BTM_Pix

This had definitely be flying under my radar as a rumour so this was an interesting surprise this morning ! I have had the Df since it was launched and it is a fantastic compact D4 and they have finally brought out its mirrorless equivalent. Unlike the Df, which has no video at all, the Zf is very competitively equipped for a camera in its $2000 price range. Key specifications 24MP full-frame BSI CMOS sensor In-body image stabilization rated up to 8EV Dedicated Monochrome mode Up to 14fps continuous shooting (JPEG), 11 fps Raw 'C30' JPEG-only 30fps mode with pre-burst function AF system with tracking and recognition of 9 subject types 4K/60 video from 6K capture with 10-bit N-Log recording 32-shot high-res mode to give 96MP images SD and MicroSD card slots Full details here https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/mirrorless-cameras/z-f.html

Atomos charge $99 to activate h265 in the Ninja which is a bit of a gouge as if there is a notional licensing fee it certainly won’t be a big as that! Don’t know what the deal is with BM not offering ProRes in anything over 4K in any of their cameras so at least by not including it all they’ve saved themselves being asked about that anomaly again!

That is precisely the point I'm making though. If the GH6 is the same as the G9mkii then it too will also have them but they are not being used by the AF system at this time but it doesn't preclude them being used in the future. As unlikely as it may seem for them to release a camera (GH6) that has the capability that everyone wanted but not enable it immediately and then release a new camera with the same sensor but enable it in that one is not beyond the bounds of possibility. Adding it as a €200 upgrade to the GH6 further down the line (and when they'e had more time to perfect it than when the GH6 was launched), why not ? Its completely possible and would make sense for them and the customer. If it is the same sensor, meaning that it was in the GH6 first. Which, as I said, from what I've read it isn't.

I'd say it was a ploy to get people to buy a VideoAssist if they have a requirement to record ProRes if it wasn't for the fact that the HDMI output is capped at 1080p. Even so, if you have to to the external route to even get 1080p ProRes on the BM then the S5iix with the Ninja V gives you 6K ProRes RAW and 5.8K ProRes to SSD if you don't want to use the monitor. You are then also getting the two bonuses of the PDAF and IBIS. And considering the form factor of the 6K series is nothing to write home about, the S5iiX doesn't come off worse in that department either plus you don't have to pay extra for the EVF 🙂 There are a ton of people who couldn't care less about ProRes, AF, IBIS etc though and don't care that it wasn't the massive leap forward that was anticipated who will be absolutely thrilled by this camera. And rightly so. Objectively versus an S5iix though, I'm not sure I would personally bite.

PDAF and CDAF are not mutually exclusive and Panasonic's Hybrid AF in the G9Mkii and the S5ii does use both, as do other manufacturer's systems, depending on circumstances. If the camera can choose from either internally then it also means that what is offered to the user can also be offered or not depending on Panasonic's choice. They have a well established background in offering paid upgrades (usually v-log but latterly ProResRaw/BRAW on the S5ii) that are activated in camera so if the GH6 is indeed the exact same sensor as the G9Mkii then it would give Panasonic the option to do the same using one of their upgrade licenses to activate Hybrid AF. However, it does hinge on it being exactly the same sensor and not a variant of it like I have seen reported. If it isn't exactly the same then its over to our correspondent Harry Callaghan.

Panasonic announcing PDAF in a firmware update for the GH6 next month like this.

Don't know whether you would get more joy quality wise with the Vimeo version. I think if you have a paid plan you can download it and might be higher resolution options. It was just a quick lash up in Photoshop to see if there were differences that were there but imperceptible. Have to say if they are imperceptible then its probably moot anyway. Although the difference with the iPhone shots were far more perceptibly imperceptible 😉

Its there if you are really, really bored on a Sunday morning and really, really look for it. At 300% (😂) here is the eye. Here is it with the lower resolution one on another layer with blend set to difference. It is definitely there but certainly close enough for jazz in terms of how keen you have to be find it. However, it is far more pronounced when doing the same difference layer process with your iPhone footage. This is at 80% And at the same 300% as the Cooke sample. Its difficult to know if there would have been a similar outcome if you had access to higher quality source material with the Cooke footage.

Yeah, even at 1/350th scale you'd need a fairly big coat to fit the Admiral Graf Spee in your pocket.

