BTM_Pix

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 🙂

Go motorhome/camper shopping with my wife. The layout deliberations makes my pre-purchase machinations over cameras (where they are almost always superseded before I finish my deliberations) look like impulse purchases. I'm hoping that we reach a conclusion about which one to buy before I am too decrepit to actually drive the thing. I think it might be a bit more prosaic and related to the authorisation period where their first post won't appear until they've been approved which can take a couple of days. So they are likely just too impatient in this attention span of a goldfish with a markedly short attention span even for a goldfish era. As well as being wankers.

I often wondered what would come first, Panasonic putting PDAF in an MFT camera or aliens being discovered. Based on whats going on in Mexico today it looks like Panasonic just about won that contest. Maybe the aliens had them under an NDA.

I'm not sure who's more excited about this really. You for receiving your new camera or the rest of this forum that a new member started a thread asking for camera buying advice and then didn't disappear never to be heard from again. Well done on both fronts !

Somewhere in France next summer a wedding party recoils in horror.

The a1 has by and large flown under the radar so its diminishing price on the used market does make it an interesting proposition a bit down the road to do a poor man's 10% of the price / 90% of the image version of the Burano with one. Need a name though. Base it on the Venice* obviously, so it has to be something with lots of canals. But a bit more rough and ready to reflect the price. And a bit more northern for the dourness and attitude. Right, the Birmingham it is then. * Fun fact is that Birmingham is one of the gazillion places referred to as the Venice of the North but in actual fact it should be that Venice is called the Birmingham of the South as Birmingham actually has more miles of canals. All built by order of The Peaky Fucking Blinders presumably.

Not sure I could stop myself turning into Vic Reeves every time I had to say Burano though

I have acute Main Character Syndrome. Its always about me. I pride myself on my Morrissey levels of unhappy-go-pesimistic and deep seated lifelong grudges so I doubt its that. I just accept that people talk a lot of shit on the internet. And that a lot of people are hysterical Marys. Hence, my ignore list is extensive. Well, to be fair, its right there on the front page of their organisation that does have the power to decide that. "Micro Four Thirds is a versatile and highly mobile system that meets all kinds of photographers' needs and chases an optimal balance of high image quality, compactness and lightweight in cameras with interchangeable lenses." https://www.four-thirds.org/en/ The semantics can be argued regarding the relativity of the elements of the balance but there is no doubt that the thrust of it is in the direction of smaller. Otherwise, what would be the point of differentiation or even mentioning it. They could have saved some space and just put: "Micro Four Thirds is a versatile system that meets all kinds of photographers' needs in cameras with interchangeable lenses" Then I have misunderstood a whole swathe of your posts in regard to this matter. My understanding was that one of your primary desires was for a camera that had the discretion necessary for you not to be ejected from museums and galleries. Which is why I would advocate for and made the point for the more demanding internals of the GX80 to be housed in something faintly approaching but not matching the Fp but with its heat management system. It would be entirely possible so making the cameras in the form factor of the G9ii is a choice not a necessity. Which is perfectly fine because its their choice. And its my choice in terms of buying it. So we all get our own way in the end. Its actually 9 in 7. It does APS-C coverage and is a bit faster too so it is to be expected. There is a specific lens type that can be calibrated called "LINK" It is similar in terms of connection to the "FIZ" option in that it uses the MMX multi mode expander option but only uses two motors. Unlike "FIZ" where the AFX gives you independent control of each motor, the two motors in "LINK" mode are as the name suggests linked. During calibration, you adjust the focus of the anamorphic lens with one motor and the focus of the taking lens with the other motor until the image is in focus. Once calibrated, the motors then automatically move the two lenses to their respective focus points based on the distance to the subject detected. It did but the gap is much narrower now. I'm very surprised - pleasantly so - by how good it is on the S5ii. But all of that goodness is relative to within the context of how you view IBIS anyway. The irretrievably destructive nature of it in terms of the distortion of the image (not just in the "that doesn't look steady") is what puts me off it far more than the "is it actually looking stable" or the perceived "oh it looks too floaty for me" aspect. The double whammy with this is that it not always easy to see what it has done when you are looking on a small monitor/EVF so you tend not to find out until its too late. Tripods and balanced shoulder rigs still remain by far the better and safest option but its not always practical of course so its all just part of those compromises when you aren't in control of the environment. I do have a way of testing IBIS systems that involves putting a 1/4 20 mounting point on something that has repeatable and controllable degrees of small lateral movements but I suspect that using the item that I have in mind would mean that the results would only be available on OnlyFans.

You saw that one too then 😂 I must say looking at some of the footage from the Burano did have me immediately thinking about the a1 and was surprised to see how cheap that one was. I had presumed that the a1 could do 8K RAW out to the Ninja V+ but it can only do 4K though. The a1 is still a lot of camera for that money though.

Come on, it really doesn't suck. Its odd then after how after I "persuaded" the GX80/85 to be able to have Cinelike D that there was a subsequent mass obsession with trying to get VLOG on it. 😉 Physics determines this to be true of course for most smaller sensor versus large sensor comparisons, until very recently where the gap has closed somewhat. So its all part of the +/- mix. Is it enough for me ? Personally yes but I'm also a bit old fashioned with regard to using those three legged (or one legged) things that you can put underneath cameras so I'm not fully reliant on it. Which completely rebalances everything in the equation. Any perceived gap in video performance in favour of the GX80/85 is completely blown out of the water by the gulf in favour of the A7Rii when it comes to stills. Being able to plug a microphone into it doesn't do it much harm either.