Trek of Joy

How many photo cameras does BM produce? How many lenses do they make? They build hardware and software for video/broadcast applications. Do you know how profitable the camera division is? Probably not. For all we know its not very profitable, but it helps drive sales of other parts of the BM ecosystem, like the way the Micro Cinema Camera is a pain without an external monitor like the BM Video Assist. Nikon could do it, they clearly have killer cameras, they squeeze more out of Sony sensors than Sony does, they have class leading AF and their cameras do shoot good video. The question is can they make a profit selling video cameras? My guess is no. Just because they can, doesn't mean they should.

Agreed. Unlike Nikon, Canon has been producing professional video cameras and broadcast lenses for decades, the EOS C line is a natural extension of that lineage. The market is moving from fixed lens camcorders like the legendary EX1 to large sensor ILC camcorders like the FS7 and C100/300. Though on paper it looks like the GH5 could shake up things a bit, and IMO this is why we haven't seen a real AF100 successor. Panasonic is leaving the mid range stuff to Canon and Sony while trying to capture everything below with the GH5's heavy duty spec. Nikon has no history in the pro video realm, venturing into pro video would be a big undertaking with lots of R&D. Good cameras by companies with far more experience than Nikon, like the JVC LS300, have been largely ignored in favor of the Canon and Sony's. Its not short sighted or stupid, its just not in their business model. Any mis-step would be very costly. Olympus is in the same boat. So is Fuji. Improving the video in their respective cameras and allowing for better output to external recorders makes more financial sense than producing an entirely new line of cameras. Just my opinion.

I'm trying to find my ideal long-term travel hybrid as I'm going to be spending a lot of time living out of a backpack over the next few months. I also own the a7rII, but a kit based around that is going to be too bulky to carry every day for long periods of time, so I'm moving to APS-c. Plus used prices are still high, selling the a7rII will fund a lot of kit. My kit will be 2 bodies and likely no more than 4 lenses, one standard zoom, one UWA zoom and a couple fast primes. If I can make it work, I may add the DJI Mavic, just don't know if I'll use it enough to justify carrying it around every day. M43 is killing it on the video side, but it just doesn't do it for me with stills. I have the a6300 and various lenses and I rented a XT2 with the 18-55 (for stabilized video) and 23/1.4 for the next few days. The appeal of the Fuji is two-fold, the 18-55 is a great standard zoom and its stabilized, plus I can shoot more jpeg's which will help cut down my editing while on the road. I'll be gone too long to save everything, so I'll be culling images and video as we go. The a6500 is supposed to be released a few days before I leave, so I can't count on it being available as that can change and if it gets pushed back just a week means I'll be scrambling. I need to get my kit locked in over the next month so I can also have things like my bag, tripod, accessories and so on sorted as well. Quick first impressions after spending 30 minutes setting up the XT2 ... geez this is so much more solid feeling than the a6300/a7rII and of course you have more controls on the XT2. I'm on the fence with the ISO and SS top dials, I've always used the front/rear control dials for that. Since there are other control dials under SS/ISO, those settings can be changed if they're not locked down. The XT2's LCD and EVF are bigger, brighter and more detailed. The LCD tilt/swivel is clever, but a flip out/fully articulating LCD would be simpler and more useful. One bugaboo with the XT2 that drives me nuts so far. I have to use the drive mode dial to shoot video, so moving between stills and video is a little clunky as you have to click it over a few times to get to optimal stills drive modes. Why no video record button? Or they could have moved single shot next to movie so you could flip back and forth. Anyway, any comparison requests? I can match FL's on both cameras and put the a6300 on top of the XT2 with a tiny hotshoe ball head. Everything will be recorded internally.

I had the EM5 and now the A7rII, the IBIS mechanism has a faint hum. It was much louder on the EM5 compared to the A7rII, that video sounds exactly like the Olympus.

