Trek of Joy

Not true. I use CC and save absolutely nothing to the cloud - never have either, not sure what you're talking about. I've never used any of Adobe's cloud crap, just LR and PS CC for $10/mo. I'm not even logged in to CC most of the time because I travel a lot. many days I don't even have an internet connection. Photoshop has all the tools you need and roundtripping is easy. LR is not meant to be a full blown photo editor, its a catalog/database and raw developer. PS does the rest.

The adobe photoshop/lightroom CC photography plan is $10/mo, not $20. Capture 1 can do the catalog thing, but its $300, that's 2 1/2 years of photoshop and Lightroom, and Capture 1 will get version update that you would have to pay for every 18 months or so. Affinity says they have a database system coming - but they don't know when. I'd hold off to see what features they implement. https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html?promoid=6NCS7DGT&mv=other

It sounds like the a6500 is a better option for the way you work. Just find a video profile you like, the G-Film thread here has a nice look. As far as finding other gigs, you just have to keep hustling and find other potential clients. Outside of RE, maybe food stuff for restaurants, corporate headshots or corporate videos. Lots of local business have events, I've been fortunate enough to find work shooting for a local spa that throws monthly parties. They have a very wealthy clientele, and from that I've gotten a number of gigs shooting various functions and such. Cheers chris

A PDAF equipped, stacked BSI version of the 12mp sensor with the new processor to cut rolling shutter and speed things up would be sweet. I've always thought a rez bump to allow 4k in crop mode would be a possibility, but that would push things to almost 20mp if my math is correct (which may not be the case) if the crop mode allowed for full readout. A bump in mp would impact low light, but it would be a worthy tradeoff IMO since anything above about 51200 is strictly for night doc or ENG type stuff.

In crop mode with the a7r2 or with the a6500 straight up, I'm assuming for RE you bracket and blend exposures in post, shooting at low ISOs. The 10-18 is more than capable for RE with the a6500. I still stick with my original statement if you're debating which to keep, sell the d750 (or the a6500) and put the cash towards something that will expand your capabilities like lights, lenses and so on. Running two systems on a budget means you have two incomplete systems, I'd always go for a more well rounded kit over carrying two different lens mounts. Cheers chris

In crop mode the a7r2 would be almost identical to the a6500. If FF mode the fact that the 10-18 is not a FF lens will show as the corners and edges are absolutely terrible. It is somewhat useable in a narrow range - about 13-16mm, but even then its at the cost of IQ because the outer part of the frame is complete mush. Outside that narrow range its complete garbage on FF because of the vignette and smearing. If you're shooting real estate, get a FF UWA like the 16-35 or even better the new 12-24, and your clients will thank you.

I would keep the a6500 and sell the d750. Get more lenses, lighting, whatever it takes to bump your stuff up a notch. Or just sit on the cash and wait for the d760, flip the a6500 and get the new Nikon body. But really, the a6500 is a great hybrid, better than the d750 as a video body IMO since you don't have a goofy mirror and you have IBIS. Add a speed booster and you get the part of a stop advantage the d750 has. I had a d750 for a short time - lovely image but the awful LCD and no EVF just killed shooting video for me. To keep it, I would have needed a monitor and a stabilizer. Instead I sold it and bought a a7rII - which shoots much better stills and video. Good luck.

The 24 & 35/1.4 are my favorite lenses, if I were shooting m43 I'd be all over this one.

I asked Gordon Liang if the a7r3 LCD dimmed and he said no - he specifically checked for it at the launch event.

