MurtlandPhoto

Yeah it's looking like a crashcam mini box camera. I saw somewhere that Sony made some tiny cameras for the F1 movie.

My latest fun-factor obsession is the Epson R-D1. It's the closet thing to a film-like shooting experience you can get on digital. As far as I know, it is the only digital camera in which you must cock the shutter manually... for sure it is the only digital rangefinder in which you must do so. Seiko made the automotive inspired gauges at the top, which are very fun. To me, it's the full, unapologetic ode to film cameras that Fuji wishes it could do. It's feeling very old at the moment though at 6MP and the images themselves aren't particularly spectacular on their own SOOC.

It's a pretty good infrared camera if you're into that. I dust mine off every few years for it.

Current setup for work: Panasonic S5iix, S5ii, S1H, Osmo Pocket 3, and an S1Rii once it's out. I'll downsize a bit once I have it. I've always liked having two cameras that perfectly match and then one or two more that can easily match for bigger shoots. Although, it's much easier to match any modern camera than in years past. The vast majority of my shoots are just one or two cameras: two for interviews, one for b-roll. For personal stuff: iPhone 15 Pro. Occasionally I'll use one of my Panny's for this. I've gotten hugely into film again lately. My collection has kinda exploded in short order. Nikon F100, Nikon FE2, Leica M6, Voigtlander Bessa R2, and I just added a Fuji GW690iii. Shooting film has really reignited a dormant part of my creative brain. The limitations of not having the capacity of 3000 photos on an SD card or being able to preview and immediately review my photos has been such a great exercise for my creativity.

https://a.co/d/9Sdo13M here’s the Amazon US link. It’s from Tarion, which has mostly been in the lower end tripod and lighting market until late it seems. I’m hoping to put together a longer written or video review soon. It’s pretty sturdy; I’d compare it with the construction of a very well made child stroller like one from Baby Jogger. I realize that comparison won’t land with many folks, but if you know strollers, you know that’s pretty high praise. It’s very sturdy for what it is, but there is a bit more play to things than a fully metal Innovativ cart, but it also weighs far less. It’s excellent off road on frozen New York ground, wood, cement, and pavement. I haven’t yet taken it into loose gravel or stone, but I imagine the 9” pneumatic tires would handle it just as well as any other. On the whole, I think it’s the right cart for me. Solo operator with mirrorless cameras and several 100-500w lights and smaller grip equipment. It allows me to load in all (or the vast majority) of the gear I need for most shoots and importantly gives me a nice working area up top. I drive a Ford Explorer, so I have room for gear, but not much room for a big cart. The small-ish folded footprint of this works well for me. Let me know if you have any specific questions!

Initial impressions of the cart if anyone is interested. I'm pretty happy with it! It weighs probably 40-50lbs total. The wheels are super smooth and removable; it glides over everything, but when not loaded up the swivel wheels can shake a bit. Probably due to its lower weight of the cart itself. The whole thing folds up nicely. Everything feels sturdy enough—not at all "real" production cart quality, but not that price either. It says it can hold 400 lbs. I don't know if i'd want to load it up to that, but certainly 50-75lbs per shelf would be fine. The only thing that worries me is the top shelf. It's fully removable and it clicks down onto the frame with heavy duty plastic clips. I wouldn't load up the top shelf too much for fear of sheering weight snapping the fixtures. The middle scissoring framing also means you have to load the middle shelf from the ends. Not great, but probably necessary design to keep the weight down but the payload capability up. It's not super wide. I was hoping to fit my 1510 case sideways, but alas it overhangs by a fair bit; probably will need to strap it down sometimes.

One of these is getting delivered today. $450 on amazon. I’ve been searching for a lower-tier production cart with the right balance of features, weight, payload, and price. I hope this fits the bill.

It was the $1500 fire sale on the Cine 6K. Picked that up plus an S5iix and S5ii. I got three great cameras for less than $4500. I’d been teetering on switching back to Panasonic, and I’ve always loved Blackmagic, so the stars aligned to make the switch back from Sony economical.

I'm with you. I always pull the shadows back down to fill out my scope. The little bit I ETTR just makes the lower midtones a bit cleaner.

Same here. It seems to me that at worst this camera may just need to be exposed a little differently than previous S cameras. I typically ETTR to get shadow details since the S1H and S5iix have great highlight detail. The S1Rii may just need to be exposed more in the middle knowing shadows can be boosted with little penalty.

For me it's all about reducing my doo-dads and streamlining operation. 1) Great AF 2) Great LCD/EVF 3) Built-in exposure assist tools 4) Versatile lens — I use the Samyang 35-150mm for event work. It's marvelous. 5) Quick transition from stills to video 6) Good battery life OR cheap small batteries OR both 🙂 7) A nice half cage and handle 8). Record button on the front or assignable to the lens 9) Wireless mics with small transmitters — PicoMic is awesome! 10) Open gate is nice BONUS since I can't stop talking about the S1Rii it seems. I'm excited that it has lower base ISOs so I don't have to reach for my VND as much, but it also has great high ISO performance for indoor, apparently.

