MrSMW

Are we now there? The new Sony has got me thinking. Not only is it the most capable all round hybrid ever made, but are we now at the point where we could simply extract the stills from the video? I am thinking as someone who provides hybrid capture at weddings without strobes. Shoot 4K 120p clips throughout the day (as I do but at 60p at present) and 1/240th of a second. I don’t shoot log but try to get the best SOOC image for minimal post editing. With the Sony, probably the S-Cinetone. What am I missing/overlooking? If I could do this, I could reduce my kit down to a single camera and single (zoom) lens instead of my current 2 bodies + 4 primes. I dismissed the Sony A1 as being above my needs and budget, but actually as a ‘one and done’... I would still need/have another body for static full length ceremony & speeches. No way round that, but for the more ‘artistic’ wedding film and the photography? Interesting (to me anyway) at the very least... I’m thinking body + battery grip + Tamron 24-75mm f2.8 indoors and Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 outdoors, my focal length needs being typically in the 50-150mm range. Comfortable with my Sony ZV1 as back up in my bag.

Indeed. But in 2021, apparently you can’t with the Sony A7SIII because people might want to put the pics on social media and is 12mp enough? My smart phone has a 60”x30” triple retina 16k screen so I suspect maybe not?

That’s the deal breaker right there for me. I could compromise on the rest, but I might have gone on holiday at that time and if it stopped recording while I was away for those 2 weeks... Actually, now I think of it, that is ridiculous. Holidays and especially international travel are a thing of the past so not an issue. How does it compare with the Panasonic G100? I’m mostly interested in vlogging.

OK, serious question... Had a thought today and that is 120fps 4k with 1/240th shutter speed, shoot video clips all day long at my weddings (ha, remember those things?) in 2027 or whenever we're back in business...and just pull off the stills instead of shooting them separately? One camera, one lens, job done? I'm an available or LED light shooter so no strobes etc anyway. What am I missing or is this the fewtcha right now? Well this March. For 6.5k.

I think you will find the true figure to be somewhere between the two and around 91-92%. But being serious, yes I'd be one of those, if only to add it as a potential future option or pass it over. If this year had just got the fuck on with itself as it was supposed to, I wouldn't even be looking. But it isn't. So I am. Looking. A potential return to Fuji future with XH2 for video and XE4's for stills, or... Stick with Panasonic, especially if a GH6 gets announced soon and if it has phase because if it doesn't, Panasonic might as well give up the camera game as the market will have gone elsewhere. And I have to confess a new interest as of today in the 'one and done' new Sony option. Shoot 120p 4k video all day long and pull of the stills... single body, single lens, end of? I'd rather just have got on with it but my niche within my industry is realistically looking at another year with no work and in the 15 months since the last season ended, the landscape has changed.

Yup. Both beyond my means or needs. I think I could make a case for either as single hybrid camera with a zoom, but I'd be limiting myself at one or both ends and would still need a back up kit. Both seem pretty superb. For those with deep pockets. I think I'd be more tempted with the Fuji, but temptation is but a fading memory these days...

I’m looking forward to all the ‘Why I Switched’ videos on YouTube when the thing gets launched.

One bit of good news in this bleakest start to a year in my 1/2 century of life is my complimentary Sigma 45mm f2.8 turned up today. VERY poor show from Panasonic UK/EU in the process of obtaining it. Company boycott territory and if it wasn’t the S5 being the current best option for me, I would have ditched them completely. As things stand, because of their behavior, I am now sitting it out for a bit and seeing which way the wind blows in regard to my year and what Fuji do. Looking forward to testing the 45 though and it’s certainly a nice looking lens, well built and AF seems quite snappy.

All that aside @herein2020 when are you going to update your forum name to Herein2021? 😀

10 bit over 8 and 4K over 1080p never mind 10 bit 4K over 8 bit 1080. It’s all about latitudes for me. In non-tricky lighting, less noticeable difference, but when it’s not and you need to salvage something etc... Anything more though is overkill for me. Right now anyway, but I think for some time.

Same as it ever was!

I am going to add in Fuji’s shortly to be announced into the mix. Their 100V is my desert island stills camera. I loved the XT3 for my static video work. I’d go XT4 today over it for the additional build quality, marginal handling improvement, better battery life, but mostly for the IBIS. The XE4 if it has IBIS could be on my radar as a more flexible alternative to the X100V. But I suspect it won’t meet my needs...

My clients probably wouldn’t notice but why I don’t like to mix brands of anything...and this is even within the brand!

Hmm, OK this one is going to need some more research... May need to look at the alternative octopus thingy...

