DanielVranic

I bought an A7Cii + 20-70 F4 G purely for travel use, and its since become my main camera for everything. The jump in AF quality over the A74 is notable.

That is what I am doing for the last few months w the Rokinon DS and what I am trying to avoid doing anymore. I do respect that feel and look and ill be keeping my Rokinon + adapter for those cases, but for 99% of what I do, its the wrong choice.

I really appreciate everyones insight here, extremely valuable to my thought processes. Something I should bring up - I am no longer doing any type of work that would require 2 bodies and for what I want my "new life" with this camera to be is as rigged-down as absolutely possible. To me; that means no external batteries, no monitors, 1-2 lenses max, rode lavs + rode shotgun and thats about it. Hopefully it would fit in just one backpack. My commercial days are entirely done, and while I would LOVE to have many bodies for different uses, which is exactly how I USED to live with Canon DSLR's and Blackmagic's or C200's I just do not have the mental bandwidth for it anymore. I am grateful for the idea though! I know it's the best way to live, but I need to make some compromises.

Thanks so much!! in a perfect world i'd find an A7S3 or FX3 w 24-70 on ebay for $3000 and id be satisfied for another 10 years ! FX30 is BIG TIME on the radar, but for stills i really don't think it'll cut it. Too much of a compromise in that department

Thanks so much everyone!!! The Panasonic is absolutely on the radar, the Nikon as well, but a part of me does want to leave that look and feel of a camera to a much more modern solution. Maybe the Z6m3 would be a good idea whenever it comes. Something else that was brought up by a coworker- the Sony A7CII- with the AI AF, dedicated video settings and higher bitrate 422 recording. However it does appear both the Panasonic and Sony have some serious rolling shutter. The XT4 i have now does have some very visible jelly on quick pans so having that get worse wouldn't be super ideal.

Oh sweet haha! 1. AF is much bigger deal to me than I had ever initially thought it would. I do enjoy the "feel" focusing manually but frankly Im not proficient enough at it to rely on. Continuous, Face, Eye and Subject would all be really nice. Moving closer and farther from frame (like in a doc-style follow shot outdoors) or for face tracking indoors. Usually f2.8 2. I use a 17-70 f2.8 for most work, along with the Fuji 35mm f2, 23mm f1.4 (Viltrox) Fuji 18-55, and I have access to the 16-55 but dont use it anymore. Speed is key, as I often am shooting at the observatory or in the city. At f2.8 I am usually running ISO3000 or so on the Fuji which is the absolute max I can push it. 3. Low Light improvement over the XT4 is paramount 4. Not very, I will usually only be shooting 3-8min long. takes at the most. however in the humid summers I can imagine that getting hot. So thanks for the follow up! Definitely priorities are 1. AF Performance 2. Low Light Performance

