Mark Romero 2

I don't know if I added to the confusion or not. For some reason, I thought that you were on a more modest budget. Silly me. You see, most of the people who inquire about equipment to shoot "student sports" and "baby showers" are not interested in dropping $30K on gear. Also, since you mentioned you had "students," I assumed you were a teacher... and since teachers are the one profession who are paid LESS than photographers and videographers, I thought your pennies might be precocious. So that is why I suggested something like a 24-105mm f/4 and a prime or two since it is a very affordable and still versatile combo with today's cameras that have better high ISO performance than cameras of even a few years ago. It would be very easy to recommend something like a pair of R5's or R3's or whatever Canon's flagship sports camera is and suggest dropping $1,350 on an EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM and while you are at it another $12K for an RF 400mm f/2.8. I mean, that's what the pros use, isn't it???

Panasonic won't be releasing a full frame camera for a while, I believe. I mean, they announced the development of the GH6 AT THE SAME TIME they released the GH5 II, so I don't think they would hold back on announcing development of a new S1 / S5 camera.

I think I would tend to agree with @kye that a 24mm prime is... kind of peculiar. And for a walkabout lens, I would look to something like a 35mm, too (I use zooms that are equivalent to 16-35 on my walkabout cameras). Don't get me wrong; I am sure there are lots of people that use them well. Just for me, if I want WIDE, and if I already had a 24-105 f/4, then I would look at a prime or zoom that was 20mm or wider. Maybe that's just due to my inability to think outside the box. Don't get me wrong; you can use 24mm prime for landscapes, but a 24-105 f/4 would cover that just as well. So I guess my question is how would you foresee using the 24mm prime?

Agree that two bodies are better than one (particularly for the reasons you mentioned), and doubly agree that if they are similar bodies, it's going to be a lot easier. It's easy to switch from the S5 to the S1 (despite having two different batteries), but a bit harder when switching to my Oly E-M1 MK II, and trying to switch back and forth between my Panasonic bodies and Sony bodies is just stupid. I am lucky in that I am using Godox flash and the transmitter works (to a certain extent) with all camera bodies, although it only provides TTL flash with Panasonic and Olympus bodies.

Darn, the only models I'm allowed to shoot are airplanes 😞

LOL!!! True though. And this is despite the fact that the cameras of today are much better at higher ISO's than the cameras of about four years ago or so. Agreed. Personally, I think that if one were trying to get most bang for the buck, using a good f/4 zoom and a couple of primes that look good at f/2 (or faster) could provide an awful lot of versatility both for stills and video. (I am spoiled / biased toward the 24-105 f/4 focal range because the Panasonic Lumix version I use on my S1 and S5 cameras has 1:2 macro and has been great for the product photography I do on the side.)

Amen to that.

It's important to remember that most of the people who will be filming the diverse nature of topics you will be filming are pros or semi-pros, so they are going to have a bag full of lenses to choose from. I may be mistaken but I thought one of your main goals was to keep things to a reasonable budget. In which case I thought that a 24-105 f/4 is a versatile lens that won't break the bank. For MOST things, I would pair it with an f/1.8 prime or two, and call it a day. But... indoor sports is one of the most challenging things to shoot, either for photo or video. So that is going to be the main challenge.

1) and I will be using FCP - any good videos/free tutors online you suggest? Unfortunately, I don't know anything about FCP. Lynda.com is good, and while it normally has a monthly subscription, many libraries have a free plan for library members. If you have a library card, check with your library and see if they have a free plan for members. I have found that Lynda.com has very systemic programs where you learn step-by-step on how to use software. 2) any big issue going 3rd party to save a few bucks? Unfortunately, i can't say for sure, as I only have one Canon lens (EF 16-35 f/4 L) and while it is a great lens, I use it on my Panasonic S1 and S5 bodies. My concern would be though that maybe SOME EF lenses won't give you the same great AF performance on an R6 as the (very expensive) RF lenses would. 3) The comment on the Panny bodies - are you saying their AF is trash as I understand it? It's not trash, but if I needed to rely on continuous autofocus, then I would either use my Sony a6500 or my Olympus E-M1 MK II (or any Canon or Sony body made in the last several years, if I owned one). Panasonic AF just can't keep up with that of Canon or Sony. And I have had occasions where the Panny autofocus basically decided that it wanted to focus on the background instead of on the subject talking for no apparent reason. 4) any places you suggest getting used bodies/lenses? BH? MBP? KEH? all are reputable? They are all reputable, as you noted. I will say that I didn't like the shipping options with MBP. I bought two SMALL lenses for my m43 Olympus E-M1 MK II and they shipped them in a BIG box (12 X12 X12 inches) that was full of packing paper / foam peanuts. And it took about 10-days to arrive in California because they took about four days before they actually shipped it out, and because the only option they had that was less than $35 for shipping was FedEx ground (which takes a week from East Coast to West Coast) If they had packed it sensibly they could have sent it via priority mail for about $15. There are also Roberts camera (technically used photo pro https://usedphotopro.com )and midwest photo exchange (they have a small inventory but good customer service) https://mpex.com/shop-used-gear For expensive items, I sometimes and willing to spend a bit more if they have a longer return policy / warranty on used gear. Hope this helps.