I suspect it won't as Fuji and Nikon always seem to be that one step behind Canon & Sony, with Panasonic and Leica, one step behind Fuji & Nikon. I know a few have criticised Fuji's AF, but I never had a problem with it, even in tracking where if there's any flaws, that's where they are most likely to be highlighted...and I can't see how the XT3 could be better than the XT4 anyway but... So just 'up a notch' would be OK with me, but I'm not interested in an XH2 (or any other camera) that doesn't yet exist other than as potential because they might cock it up or even make something only a tiny minority are interested in.

I encourage all of my weddings to have a central speaking point whether that is a lectern or a mic stand. I use it there. In some circumstances (indoors, but most of my weddings are outdoors) it can be the main/sole audio source, but more likely, I use it as the baseline and overlay & sync the individual lav mic recordings and then chop out the lesser quality baseline where I can. I think these F2's will provide an even better option as they should reduce any screeching etc that the crowd can sometimes make during speeches! But having said that, my 2021 clients are dropping like flies with either postponements or cancellations and my best case prediction is I'm going to end up with at best, 50% workload this year (following on from just 4% last year, ie, I lost 96% of my booked jobs) and worst case, all 100% will go. It's not looking great and I'm not sure if I can survive 2 years with no work. It's that bad.

The top two I would like to see are an XH2 and a GH6. I could go with either or neither. Neither especially if this year doesn’t happen for business and my best forecast is for 50% at most and worst case scenario, zero business. I expect we will see an A7iv and it shall be the son of god. For Sony fans...but it probably will be the most capable hybrid camera bar none when it appears.

Well my work season is April-October and at the end of my 2019 season, I sold off my Fuji based collection of kit anticipating either starting new with something else in the Spring of ‘20, or going with an XT4 based system, but new/different lenses. Then as we know, Covid hit and 2020 in my industry was effectively cancelled. I did 1/25 booked jobs and had to buy back some used kit to do that job. I then sold it off intending to go S5 and late last Summer/early Autumn, seemed like an OK plan. Got the body, the 20-60 lens (loathe to call it a kit lens as it’s better than that) and then the 85mm f1.8 and did 3x commercial marketing type jobs. And then everything shut down again and has since been shut down and looks like it will continue to remain shut down for at least the first half of this year. So I have planned out the rest of the kit that I need; another 2 bodies and a further 2-3 lenses, but not spending another single euro until such time I am within a definite 4 weeks of work starting back up again. At a pinch, with no back up, I could actually do my job bare bones with what I currently have but it would be compromised. Otherwise it is what it is and nothing I can do about it but it’s looking like best case scenario will have been 1 job in over 20 months if my market starts back up this Summer. And that it beyond crazy.

Oh. I owned a Canon lens once but that has been my extent of Canon use in 20 years as a pro. May have had a compact at some point though... I suppose the native 16-35 won’t cut it either as it ends up being more like a 24mm at the wide end shooting 4K 60P. It’s widely stated these days that there isn’t a bad camera or lens being made these days and that is probably largely accurate, but it seems all cameras are compromised in one way or another for most people. For me with the S5, it is purely in the department of forward/backward AF tracking, but it still fits my needs better than anything else at any price point. OK, so if Panny or Canon are going to be square pegs in round holes, Sony A7Siii then. Adapter, your Canon glass and boom? I came so close to it being one of these the other week purely for video with a pair of whatever the rangefinderesque thing is, A7C or something...purely for stills and scrap the whole hybrid in one body approach. But the cost killed it mainly for me and it offered no other advantages to me other than in the AF department. It’s actually quite a tricky balance when you have very specific needs!

Doh, I wrote that before the coffee had kicked in this morning and for some reason was thinking exteriors...and then later thought, don’t be so dumb man, you intend to use the 20mm wide end for your interior bride prep room shots and that’s only just wide enough for stills. So indeed, you really are looking at a 10mm or similar or not shooting 4K 60P, or even not the S5 at all. Maybe with all that Canon Glass, R6 is a better option?

No no, no no no no, there are limits!

Would the 20-60 not do it for you at the wide end or is ‘30mm’ not going to be wide enough? It’s my wide angle lens but more for stills as a FF 20 than a cropped video 30. Have you really tried it for stills? This is the one area where the AF really is not an issue, - pretty fast and very accurate, even with tracking. OK it’s not a rapid fire sports photography tool but for any/everything else...

I’m just here for the bronzed MILF’s.

Spent some time today (not a lot else to do!) looking at the most recent crop of S5 and S1 material online. About 80% of it is utter garbage, about 15% pretty good and around 5% exceptional and simply showcases, “in the right hands...” It’s a beast of a tool, stills or video and in regard to the latter, 1080 120p, 4K 60p, log internal or raw external, but don’t judge on the sea of dross out there!

I’m looking forward to viewing some of the stuff folks have posted and will do so when I’m not limited to just my phone.