Vintage Jimothy

I definitely hope that's the case! The sooner other lens companies chip in and offer various new lenses for the Z mount, the better. I love the look and feel that the Voigtlander M43 lineup has to offer- if they can bring that sort of feel to the Z mount, I'd be elated.

So you're saying that they're looking at possibly making lenses for the new Z mount?

Yeah, I've heard great things about all of those lenses too! I will say the lenses I'm most interested in getting if I say "Screw it" and get a bunch of native M43 lenses are the Voigtlander f0.95 line. The 17.5mm in particular just has this look about it that reminds me a LOT of classic 70's cinema, which I adore. Definitely pricier than the Olympus 17mm though...

I actually really hope we see Voigtlander make some new lenses for the Z-mount. Apparently NiSi is also working on a 75mm f0.95 lens for the Sony E, Nikon Z and EOS-R mounts too.

By the way, are there any other great and relatively affordable M43 native lenses anyone here would like to suggest for narrative filmmaking?

That Fuji 90mm is gorgeous.

Exactly. It's a very versatile focal length for a "one prime lens only" option for narrative filmmaking and has something of a natural cinematic look to it IMO. Even when I was looking at the Voigtlander lenses, I was always focusing on their 17.5mm for that exact reason.

Quick! Someone inform the folks at Atomos that they need to have a talk with their pals at Nikon! ? Nice! I'm looking at the new Weebill Lab for now. Seems like a very promising gimbal to me!

What gimbal do you personally prefer using? Do you think the "anamorphic mode via a firmware update (even if it's only in Super35 crop mode)" idea is a viable option at all?

I mean, the 35mm equivalency of the 17mm is nice for a starter lens in narrative filmmaking IMO. I'm not keen on Nifty Fifties much myself, though I love a ton of different focal lengths. And while it's obviously not the same, Ridley Scott shot Alien on an anamorphic 75mm lens back in the day (which would have a width more akin to a 37.5mm aspherical lens than a traditional 75mm IIRC). I dig the 35mm focal length for film. That said, the 12-40mm seems like a smart option too. Might look at both. Yeah, there's a couple of local Japanese camera stores about 20-30 minutes away from the house where I could probably buy an Olympus at. Once Typhoon Kong-Rey passes, of course. I suppose that's a fair counterargument. It'd also be a lot easier to use the G85 on a gimbal like the new Zhiyun Weebill Lab if I invested more in the lighter native mount lenses too.

Actually, thinking more on it, I might just go ahead and save up for the Olympus 17mm f1.8 for now. The Sigma 18-35/Viltrox adapter combo is going to end up totaling around a thousand bucks for me, so it'd be nice to pick up at least one or two more affordable M43 native prime lenses to use on the G85 in the meantime.

I'm well aware. I was trying to say that auto-focus wasn't really a factor for me when getting the Panny G85 since I'm a narrative filmmaker first and foremost, so I plan to do more manual focus to begin with. Yeah, the Olympus glass is stunning...

That's very true, but let's be real- should I really be using a Panasonic in general for reliable autofocus as narrative filmmaking? The Sigma is a fly-by-wire, but apparently its focus and zoom rings are designed with a throw that feels pretty similar to traditional lenses. It's really popular for indie filmmaking for a reason. Yeah, I've been debating about holding off and getting a couple of cheaper prime lenses for the M43 mount to start off with.

If Nikon were to pull that off, it'd definitely be something to immediately draw attention towards the Z6.

Hence the additional $200 Viltrox speedbooster adapter. ?

I have a feeling we'll see 4k60p either in a video-centric Nikon Z model sometime next year or whenever they opt to make the second generation of the Z line. It'd be awesome if Nikon also boosted up the 1080p max frame rate to either 180 fps or 240 fps whenever that time comes too.

