Django

official announcement in under an hour.. https://alphauniverse.com/live/

A7R IV incoming..

I record music with mainly 70's equipment.. analog gear has this timeless appeal vs digital. That said I'm also an advocate of "old" devalued high-end digital tech such as the Leica M9 I also purchased this year. 2009 Kodak CCD sensor. Shit on sensor charts. Mad mojo IRL. My C100 mk1 also long in the tooth, with a low bitrate 8-bit codec.. but also has this je ne sais quoi IQ appeal. Canon 5D mk1, my favorite out of the whole series..etc FS7 is just the latest in my gear purchasing pattern cycle. So yeah, I'm not worried one bit.. like I said I'm actually pretty thrilled ?

Product segmentation is unavoidable. Sony really isn't that bad. Unlocked FS5 with a recorder can do up to 240fps RAW 4K which is pretty wild. A7III is what imo sent A7S3 back to the drawing boards. Codec wise yeah I wouldn't dream. XDCam managers won't let an A7 line get 10-bit XAVC-I. A7S3 will have a crazy sensor that'll choke everyone, 6K/8K support and a killer new body design with a flip out screen. That is my prediction. Getting back to the FS7, thanks to those for suggesting that Venice LUT. It's an excellent starting point for SLog3:

coming from Canon Log, S-Log3 is a lot flatter and hence trickier to expose correctly (especially since you need to ETTR) and demands heavier grading. basically a lot more work getting the skin tones I effortlessly get on my Canons. On the other hand, you can push/tweak things further as the image is less baked-in. so it's kind of a toss up depending on your skills/workflow. again the XAVC-I files are a joy to grade if heavy colouring is your thing. I'm sort of a newbie to S-Log3 so still a learning curve to adjust and I'm getting a new Atomos which should greatly enhance exposure aid etc..

After much deliberation over my next big camera purchase, I finally ended up going for a used Sony FS7 mark 1. This may come as shock to some as I'm known here as being more of a Canon advocate and was torn until recently in between a C200 & C300 II. That said most of my paid work comes from a production company that uses mainly Sony gear so it kinda made sense to go this route. Also it was simply a deal I couldn't neglect: under 500 hours with a zacuto loupe and tilta v-mount support for under 4000 euros. I think the camera is still very relevant today with beefy internal XAVC-I 10-bit 4:2:2 codecs up to 4K60p, 180fps and a slew of advanced settings including LUT import and the elusive Cine EI mode. Add the XDCA module and you get internal ProRes & Raw external. It's also Netflix approved for those interested in that sort of thing. So far 10-bit 4:2:2 S-Log3 has been a joy to grade. I keep pushing and colouring and it just doesn't break! Where 8-bit XAVC-S files usually start to look cartoonish, the IQ here is solid AF. SOOC the skin tones don't hold a candle to Canon so I'll be mainly shooting in S-Log. Overall I'm pretty thrilled with the purchase, I've been staying clear from Sony for the longest time but this bad boy is on a whole different level I feel.

Heh if u can't beat em, join em!

I've been sticking with Canon mainly for two reasons: 35mm F1.4L & 50mm F1.2L. I love the 5D series, mark 1 being my favorite mojo wise for stills & 5D2/5D3 for ML Raw. 1DC/1DX2 are also DSLR beasts. The EOS R is still my favorite mirrorless, despite all its limitations. It's a baby C200. That said, for my next "big cam" I will be skipping C200 and probably going for an FS7. Just so much more bang for the buck.

@IronFilm Nice setup. Not much info online on the XDCA back. Curious about how the Raw signal gets spit out. Is that an SDI port on the bottom? Cool fact is the XDCA also unlocks internal ProRes recording on the FS7 (albeit FHD only I think?).

