Trek of Joy

This is totally the XH2 without the top LCD and a new flippy screen. Same sensor and likely pretty much the same spec, released about a year and a half after the XT flagship with IBIS and so on. They're just giving it the look and brand of its best selling high end body. Though its good to see Fuji finally addressing some common complaints like the articulating screen and of course the battery - which I never had an issue with shooting stills, but it runs down pretty quick shooting video. Even though its an upcycled XT3/XH1 mashup, its still far more impressive than Sony's lackluster refreshes with the a6100/6400/6600. Kudos to Fuji for being proactive and trying new things. I hope the bleach bypass looks like the image posted above, that and eterna would be sick. Chris

My guess is it'll be priced around $4000, this is a9 territory photo-wise with video specs that put the smackdown on every E-mount camera available today. Yes I know we don't have a lot of info, but IBIS and 40-something MP is perfect. If they're positioning it as a pro body, it'll be priced accordingly. I'd expect the 5dmk5 to be a little cheaper, with the requisite price hike over the previous model. The a7r4 didn't get any improvement on the video side, and I seriously doubt the a74 will see significant improvements either. Judging by the recent a6x00's mild refresh it'll just get active tracking, more weather sealing (maybe, this is a base model) and a better EVF. I've already sold off my a73 and a few lenses and the rest is going up soon. I'm heading back to canon after dumping my 5d3 for the a7/a7s many moons ago. My company has a 5d4 and a few Canon lenses so its going to make a transition pretty easy. Beyond the OVF, its a great camera to shoot with, but I still can't nail exposure shooting stills like I can with a EVF. Currently looking for a cheap, used EOS R... Chris

Man lots of naysayers. Check the 1dx3, Canon has the tech and it’ll be paired with a 40-something MP sensor with IBIS. They just leapfrogged the entire industry. Yes there will be some gotchas, but the 1dx is pretty damn impressive. Their aps-c sensor is 32.5mp, that translates to a FF sensor well over 70mp, if my math is correct they’re about to do it again with the upcoming high res body. From zero to hero in less than two years since the R was introduced. Amazing. chris

More interesting than 8k for me is oversampled 4k, if they have the processing power for 30fps of 8k video, the R6 should be able to produce a great 4k image and as mentioned a 1:1 4k crop mode too. And 20fps, its a a9 and a FS7 all rolled into one camera. With CFexpress it should easily do 10-bit internal on pretty much everything - except maybe 8k. Just sold my a73 to test the EOS-r waters as my new gig uses Canon and the 5d4 so I have expanded lens options. Looks like my only Sony body will be the a6300 for my underwater housing. As of now the XT4 is dead to me too. I don't see how the mythical a7s3 cam come close to this without doing something Sony has never done - step over the FS/FX line. Bravo Canon! Chris

This rumor is really losing steam as the XT4 is looking like another XH1 disappointment, without the 6k capabilities the 4k120 seems like a non-starter as well. Meanwhile the EOS R5 is blowing up. Go figure. Chris

Used prices seem to be in the $500 range, you can get a Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera that does 60p raw and pair it with a cheap HDMI monitor for about the same price. That's the route I'd go if 108024-60p is enough. Chris

For years we've been asking for Fuji (and Nikon, and Olympus) to unleash a video beast as they're not tied to legacy video lines that result in the cripple hammer to protect high priced lines, and this finally appears to fulfill that wish. This is what the XH1 should have been, better late than never though. Rolling shutter is always a question, there will certainly be gotcha's that everyone will be screaming about. But man this is looking really good. The next few weeks are going to be pretty exciting on the hybrid front. Chris

Never seen this one before. These are great, his cooking YT channel has over 2 million subs. Looking at the quality of his videos and the time he must put into them, I'd bet this is his full time gig. Chris

Both would be a first for Fuji. 16 bit stills, if real I'm so in on the XT4. Chris

Can you add the FP to the mix? Seems like all three would make a great comparison. Chris

Been out of the Fuji camp since buying the a73 about a year ago - which I just sold. Still have a couple lenses as I was planning on getting the XT30, but never pulled the trigger. If this becomes a reality, I'm back in Fuji's camp. Sony has a 32mp APS-c sensor, I don't know if the current 26mp sensor can do the rumored spec. I shoot 25k photos a year - I do a lot of paid photo work, so I hope it sees a mp bump as well. Like many I wish Fuji would just do a Zcam style cinema box in the X-mount too, make it a little bigger with XLR's and the flip out touch screen from the new XT200. Chris

The older ZE's are really great bargains for such amazing glass. CA is an issue on many, but that's really no different than any other vintage lens. You can also find great deals on the Nikon ZF/ZF2 versions, the first ones didn't have electronics so they can be found really cheap, even lenses like the 21/2.8 and the 100/2. Years ago, just after the 5d3 came out I found a great deal on a set from a local guy that was moving from Canon to a FS700 (this was before the adapters we have now existed) that included the ZE 21/2.8, 25/2, 50/2 and 100/2 - which was perfect as I preferred the look of the macros over the 50/1.4 and 85/1.4. Finances forced me to sell them, but I really enjoyed shooting them with the 5d3. I've always kicked around the idea of getting them again to build a vintage lens set, but I do the same with Zeiss C/Y's and Leica R's. Chris

A poster on the Dpreview Nikon forum says the z6 raw update took less than an hour At a Nikon service center. Doesn’t sound like a hardware upgrade if the turnaround time is that fast. The $200 sounds like a license fee. chris