It's not, but the Sigma 18-35 is effectively a set of quality 24, 28, 35, 40 and 50mm lenses all in one with a constant aperture of f1.8. They might not be as versatile as say a 24-70, but the range within the 18-35 are all go-to focal lengths for narrative filmmaking. Plus it's a lens that can be adapted to a ton of different cameras out there, including a number of lower level cinema cameras. I don't make much money right now, hence why I haven't purchased a ton of gear yet and all the lights I'm looking at are pretty cheap. I definitely need to upgrade for a faster lens than my kit lens soon-ish, but the best options I've looked at are all in the same general price range and will require a decent amount of saving up and investing long term. I adore the look of the Voigtlanders, but would it be wise of me to spend the money on that lens when I'm already eyeing other camera mounts with larger sensors?

As previously mentioned, I'm currently looking at saving up for a Sigma 18-35 with an adapter. That said, the newly announced Pana-Leica 10-25mm f1.7 is giving me serious pause... but I don't plan to stay in the M43 world long term, so the Sigma makes more sense as an investment.

Oh damn. That's definitely a lot pricier than I anticipated. lol Still I think my previous suggestion for Nikon to look into possibly incorporating an anamorphic mode into the Z6 and Z7 via firmware update could work. Right now the only cameras in that general playing field that can do that are the GH5 and GH5s, right?

At this point, I'm probably going to end up switching to either Fuji or Nikon when the time comes for me to get a new camera. I love the color science and feel of the Fuji X-H1 and X-T3 and the new Nikon Z cameras seem really promising to me. It's tough to make up my mind though, as I currently lack any sort of lights (I'm looking at getting the Aputure F7 for a starting key light and maybe the Yongnuo YN360's for RGB/fill and hair lights), so I really need to consider my options for lenses for low light. I was initially looking at the Voigtlander f0.95 line and the Mitakon 25mm f0.95, but I think the Sigma 18-35 with an adapter is probably the smarter option in the long run, since I doubt I'll be sticking with the Micro Four-Thirds system in the long term and I could easily use the Sigma on a ton of other cameras over the years, including something like a RED Raven if I ever wind up owning or renting one of those.

Yeah, definitely. I still have a long way to go for developing my own skills, I think, but I really love the G85.

It looks like they're actually $4,999.00 apiece, but $7,995.00 for a set? Not 100% sure though.

I directed this almost three years ago as part of an in-class assignment (we had like 90 minutes total to shoot the whole short with a randomized crew) back at my old film studies program at UNC Wilmington. My DP on the project ended up making a huge difference on the quality of the film, as he looked at my detailed storyboards and got really creative with the lighting rig and using the Lensbaby Sweet 35 tilt-shift lens for the distorted close-up shots of the mystery maniac in the hallway. I don't remember what camera we used specifically for this, but I know it was a Canon DSLR of some sort. Shortly after I graduated from the school, apparently the college opted to upgrade their rental camera sets with a bunch of Sony A7sII's, so no one that's there now seems to remember what model we used back in 2015.

I live in Okinawa, Japan. We had to order the camera via Amazon over to my sister back in the States and have her ship it over to us. The first try of Amazon mailing the camera straight to us didn't work at all and took up almost two months of our time. We finally got it over here on the second go-around after about another month. Admittedly, the G85 is my first personal camera, so I'm still in the process of saving up money for various pieces of equipment (i.e. lenses, cage, monitor/external recorder, gimbal). I always rented out equipment back at my old film school to save money, but I love my G85. I'm still planning on looking at other cameras in the future, but for the moment I really dig my G85. Yeah, that was my thought process too. When I first started looking at camera options a year ago, I was initially pretty set on the G7. Then I ended up going for the G85 and I'm glad I did. It's a lovely and reliable camera.

I mean, I get that cameras are succeeded by newer models all the time. That doesn't surprise me. It's inevitable and with Panasonic announcing their new L-mount alliance and upcoming FF cameras, that shift obviously has an impact on the company's M43 cameras. What I find perplexing is that an even older model than the G85 seems to still be referenced more often lately (the G7). Is it because of the cheaper price tag?