But then you get something really bulky, expensive and far less capable than the 1" compacts, all you're really talking about is a RX100 with an oversized, clunky touchscreen interface and a slower lens that's not as wide or long. That's no-man's land when top phones sell in the millions every month. There's just not enough of a market to sustain the P&S phones, its a small niche market in an industry that's purely volume driven. Even companies like Sony and Microsoft are finding mobile devices a tough place to turn a profit - despite selling millions of phones annually. Personally I'd prefer one of the 1" compacts or something like the LX100 -- better IQ, better lens with a wider range, much faster in use, swappable battery, no micro SD card and so on -- to carrying a P&S phone. I have a couple cinematic apps for the iPhone, snap speed, LR mobile and such. Its fine when that's all I have to get a shot, but phone photos suck for anything more than the web, phones are far less responsive compared to pretty much any camera on the market today, and the video is good for a phone and little else. Just my opinion.

So far the Pixel looks like just another top spec phone to me. I guess film convert, letter boxing and a slider makes it cinematic?

You can get generic tripod collars off ebay cheap. The one below is less than $6, search there are tons of them, you can probably get one off Amazon if you need it quick. The A7s chassis isn't a one piece design, I wouldn't hang a zoom off it without a collar attached to the tripod plate. http://www.ebay.com/itm/70-200mm-f-4L-IS-USM-Lens-Tripod-Collar-Mount-Ring-A-W-for-Canon-EF-/381809716585?hash=item58e5a1ed69:g:TeoAAOSw8w1X~PEY If you don't want to go that route, get a rod/baseplate/lens support from any rig maker. If you search there are plenty of DIY solutions that use easy to source hardware, all you need is a clamp, something to protect the lens body from being scratched and a couple of bolts. You can do it for less than the $6 collar linked above. I'd err of the side of caution and fabricate something or wait to use the lens until you have decent support.

I've ordered 6 cameras from Texas Media, awesome group of guys to work with. If there's anything on pre-order you want, they don't get hammered with pre-orders like the usual outlets - I've been able to get must have new releases the day they're released including the BMPCC, GH4, A7s and A7rII. Their shipment of A7rII's came in a few days before the actual release date, I was one of the first in the U.S. to get one. You can call them up and talk gear or actually go there if you're in Texas. Highly recommended, Terry and crew are really great to work with. They're one of the few independent shops that haven't been squeezed out by B&H/Adorama/Amazon. As long as they're around, I'm buying all my new cameras from them.

I'm getting ready to do a year-long trip around the world with my wife starting in mid-December, will be using a Macbook Air and a combo of the cloud when I have an internet connection (youtube, amazon, flickr, google) and cheap SD cards or the WD My passport since the 3gb version is now $229. I'll also be editing stuff as we go because I won't be able to bring back everything I shoot. I'm leaning toward SD cards to keep cords/charging/weight to a minimum, the fewer devices and cables I need to manage the better. Plus outside of the computer and storage, I have to charge camera batteries and our iPhone. It'll cost a little more than a large drive to go the SD route, but my needs are a little extreme compared to most travel shoots. And like I said, I'll be editing some stuff on the go. But first I have to decide, a pair of XT2's, a Xt2/Xpro2, or couple a6500's. First world problems.

Isn't the 1dc essentially a 1dx that also shoots 4K? Until recently that was the top of the line sports cam, the AF/tracking is ridiculously good. Imaging Resource and DPreview have image comparison tools to put your options side by side. Obviously it's much more to carry, beyond that it's a better camera in every way IMO.

17-55/2.8 is great on APS-c. If the 24-105 is the MKI its an average lens IMO, the MKII is much better.

Shooting with fly-by-wire lenses, AF really helps IMO. Its especially handy setting initial focus and tracking if the AF is capable of keeping up.

I have to say I'm intrigued by the Mavic, I travel a lot and the fact that its less than 2 lbs and so damn small makes it something I can throw in my camera backpack and carry almost anywhere. Small differences in footage between the Phantom or the Karma are less significant than actually getting the shot for me.

New to the forum, considering the XT2 or possibly waiting for the a6500 or the EM1mkII - I travel a lot and shoot everything handheld, so stabilization of some form is a must to keep the shakes to a minimum. Does anyone have links to footage with the 18-55 or 10-24 to see what a difference the lens stabilization makes?