While I agree with everything else you mentioned, I hate the focus breathing solution they came up with. Ture, the field of view stays (pretty much) the same. But you can still see objects in the frame enlarging and shrinking as focus is racked back and forth. It was pretty noticeable in Jason Vong's video on the a7 IV where his girlfriend / spouse was standing with a bridge in the background, and while racking focus, you could see the pillars of the bridge getting bigger and smaller. Maybe others won't be bugged by it. Guess I have many pet peeves...

While I still think you are making way too much of an issue over the sony colors, I guess that the R6 would be a a great fit for your needs. Don't get me wrong: I do agree that canon colors are (subjectively) better than Sony cameras for most of the situations you are going to use it in. I just don't think it will take you "a few months" to learn to color correct videos. And even with an R6 you ARE going to have to learn how to color correct videos. What will you do when an athlete is standing on a green field that is kicking up a ton of green tinted light on to their face? Or when they are standing on a red track and a bunch of red is kicked up on to their face? Canon's great color science won't save you then. So if the AF on the R6 works as well with EF lenses as the Fro video you linked to suggests, then I wouldn't hesitate to get an R6 and use it for both stills and video. I think that is going to be your best option, and I think you wont lose any sleep over doing that. As it is now, it is pretty hard to buy a BAD camera (unless you decide you want to buy Panasonic for that wonderful DFD autofocus... and this is coming from someone who owns two Panny bodies, an S1 and an S5).

Have you checked to make sure that an R6 with adapted EF lenses is going to give you the AF performance you want? It doesn't sound like you have any Sony lenses, but otherwise I would suggest just get an a7 IV when it comes out (or get a used a7 III, although I guess the MK IV has some additional AF tracking abilities in video. Yeah, I know, Sony colors, but the new a7 IV has the s.cinetoine profile everyone seems to love (not for me, but others love it) and the picture profiles on Sony cameras are EXTREMELY flexible (as Andrew can testify with his various EOSHD color profiles). On the other hand, if the R6 with adapted lenses will give you the AF performance you need, then just get that (unless it has a time limit that you can't deal with... I don't know if it does or doesn't).

How does the 4K 60fps of the S1R look??? I think it is only a small crop, right? (Not the 1.5X crop on the S1 / S5 / S1H). And the S1R has 10-bit HLG, right??? I would love to get 10-bit 4:2:2 4K 60fps in full frame but I wouldn't want to move to a7S III or a Canon R6.

I don't have an R6, so you might want to stop reading my response here, but... On my Panasonic S1 and S5 cameras, I think the panasonic 24-105 f/4 is a really, really good all-around focal length, and f/4 is fast enough / bright enough for most things. In the not too distant past, professional wedding shooters / event shooters said that an f/2.8 zoom was a necessity, but today's cameras have significantly better ISO performance (both for stills and for video) than the cameras they used, so I think that an f/4 zoom on a contemporary body would be equivalent of an f/2.8 zoom on a prior body, at least in terms of noise or latitude. Again, I don't know anything about Canon RF glass and have only minimal experience with EF glass (I use a Canon EF 16-35 f/4 L adapted on my Panasonic full frame bodies). The Panasonic lens has 1:2 macro capability, and if an RF lens (or the EF 24-105 f/4 L) has 1:2 macro, that might make a terrific first lens to do about 90% of your needs. Anyway, I guess for me if I were to choose between a 24-70 f/2.8 or a 24-105 f/4, I would probably go with the 24-105 f/4... but that's just me. Do you need a 16-35 zoom??? I use mine ALL THE TIME but I shoot real estate for a living. Personally, for landscape use I find 24mm wide enough, and even if I were shooting high-end architecture, I would use 20mm as the widest and more likely 24mm or 28mm. Alas, for REAL ESTATE they want WWWIIIIDDDEEE shots. As @UncleBobsPhotography mentioned, maybe look at the EF 35 and 50mm f/1.8 lenses would be good. Filming (and photographing) track and field would be the most difficult for me. For video, I might shoot 4K in aps-c mode for the extra reach. But I think for stills I would shoot in full frame mode. Anyway, hope this helps.