Hi Yall! Hope everyone's various holidays went well! So I have been working on a short form doc about the work I do in astronomy and astrophotography since September, fully shot on the Fujifulm X-T4. This camera has been my personal vacation/family/road trip camera since it came out and for stills it's been such a king. I absolutely love the image that comes off this camera. In a past life, Ive worked as a content creator for a few venues in town making commercials and social videos, as well as filming the artists and bands in local studios. We used lots of BMD, Sony, Canon and even Arri one time. The Good old days that have forever cursed me with expensive taste and high standards for IQ. To the point: Using the XT4 for a documentary shoot so far has been 50/50. 50% of me loves the IQ and the files are robust enough for a good amount of mangling in Resolve. I know it's 10Bit-420 but it does hold up for most things I do nowadays unless I underexposed, which is a me problem and not the camera's fault. The other 50% is how horrid the AF has performed to date. Seems that with native, 3rd party, and 3rd party adapted lenses I get the same unpredictable AF response with a very large amount of focus hunting and un-usable Face-Eye AF. Really bummed me out for run and gun work, as swapping to manual lenses means a monitor and another item to carry around and power. Im not a pro anymore, so a low-profile setup is really what I am chasing and this XT4 has doubled in volume and mass since filming began, just to accommodate the monitor! The final nail was during Christmas I decided I wanted to make a quick little home movie with my family that showed what we did over the holiday weekend. AF struggled in brightly lit rooms, at all focal lengths and lenses. That was it for me. I set the camera down in my office and decided that 2024 was new camera year. Let me be clear- No one watches what I make, it's purely for me but its gotta perform how I expect. Even my old a6000 and a6300 would have done laps around this. I haven't shopped for a camera body in years (Got the XT4 through a trade) and frankly do not have any idea where to start, but I usually trust tribal knowledge over a retailer so here I am. I see Fuji's new XH2s has gotten a billion "hybrid of the year" awards, but so did my XT4 and I just can't trust Fuji's AF right now. Ive seen a few of Sony's latest offerings, but a bit lost on the differences on a couple models. Canon seems to be behind, purely based on what I read here and on MirrorlessRumors. Panasonic is neat (just became a dealer for Panasonic and can order bodies at dealer cost for myself, so this is VERY neat) but hearing iffy reactions to the AF performance and Andrew's battery issue as well. So for someone who has a mid-budget (3K including 24-70 zoom lens is hopeful) mid-talent (havent shot pro in 5 years) and is mid-serious (I want my vacation videos looking good, dammit!) I am a bit lost on what the hell to look for! I seek the tribal knowledge of this forum! TL:DR Havent camera shopped in 10 years, current camera doesn't cut the mustard for what I now do and don't know where to start for my budget.

Little update! Thank goodness for Notion! I was able to import all my "interview" questions and responses into a few columns and then organize the shots and B-roll around each "block". It made my ideas and thoughts so organized that I am so excited to start rolling! My partner leaves for vacation tonight, and she is my interviewer, and camera op for the shots at the observatory and coffee shop so I will hold off most filming until then.

Once again, thanks so much for the insight here. I appreciate it. I have done alot of work on watching my friends videos, watching travel YT channels and I think I have a good idea of how to frame and shoot this. Outlining of a script has started, and funny enough.. I need to actual still do some REAL astronomy during filming too so I can't forget to actually do a good job with this. Me and my partner set up my light and did a short fun walkthrough of my kit with the Rode ME system outside last night. Footage looks OK, but at ISO4000 at 2.8 it was still quite dark. Reviewing the footage, I really dont think Im happy with just how mushy/noisy it is - even on the well exposed areas. However... I set the camera to MF for a bit and you entirely right.... Whats worse? Underexposed and noisy, or out of focus? Well, out of focus is the worse answer. My partner attempting to follow me, and then me setting it manually and walking around - I was out of focus 80% of the time. Much more un-usable than noise.

Oh! Another thing I wanted to say. When I quit this end of my career, I QUIT. I sold lots of stuff, but alot of it was simply mothballed and thrown in my basement or studio closet. So when I bring up "oh I found" it's because I am still randomly finding stuff tucked away. Lots of lighting stuff, but it's large and thus unwieldy for a solo-shooter run and gun situation. for my talking head stuff, it'll be perfect, but its bigger than my entire camera kit. I also found a DJI Ronin RSC2 in this pile! One of my late-stage purchases that never got used. Dilemma is to sell it and profit (buy lenses) or find a use for it. Its very small and can fly my XT4 w cage and zoom lens without issue. Wish id find some low-light lenses or camera monitors in this pile!!

