John Matthews

I use this sometimes, but I'll set up the camera so I can hit ONE button to lock exposure and AF. It's basically a great way to not dial in manual exposure, just SS and F-Stop and let the ISO do the rest. This technique may require NDs though, especially in V-LOG. If you change the scene, toggle the button again and you can keep going... just remember to set WB before anything.

I found this very interesting as a "quick" explanation on CODECs from Red Frame Tech. Please comment if you see any differences on how you might use a particular CODEC or suggestions.

Just received a Panasonic G100 for a ridiculously low price and practically new. Obviously, I haven't used it that much, but from preliminary finding- don't believe the initial reviews of this camera. It's small and packed with a ton of features that my GH6 doesn't have. I'd say it's a better 1080p camera than a 4k camera, even though it does both. Photography-wise, it's as good as most APS-C cameras and you'll have the bonus of a massive lens selection which, IMO, is the main reason to choose any camera. Hope that helps.

Sounds like you're a LX100 fan. I wanted to get that camera a couple of times, but I always held back a bit due to dust getting in the lens. Also, I now have all the pancakes available: 14mm, 20mm, 12-32, 14-42 PZ, and 14-42 EZ... am I missing one? I still lack the Olympus 17mm f/2.8 (which seems like a decent lens). Tomorrow, I'll be picking up a G100 as my GX800 died (dropped it during a xmas family photo shoot, screen's gone). I really hope the next one will be a G100 ii. YouTubers hated the first one as a vlogging camera. I think Panasonic would admit to their marketing errors with that release. Personally, I cannot wait to get it. I feel like the GH6 sucked all the fun out of room. It lacks so many of the photography features that the G100 has (live composite and 4k photo to name 2). Due to the Youtubers trying to vlog with it, most of the video footage online looks like crap, but I'm certain that's no the case when you lock it down. Also, it had a big firmware update just after it came out and the continuous af was much more usable. Concerning the GH6 for photography, you have to be super careful shoot it like a jpeg, but in 14 bit raw. If you do, you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's not a camera where you simple expose for the highlights. If anything, expose for the shadows. I don't really care about the sensor size or megapixels, 12mp is more than enough for me. Still, the GH6 performs voodoo cellphone magic with their 100mp handheld high res mode. IMO, it blows away (in detail) any sub $2000 camera for slow-moving landscape and portraiture... but it's slow. Maybe Panasonic have a completely different sensor ready to go. After all, no one predicted the GH6 sensor.

Yes. I'm just not sure they're going to go with PDAF in a interchangeable lens camera first though. It would be even better though. I think it'll be a small camera though. We'll see. Do you have real sales numbers on low GH6 sales? Yes, there were massive deals on Black Friday (especially in France), but that is much like what has happened with other cameras (G7, GX80/85, GX850, GH5 G9, etc.)... it didn't necessarily mean they were selling "bad". It could just mean it was a planned promotion like with all those other models. YouTubers are often wrong about anything regarding M43. Many of them have said it's "dead", and they can't focus worth a damn... apparently YouTube standards in the camera world surpass Hollywood. Meanwhile, they point their FF camera at themselves at f/1.4, marveling at how their purple and blue twinkle lights don't flutter in the background because, after all, this is what really matters. Am I being harsh?

I'm making a prediction here: Panasonic is not ready to let go of the LX100 series and they will release a LX100 iii in the next 1-2 months. It will have a GH6 sensor WITHOUT DR Boost and PDAF. It makes sense. What do you think?

Prices are only sometimes higher. I've seen deals on both sides. There's an important point regarding the EU: mandatory 2 year warranty. Also, sales tax is often double (but many of us get that back in health care). In general though, I feel individual products are lower in the USA, except monopolies like internet and cellphone service where the USA has pathetic regulation.

Say what you want about Panasonic marketing, but these deals make people want to move into the system. They're getting great value at that price. I've seen the original S5 with those two lenses for under 2000 euros.

The R8 really looks like a bare-bones FF camera with the main purpose of "buying FF". Also, you know when people actually get their hands on it, there will be some sort of gotcha with Canon. I'd never buy Canon after the BS R5 debacle. I was looking at the high ISO raw files of the R6 ii (on DPREVIEW)... they only look about 1 stop better than older M43 cameras. Is it a Sony sensor?...I'm used to seeing much better high ISO performance.

To do it right, you're going to need lots of testing in hopes of finding the right balance for the right situation, make notes, and save to custom settings. Sounds incredibly tedious. Manual tracking can be a real bitch at f/1.2 or longer lenses and I think that's the case to use it in; otherwise MF. None of the manufacturers really give detailed info on their AF algorithms; hence, they will continue to remain convoluted and obscure for noobs and pros alike. The argument to use AF is to think about other stuff, but you can only do it when it works. There will always be that anxiety that the camera will screw it up. With MF, at least you know why- you're the culprit.

