BTM_Pix

There was a lot of chatter last month to suggest this may be happening sooner rather than later. With Tokina and Viltrox doing AF lenses for X mount, I can't see why Sigma won't be far behind so it might actually happen this time but I think the same chatter was around in 2018 so take it with a pinch of salt.

Well then... GFX100S highlights are : Weighs 900g, so 500g lighter than GFX100 in a 30% smaller camera body Shutter and IBIS re-designed from GFX100 6 Stops of IBIS Faster AF, speed of 0.18s with PD working at -5.5EV, improved face detection is now 50% faster New film simulation called "Nostalgic Neg" $6499 and available next month Not seen the full spec sheet but video looks to have been left untouched from GFX100 but that remains to be confirmed.

Time to see how much they've taken off the GFX100 to get to this much cheaper GFX100S. Some lenses will be announced too. Watch along at 14:00 CET EDIT >>> Fujifilm of course, not Fujfilm as the title suggests !

Still don't understand why they don't just make an optional combined battery grip and fan system for video use. For a start, moving the batteries out of the main body and into the grip would alleviate some of the internal heat. An exhaust system could then be incorporated into the connecting stork of the battery grip that opens up an aperture in the battery chamber of the camera with fans in the grip taking care of cooling. That would maintain the weather sealing and satisfy stills shooters who don't want to pay for any extra video oriented features that they will rarely use, particularly ones that add bulk and noise. And of course, anyone who is using this camera for video is going to need all the battery power they can so its a win win for them. Of course, when I say I don't understand why Sony don't do this, I mean from the customer's perspective but from their own point of view I think its pretty obvious why they don't.

My "precision" soldering skills would be more suited to welding pipes but there are kits like this available if you want to get some practice. So you gain experience of soldering different types of components to boards but as its building towards a finished item you also learn about the circuit. They are available on Amazon but have a ridiculous margin added to them but if you go to aliexpress then you can buy them for a couple of euros and often less depending on what type of one you get. Just put "soldering practice" in the search bar at aliexpress to see the different ones on offer.

If they can tame the bad aspects in most situations, and it looks like they have done a lot to do that with this one, then after spending more than the cost of this camera replacing the mechanical ones in my D series cameras over the years then good riddance as far as I'm concerned !

At £6500.00 its the same price as what it would be to get into a D6 or an EOS-1DxIII so if I was still in that business (not that there is much left it anymore after COVID) then it would certainly be an alternative but whilst they make a lot of the electronic shutter, the mechanical one is still only 10fps so lags behind the other two. They seem to have made strides in controlling the side effects with the electronic shutter though so that might not be the issue it once was with the A9. Its unfortunate for Sony that they look to have finally got it all together with a pro sports camera system (now they also have the lenses and networking workflow for liver editorial) to take the other two on properly just at the point at which the target industry is on its knees, save for the big agencies.

The devil will be in the recovery times no doubt.

The stills spec was impressive enough but Its an absolute monster on the video side as well. 8K, Cinetone, 16bit RAW out over HDMI. They've even put some cooling in it 😉

Well its 8K

No idea what it will be but watch along from 16:00 CET

Its not the best full frame camera that I've got for photography but its certainly the best one that can also shoot RAW video and fit in my coat pocket that I've got, so in terms of a real hybrid then thats the benchmark I suppose. Having no mechanical shutter is going to show up negatively from time to time and the 1/30th flash sync would kill it if I ever did any flash stuff too. The lack of EVF is the bugbear, more so as my eyesight hasn't exactly got better in the past couple of years but against that is that the screen is good in bright light and the focus peaking works well too. In terms of hybrids, Sony missed a huge trick with the A7C by not putting 10 bit video in it as that would've made it a big contender for being one that ticked enough boxes sufficiently well. I think the ultimate hybrid is likely to be announced on Wednesday by Fujifilm with the GFX100S, albeit it at a "well it should be for that price" level. For stills, at 100mp, you're never going to run out of road but it all depends on what they've cut out of the GFX100 on the video side. If they retain the same video specs then 10bit internal with ProRes RAW when you want it is a great combination. In the same vein back at a more realistic price point, a used Panasonic S1 is pretty compelling though. Fotodiox do an EF adapter with AF for L mount that includes a variable ND so that's another option now too. Yes, it works fine. All the Foveon cameras thus far have been APS-C so whilst Sigma have been trying to bring a FF version out it has been getting put back so I wouldn't rule out a new L mount APS-C Foveon based on either the SD Quattro or even in an Fp case, which would give them a home for these lenses. With regard to Leica owners, the context is that for not much more than the price of the cheapest of Leica's own crop lenses, you can buy all three of the Sigma ones. And they are significantly faster at f1.4 than most of Leica's offerings and as fast as Leica's fastest one which is almost double the price of buying the whole set of Sigmas. So, this Leica owner, at least, is not going to ignore that kind of value !