*yawn*

Well like I said, to me it is the closest -shooting wise- by the way I still own and shoot film on a FM2, Yashica T5 P&S but I don't develop/scan. I went on a 5-day family trip to Italy with only one 16gb card, no laptop/SD reader. Had to manage the pics carefully with no real idea if I nailed exposure/composition until after the trip (again the LCD is a joke, worthless in daylight). Leica even has digital M models with the back LCD completely removed and a film advance level. Of course it isn't real analog but in contrast to the latest gen mirrorless cams, the Leica M's are a total throwback..

I bought a Leica M9 two weeks ago. It's digital but the closest to shooting film imo. All manual control, no EVF, the LCD is worthless so you don't really know what you shot until you get home, slow buffer, low storage (16GB cards max). No AF obviously, and parallax range finder focus system. All this REALLY slows you down, in a good way of course. The best is the resulting IQ from the Kodak CCD sensor. Super filmic analog look. I am tinkering with the thought of getting an M6/M7 which are film cameras but for now the M9 is best of both worlds.

where to buy this camera in Europe to get the free upgrade?

Looks like I'm finally about to pull trigger on an iPad Pro. Simply could not get on board without native wired SD/HDD support. Any ETA on iPad OS?

Agreed. The price doesn't shock me at all. An iMac Pro costs $5K. Now way in hell this was going to be cheaper. You don't have to pair it with the $5K monitor either. Any monitor will do. So $6K really isn't that much for that type of design, power potential & modularity. Yes the days when anybody could afford a "pro" mac are gone and that is a pity. But consider how powerful computers have become and what you can do with a $2K iMac. I'm glad there is a return to form with the modular tower design. Almost seems like the first real pro mac design in over a decade!

still not enough imo to justify a $1500 premium. YMMV i guess.

So the only difference in between S1 w/upgrade & S1H is the 6K and anamorphic modes? Kinda makes S1 a supervalue at the moment with the free upgrade. kudos to panny for doing that!

Seeing how this release plays similar to the GH5S, which priced itself way above its class, I think the +$4K estimation is probably true.

Price will make or break this thing. But for now it's just Panny flexing hard at Cine Gear: 6K FF first biiitches!!!

Yet speaking of F1, I was in Monaco for the GP last weekend: 90% of the camera gear was from Canon. Go figure.

It's a bit of a tough choice as the IBIS on XH1 is really practical for handheld 4K when shooting primes but XT3 just has so much more specs. I'd still probably go with XT3 as it doesn't crop in 4K, has much better RS.. and of course 10-bit, 4K60p etc..

iPhone 7 was indeed used by academy award indie filmmaker extraordinaire Michel Gondry for a short sponsored by Apple. It was more of a challenge type promo, so not exactly your typical film project but I remember Gondry said the challenge was fun. and sometimes fun-factor is what you need. Bottom line to me is if it was used for professional work than yes it is capable of professional results. Maybe not to you/me or Michael Bay's standards. But it might be to some guy out there that might just change the game, so who are we really to judge? I know a very famous photographer that sells in the biggest galleries that has exhibited work shot on a iPhone on more than one occasion because he documents stuff and you know the best camera is the one you have with you. Btw, smartphone camera technology is making more advancements than anywhere else in the field and soon that tech will probably trickle up into "pro" cameras.

Any camera that allows you to get the job done and get paid is a pro tool imo. Of course if you're doing high-end cinema, sports photography or have broadcast requirements, that may exclude most hybrid MILCs (at least as A-cams). The C200 is definitely pro gear even if it isn't Netflix approved or has a broadcast-friendly codec. There is a indie feature film presented at Cannes festival this year making buzz that was shot on 4 C200s, another one last year was shot on couple A7S2s.

Canon are very good at segmenting/crippling products but others do too. The 128kbps audio crippling inside S1/S1R is a good example of that. You gotta look at companies with no cine line to protect like Fuji or Nikon for unrestricted video features. Or dedicated video companies like BMD or the Chinese cams. That said politics aside, I'm a happy Canon owner. The IQ & shooting experience always puts a smile on my face despite the limitations.

Pretty sure Panasonic has been using TowerJazz sensors (which they own) in a lot of their latest bodies.