To differentiate, we can all refer to this new one as the PK6-NP. Denoting both it’s battery type and that it has No ProRes

Well, that vow lasted a little more than 24 hours in terms of the camera at least as I'm now likely to buy the new BMD Micro Studio camera! In my defence : a) It is for a specific Live/ATEM related need rather than general use. b) I am fickle. I'm not going to bang the Panasonic putting MFT into oversized bodies and charging premium prices drum further but I did have half an eye their BGH1 box camera for this role but it is 75% bigger, 81% heavier and 132% more expensive than the BMD Micro Studio camera. When it comes to MFT, Panasonic are more or less cosplaying Benny Hill in The Italian Job at this point.

It is undoubtedly a powerhouse of a camera internally relative to older MFT cameras but it can't be dismissed that the body they have put it in opens up a discussion not only about the camera comparatively as a package itself but also the direction of travel for MFT from Panasonic. The bald truth here is that they have put it inside the body of the S5ii and are selling it for the same price. In a world without the S5ii, I could kind of make the case for it as it is likely to be the peak of MFT but the S5ii does exist, I already own it and it just makes this look weird. Its like they have put the inside of a Ford Fiesta inside a Ford Transit. Seriously, if you walked into a shop today with €1800 burning a hole in your pocket and they were there side by side on the shelf which one are you taking home ? The full frame with the expanding lens system via more companies actively joining the system as well as options to do RAW video out if you needed it in the future (or straight to the 5iiX for a few hundred more and get ProRes) or the one that doesn't have that and is in a lens system that one of the most active 3rd party manufacturers has now stopped making new designs for ? Outside of the three Sigma MFT lenses (which they won't be adding to) fast primes are slower and more expensive than their L mount full frame equivalents now. The last four years has changed the landscape for L mount lenses going from hugely expensive and a limited range to having a much broader lineup at very good prices with the only gap being in the long end. The compact primes that we all had/have and love like the 14mm, 20mm, Oly 45mm 1.8 etc are still available and are genuine bargains and size appropriate for the generation of MFT cameras that they were released around but where do they fit in with the G9ii and on ? For one thing, balance wise it will be like a Hummer pulling a shopping trolley but what of the AF performance ? I can tell you from experience with making an autofocus system that uses MFT lenses that those lenses are a little bit clunky. I'd be interested to see if anyone tests the new PDAF with those type of lenses to determine whether its a swings and roundabouts situation. Again, none of this is ragging on the internals of the G9ii or even the camera as a whole when looked at in isolation in a world where the S5ii doesn't exist but if MFT is to survive then they need to sell these cameras and in the real world where the S5ii does exist, it is difficult to know how someone walking into a shop to compare them would walk out with the former. However, I know a lot of MFT users are bird photographers so the as yet lack of long lenses in L mount and the improved AF might give the G9ii a comfortable niche but it is debatable whether that represents enough to keep MFT going in this same price/same size as Full Frame format that Panasonic have come up with here. Again, just to clarify that I introduced the A7cii into this discussion with regard to what Panasonic could have done to bring the powerhouse internals of the G9ii into a more compact form familiar to those of us who have their previous cameras. Basically, the decision to put it in the body of an S5ii was a free choice rather than a necessity. A decision that some will agree with and some won't depending on what they want out of the system. For me, as I say, I already have the S5ii so have no interest in paying the same price to buy what is effectively a crippled version of it 😄 That was tongue in cheek by the way. Kind of.

Ouch. I had just presumed that like the P6K/PK6PRO/P6KG2, and the P6K derived Ursa Broadcast G2, ProRes would top out at 4K and you had to use BRAW above that. Not including it all is a bit of a surprise, so it is more like the Studio Camera 6K Pro in that respect than it is the Pocket Camera 6K Pro then. Or the Ursa Mini Pro 12K. I can’t remember whether they ever said any sort of ProRes would come to the 12K even on the same “Up to 4K only” basis but even if they didn’t they have subsequently ignored the demand for it as an update, assuming it is possible. Which would not bode well for building up any hopes that it could come to this new 6K as a future update.

The control does come through the SDI port as well so they could make a Bluetooth adapter into that. The BM video assist would give a benefit in terms of being able to record ProRes as it is worth bearing in mind that this camera can only record BRAW. It’s not a bad sort of kind of box version of the P4K but where this camera really scores is with the ATEM where you can control and live switch them but then use their BRAW recordings to post produce a higher quality tuned version in 4K as the ATEM automatically produces a Resolve project with the multi cam timeline that you then just drop the files from the camera into. You can now have a live stream setup with hardware switching of four channels of fully controllable cameras with ISO recording in 4K BRAW for under £4K. It’s pretty amazing really.

Yes. There are plenty of options to run it from NP-F or DTAP for longer run times. It’s a pity it doesn’t have Bluetooth for function control to make up for the removal of the external control port.