When you're shooting events or something like wildlife, sometimes its nice to be able to check camera settings with a quick glance without having to move the camera - and the top LCD is easier to read in bright light. Its one feature I'd like to see on more mirrorless cameras. You can just glance down and make adjustments before moving the camera. Like a touchscreen its not everyone's cup of tea, but you don't have to use it. IMO this is a good move by Panny for the most part, they need to broaden their lineup by hitting more niche's than 4k video. Olympus pretty much had the more photo centric market cornered with the EM1. Check forums like Fred Miranda - most m43 birders are using Olympus. I still don't like an all CDAF system though, if you need speed and subject tracking the hybrid phase/contrast AF systems have consistently outperformed contrast only. IMO that's the big shortcoming of this camera - Olympus will still have superior AF, and for its intended purpose that makes it a better buy. Panasonic really needs to implement a hybrid focus system, they're falling behind fast - every new camera from the competition comes with advancements in hybrid focusing and Canon has really nailed it with DPAF. With CaNikon expected to finally have serious cameras in the mirrorless space this year, the pressure on the smaller companies like Panny/Olympus/Fuji will increase.

A little late to the party because I've been traveling - but wow - the A7r3 looks awesome and fixes all my issues with the A7r2. I'm getting one to replace my A7r2. Bigger battery, dual cards with one being USB-II, USB-c connection, better EVF, better LCD, improved AF, touchscreen, updated body with new video record button and joystick, 120p, new LSI processor, faster in every regard and so on. This is a beast. I'll keep my A7sII until the mk3 surfaces, but this is just a killer package. I use AF a lot with run and gun, being able to move it around with the stick or touchscreen is a welcome upgrade. Add in the best tracking/face/eye detection of any mirrorless - damn I can't wait to get one. As far as no A73, Sony is following the CaNikon strategy of upgrading from the top down. Putting the top spec EVF, new processor, updated body and so on makes no sense to start with the lowest price body. Pent up demand for a new camera will make this a hot seller. IMO going forward the base model will always be the last to be updated. That works for me as I have no need for the A9 speed, but wanted all the updates made to the A7r3.

This is really cool. Gonna rent it on Amazon to check it out. Congratulations!

The Martian is PG-13 (larger potential audience), skewed more heavily female, did better with younger audiences (2049 was 86% over 25) and did $54m+ on its opening weekend. In fact its second weekend was better than 2049's debut at $37m, because of all the buzz it had terrific legs. It also did $228m in the US alone. Blade Runner might not reach that with its total global gross. Hollywood accounting aside, the studio has to be disappointed with returns of less than $8000 per theater for such a wide release - and it barely topped $50m outside the US. The Revenant got a seriously fat boost from all the Oscar nods, going from $54m in grosses before nominees were announced to $170m+. But to counter your point - opening weekends can be a fairly accurate predictor of overall success as 25-35% of the total gross typically comes in the first week of release. This one seemingly had a built in audience so it would be front loaded. If that's the case it could drop off the cliff pretty quick.

The pink on the shirt and on the playground equipment looks oversaturated on my MacBook - or is it supposed to be red? Graded or SOOC? Colors look very natural, nice.

Its 2 hours 43 minutes and the early audience returns show its skewing heavily male, not a formula for huge numbers in the U.S. Its getting good reviews so it may have legs, but $100m domestic seems like a tough number to hit. It will need to do big business in places like China to break even and that doesn't seem likely as R-rated dramas don't play/translate as well as comic book movies, animation, and Fast Furious action stuff.

The S model has been a minor refresh, the D6 with a new sensor and new AF is still a couple years away. A year and a half is June or July if you look at when it actually shipped, so we're just a few months past. Close enough. Cheers.

Exactly, its barely a year and a half old, it'l be at least two more years before its successor is even announced. The big sports bodies are on a 4-year cycle. The d750 and 610 replacements will likely be next in 2018 - along with the FF mirrorless cam.

I'm sure you know this, but you can still use the mechanical shutter for HSS, works great with Godox wireless flashes.

Seems like that already exists in the A7rII and A7sII. Ungraded screen cap SOOC, similar to the d850 vid posted. Kruger National Park, South Africa. Full video coming soon...

