newfoundmass

I do think you'd find the S5ii pretty easy to get comfortable with. Might be worth renting it for a week? It sounds kinda dumb, but there are so many little things about Panasonic cameras, like something as simple as shutter angle, that will make it hard for me to jump unless I have to.

I too hope Tamron decides to release L mount lenses but I wouldn't hold my breath. I like Sigma a lot, but those Tamron lenses are a steal.

I don't think they're that far off from being able to EXCEED what the FX6 is capable of and at a lower price point. I'm not saying they should try to, but the gap between the S1H and the FX6 isn't THAT huge. The big difference is form factor, e-ND, and I/O. It already beats it in numerous ways, like resolution and dynamic range. People act like Sony is unbeatable, but the tech gap and the headstart they had is narrowing more and more. We're at a point where even Nikon and Fuji are creating powerful video tools, while Canon has started becoming more and more aggressive with its video features and pricing. Whether it's in the mirrorless market or the cine market, Sony isn't invulnerable.

The 20-60 is probably the best kit lens I've ever used. My only complaint is the lack of OIS; it'd help a lot I think on the wide end, especially with the wobble (which is there on the S5, but looks to be significantly reduced on the S5ii.) I think the first prime I'm going to get is the 35mm, as I can switch to APSC and it becomes a 50mm, thus covering two of my most used focal lengths with one lens.

Lens selection has improved. They might be second to only Sony at this point, though as you said a lot of them are expensive. The performance of the Sigma EF to L adapter though might be something worth looking into, as the performance from what I've seen has been impressive. The Sigma lenses themselves look to work really well too. VLOG, from my experience, is the easiest LOG profile to work with. I wasn't a fan of VLOG-L, so I never really used it on my GH5 and kinda regretted buying the license. Once I got the S5 and full VLOG though that changed. For concerts and live events I still will usually film using the natural profile because it's "good enough" straight out of camera and the lighting isn't usually ideal, but for everything else I pretty much always use it because of how simple it is. I like the gamut.io VLOG conversion LUT a lot. Going from the GH5 to the S5, the size difference was negligible. You'll mostly feel it in the lenses, but I don't know that they're that much heavier than what you're used to. I actually disagree about lenses being a major factor in Sony's rise. For a long time the biggest knock towards Sony was the lens selection, but they grew despite that because for the longest time they had the full frame mirrorless market to themselves. That allowed them to overcome issues that plagued them, like the lens selection, terrible rolling shutter, overheating, ergonomics, color, etc. Canon and Nikon didn't enter the market until the end of 2018, and when they did their entries were weaker than the A7iii that had already been released six months earlier. That they pretty much opened the E mount to pretty much everyone to make lenses certainly did help, and it quickly made the "lack of lens selection" complaint a thing of the past, but being the only real full frame player in the mirrorless game for years while everyone lagged behind is what I'd say is THE major factor in their rise. That it all happened during the "content creator" boom was huge, too. Things though really could've shaken out differently. I think people forget how prevalent/popular the GH4 and GH5 (and even G7) were pre-A7iii. The A7iii was a game changer, but before that most video shooters were using either Canon DSLRs or Panasonic cameras if they were using ILCs. Full frame lenses for the E mount really didn't start coming fast and furious until Sony, Sigma, Tamron, and other third parties started to release a flood of lenses in 2019. Before that there were like 25 Sony lenses, a Tamron zoom, and Sigma's f1.4 primes, which wasn't a lot for a system that had been out for almost 7 years at that point. The lack of lenses didn't stop the A7iii from becoming one of the most popular cameras of all time right from the start (remember how it was backordered for a lot of 2018?) TL;DR version: Lens selection NOW might be a selling point for the E mount, but that really only recently became the case. In the early stages of Sony's growth it was actually a negative.

A pretty good overview:

It definitely would make sense for BMD to start using an L mount given the adaptability, vs. EF. Other than working with Canon to use the RF mount or Sony to use the E mount, it's probably the best option for them.

I agree for the most part, though that damage could've been blunted somewhat by better communication overall. The thing that was frustrating about the GH6 was how mum they were about it. The less they said the more antsy the user base got. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I do sympathize with those that bought the GH6. That's one of the reasons I will probably always buy used and stick with slightly older cameras.

I wonder if it's your copy? Mine doesn't have that problem, or at least I haven't noticed it. Oh, and another reason I like it! It's not parfocal but it's very close!