Intensely helpful. Cant thank you enough for this guidance. Had a free night last week while my girlfriend was out of town to test everything, plus it was a clear night! So I was able to be much more realistic in running through settings and talking. It takes a few runs, but actually talking to the camera as if it was a colleague interested in my hobbies. I need to work on diluting some of the more scientific terms down to a more digestible format. Explaining what a "calibration dataset" is is easy for me to explain to a fellow geek, but explaining it to a larger diverse audience will be a disaster. I'll lose them right there, no doubt. Hell, sometimes explaining it to myself I get twisted. Second. In doing this dry run (dry as in I have no real astronomical data to collect currently so I pretended ) 1. I walk around, ALOT when doing the scope work. The shotgun mic was good, but clearly had some drawbacks with me moving around. Something like a Wireless ME from Rode might be good just to clip it on and walk around the area without worrying on audio coverage. Cheap too, my work sells them so I can get a major break on cost. 2. I tripped on my giant ass tripod 54 times. I almost threw it to the Sun!! Something I noticed during load-in, the camera tripod was the same size as my tracking mount tripod... which carries a 100lb sub-arc second accurate device... I dont need something equally large for a 4lb Fuji rig. I LOVED my monopod, but didnt trust it on its own un-attended. Travel video tripod here I come. 3. Low Light. This is major issue #1. I tossed about half of the footage because it was beyond what I would be comfortable releasing. Too dark, and when I pushed it, it was a bit gross looking. Something T1.2 or 1.4 I believe is needed here, along with a small LED battery powered fill light. Good music buddy has a couple PavoTubes and I borrowed one from him today for a test tonight. It can't just be the lens, I need more light too. 4. Major Issue #2. With the audio plug and USB power inserted, the floppy screen on the XT4 is useless. My vision isn't perfect either. The 1/8th and USB plug directly covers the audio meter, AF settings, and nearly half the frame. I owned, and sold, a Shinobi a couple years ago and I really am remembering why I bought it in the first place!! Thankfully, this time around I need something much less fancy. I need to confirm framing, audio level and a DC pass through would be super neat. Daytime performance isn't super critical, as I will be using this at night. 5. Power. It would be super neat to power both my monitor and camera off of the same battery on the monitor. Is that a wise idea? I see a ton of monitors with DC outs, and they do make W235 Dummy batteries.. might be a convenient solution

I am really appreciating these replies! Something I have noticed in most of the videos being made about this same subject is they are done in very much a vlog or handheld talking format and are often shot on their phones. My aim is to do more of a serious "looking" doc-style shoot. I really like how in some BBC Space documentaries they have an expert or scientist doing a talking head about their entire process and then it intercuts with the actual "doing" of the project. I am not a fan of this guys personality, but this is almost the exact presentation im trying to emulate.

Thanks for the support! I did one single test run last night, of trying to get the B roll but also filmed aspect of everything I do in a single nights astrometry planning. Big notes. 1. Need a smaller tripod. Found a giant tandem leg tripod w a Manfrotto head on it in a closet and it's way too massive for this project. By a factor of like 3. For my budget, Im thinking the iFootage Gazelle to replace the legs and use the fluid head I found. 2. Low light lens. This one is obvious, but also the most difficult. The 17-70 2.8 is great, but a 24-105 F4 equivalent isn't gunna cut it when I'm filming with zero artificial light, often out in fields or at night in the observatory. Also, I believe I have also dashed my own hopes of using a manual focus cinema lens for this. I just can't see myself having a good time doing that. And im doing all of this... for fun. 3. Audio. In running these tests, the Rode Video Mic Pro R set to +20 and the XT4 set to -20dB was extremely clean, and useable for nearly every shot I threw at it. The only time I felt limited was when we had some kids riding down the road at full volume, which it picked up quite clearly as well! May consider a WirelessGOII for more personal VO things and such. Worries have calmed on the audio side. 4. Video Monitor. Here's my major wrestling point! I love the idea and concept of using a monitor. But my main concerns are bulk, balance, and batteries. Is that worth it? I dont think I can answer that yet. My Tamron NAILED focus during the test runs, but framing was a big concern because there were shots that I genuinely couldn't see the screen to ensure good framing. Where I used to work, we used large bright Atomos monitors, and that sadly isn't in the budget. Shinobi sounds fun, but if something is cheaper I will look at it. Any thoughts are welcome!