We should know on the 21st... I think?!?!?! I am both disappointed and relieved. If it was 60fps 4K full frame 10-bit 4:2:2, I would be tempted to sell my Panasonic S1 / S5 cameras. As it is now, not really enough to tempt me.

Yes, definitely true. The image out of my Panasonic S1 is noticeably better than out of my m43 Olympus E-M! MK II. But I love using the Oly and I loathe using the S1.

Firstly, no matter which camera you use, if you "don't have the time/space to learn colorgrading or even colorgrade much more than basic adjustments...", then you need to NAIL your white balance. Maybe the auto white-balance in the Canon or in the Sony is better. Don't know for sure either way. I know my Panasonic cameras have an easy way to adjust both color temp AND tint for white balance. Does the Sony allow for adjusting tint as well as just temp? How about the Canon? There are several different custom picture profiles out there, and of course, there are Andrew's various EOSHD color profiles as well. Maybe one of the easiest ways to get pleasing colors straight out of camera is to turn OFF the picture profiles and instead use the Portrait setting in the creative styles. I have done that in the past and it is nice, although I prefer to turn down the saturation, contrast and sharpening, and I accept the fact that it isn't going to have as nice a roll off as shooting in the Cine gammas or in S-LOG.

Thank you. Yeah, for the Panasonic S-series of Cameras, it seems like ProRes RAW is the way to go for ultimate quality / flexibility, if one has the time to put in the work. Wish that Resolve could work with ProRes RAW. Don't really want to convert to Mac's and Final Cut just to work with ProRes RAW.

Thank you!

Thank you both very much, @stephen and @TomTheDP for the explanation and the video of the 55 Luts. The footage did look pretty "close" although both cameras did show off their characteristic tint differences. (Well... they seem to be characteristic in my mind since it seems like most Alexa footage has that green tint and most Panasonic V-LOG has that magenta tint. @TomTheDP Are you using ProRes RAW or BRAW (which I understand is technically not RAW)??? I guess I am a bit confused on this. For some reason I thought the HDMI out of the S1 / S1H / S5 was only 10-bit... but I guess it would have to be 12-bit out to have actual RAW output.

Thanks for the note. Can you elaborate on "how" the noise is better? You mentioned it looks more organic, so does that mean it is more luminance noise and less chroma noise? Also, how is the noise / shadows if you DON'T capture in RAW but instead capture in something like DNxHR or ProRes (non-RAW)? Do you get better shadows without the noise penalty? I'm worried that shooting RAW will slow down my computer so much when I have to denoise it. (I only have an RTX 2060 Super 8GB VRAM.

WARNING: Stupid question alert. So... what would an Alexa classic (or other model available used for under $5K) give me over my Panasonic S1 and S5 bodies? (Especially now that I COULD record in BRAW if I pony up for a BMD 12G recorder) Do those older models have the same 15 stops of DR that something like the Alexa LF or newer models have? Are the codecs that much better than anything I could get out of the S1 / S5? Further Off Topic: It's funny to me how good Arri colors look AFTER they have been graded, but when they are SOOC, they just look so green. I've seen videos where they compare the (reddish cast ) Canon cameras to the (greenish tint) Alexa cameras, and they absolutely look like they were using color filters over the lenses since they were so differeing.

For what it's worth... The 42MP Sony a7R III sells new for $2,800 I would imagine the a7 IV will try to sneak in under the $2,500 cost of the R6. Knowing Sony, they will probably keep selling the a7 III new for a couple of years. Sooooo... price-wise the a7 IV would slot in somewhere below the R6, far enough away from the $2,800 cost of the a7R III, yet high enough to allow the a7 III to sell in the $1,700 to $1,800 range??? Who knows what kind of video frame rates and codecs we are going to get then...

In clip attributes, do you have the data levels set to full? In the settings monitor page, do you have data levels set to full as well? What are your project-wide gamut / color settings? The screenshot below is internal V-LOG from S5.

That's not a particularly good sign for the 4K on the a1 then. Generally, the 24MP Sony cameras that downsample from 6K in camera to 4K have had sharper 4K then the a7S 12MP sensors. Even the aps-c Sony bodies with 24MP sensors have had sharper 4K than the full-frame a7S bodies.