the S series first gen colors are special. It’s what makes me want to pick up an s5 or s1h sometime.

Dfd? I hope they don’t consider pdaf a premium feature. I’m going to wait till March before rethinking lens investment.

This. I find RAW helps most when an actual budget is put into production design on a well-lit set where one can quite visibly benefit from the differentiation and depth of colors. That's when I see the benefits at least.

Within the context of this comparison, I just imagined the S1r sensor in S9 body (a la a7cr or FP-L), I'd buy a walk-around camera like that for sure

I believe I'm in the same boat. I've been thinking about this. The S5ii seemed like a revival in momentum, not just for PDAF but for how much they packed into that release and its subsequent firmware updates. But where are the prosumer releases? Gh7...mkay... I don't know if these rumors of S1 successors are well grounded or just fan whispers, but I'm getting to the point where putting brand favoritism aside for the sake of choosing the right tool for the job/business takes precedence. And that's looking like Nikon Z + Sony E combo. Runner up being Canon RF offerings. C80 and R5ii look great. I've been wanting a refresh of the S1r without having to go Leica, or a PDAF video hybrid in a moire-free body, or reduced HDMI latency so it's actually usable in professional environments. I never thought I'd go back to Sony or Canon after all these years, but it's getting harder to deny what the market calls for. The A1 and Z8/9 bodies are foolproof. There's a lot of FX owner ops that stay getting work just off their kit. I'm tempted. For all the features Panny is known for, other manufacturers are starting to include them in their hybrids (Sony adding Braw and shutter angle, Canon adding waveform, Nikon internal raw etc). So they stand out less and less, save for stellar IBIS, open gate. And for that, I can just keep an s9 on my hip no matter what system I'm invested in. To be real, what had me hold on a bit longer was Blackmagic going L-mount with the Pyxis. That was interesting. I'll wait a bit longer and see. But the A1/Z8 hitting $3k~ is looking more attractive now!

Okay. I heard some early reports of compatibility/profile issues for the Sidus One with non-aputure fixtures, and I have CRMX lights from Godox and Astera too. I've been eyeing Sidus one since Aputure support is strong. Most affordable option is Godox TRX Timolink but I dunno how it will play with non-Godox lights AND outside the Knowled app, let alone reliability/range as a transmitter. I may just play it safe with the Moonlite...if you have any more thoughts do let me know!! Anyway my favorite aspect of these sales is how vendors push down the prices of used units accordingly. Happy shopping everyone!

Are you working in CRMX workflows on set? I'm curious about using Blackout+Ipad with my compatible lamps. What setup would you go with if you get the Sidus One?

Cool. Personally if they end up adding El Zone to this monitor, I will consider picking it up.

When first trying to get my foot in the door in filmmaking, lumix mft and canon rebels were the popular choices 10 years ago. Panny cameras (and blackmagic) in particular were the lesser known cameras you'd pick up if you wanted to get your feet wet with great specs at a great price, but they were also the cameras seen as "low tier", the cameras you'd trade in for a more mature and reputable system like Canon (and now Sony) when you moved up in your career. I thought that with the introduction of the S series lumix bodies (especially the S1H), as well as PDAF, that budget stigma for Panny would change. But it really hasn't unfortunately. I suspect it comes down to the ecosystem. The S1 cameras were a great introduction, but they weren't taken seriously at the time by the market (no system track record or PDAF, expensive/limited lenses, etc). They were already behind and mostly dismissed at launch. Most of the S series launch "issues" have been remedied now, and the S1 bodies are proven workhorses, but now where are the new cameras? How can anyone plan an ideal upgrade path from the S5ii? What it's really about for me: I'm still shook by how Samsung disappeared with no warning after the NX1/NX500 and believe any under-performing company could follow suit in pulling the plug like that. When you're investing thousands into a system, you'd get nervous too if you notice signs of trouble for it's future.

Confirmed: So it's S5D, S9 firmware, and S5ii/x firmware. ...Tired of waiting. Literally just want the S1H and S1R with some refresh features from the s5ii. I've been thinking of going full nikon Z + sony E for the system I grow into.

The lens itself. The compact body was just a bonus.

With the success of the x100v, I wonder why there hasn't been a large sensor compact refresh from Panny. The LX100 ii was barely an update too, I just don't understand...its one of my favorite cameras.

It's crazy how they go for $4k used now. Or maybe it's not so crazy, I often forget how much time has passed (it's already 2024?) but it's a great value. I'd be tempted to switch too. By the way, eva1 secondhand prices are even more insane now. I struggle with the idea of having kit that would get me hired more easily, or at least be "recognizable" by name vs someone asking "what's a varicam?". Hell at least they'll know what an ursa mini is despite its reputation as a lower end camera/brand. I think that's what pushed me to lean towards the ursa vs the eva1 when I started. For corporate it seems FX line dominates, some Canon. Narrative, its any Alexa with some Venice here and there. Commercial, it's a toss up between any of the big players, including Komodo/Raptor/C300. So I came to the conclusion that if you don't have the trending models in your kit then your strategy to be hired as an owner op by camera model alone is almost a moot point, and you should just get a baseline camera package that YOU prefer and works for your lower-end jobs where renting isn't even in the conversation.

I've been trying to find a source for this literally anywhere. Is it mostly hearsay? Marketing touts brand new sensor.

Pocket Cinema Camera 6k, same Pocket 6k Pro housing, new internals

As an S5ii owner enjoying in-body cooling I not only agree with the sentiments but also applaud the thorough review of where we were vs what people deem acceptable now. I think all I'm saying in regards to crying out that 4k 120fps overheats quickly is that, at its price point, I'd be surprised if it didn't, past or present. If they throw in the kitchen sink to marginally compete on specs (or poorly attempt to not cannibalize other units), so be it. As with the R5, if people make the complaints apparent enough through user experience, I'm hoping future sales will force them to dial back on poor marketing practices, push and pull. I personally can't wrap my head around the concept of cameras priced like the zv-e1 that just may light on fire when you press record. But I also feel the same way about the flood of six second IG/tiktok reels with seizure-inducing transitions. If that's their audience, maybe I'm just out of touch, and it makes sense why they think they can get away with it. There's a demographic.