I'm with you here. Miniaturization against heat dissipation is a very difficult balance to strike. I'd have to think there's many ways that a cinema body is actually cheaper to R&D than a mirrorless stills body.

That's my take as well. If there was ever a chance to drop the slightest hint that an S1H successor was on the imminent horizon, this is exactly how NOT to do it. Although, a lot of us have been saying that Panny seems to be completely clueless about how to tease folks along so they don't jump ship. Maybe they really are this dense lol

Good points for sure. It’s funny that Z mount enjoys the same system-stealing benefit amongst mirrorless mounts that E mount had for DSLR lenses. Ohhhh man don’t get me started. The biggest fumble Panasonic made was not thinking about the m43 transition to FF. We talk about switching costs… Panny sabotaged their own users here. Unforced error. I meant for folks that prefer to buy new, that used prices were irrelevant, but there’s probably not a ton of those folks. And good point, inexpensive and used E mount lenses are everywhere. Completely with you here. At the end of the day I really want Panasonic to succeed. Despite their current place in the market, I do think they drive innovation amongst all the manufacturers. They offer a distinct and useful product line that fits with my workflow very well. Without the L Mount alliance, such as it is, they’d be in deep trouble I think.

My gripe with some of the tit for tat comparisons is they almost always ignore the reality of switching costs for folks with established kits. Would a Sony A7iii shooter looking for a higher resolution upgrade be persuaded to switch to the S5Rii versus the A7Rv? Most of the time, probably not. It's hard to get people to switch systems with one camera body, for good reason. Personally, I switched back to Panasonic after 2 years with Sony. The thing that clinched it wasn't actually Panasonic—it was Blackmagic! For those folks looking to start buying into their first camera system Panasonic offers the best value setup both new or used. Some people prefer to buy new things in general so a used Z8 being the same price as a new S5Rii is irrelevant. And, if they don't mind used, Panasonic is an even further better value. What Panasonic really needs is consistency moving forward. It's been a long time since the original S1R and S1H. Release these cameras and establish some sort of regular rhythm to firmware updates and new bodies in the future and they'll regain customers over time. But, one amazing camera wouldn't do it. A good system will.

I'm honestly a little shocked at the reception to the camera on some forums. It provides a fair bit of upgrades to both the S5ii and the S1R while still staying at a lower price point than the competition, and even it's own predecessor. It seems to me that every brand's offerings are more or less the same with little differences here and there while also offering their own distinct competitive advantages. I can't help but notice that many folks want Panasonic to do everything Sony or Canon does, PLUS their own thing. Or that these manufacturers have running checklists that they compare and contrast to each other line by line when developing a camera versus largely doing their own thing. I preordered the S1Rii so my bias is clear, but as someone heavily invested into the Lumix S system I can't see this as anything but a solid camera for their lineup.

I should clarify that I’ve mostly had very positive experiences with MPB and still use them on occasion. All the good experiences are why the bad ones were so surprising. I’ve had several instances of them paying more than initially quoted as well; that’s always a nice feeling.

Are you 100% sure they sent you back your lens and not another copy of it??? Either way, that's messed up.

Agreed. I've purchased and sold a bunch of stuff with them and am a model customer on paper. But, there was a time I felt it appropriate for them to extend some good faith my way when I needed something shipped before a trade in was completed. No dice. A smaller shop would definitely have done so with the relationship we had.

I've experienced this both ways with them, too. Once I bought an "Excellent" condition camera only to receive a dust and grime covered beater. That was a quick return.

Ed Prosser has the best video-focused review I've seen thus far

Agreed. I recently bought an FS7ii and despite how great the ergonomics are, I just wasn’t happy with the image no matter what I did. I’m spoiled by the current generation of cameras.

There’s been a few instances of Blackmagic doing a large price drop seemingly completely out of the blue. Their official reason has always been that they lower the sticker price when their cost of manufacturing drops, whether by economies of scale or something else. No idea if it’s true, but they’ve done this type of thing before and I love it. P.S. They also have marginally raised prices on things recently due to supply chain shortages where many other manufacturers haven’t. To me, that points to some truth that they have strict profit margins to maintain without much wiggle room.

My take has always been that Panasonic should have prioritized a smooth m43 to full frame transition for customers. Having a blended ecosystem would help both thrive. As it is now, customers have to choose FF or m43, often with FF perceived as having most of the benefits. I think the first round of FF cameras should have had a m43 crop mode with faster readouts and frame rates. And, the mount Panasonic developed should have somehow been compatible with m43 lenses via an adapter. This might have meant messing with the flange distance which maybe reduced compatibility with other lens mounts, but ensured more people within the Panasonic system would have less switching costs.

It boggles the mind