Philip Bloom made a video about mastering Sony video AF a few weeks back. My takeaway was: damn, that's complicated to change all the settings for every situation. He was talking about "manual AF" as a way to change all these settings for the situation. I think it was a great advertisement for manual focus though. BTW, I think there are many YouTubers and other non-Hollywood filmmakers that still use manual focus exclusively in 2023. Many YouTubers just want that convenience though- just put the camera in front of them and film with zero AF problems, edit, produce silly thumbnail, post, answer comments... and round and round we go.

Seems like a very pro setup. I don't think the intention of Bloom was to promote manual focus, but when you have endless setting to have good results, it defeats the purpose. In your setup it would seems wise to limit those situations. With so many angles, you're bound to get something. Anyway, sound is more important.

I had similar thoughts. However, I was most surprised by the AF that looked surprisingly similar given the AF upgrade on the S5ii. Clearly, you'd trust it more in a Youtube situation. However, after watching Blooms' Sony video on "manual autofocus", I decided that manual AF is the way to go, even in 2023 for a lot of content. You end up putting way too much trust in the technology and fiddling around with settings when you could simply do another take if you know you missed it. It would seem there's an unhealthy paranoia around focus in general. Talk to a YouTuber and they'd say it's the most important point on a camera with seemingly higher standards than Hollywood... for YouTube. It's a strange world we live in. Concerning the DR Boost, I was also surprised he didn't use it. He should have because all the frame rates that the S5ii is capable of, the GH6 CAN use DR Boost. Also, that crop for 60fps is only mildly bigger that the GH6 60fps 4K. The IBIS on the S5ii looks good on the wide end, but would seriously doubt the long end looking better than the GH6. Also, they was only 1 shot.

Someone might be interested in this:

I think most reviewers are referring to the IBIS-only mode on the S5ii, giving full-sensor readout. On the GH6, I haven't even tried the any active mode yet and I've had it for months now. I'll have to try it soon.

I think Olympus 17, 25, and 45 Pro lenses would also do this.

As long as the G100 has an IBIS, PDAF, and a proper shutter with sync speeds greater than 1/50s, I have no problem with it. Those were the faults of that camera. I like the form-factor. I'd agree with this except I really like the photos from it, but it has been a chore to shoot differently than the way I shot with other cameras. The handheld 100mp is simply voodoo magic, blowing away the results of many other sub $2000 cameras. It's slow, but for landscapes and "slow" portraiture it's amazing. I love the colors off it too. It faults majorly if you think you can shoot it like other ISO invariant cameras (like the GH5), but the 15-16bit files hold tremendous information in them, especially in the midtones. Most people only look at the highlights and shadows and want to turn crushed blacks into greys, not possible with the GH6 IMO. This is an engineering question, but why not? Sony's RX series has PDAF and a much smaller sensor. Technically, it must be possible even with the dual-gain circuitry. Again, after seeing my E-M1 ii side-by-side with the GH6, I'm still rather happy. In good light and with no stupid twinkle YouTube light in the background, you can't see much of a difference. Going forward, you will see viewers will be more forgiving of this. It's only because we're camera nerds that we care. Recently, I've noticed so many Hollywood films with blatent focusing mistakes.

This might sound uninteresting to some, but I'd be semi interested in the FZ and LX series of cameras with PDAF. Has anyone heard anything? People are so quick to say everything is dead, but these lines still have a place, especially since phones suck at ergonomics and telephoto.

Is there a way Canon could break this compatibility? They would if they could.

I found the "That Weird FILMMAKER" channel just a few days ago. I have to say it's the funniest and most informative channel channel I've seen to date. Here are the ones focusing on Olympus Pro gear. He seems to know what he's talking about. He convinced me to get the 17mm Pro for my GH6. Amazing that he only has 700 subs.

Hello. I'm not a pro, but I have experience with filming my family. Here's my pre-pressing the record button thoughts: If people, objects or camera move closer or further away -> use continuous AF with subject recognition (you mileage may vary with some lenses because this matters). You can also tap on the subject you want so that the cross-hairs appear on their face (for a person). In decent light, this mode is "serviceable" with the right lens IMO. Be sure to turn on continuous video AF in mode 2 (the camera will pre-focus the scene for you and continue during recording). This is the method for "automatic" AF but you must watch it. In the same situation, you could also use manual focus. A blown-up version of the scene should appear and will aid you in getting critical focus. If people, objects or camera move only side to side or locked down, along the focal plane -> use single-point AF with subject recognition. You could also use manual focus and just push the AF button on the screen. Hope that helps... there might be other who could also help you.

Watched a video. I guess you can "hack" the connection so that it never goes to S35 unless you turn the camera off. It vignettes under 28mm in FF.

I'm not seeing any vignetting with this lens. What focal length did you use it at? 35mm? Do you know if it vignettes at any other focal length?

What about the higher frame rates? It's great that it has 4k 60fps (with crop), but we don't get much above 120fps. I imagine that's for a video flagship camera. ...not that I NEED any of that, but it's interesting.

Now they've hidden the fan under the "pentaprism", I think I'd rather have the security of no over-heating than a EVF off to the side. That was very clever design on Panasonic's part.