The only current one for EF to L is the Fotodiox version which doesn’t have a clear setting unfortunately. The Meike adapters have the swappable tray so you can swap to clear. Unfortunately, despite doing it in a range of mounts (including PL to L actually) they don’t yet do it for EF to L. The Fotodiox version has warnings on their website not to use it on Leica bodies and even the Sigma adapter isn’t compatible with a number of Leica bodies either despite them being part of the L mount alliance. So it does make me wonder if it is related to full compatibility why we haven’t seen the Meike version appear as the PL to L shows they are able to make adapters for the mount but of course that version doesn’t require AF functionality. The L mount gaining far more traction through the S5ii and now this new BM camera might give them a bit more incentive to get on with it.

It is and it isn't really as It was going to the point of what is possible without having to put it in the size of body that the G9ii is in. A7cii is under 50% of overall additional volume of the camera body and a 19% increase in weight for an additional 290% in the sensor surface area with its associated IBIS mechanism and processing. Versus the 220% of overall additional volume of the camera body and a 54% increase in weight for an additional 0% in the sensor surface area that they Panasonic have given us with the G9ii 🙂 In terms of the discretion aspect, I'd always maintain that it is the width and particularly the height of the camera body that attracts the attention rather than the depth so the much of a muchness in the height and width means the A7cii will fly under the same radar as the GX80. Well, yeah, its all equal in the discretion in museums department for the A7cii until it bursts into flames and sets fire to the Bayeux Tapestry 🙂

The LPE6 to NP battery plate makers will be dusting off their old stock tonight ! This new one does have a 12v locking connector in now though to be fair.

OK, here is the spec and there are indeed no internal NDs. https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk/products/blackmagiccinemacamera/techspecs/W-CIN-20

The reworked Micro Studio Camera then... looks with the new additions that they've accidentally created the box P4K that everyone has been asking for. A nod to Panasonic there that its possible to bring out a new MFT camera that isn't the size of a brick. However...... Unless I missed it, does that new 6K not have the ND filters ? It wasn't mentioned and looking at the rear panel the +/- buttons to control it that the P6K Pro has were not there. The AF looks like the familiar standard too though and I'm guessing much would have been made if it had something new in that department * Full frame, L mount and CDAF..... Its pretty much a BRAW shooting version of the original S5 without the IBIS then 😉 Looks pretty good but not the complete revolution many were predicting/expecting/hoping for. *yes, yes real cinema cameras have no AF anyway etc but don't say that you wouldn't love it if it had it..

Or maybe "Oh shit, who added the two extra zeroes to that order for the S5ii body shells ?"

Unfortunately, I think that is what is going to happen and we won't see any more of the compact ranges. In this case my question was if they were going to go big what else could they have fitted in there. Specifically, ND filters. Unfortunately for Panasonic - and the rest of us - the 0.75mm difference in flange focal distance between MFT and L mount is in the wrong direction for them to offer an adapter, because that would justify the transition in at least providing an option for current MFT users to move up. As we know from the LS-300, the majority of MFT lenses cover APS-C (and those that don't can use a 10-12% additional crop) so they could have made a very attractive APS-C L mount camera with appeal to both sides of the fence.

Click the link for the live presentation. The consensus seems to be that its a new camera so still a few hours left to speculate wildly.

There doesn't necessarily have to be a size relationship with the additional power though - and certainly not the disproportional one that we are seeing with Panasonic's latter cameras. To add some real world perspective to both of your points, this is what is possible if the will is there and would mean you could have your cake and eat it too if they had a different policy.. The a7Cii on the right is full frame, 10 bit 4:2:2, IBIS, AI PDAF, Slog3, S-cinetone etc etc etc and is only marginally bigger than the GX80. That was a route they could've gone down but their idea on how to bring comparable features to a smaller sensor camera was this : So for you to have discretion while you are inside the museum and all the power boost in features for when you aren't whilst keeping the same lens mount, that is the setup you are forced to have to have in MFT now. Its faintly ridiculous when you look at the a7Cii in particular as you only need the one camera as you have all the power you need in either scenario and staff are unlikely to kick you out of the museum when they see you using such a discreet camera. Unless, of course, they think you are from the British Museum and are trying to steal the exhibits. I think AI will sort this problem in the very near future. BM have had the gyros in the camera from day 1 but never activated them until recently whilst they made the data operable so I'd expect to see rapid growth in that area. The lens data is obviously also recorded in the metadata of your video files. You never know, there might be something funky in that new camera they are supposed to be launching later today 🙂