A very solid, versatile lens. You can get some good portraits at the telephoto end, which makes up for the f4. I think it's cool that Panny is focusing on more f4 zooms. It's a good balance between size and price. May I suggest the 35mm prime over the 50? I think that's what I'm gonna end up getting. In APSC mode it turns into a 50mm, so you basically have two focal lengths in one lens.

I sympathize with a lot of people that went with the GH6 for this reason, though it's just the nature of the beast unfortunately. The GH6 felt so long overdue at the time that it's hard to say this, but they might've been better off waiting until they could do PDAF before releasing it. Easy to say that now, though.

Why don't they ever do this kind of deal in the States?! 😭

Full frame 4K 60p needs to be the standard. At $2000 it's hard to be too critical of Panny boy for not doing it, but still. I'm okay with the size of the S5 screen. It could stand to be a little brighter though. I thought I heard someone say Panny does that in camera already? I might've misheard. But this is pretty low on my want list. I guess it'd be nice in the very rare instances where I would need it, but I actually much prefer IBIS. It feels much more natural looking. Yeah, it's part of the reason I don't even bother to use an external monitor/recorder.

Yeah, I mean when you factor in the quality of the 1.8 Panny primes they are worth it, I think, BUT it's a hard sell when they are so much more costly than their competitors. You can sell an incredible camera like the S5II for $500 less than your competitors and that will entice people, but then you see those lens prices compared to their competitors, and it becomes a bit less enticing. Most of my work uses zooms, but I'll end up getting a couple of those primes. But it'd be nice to get a sub $200 50mm prime that was small and lightweight like Canon offers.

Correct. The Slanted Lens did this for their video on the S5II.

The latest firmware people were sent seems to have improved the IBIS (less wobble in the corners with wider angle lenses) and auto focus performance. Given not everyone mentioned that in their videos indicates they maybe weren't using the latest update?

I used to think so too, but he'd refuse to wear a mask when COVID was at its worse, and he said the reason he didn't go to Japan is because he isn't vaccinated (Japan requires you to be in order to enter the country.) I still enjoy his humor for the most part, and he has been less vocal lately about his weird health opinions (given how much his diet and opinions have changed since I've been watching him I can't imagine anyone taking his health advice/opinions seriously but they do), I think in part because it turned off viewers. Most videos I've seen have said it's better than Canon, but lags a little bit behind Sony. There seems to have been a firmware update at some point; I think quite a few had already edited their videos pre-firmware update and didn't bother to update the video before uploading it.

I understand, but it doesn't change the point.

The L-mount's weakness, re: lenses, is on the telephoto side. Panasonic lenses tend to be significantly bigger than their Sony counterparts. Panny lenses also tend to be a bit on the more expensive side, BUT they are very well made. HOWEVER, those 1.8 primes are real nice and I very much like how they are all pretty much the same size and weight. I just wish they were either cheaper, or faster. While their build quality isn't as nice, one thing I like about Canon is how affordable their 1.8 primes are. Their 50mm 1.8 is only $149.99 while Panny's 50mm 1.8 at $374.99 (Sony's is $248 FWIW.) I think in the next year the lens gap will close. Right now they're where Sony was 5 or 6 years ago, when lens selection was a big negative for Sony.

Again, I won't post the video cause I know Andrew isn't fond of him, but Kai W. also did tests with the Sigma adapter and Canon EF lenses and the results were excellent. It's at about the 22 minute mark in his video. Quite impressive.

He openly admits he has no clue what he's doing. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Did you watch the Tony Northrup video? He used the Canon 24-70 f2.8 with the Sigma adapter, and it worked really well I thought. He moved back and forth, did the "put the object in front of the camera to focus" deal all these people love (that I hate), and had it wide open because he's all about da TONEH!

Maybe we watched different videos, because I didn't notice much, if any pulsing at all. There was focus breathing, which was more obvious than when he was using native lenses, but that has more to do with the Canon lens and the fact that Tony insists on shooting wide open due to his love of toneh. He's funny when he's not being an anti-vax/conspiracy weirdo. I've actually learned a bit watching him use cameras that he doesn't completely know how to use, as it has helped show limitations other channels overlook, among other things.

It looks like you will be able to upgrade the S5II to get some (but not all) of the features of the S5II X. Also Geeky Nerdy Tech is in Australia, where it's summer, and says there's no overheating issues, which is nice.

I won't post the video because I know Andrew really, really doesn't like him, but Tony Northrup tested the S5II's autofocus with the Sigma EF to L adapter and it worked really well.