Trek of Joy

Does that also have a 5k monitor, 1tb PCIe SSD and run FCPx? If not, not interested. The new price of my machine was $3299 and at $2999, I still would have passed. I waited until it hit my price point and bought it, with most of a 3-year warranty remaining. They're all over places like Craigslist and Ebay. Running windows is not an attractive option for me as I prefer the Mac integration across all my devices. I don't use HDD's anymore either, too slow. Cheers

I do like the A99 ergos, still the best camera I've ever held in terms of grip, button placement and usability. When I tinkered with the A99II at a few Tokyo camera shops it was love, but then I put the 24-70 on there and it became a giant brick. The 24-70 is a really good lens, but by no means a lightweight. I never found the old A-mount 35 to be all that great, but that's my walk around FL and the SigArt is just so much better at its widest apertures, no sense in paying for a 1.4 if its not very good wide open. If you're looking to go one system for stills and video Sony's 42mp sensor is really the best option IMO. The A-mount just lacks direction and seemingly a future as Sony has completely ignored the lenses in the last few years. The 35/85/135 are all in need of updates to SSM II tech, those are my most used primes so as always YMMV. They also need a good 28/2 like the E-mount as well, though you can get the Minolta easily. The 35 should be a Zeiss lens too, almost seems like the FE Z35 was the lens the A-mount should have gotten. If Sony put the A7s sensor in the A99 body that could be a video monster and round out things a little better in terms of an ecosystem, but their focus is the FE cams as crop E-mount and A-mount are getting nothing but new bodies that seem to be not very well planned. Lots of cheap Minolta glass still floating around including some really great stuff like the the 28/2 and the APO zoom. The beer can everyone talks about is good, but not great IMO. Lots of good deals on used A-mount lenses - both Sony and Minolta - can be found though. Looking forward to comparison videos. The 16-50/2.8 is a great option for s35 video too, its easy to find used on the cheap. Cheers Chris

There are threads about FCPx benchmarks like this one, lots of hardware configs to choose from: http://www.fcp.co/forum/hardware/18250-brucex-try-this-new-final-cut-pro-x-benchmark I have the previous gen 4ghz i7 (bought used, 3 mo old with 3-year AppleCare for $2000 last year, over $1000 less than new) with 4gb vram, a 1tb SSD and 32gb ram (from B&H when they were having a sale) and its really, really fast cutting 4k from my A7rII or my XT2. I don't use proxies and I never convert to proves, just files straight from the camera. My iMac is noticeably faster than my previous trashcan Mac Pro with dual video cards and 6gb vram. After testing the iMac at the Apple Store I decided to dump the pro for the faster machine with the better monitor.

This is a cool hack, kudos to BTM for the work.

To each his own, I'd rather do anything other than mess with driver updates and compatibility with various components/software. While its not the fault of the OS, Windows updates do create issues until the other companies push out driver updates. And since you have to use something outside of the OS to edit, that introduces another player to the mix. My experience with a lab of 24 computers completely soured me on PC's forever. It was a never ending series of problems. If yours works without issue, that's great. My system hums along without issue as well. Enjoy Cheers

Oops, apologies, I got the update to a wide gamut display mixed up with 10-bit support. Its been awhile since I've looked at specs. It will do 10-bit with an external monitor.

Therein lies the problem, since there are basically an unlimited number of possible hardware and software combinations, so if Adobe - or anyone else for that matter as Resolve has enjoyed its share of compatibility issues - pushes out an update that suddenly kills the sound (a regular occurrence with Audition) or doesn't play nice with a video card running a second monitor (had it happen to me twice, among other problems) you're hosed until proper drivers are updated and so on. Like everyone I've worked in a PC environment, and my ass clenched every time a forced update was pushed on my machine because it always caused problems with various pieces of editing software I used and there's always a project in the works that gets impacted by wasting time trying to update drivers or talking to Adobe support to try and resolve issues. I'm happy to pay the Apple tax to have ZERO compatibility issues and use FCPx/Logic. I've also never had to worry about viruses and malware. And I can move everything across a phone, iPad, laptop and desktop pretty easy since they all communicate with each other so well. Side note, I ran a digital media production program for high school students and our lab was Adobe/PC, 24 computers, we had a full time staffer that did nothing but maintenance on the systems and solve these issues as they were a constant drag on the program, along with viruses, files that would mysteriously disappear, projects that would continually crash for no apparent reason, driver updates, re-image HD's because performance over time would grind to a halt and so on. We went iMac after we were awarded a fat grant for computers and that person literally had nothing to do, I had to rewrite their job as an instructor. That was when I switched for good. Use what you like, but I really don't get why every Apple thread across the internet always gets derailed by PC users. This is not directed at you Kisaha, just an observation. Like millions of other users, I prefer the closed system, seamless integration across various devices and FCPx over other options. Its not all rainbows and puppy dogs, I hate the fact that my little Macbook only has one USB-c port and no built in card reader. I wish my iMac screen could be a little less shiny/reflective, but its still the best system for me. Cheers Chris

I've heard about people carting their iMac around, but never seen it. FYI, the late 2015 27" was updated to 10-bit, in case you didn't already know. That was when I dumped my trashcan Pro and got a loaded iMac. Would like the new Pro model, but my current machine eats 4k and stitches 15x42mp raw panos pretty easy. If I did heavy effects or grading, I'd be lusting after an iMac Pro. I'll wait a year for the new modular machine to be released and get an iMac Pro on the cheap from someone upgrading.