Yes, it makes more sense to use longer FL's form an actual usage standpoint because in reality its silly to shoot a 12mm portrait from three blocks away to get the same look as a 135mm - but all this lens compression stuff is just nonsense. The article I previously linked explains it perfectly, so I don't need to rehash anything. Its distance to your subject, and nothing else. Side note - for stills you could use the Brenzier pano method to replicate the look of any larger format with smaller sensors, even theoretical ones. I shot a promo image of a car in front of a museum with a 85/1.4 wide open on a FF camera and stitched 8 frames together, giving the look of something like a 32mm f0.45 on FF and something no MF lens can do - though my memory is a little fuzzy on the exact FL/aperture as its been a few years.

I used a post from an AV forum and got a great setting on my last TV - a LG 1080p. My brother just bought s Samsung 4k panel and did the same with great results. When I get my 4k set next year after I return from a. round-the-world trip, I'll repeat the process. If you google "brand/model number/settings" or something similar you'll find 1000 post threads on popular TV's with great examples. As mentioned, stock settings and all the true motion crap is for large stores - the TV selling environment, not your viewing room.

Move the 35mm back and this image is dramatically different. And yes it will match a 90mm since all that matters is distance to subject, not all this lens compression nonsense. This article explains/demonstrates it perfectly. http://admiringlight.com/blog/perspective-correcting-myth/ "The perspective in a photograph is 100%, completely dependent on the photographer’s physical distance between them and their subject. That’s it. Not the lens, not the format, nothing but the distance. To create an image with telephoto compression, the photographer backs away from the subject and uses a longer focal length to keep the framing the way they want. The key point is: It’s the backing up that changes the perspective, not the lens. If I am 1 foot from my subject, and the background is 100 feet behind, and I frame the subject with an ultra-wide angle lens, the difference between me and the subject and the subject to the background is 1 to 100. Now, if I back up 10 feet and frame the subject so they’re the same size in the frame as my original composition by using a short telephoto lens, now that ratio is only 1:10. This causes the background to appear much closer to my subject than in the first instance." Shoot both lenses from 15 or so feet away and crop the 35 to match the 90, images will be identical. If you try to get the same framing in cam, the 35 will be much closer to your subject, creating the unflattering look with people, minimizing background elements - like making mountains and buildings look smaller and so on.

Love Casey Wilson's stuff posted earlier, he did a Christmas spot with the A7s on a gimbal that's just fantastic. To the OP, as far as the S+Shogun vs SII, I'd go with the SII - full frame 4k recorded to cards, better slow-mo, better EVF, better body and IBIS. Native proves file are nice, but you're still getting a 8-bit signal out of the HDMI, so no real gain in IQ. Stabilization and 4k FF internal with a small footprint FTW. The 1500 nits of the Shogun Flame makes for a sweet monitor though, saw them at B&H last week and they are awesome. But I still prefer a light/fast kit of 2 bodies and 4-5 lenses in a smallish shoulder bag or or backpack. As always, YMMV. Cheers Chris

I was at B&H over the weekend and they have a few of the new Sachtler tripods on display with various heads. Its definitely a cool mechanism, just grab the top of the legs with your hands wrapped around them - and under the large levers - and you can drop the extensions to your desired height. Collapsing is even easier, just pop the levers and let gravity do its thing, then you just snap them down and you're off. The wide/flat legs are nice to throw over the shoulder, these would be much more forgiving if you have to lug them long distances. I couldn't do any twist/flex tests outside of just gnashing around with it for a few minutes, but it felt solid. The guy behind the counter popped the newer Panasonic 4k camcorder with the see-through red plastic on one of the tripods and it was pretty nice. Its real easy to change heights or just to setup at interview height in a flash. If I were in the market for new sticks, these would be at the top of my list. I just don't need new sticks but once every 10 years or so and have no reason to replace my current setup other than gear lust. For me lenses and lights have higher priority. But the ENG types that have to repeatedly deploy the sticks all day every day will love these.

Thinking about the 8+, my 6+ is getting little long in the tooth. The X doesn't offer enough over the others to wait, especially with 2 months of pore orders. But the Hydrogen is looming, just would like to see what Red is planning with add-ons, what those will cost and when (if) they'll see the light of day.