mercer

You’re in luck... I have cats that sit by the window. I wish I was in the market for one because you just described every scenario that it would be a blessing for me.

I think we’re playing in different sandboxes. Ha. I’m playing with a 4 digit budget... but trust me, I understand your points and needs... I waste a lot of time and takes tracking the talent manually only to be off at critical points. Luckily, I shoot a lot of coverage, so I can always cut to a different angle when necessary. To me, it sounds like you’re describing a C200. I know, @HockeyFan12 has a C200 and experience working on real sets, with Alexa’s and Reds, so maybe he can chime in here.

To everything... there is a season. Although I completely agree with you, I think we’re spoiled in a lot of ways and I’m noticing it more and more as a newer generation of shooters show up on this forum. I’d love 16 stops of DR and DPAF with internal Raw and/or ProRes but those specs won’t make me a better filmmaker. I’d love an IBIS mirrorless that has the latitude of an Alexa Mini... but then what would I strive for and work toward? 1080p is still more than enough for me. Even at a little less than 12 stops, the 5D3 still blows me away. With that being said, I’ve recently found and posted some trailers from some micro budget, indie features that really impressed me... This was shot in ProRes LT on the OG Pocket with one lens... And this was shot on Raw with the OG Pocket... This is the kind of work that inspires me and for the price of the Pocket/Micro, the Micro will make a more sensible second camera for me right now. Or maybe that new Z-Cam E2C but there are a lot of unknowns with it. However, I do wish Arri would enter the sub-$10,000 market with a camera that includes some of the features from the Alexa Classic in a more shooter friendly form factor. No matter how many Alexa comparison videos are marketed on YouTube, I still don’t think anything even comes close to the Alexa... but BlackMagic is getting closer.

With the 3K/3.5K, I found keeping the shutter angle at 180 degrees and the choppy live view to be way too restrictive for the end result. But the 14 bit Lossless is insane... it nearly doubles my storage and seems a touch sharper than uncompressed. Yes, please post some side by sides when you get a chance. The X-T3 has a nice look to it and I love that it shoots cinema 2K at a hefty bitrate. I almost bought a BMPCC 4K, but it seems there’s something missing from the original Pocket/Micro that I wish it had. With that being said, it does have a beautiful image and I’d love the convenience of ProRes and FCPX. I’m looking to build a small Micro Rig for those times I want to shoot with my c-mounts and have a simpler post workflow. No, I don’t know of any but I am heading out this weekend to “officially” test it for my film, so I can probably put something together for you next week, if that helps? Just let me know what type of footage you’d like to see.

I would have agreed with you, if they didn’t release the GH5s... anything over $2000 with a m4/3 sensor is pushing the market limits IMO. And since Fuji released a S35 camera for $600 cheaper only a year later proves that... again IMO.

I agree with most of this but in hindsight, with the release of the X-T3, the GH5 should have cost $1500 at release... $1000/$1250 now. The GH5s should have been $2000 at release... $1500/$1750 now. The S1... $2000. The S1R... $2500. And finally, the S1H... $2999. I mean as you said, the G90/95 is barely an upgrade from the G80/85 and it cost $400+ more at release... Also, the G90/95 should have the high bitrate, all-i 1080p. The S1 doesn’t even have it... Panasonic is doing some strange things. It seems like they’re protecting lower models?!?! I don’t care what anybody says about IBIS and professional environments... the GH5s should have had it!

@The ghost of squig welcome aboard, I think you’ll find this place very hospitable... I just started using the 14bit Lossless from the experimental build and am pretty floored by it. It’s breathing new life into the camera. While others are jumping ship, I feel reenergized by the camera. Do you know if it’s available in the Nightlies too? I found the 3.5K to be too buggy and the 3K has too much of a crop, so I don’t really need to run an experimental build if the 14bit Lossless is stable on a nightly.

All joking aside, I’ve always found that a camera hanging from a strap lets you shoot from the hip and inconspicuously so. With the SmallRig screen mount that Mattias has, he can turn the monitor vertical with the screen facing up and get some great shots without anyone the wiser. I’ve shot some great in public shots for my film from the hip... only without the luxury of looking or glancing at the screen.

Nice little set up... all I would add are some lugs to attach a strap to. I find if you have a camera hanging from your neck by a strap, nobody even notices you. I could probably dangle an Alexa Mini around my neck and nobody would look at me twice at the locations I’m shooting at.

Honestly, I haven’t researched the S1 that much... for some reason I thought it was a $3000 camera. But from the glowing reviews I keep hearing about it from you guys, I’m going to put it on my radar. Does the S2 have some of the video features the GH5 has... shutter angle... waveforms... Anamorphic mode? Your opinion holds s lot of weight in the cinematic, video world, so I’m curious to know your thoughts on the S1 vs. the 1DC... and the D850... which you compared it’s IQ to the 1DC if I remember correctly?

I get the rationalization behind it but I think they’re missing an obvious point... the S1H will never be an Alexa or a Red... or even a Varicam or an EVA1... I would think the target market would be GH5 owners that want the “Full Frame look” with the GH5’s bells and whistles. AF... yeah who cares... most AF lenses are boring anyway... I’d rather use a Super Speed. L Mount... ehh... not my favorite choice but not a deal breaker and as you said... you can adapt anything to it. Honestly I think the news of the day is the free upgrade on the S1. Is the IBIS as good as the GH5’s?

