Robert Collins

This is the exact set up I use on my A7riii - the big advantage is that it is super easy to switch from photo to video and back - it works really well for me. I have it setup so that C1 and C2 'are' in 'video mode'. One disadvantage, as pointed out by another poster on this thread, is that you 'cant' set a 'custom white balance' to work under C1 and C2. Gary Friedman's books on the A7x series are excellent (PDFs about US$30) - I always buy one when I get a new A7 version. They run to over 600 pages!! Although about 300 pages are filler - things like how to use flash with your A7x. They are incredibly comprehensive and a great reference document with good indexing.

I think it is a bit political and tied to the arrest and imprisonment of Turkish journalists. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-journalists/myanmar-jails-foreign-journalists-with-turkish-broadcaster-for-two-months-idUSKBN1DA0ZF?il=0 I have flown in Myanmar several times before including Rhakine State without problem. Hopefully will be able to get it back in Yangon.

Pure speculation but... Mavic 2 to have 1/1.7 sensor. (No 1 inch version - reserved for next year.) * Full sensors all 6 sides * Faster, quieter, better battery life * 4k/60, 1080/120 * 100mb/s video, improved codec with separate noise and sharpening * Variable aperture 2.8/11 * New flight models and higher price I am in the will buy it,in any case especially as customs confiscated my Mavic at Mandalay airport a week ago!!

I think it works a bit like Panasonic. IBIS alone is good (But Sony's is obviously not in the same league as Panasonic) but dual IS (ibis + ois) is better. It is certainly noticeable that my Batis 85 (with OIS) is better for video than the GM 85 hand held. I havent used it on a gimbal and the 24-105 is both reasonably heavy and front heavy. There is a button to switch off OIS on the lens. I have a couple of A7riiis (just bought a second) because I like the high mp for stills. Little reason to justify it otherwise against the A7iii. I suspect that the 3 series models are all pretty similar for ibis and the like (and a good step up from the 2 series.

I've had the 24-105 for almost 6 months. Where it is particularly good for video is that the 'OIS' of the lens works very well with IBIS for handheld (particularly useful at the long end.) For some reason ibis alone doesnt seem to work as well for video (with Sony). So that is a plus relative to the 24-70 GM (not that I have tried it) which doesnt have OIS. After getting the 24-105 I sold my 24-70 Zony f4 which doesnt really compare.

Honestly speaking, I really think you are the one who is 'missing the point' or 'are just simply out of touch'. You should start with the fact that you 'should never ever record sound with internal mics' and at least realize that companies include internal mics because 'people use them'. And when you 'an easy hack'' 'I got a few lengths of aluminium underwater lighting arms for this' you have a strange way of thinking how the majority people are recording video nowadays (and it really has absolutely nothing to do with HOW anyone thinks people to should record video and sound for the best results. Rather like the 'if you want good sound employ a sound engineer' really is missing the point.) The real world nowadays is far more like this.... ... where you cant take a video straight out of camera, that is mostly in focus and use the internal mics (I was actually rather impressed with them - better than on my Panasonic) and easily good enough for my friends. It seems to me your argument is along the lines of answering 'how would you improve the photos from my iphone?' by saying 'buy a DSLR.' Seems to me that 5 years ago 'most people' didnt do video because it required 'manual focusing' 'stabilization' 'editing' 'sound engineers' - some sort of inherent masochism and that people are now 'getting into video' because it is becoming accessible.

Some more rumors and leaks from the last couple of days... Mavic Pro II is pretty imminent - with a press event expected on July 18th. (Probably makes sense given Parrot/Autel releases.) Most likely specs seem... Better battery life, better gimbal, better warning sensors 1/(1.7) sensor 4k/60p Better codec. Variable aperture Higher price (US$1299) (Ositalv is still talking about having more than one model with a higher end 1" as well.)

Hmmmm... focus on the Sigma 50 1.4 doesnt look good. Have you tried some different settings - such as flexible spot af? Also face detect af wont work in 4k if you are also recording proxies?

This maybe right if you are comparing the Zeiss 55 1.8 to the Sigma 50 1.4. However if you feel that the autofocus response is too slow on the Sigma 50 1.4, you might need to change/play with some of the default Sony settings. In particular... Menu 1 (6/14) 1 setting Menu 2 (2/9) 2 settings

I think we will eventually get an A7SM3 but the question is whether it is going to be a 'wow' camera like the A9/A7R3/A73 or a 'roll your eyes' offering like the FS5M2. My guess is that they will use the A9's stacked CMOS sensor tech to improve rolling shutter further and maybe 10 bit external recording. At say US$3500 that isnt going to make a lot of people happy - especially if what you are really looking for is a full frame GH5. And if they introduce an A7SM3 that doesnt really sell or fails to gain traction, then that might be the end of the line.

I disagree with this bit. Panasonic and Sony have different video strategies. Panasonic is basically small sensor, big body and Sony is big sensor, small body. Panasonic's strategy will likely always give it a competitive advantage over Sony in terms of bit rate, bit depth and ibis. Sony's strategy will always give it a competitive advantage in some areas over Panasonic - DR, low light and native shallow DOF (as well as still image quality.) A lot of filmmakers see Sony's 8 bit as uncompetitive, a lot of still/hybrid shooters see Panasonic's sensor size as uncompetitive. But really it is a case of you pays your money and accept your compromises (or you end up buying both!!) Having said that I am not sure where this leaves the mythical Sony A7SM3 in the light of the US$2k A7iii.