4k60p record times seem decent for this kind of body considering past Sony track record. And to complain about overheating when recording 4k120p for long periods of time...I really cannot think of any common shooting scenario where one would need to be doing that reliably. I also can understand the philosophy of urging manufacturers to sell cameras that just don't overheat at all. My older iPhone overheats and slows to a crawl in these record-breaking summer temps. I don't cut Apple slack for that so I guess its only fair to give my professional camera tools the same treatment. Still though. Yeah, don't make excuses for engineers cutting corners in heat-dissipation (for whatever reasons they do it for), but also, SIR, really, why are you recording 4k120 for that long? 60p sure...

Glad you got it sorted (for now, I'm going to start keeping tally score of your re-configurations lol) I think the only real reason I'd want the X is for All-I recording with the RAW upgrade thrown in.

Right, some of the "criticisms" could be labeled as nitpicking, sensor-sh*tting or genuine concerns depending on your use case for the camera (and the expectations you would have from a $2k mirrorless unit). Me personally, I really wasn't expecting the first attempt at PDAF to be this great and am happy to wait on the updates or new iterations of the tech. However issues with banding, channel clipping, chroma noise pattern and green noise signal, picture profile NR and smoothing etc are worthy of mention on the sole basis of them being a step back from previous models. These are new issues that weren't there before, much like S1H ghosting. But regardless, I'm enjoying the S5ii for everything it CAN do and have been working around the processing quirks, there's no other swiss army knife camera like it. It's pulling its weight with strobe photography. Videos grade wonderfully with VLOG in good light. I have some great LUTs to burn in looks, very handy for turnaround. The boot time is kinda annoying, though. Perhaps I'm most curious about how the S5IIx prores (and even HDMI raw image) will look in comparison to the current image in the S5ii with the available codecs. There's some noticeable differences in the processing of the prores image of the GH6 vs h.265 and I suspect the same will be true here!

I think this is the biggest thing that has started to have me considering returning the camera while I still have a week left to do so. Also, all the exterior footage I've shot and seen online looks leaning towards a magenta/brown tint too much. The latitude and banding issues in the S5 facebook group seems to fall on deaf ears when called out. I actually thought V-log colors were better on skin and clothes in the studio scene in that video, but the green shadows are really not great when compared to original S5.

Ever since the D750 I've had hopes that Nikon would pull through with a banger of a release in video specs. I think the Z9 RAW indicates they're going in the right direction, but I just haven't seen enough use or support online to draw a proper conclusion. When NRAW was released I was super hyped; maybe it's just my eyes or bias but I did "perceive" what looked like richer tonality in the few sources of footage online. That kind of color depth from 5D magic lantern, Sigma FP, or Redcode etc. I'd like to find some files of well-lit scenes and push in Resolve. So I'm looking forward to hearing what both the rumored Z8 and S1Hii releases bring. I'd trade up from my s5ii to either of them for ultimate high-res hybrids with PDAF and color I favor, and just adapt EF glass. I just can't bring myself to settle on the R5C man.

I'm going to keep practicing for a better workflow in the grade. It most likely is going to be a matter of tinkering with RAW profiles or even creating/loading up some custom luts that get me the commercial ready "pop" I'm used to in the curves of other mentioned camera profiles. I'm seeing more magenta in skintones, (and even more green in shadows than original S5) but as @MrSMW and @hyalinejim stated, these are fixes I can get the hang of over time. As I said before I'm honestly happy as is; I bought this video first in mind. Not expecting magic, but besides my old LX100 I never took the time to learn how their RAW files work because I only used their cameras for video. S5ii is the first Lumix camera I'm determined to use as a true hybrid in the field, I'm optimistic! (Watch, two weeks from now I'll come back raving about Panny color)

I'm not attached to the S5ii just yet. I view it as a proof of concept of what Panny has in store for the other models' refresh. I needed a mirrorless that can do all the things my Ursa can't: PDAF for gimbal and long focal length interview shots, stills for occasional studio shoots, smaller form factor when situation calls for it etc. IBIS is a plus but not a big factor. I'm mostly a happy camper because the camera is stellar. The trouble for me is that while I love V-log for video, I'm just not married to Panny's color for stills in comparison to Canikon, shoot me. Perhaps I need more practice? S5ii stills are alright I guess. But having owned 5D3, 5D4, D810 and coming to Panny I do miss those colors, and the S1R samples I've seen haven't won me over either. I almost went the R6ii route, but I favor V-log DR over Clog3. I'm wondering if its wise to just split these needs into two bodies vs fight to find the right hybrid body under $3k. One high MP DSLR used, one S1H (or future S2H with PDAF?) and adapt the lenses to it.. Or submit to Canon with an R7/R5/R5C and call it a day. I don't like overthinking this stuff. I claim the purchase to be a good business decision, so I shouldn't let my subjective feels about the stills make me ungrateful for what is a really great camera right? There's always going to be compromises.

Wanted to ask, how have you been finding the Gamut LUTS? I was interested in their V-Log Rec709 BaseLut, it seems to be the most pleasing transform. Have you tried that on the s5ii V-log by chance? I have an s5ii on the way, and I don't have time to fuss with the color science shifts Panny has implemented since the GH6 vs the likes of s1/s5/s1h etc...I am also matching to my Blackmagic cameras so having something consistent for all my cams from Gamut would be nice.