I guess... it’s all relative. I paid $2000 for my 5D3 to load hacked software on it. My other choice was the GH5 for the same money. If the GH5 was $500 cheaper, I may have gone the other way... but I am just a hobbyist so I’m not the best example of such things. Panasonic just seems to do weird things... the GH5s and S1H are perfect examples where there are glaring omissions from the higher end model that the lower end model has. I mean seriously... for $2000 more, they can’t give us IBIS?!

I agree and I think Panasonic jumped the shark when they charged $2000 for the GH5 and $2500 for the GH5s. The GH5 should have been $1500 and $2000 for the GH5s. If I could buy a new GH5, over 2 years after its release for $1000, I’d have one by now. As far as their fascination with Leica... I assume they have a mutual business arrangement in place regarding FF cameras... that was Leica’s business and if they wanted to enter, they needed to use the L Mount... but just an assumption.

But isn’t this the head scratcher? Nobody is doing it because there’s likely not a market for it. The people who are using a Red or Venice probably don’t want the form factor of the S1H and how many hybrid shooters really need or want 6K? Dont get me wrong, as a no budget shooter that loves the practicalities the DSLR Revolution offered to indie filmmakers, I think the S1H is a great idea... if it had IBIS and was $3000 or less... preferably closer to $2500. But as it stands, I just don’t see the point of it? Being FF, it’s not a great B-Cam to a Varicam or EVA1. For the price, you may as well spend the little extra and get an EVA1. I don’t know... I’m sure it will have a nice image and I can see its appeal to a niche user... but... ehh... I’d rather have a P4K or an X-T3 and a Speedbooster.

What I don’t understand is why the major manufacturers are allowing BlackMagic to be the only kid in town to offer internal ProRes/Raw in a DSLR/M form factor and why 4K 60p in 10 bit is considered a dream camera when it can be had for $1300?.

If all you shoot is slow motion, then the S1H is definitely worth $2000 more than the S1. You don’t even need IBIS with slow motion. I think the bigger question is if it’s worth the $2500 more than an X-T3 and a Speedbooster?

Do we know if this is the same sensor as the S1? And isn’t the S1 a 6K sensor so it’s doing a clean downscale whereas with the S1H, you may get more moire?

Yes, keep me updated. I am definitely looking for some type of handle that at least has a trigger start/stop via LANC but if it can work the menus and other functions that would be great also... I’m more worried about size than anything. I said ad nauseum when I originally owned the Micro that it was a shame that such a tiny camera needed to be rigged out so much to be useful but that was before a lot of these accessories became available. So, when I finish the eventual rig, tiny is the main priority... c-mount lenses or small native primes/zooms... maybe that old PZ zoom could be useful for a light run and gun native option. Anyway, thanks for sharing your samples from the OG... I’m actually a little surprised about the lack of IR Cut, I had a lot of issues with IR contamination when I had the Micro and Pocket.

@BTM_Pix those look great. I love the way you color your work with those cool tones. Did you have to use an IR Cut filter? I was seriously considering the P4K, but after some serious thought, I’ve decided to slowly build a Micro rig that is cine camera based but also as compact as possible. How do you think the OG Pocket holds up against the P4K?

@BTM_Pix do you have that many? Damn, now I feel good about myself because I have half that... but most are a bunch of generic old lenses that I need to get rid of. It’s funny now that I see your version, I can see that mine is way over saturated. I struggle finding the right mix between contrast and saturation. Haha, I really am reconsidering these ZF lenses. I have the 24mm 2.8, 28mm f/2 (which I haven’t even tested because I’m afraid I’ll like it too much) and the 50mm 1.4. The 50mm 1.4 is a strange lens... I want to not like it, but I can’t help to...

Shit, Jaws is my favorite movie, so that may have been subconscious. Damn you, now I am reconsidering the Zeiss ZF.... lol.

I don’t mind. Please do. I’m practically flying blind with this damn MacBook Air screen, so I imagine half of my images look jacked. But since I posted those frames, I looked at a bunch of other ones and I came to a conclusion. I need to just keep this stuff simple. I am not that talented at it and I need to get back to the writing portion rather than laboring over lenses. So, I think I am going to roll with my first, gut purchases... my Canon and Nikon lenses and the Samyang. This will keep my collection way below 10 and I’ll use the proceeds to invest in a better monitor.

I couldn’t agree more.

Trying to compare a newer Zeiss ZF 25mm 2.8 vs an old Rollei Zeiss 25mm 2.8. I’ve learned that a direct comparison doesn’t really help me too much as I get lost in the comparison... eventually my eyes can’t tell the difference. So I decided to take each lens to a different location and just shoot with it. First up is the Zeiss ZF 25mm 2.8... And for a totally different location, here is the Rollei Zeiss 25mm 2.8... So, in my endeavor I learned that I enjoy shooting with the Rollei Zeiss a little more but the ZF Zeiss is definitely sharper. Eventually I am going to narrow my lenses down to but a few with a goal to have one “vintage” and one “modern” lens for my favorite focal lengths. The Zeiss ZF “Classic” lenses are interesting because they seem to teeter the line between vintage and modern.

With ML Raw, you really need to expose to the right as much as possible. I don’t think a 1.2 lens at ISO 100 in a dimly lit room is enough light. With the 5D3, which is better in lowlight than the eos-m, I’ll be at ISO 400 in a well lit room with a 1.4 lens. In a dimly lit room, I’d be at 800 or 1600 ISO.