Hello everyone! I am returning some focus back to videography (and this forum) and I need some guidance. From 2013 to 2020 I worked as a freelance camera operator and colorist. I often shot on Canon and Sony systems, but would work and color essentially anything thrown at me, shot on whatever, but BMD stuff was common because of the budgets of my locale. Frankly, I got extremely burned out with the projects and clientele in my area and with this no longer being my 9-5 i decided to end it. Since this time, I have become an Astrophotographer with a focus on high resolution deep-sky studies and spectroscopy and have really enjoyed it. Beyond being able to share and get many reactions and engagements, I've been lucky enough to travel to different sites to do my studies and imaging. I have been fairly successful (NASA has reposted my work twice!) Something to add, I do not monetize any of my astronomy work, it's just for the fun of sharing space. Here comes the point. I really want to start documenting what I do. I've been out of the game for a while and frankly run and gun shooting was never something I ever considered, or had any experience in. I currently own an XT4 with the Tamron 17-70 2.8, a Tiffen VND and Rode VideoMic Pro that has been my main photo camera rig and I love the quality of the image it puts out. What should I be considering? Should I stick with AF? What do you for "good enough" audio? Is handheld the move? Should i consider a faster lens at the expense of zoom? Would you get an external monitor? How would you "rig" a small mirrorless beyond a cage? What would you put in your bag? I will be a pure solo shooter and this rig needs to fit entirely in a laptop bag. My telescopes, mounts and astronomy cameras take up most of the Subaru as it is and this is more of side quest. I have never been a solo shooter, so I am excited but also CLUELESS. I'm looking for a bit of guidance from someone who's done more run and gun work, as for what I should be avoiding, what I should be really looking at, all of the above.

Has anyone ever used the Sigma 24-70 OS EF-mount with the Fringer adapter?

TBH i would go buy the Sigma 24-70 2.8 EF OS if I knew the AF was going to be smooth. That plus the 18-25 1.8 would cover every usage case I would ever come across. My experience so far is that it jumps, and doesn't really stick to faces so I 99% of the time use the zone AF, and its OK but still jumps a bit even when whats in the zone is perfectly sharp.

RIght on. I am enjoying my 18-55mm. The OIS is spectacular. Thats what gave me the idea of the T4~ So I could have IBIS on my old Zeiss stuff. I use the Fringer and 18-35 combo, its alot of fun, but the AF is really jumpy and it hunts even after it finds focus, so for alot of run and gun work it was always stuck in MF mode. I was hoping to hear that the issue with Viltrox lenses and jumpy AF was fixed, that is a major bummer! Kinda crosses those off of the list.

Huge bummer. It still works, just the ports are fried. So if I keep to SD cards we are good! My new major focus is glass. My ONE and only Fuji lens is my new 18-55 and tbh I really love it. I plan on getting some kind of mist filter for it, but what I really need is something FAST with good AF. Apparently those two things are hard when searching for native Fuji glass. Tbh these new Viltrox lenses are looking good.

I actually have a Mixpre on loan from SD right now. Its so good!

My Pocket4K is defective unfortunately, cost more to fix than its worth used. But you are 100% correct. I shouldn't be replacing my XT3 with an XT4. I should be adding it in.

Ahhh i am definetely struggling with it haha. I would honestly say I do 50% gimbal work 25/25 sticks and handheld.

Also, in that same price bracket I could entirely build out my audio wireless rig.

Great test! Thanks for letting me know. So, I had a thought pop up. I could probably get 1100$ish for my XT3 used. Is it worth the upgrade to go to the XT4 for IBIS and the larger battery? Also with the same amount of $$$ I could get 2-3 new lights, or an XF lens or two. Also with my new RSC2 I can see my handheld use shrinking a bit. The gimbal is so small yet the footage looks like a dolly shot. 12/10 impressed with that little guy.

Thanks! Ill keep in mind the XT3 has a smaller battery.

Sorry if I missed that earlier! This is great. How long does one last ya?