You are right the Sony line up is pretty confusing. They have a sort of 'legacy' 'A' mount (both FF and APSC) which is effectively a cross between DSLR and mirrorless and an 'E' mount both FF and APSC which is fully mirrorless. 'A' mount lenses can be used on 'E' mount with an 'adapter' but 'A' mount lenses do not adapt particularly well to 'E' mount. So if you are looking at using Sigma lenses on an 'E' mount camera you are better off adapting Sigma 'Canon' lenses with the MC11 adapter. To make matters even more confusing, Sigma recently announced a set of 'art' lenses for the 'E' mount (all primes). These dont need an adapter. They are new (so we dont know much). I think there is a suspicion that as they havent been designed specifically for 'mirrorless' (apart from the mount) the autofocus might not match existing Sony (full frame) 'E' mount lenses (on the basis they dont have step motors like the recently announced Tamron 28-75 2.8.)

I think your question is which mirrorless camera is best for silent shooting...?? The answer undoubtedly is the Sony A9. For silent shooting you need to use a fully electronic shutter and the Sony A9 is the only camera out there with a 'stacked CMOS sensor' that enables an incredibly fast sensor readout of 1/160th of a second for stills. By contrast the A7iii/riii readout is 1/30th (I think) and the Fuji XT is 1/15th (I think). A slow or slowish sensor readout causes 2 problems. First if there is reasonable movement when the photo is shot, you will see distortions in the photo (similar to rolling shutter in video). Secondly you will tend to get a lot of 'banding' from artificial light sources such as fluorescents which can mostly be avoided with the Sony A9. To put things in perspective, I virtually never use the silent shutter on my A7riii (unless I am in a situation where I have absolutely no choice). The Sony A9 is a good video camera - full sensor readout 6k downrezzed to 4k, no crop, 1080 120p, decent afc, ibis - however it is missing Sony picture profiles. The other problem is that the Sony A9 with its tech doesnt come cheap. New around US$4000 but used around US$3000 or so. A plus is that you can use your Canon lenses with decent af and functionality (for stills) with an adapter.

Would like to hear your review of the Sigma 50 1.4 - especially in terms of video focus and ibis.

I have pretty much the cheapest option available - the colormunki smile - it is also about the easiest to use. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/894645-REG/X_Rite_cmunsml_ColorMonki_Smile_Color_Calibration.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwu_jYBRD8ARIsAC3EGCI-7VdfrbfT237OCphNTNM9_6Z8znhQ3BcU9dqCJqoWTEh4r8d0jwgaAvkrEALw_wcB#!/?currency=EUR&BI=7367&kw=&c3api=2572,113041916107 What it lacks is.... 1) Screen brightness adjustment (which would be particularly important if you want to match prints output to your screen.) But you can do this through 'Canon Print Studio Pro." 2) Advanced features such as setting 'black point' and 'gamma' I use 2 x screens, so it is important that both screens match. However modern screens dont lose their color accuracy that much nowadays, so a calibration every couple of months seem to work for me.

Some recent (mid May) footage for the Autel EVO (admittedly not a production unit) looks pretty disappointing. You can see for yourself in the video below, starting at 18 minutes. Note... 1. There is a lot of prop incursion into the video even with the camera appearing to point straight forward (as opposed to up.) 2. The horizon seems to be all over the place - leaning both ways at various points in the video - a bit of a nightmare to correct in post.

I think some of the criticisms of this camera are missing the point. The argument 'you can get a whole load more camera for a lot less' is obviously true but is also just really a statement that you dont want/need a truly pocketable camera. The argument that it is small and fiddly amounts to very much the same thing. Bottom line is that both Canon and Panasonic do have some competitors that get vaguely close at a lower price point but really no other camera offers so much in performance and features in such a diminutive form factor (whether you choose either the V or the VI.) And that is why the camera can justify its premium pricing. Anyways where is that LX200?

I dont think a do-it-yourself apodization filter is easy to do. Tony Northrup tried (see 3.16 of the video below) and the results sucked.

I am a bit confused by your term 'Pro color HDR'. I dont have an HDR TV, so is it exclusively for that? I am really looking to tweak a HLG profile (which I like for its use of iso down to 125) for better color.

Still, they have been dropping hints that one will be released this year. https://www.43rumors.com/panasonic-interview-at-dpreview-clearly-hints-new-lx200-is-coming/ I think one of the reasons they have been slow in updating is that the LX100 is pretty fully featured already - optical stabilization, excellent fast lens, 4k video.

My GF has one (well the Leica branded version) which she absolutely loves and has been using daily for the last 3 years. About time for an upgrade but it really has stood the test of time.

1. Actually this 'quirk' isnt to do with C1/C2. You cannot 'set a custom WB' in movie mode (only in still modes). There is a fairly simple work around. Set your white balance to 'custom 1' in C1/C2. Move to any stills mode 'set the custom white balance' and register it to 'custom 1' (default.) I think it works this way because when it sets a custom white balance it takes a still photo. 2. Yes my A7 works the same way. Again, I dont think this is actually tied to C1/C2. I think it is the case that auto iso works this way when shooting 4k (and differently in HD.)

I dont actually own a dvd player anymore. When I do presentations I hand out usb thumbdrives. Isnt that easier? You can simply plug it in to your laptop/desktop/android box/TV/Apple TV etc.. Is there any real advantage to a DVD?

One factor in favor of the B85 is that it has OIS. I find Sony lenses with OIS provide smoother stabilisation (when combined with IBIS) in video than lenses without OIS. Certainly the Batis is better than the GM85.

I never use 'movie mode'. I have set up my camera with 'C1' as 'default 4k settings' and C2 as 'default HD 120' settings. I occasionally use S&Q for 'slo mo' or 'time-lapse'.