Meanwhile Sony keeps rolling with 8-bit 4:2:0 in the a7’s and no log in the a9’s. The already announced specs on this are incredible, and still people complain.... chris

I think the 24-70/2.8 may be heavier. This is definitely a chunky camera. Chris

The Fred Miranda Buy and Sell boards. Here's one with Vlog for $1650 https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1623339/0?keyword=s1#15054947 They come and go. Just set up an alert. B&H was blowing out some like new open box models too recently. Chris

If you need to add the Ninja, I'd go EOS R for Clog, 10-bit and AF. That's the appeal for me, the DPAF with the recent eye update is just amazing and the crop is easy to work around with one wide APS-c lens like the Tokina 11-16 or the new speedbooster. I like the Zed's a lot and the lens lineup Nikon is building, but they just aren't quite there for me yet. Just my opinion. Every option in this space has significant warts, the perfect hybrid just doesn't exist ... yet. Sony could easily build it, but they clearly won't. Panasonic just sticks their collective heads in the sand pretending PDAF doesn't exist and the jarring DFD is somehow better, but it isn't. That's why I'm also considering a mashup of the Zcam or the S1 as video centric camera along with a photo workhorse - the rest are just because I like to tinker with new toys, haha. The R appeals to me as a gimbal body. I shoot lots of stills as well, so I will always have one FF body. I shot Fuji for a long time, about 25k frames over the year and a half I rolled with a couple XT2's, but for most of my paid work I still used the extra DR and resolution of Sony's 42mp files. Used a7r2's can be found for under $1000, at those prices FF is a no brainer. Again my opinion. I have a gap of about a month between projects, so I'm looking at shifting my a73 kit in a couple weeks and getting a S1 with a couple EF lenses. Of course that means the a7s3 will be announced shortly after and it will blow everyone's minds. Chris

That's why I'm looking elsewhere, I just don't see Sony stepping into FS5 10-bit territory with one of the a7's unless its priced at $5000. My bet is the mythical a7s3 has same 8-bit internal with a 10-bit external like the EOS R - which ironically is another option I'm considering along with the S1 and either the Zcam E2 or S6. All could use adapted EF lenses and the EOS R/Zcams have the added benefit of using speedboosters. But for handheld stuff - which is how I mostly shoot - the IBIS on the S1 is just amazing. I was tinkering with it and there was a significant improvement over my a73, along with the vastly superior EVF, LCD, grip and so on. Used copies are already in the $1600 range with Vlog and dropping. Chris

Vlog looks amazing on the S1, so good it has me seriously considering selling my Sony a73/a7r3 kit and moving to the S1/S1r. After handling all the S1's last week, I don't want to carry the S1h, and used prices are crazy low on the standard S1 and even the S1r if you need resolution for stills - which I do. But the Vlog image is just super nice, great colors, great highlight rolloff, and just very natural motion. If Panasonic had AF like Canon's DPAF or Sony's new active tracking I'd be all-in on the S1's. Its the AF that's holding me back. I use a gimbal a lot for video and shoot a ton of stills for paid work which would mean at least one body in another mount to get great AF, still waiting for that unicorn camera.... Chris

After spending some time tinkering with the Zcams at B&H a few days ago, can't see the Komodo's appeal unless you really want Red's raw or the RF mount. Raw, ProRes, CFast or SSD recording, lots of HFR options, two brilliant and incredibly tiny m43 bodies - one costing just $800 with raw capabilities, a 6k s35 body with a m43 or EF mount and two FF cameras that cost less than a FS5. Zcam posted on their Facebook group that a fully electronic E-mount is coming as well in the next few months. I'm sure the Red cult will be all over the Komodo, but in this space I'd go Zcam. Chris

Was at B&H a couple days ago and I am absolutely floored by how small/light the E2’s are. I forgot to grab a pic, but they had a S1h on the shelf next to the Zcams and when I handled both the S1h felt absolutely gargantuan. Same for the Pocket 4/6k’s. They also had the Meike knockoffs of the Veydra cine lenses. When paired with a E2 that’s an amazing small combo. I think I’m going to shift from hybrid do it all bodies to splitting my photo and video into at least two bodies. The S1h and the Zcams are at the top of my list. I just have a lot of reservations about buying into the L mount. chris

I think tinkering with mounting a monopod to a tripod is probably your best bet if you need something with a larger footprint than the Siuri. I have the 025x CF tripod, if you take off the head and the vertical extension, the legs by themselves are super light. Or perhaps you can 3d print some extensions to the Siuri feet? I'm interested to see what you find as I use my old Manfrotto video monopod a lot and I'm looking at the Siuri or the iFootage Cobra as a replacement because they both seem to be more stable than my current setup. Good luck. Chris

Sachter Flowtech is a faster way of adjusting a tripod - I think with a little practice it would be faster than my monopod with snap locks. After tinkering with one for awhile in B&H, its really well thought out. https://www.sachtler.com/en/flowtech/ But I mostly use a video monopod with a wide feet base or a gimbal these days, so my tripod usage is pretty small in comparison and I really can't justify the cost of high end sticks. Chris

Great find. I just ran through a bunch of his videos. That Inspire X7 image is really nice, its going to be my next drone, I shoot a lot of high contrast scenes and the Mavic Pro 2 hits its limits sooner than I'd like. Chris

I forgot to mention those as well, the Driftwood and other tests look great.