Yeah, the Sigma LVF-1 loupe I have for my DP0 doesn't fit due to the buttons underneath the screen on the Fp and having not been outside the door for months I've not been able to get or have any need for the LVF-11. (this is code for "not been able to find one cheap enough secondhand" obviously). As a lash, I've used an arm to mount the LVF-1 upside down on the Fp as it does fit that way up so with a £6 pistol grip and the Baveyes adapter, here is my Medium Format(ish) 4K RAW Super8 camera.

BM said they have a supply issue with one of the keys on it so back orders should ease up after that.

Have a look at a product called Clampod Takeway T2 which has been designed for pressing balconies, rails and tree branches etc into makeshift mounting points when travelling.

The 35mm Mamiya? Like everything else in the past 10 months, I haven't really done enough to draw a conclusion. I got it really cheap and its in OK shape but the focus barrel is really stiff for the first 25% of travel which is a pain. I got the Baveyes on a really cheap Amazon return deal so once I can go out again I'm looking to get the 80mm and the 210mm. I've got a tiny SSD that I got in an electronics shop in Tokyo that is about the size of a CF card and I've got a SanDisk extreme as well as the Samsung T5. The good thing about the T5 is that its well catered for with cage mounts etc. At some point, I'll get round to doing a roll your own solution using an enclosure like this as it seems a decent form factor for top or bottom mounting. It was all about the M mount for me when I got it as the native lenses were all huge and expensive with the exception of the 45mm f2.8 I got wirh it but I definitely think the landscape has changed L mount wise since then. The 45mm f2.8 is a really decent lens that is well proportioned on the Fp and I was hoping they'd produce more in the same sort of size and the three recent ones they've released (24,35 and 65mm) seem to have delivered on that. By not chasing the f1.4 dragon and being built from the ground up for mirrorless, they've struck a good balance with cost and size when it comes to matching them with the Fp. Not that I've been anywhere near a camera shop to be able to have a close look at them but the reviews seem solid too. I don't what their plans are but they could do with a 90mm and an 18 or 20mm in the same series to round it out. The other three that they've launched in L mount for APS-C are appealing to me for my Leica T and SL (4K internal is crop) and I'd love to see Sigma do a 10bit internal RAW APS-C mode for the Fp. I've got a sneaky feeling that Sigma might actually release an APS-C camera soon.

In the time that I have actually used it, which was predominantly the two weeks after I got it, I love it. No question it could do with a viewfinder for me but I'll get the loupe at some point when I begin shooting again. Based on my experiences with the version of it for the Sigma DP0 then it will do the trick. The 8 bit internal RAW is pretty good but without any of the RAW having compression it needs an SSD really anyway and there are plenty of really small ones now that make that less of an issue.

Reversing the equation, there is a Speed Editor available on eBay where the seller is not including the license and the current bidding is £125 which, against a UK price of £280 for a new one with the license will probably end up valuing the license at around £100. I think you'll see a lot of that type of purchasing, which is the inverse of what you want to do, where people buy the package and will take a view afterwards whether they like the Speed Editor or not knowing they can recoup a chunk by selling it on eBay. If you already own the Studio license then I think I'd be looking to pick up one of those used Speed Editors as it might prove cheaper and less hassle than trying to sell the license on.

With regard to the Tokina 11-16mm, I'd left it out because, whilst not massive, it's still a bit of a lump if you are looking for something compact. I've done this quick comparison shot* of it next to the Canon 10-18mm and although there doesn't look to be too much difference its significantly heavier and the 77mm thread will add to the cost of ND filters etc. What you will get back in return for that extra size and weight though is a great lens that I don't think anyone has ever regretted buying. I've got it in both Nikon and Canon mounts and I haven't found them particularly wanting against my Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 and Canon 16-35mm f2.8 lenses (albeit they can't be used on FF). On the other hand, the Canon 10-18 can't compare with it in terms of speed (or handling when it comes to manual focus) but in its favour it adds a bit more range on either end, the stabilisation and the sort of weight that makes it a negligible addition to have in your bag. The obvious answer is to buy both 🙂 * For the benefit of @mercer, the shot was taken on a Sigma Fp with a Mamiya 35mm 645 lens on the Baveyes Medium Format speedbooster 😉

They are good people too.

Aperture have one of the 20mm 3.5 that @mercer suggested. https://www.apertureuk.com/voigtlander-20mm-f35-color-skopar-sl-n-ii-ap201150.html

No, I've fired a similar number of shots in the past 10 months as the Swiss navy have.

Some of the cheap ones aren't great but the 20-35mm f2.8 was a premium lens in its day and according to this review it is smooth. http://cschu.redirectme.net/mirrored/bythom/www.bythom.com/2035lens.htm For the £40-50 I see them selling for they definitely are worth a go. With it being push/pull, some examples of it can be a bit too loose so you have to be careful with them when trying to focus in the mid range that you don't alter the focal length. I have a fondness for it because it was my first "long" Nikkor lens back in the mists of time when I was a kid and it was a brand new product !

Oh well, I often forget what lenses I've got squirrelled away so I struggle to remember the full extent of other fetishist's collections 😉

Yeah, they did a 200mm f4. They also did a 180mm f2.8 if you want to trade reach (and price) for speed.