+1 I'm thinking the same thing, this camera covers all the bases nice. And as we know from the c100, not all 8-bit footage is created equal. Really wish Canon used the same codecs in the 5d4 so we'd have a viable stills/4k b-cam option in the Canon ecosystem. Maybe the 90d gets 4k? The 70d got DPAF first IIRC, so there's an ever so slim chance. I'm looking to shoot a couple docs in the next year, this one ticks more boxes than any other camera in the price range.

Ehh, if you're happy with A-mount glass and the limited adapting options, the A99II is nice, but I'd still opt for the A7rII. The E-mount 35/1.4 (my favorite FE lens) is much better than the A-mount IMO, heck even the SigArt is better than the old Minolta 35 with a Sony badge on it - which has well documented weaknesses. You can go small/light with the A7 and something like the 28/2 or 55/1.8 - the A99II will always be bigger no matter what lens you stick on it. Sigma is going to produce E-mount lenses, some of their recent releases are not in A-mount, third parties dropping out is a bad sign for the future when new OEM glass is non-existent. Sony is cranking out E-mount lenses pretty fast these days, the new 16-35GM and 12-24 will not be matched in A-mount. Neither will any of the other GM lenses for that matter. The older A-mount 2.8 zooms are good, but again Sony has left the A-mount lenses for dead. How long have people been begging to update the goofy screw drive AF on the 135/1.8 to no avail? The last A-mount lens was the 50/1.4 and the modest updates to the Zeiss zooms - which IMO were done to improve performance with the A7rII and future PADF E-mount cameras. I spent some time tinkering with the A99II at some big camera stores in Japan and China over the last couple months, I really like the ergos of the A99 body, its the most comfortable camera in-hand I've ever used. To answer the original question - insane. And this is from a former A99 owner. I sold it in part because of the lack of a truly outstanding 35. That and the shitty video. Slog3 isn't a reason to choose it over the A7rII either, Slog2 and even Cine4 produce better results. The A7sII is far cleaner at 3200 and above, and can focus in lower light. I'd run a A7rII/sII combo before A99 anything. Again IMO. Cheers Edit: After the A9/12-24/16-35gm announcements, I'm pretty much settled on heading back to the E-mount from Fuji, as Sony is clearly pushing tech to the next level while denying others its top sensors. Though I have no use for the A9's speed, the stacked sensor and new body (which I also really like) will surface in other models in the future. I find AF when recording to be very handy - mostly because I used "push auto" to set focus in the old Z1u days and that habit continues today. Plus its nice to be able to track subjects with AF and focus on other things - like not tripping over curbs and shit while walking. Until Sony resolves its AF issues with the A99II its not going to be an option for me.

My personal favorite is the mkII version of the Sony 24-70/2.8 Zeiss, but I don't know what the adapter situation is like with A-mount lenses. If price isn't an issue though, the Canon mkII has outperformed the Tamron in tests and there are many good used copies floating around. I would go Canon before Tamron - even if buying new, plus it'll be easier to shift down the line if/when you decide to sell.

Don't see why it would piss anyone off, regardless of the net worth of the person producing a project. If you can leverage your name/skill/fame into what Wright did, I say go or it. She's a big part of why HOC is so good. Like others say, let it motivate you. Cheers

Love the C/Y Zeiss, the 28/2.8 is something special, its not 2.0, but its awfully sharp at 2.8, and Zeiss glass usually has better transmission than others at the sam aperture. The Hollywood 28/2 is even better, but that comes at a cost. The Nikon is nice too, but you get the wonky focus rings the go the wrong way. Right now all my MF glass is C/Y, but I love the Zeiss look. Cheers

Ehhh, most make it out to be a much bigger deal than it really is. I've seen tons of posts about how an a6300 "melts" if you try to shoot 4k with it, I had one, got a few temp warnings but it certainly never melted. When not traveling my home base is in south Florida and shoot in the sun almost every day. The A7rII had some overheating issues and they were quickly solved via a FW update. I had that cam from day one, never overheated on me once - even when spending a full day shooting Indy and various motorcycle races at Daytona. If its an issue with the A9, it'll get zapped even faster since Sony is going upmarket. IBIS and full readout 4k on a big sensor means heat, there's no way around that. There are plenty of options if you're wary. If you want the big sensor and 4k there are few options. Cheers.

What are you shooting with now? Been thinking about a Canon C for the same purposes.

Gah, where's the 5Dc with all this... Canon will sell a ton of these. Haters will still find ways to trash them. Panasonic's new camera had better be amazing or its going to be totally overshadowed by this.

What's your point?

Sony always seems to elicit the "great IQ, hate the shooting experience" posts, and I'm no different. But after tinkering with an A9, Sony finally got it right IMO - the stuff that needs dials is there, the record button is fixed, body egos are better, AF is next level amazing, IBIS is much improved over the A7mk2's and so on. When it trickles down to the A7s3/A7r3/A73, it will be very tough to choose m43 or Fuji over Sony. If the A9 were priced at the A7rII intro price of about $3200, I would have two right now and be back in the Sony camp.

Its not weather sealed at all either, that's my main issue with it. Although I will say I'm seriously considering heading back to Sony FF because the UWA zoom is so crucial to my work. The 16-35/4 is awesome, and the new GM looks even better.

That sucks. Outside of distortion - the edges/corners are where the corrections have the most impact. I've never turned off the internal lens corrections to see what it does to IQ. I can edit around the exposure jumping, and I've never scrutinized the edges - but I'm just shooting travel stuff right now. If it were for someone else I'd pixel-peep a lot more. Maybe start a discussion/submit an article to Fuji Rumors get more attention? Tweet the Fuji Guys and comment on their YT videos. They read comments and respond. Fuji seems to listen to their sponsored shooters as well, this should be more publicized. Fuji seems very responsive to correcting these things. Doesn't help you now, but down the line...

Been saying for years, IMO, one of CaNikon's biggest blunders was holding onto compacts and ignoring the smartphone world, instead of getting in bed with Apple or Samsung and developing smartphone lenses and embedding color science into their phone processing. Cameras quickly became the most scrutinized feature of most phones along with the display. Huawei is making huge gains and their flagship has the Leica lenses - lending photo cred to a device by simply having name recognition and separating them from the rest. They don't even have an app to get the Cannon or Nikon "signature look", SMH.

I work in digital marketing, so for me photo and video are vital tools for my job and most of the time I produce/shoot/edit everything I get published - but I don't consider myself a filmmaker by any stretch. If social isn't your thing, that's cool, but some presence makes it a lot easier for people to find you. If you have a blog or website to showcase your work even better. Use it as a professional marketing tool and make connections. Put your contact info on a card and pass it on. Its just another form of building relationships and engaging your audience. I've hired plenty of people for various jobs, first thing I do is google them and search them out on social to see who they are. You don't have to be 20 post a day vlogger active, a couple posts a week or so, show BTS stuff, write about your process, gear and so on. You can ignore it, but Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter/Instagram/Youtube has helped me with every job I've landed in the last few years and I"ll be leaning on it heavily at the beginning of next year when I search for my next job. Personally anything I can do that gives me an edge over someone else is worth the effort. YMMV. Good luck.

There was some discussion about this in the XT2 thread. You may be seeing in-cam lens corrections not keeping up with what you're shooting. I've noticed it a lot when zooming or panning in the midday sun when out sightseeing. This happens shooting full manual. I use the 10-24 and 18-55 a lot and they both show this behavior.

I bet PP's get added in a FW update if there are enough complaints. But I don't think the intended users will be complaining. I wouldn't write off the 12mp sensor just yet, add the same sensor improvements to it - RS all but disappears and crazy ISO's like 104,000+ may get cleaner. With Sony you just never know.

Yesterday I was shopping in China with my wife and walked into a giant camera store - much to my surprise there was a A9 demo event. Despite not knowing anything being said from the Sony rep, everyone in the audience, or even being able to decipher the menus - it was awesome. The body improvements make it really feel good, more chunk in the grip, better control layout - lord the new record button is just great compared to the ball point pen tip they've used on every other e-mount body - and jeezus its fast. 20fps is not my thing, but the A9 is a beast. AF and tracking are next level for mirrorless - much better than anything I've seen from the EM1.2, XT2 and the A6500 or A7rII. Everyone in attendance shot stills, so when the rep reviewed images on a big 4k tv, I didn't see any video. If I had a spare card I would have shot some stills and tried to shoot video - they were letting people take away images, but the menus were in Chinese so I don't know if I would have been able to tinker with framerates and bitrates. Very cool though as this was the first time I've seen a camera pre-release like this. Funny side note - a guy was pairing the A9 with his phone to download images and he knocked over a cup of water sitting on the counter next to the camera and it splashed the A9 body and a a6500/18-110 cine lens combo sitting on the counter next to the A9. A shop staffer gave him major stink eye as he wiped water off the everything, but the weather sealing did its job. That cine lens is sweet too.