MrSMW

Taking it even further... A: one body + one lens to practice with until you get close to your first job and then...and only then... B: buy another identical body (so there is no learning curve) and a second lens so you can do the work. Then there is the rest of it; audio, lighting, tripod, mono, gimbal if that’s your thing, etc. But right now, not wishing to discourage anyone, it’s not the best time to be trying to start out in this industry for sure.

Indeed. Blowing 10k on just a body for weddings is overkill. By a massive amount. 10k for all bodies and lenses max, but it can easily be done for under 5k. I’m in the process of new kit from scratch and total budget for video is under 5k and I shoot an average 25-30 of the things per annum with 25 already booked in for 2020. Especially with the uncertainty in the world right now of the entire industry, blowing 10k on a body with I presume no bookings, is nuts. Apologies OP if your scenario is anything different to that, but it’s how I read it. More like it!

You are not the only one @Danyyyel I had hoped the Z6ii was going to be the one for my hybrid needs (with S5 purely for video) and it would be purely for stills, but it turns out the S5 is better for all my needs; pure video, pure stills and hybrid, so happy days.

There’s a very nice review out by Richard Wong which confirms and exceeds even everything I hoped it would be. Pics look excellent and all the characteristics I look for in a stills lens and for video, as expected. Bodes very well for what is to come...but pity the world is as it is right now.

Just want to see some real world results now otherwise looks good. And they were a day early on the announcement!

Canon C70 + the 0.71x adapter and pairing of Tamron 17-28 and 28-75 f2.8 lenses ...leaves enough room for an R6 with lens for hybrid use 🙂 I ain't got 10k to spend however 😞

Re. the AF which is over-criticized and mainly by people re-reporting opinion not based on actual use or not maximizing it’s performance, well there are a few ‘tricks’. OK, no one should have to resort to ‘tricks’ to make something work and ‘tricks’ is probably the wrong term, but the following all help improve AF. 1: Use native glass, ie, Panasonic not Sigma or Leica. I am especially looking forward to the 35 and 85 primes in this regard. 2: Use 4K 50/60p if possible. I do as a default anyway. 3: Try and avoid using log if possible as more contrasty profiles work better. I am still deciding between tweaked Natural, Cine D and Like 709. For my first 3 jobs, I used Natural and never use log anyway. 4: Tweak the AF settings. I am currently using -3 speed and -1 sensitivity, though may try upping the speed slightly. 5: AF type such as tracking, face, single point etc might make a difference but too early for me to judge and for my first 3 jobs, I flipped between single and tracking and manual as all 3 jobs were people working but more hands than faces. For a wedding, I will definitely go face, but with none since July and nothing until April, I can’t test and know for sure as nothing compares to a real wedding. Nothing!

Yes, back to heel-kicking 🤪 I am currently flipping between strimming in my garden between rain showers, finishing the painting of my office finally after a year of just not looking at it and browsing rubbish on-line. And Winter is coming as Ned Bean once said...

Well so far, the Panasonic lenses have been pretty stellar in their performance and even though these are designed to be a more compact and cheaper option, I am pretty sure they are going to so much more than great value for money. I'm pretty happy at 600 euros and mid 300 grams considering the new Sigma f1.4 version is about double the price and weight (albeit f1.4 vs f1.8). And f1.4 anyway (never mind f1.0 etc), - increasing focus difficulties and there is not that much real world difference in DOF or light gathering between f1.4 and f1.8. I've been used to shooting Fuji f2's which have a DOF equivalent wide open of more like f3, so am looking forward to the full-frame combo of sensor and f1.8 for both lower light capability and shallower DOF. Hopefully some of these new 85's will have been out for review these last few weeks and the announcement on the 5th won't be just that, but some actual third party reviews etc. Pity I can't get out and shoot anything though right now as my next 3 jobs have been put on ice due to lockdown here in France. Just as I was getting going again. Can you just fuck off Covid 🤬

True they do not have a dedicated video camera, though they do offer dedicated video lenses, but based on the OP's original question and further responses, this is someone looking to get into photography/video on a relatively low budget rather than expecting to shoot even an indie movie. The Fuji XT3 produces excellent 4k, 10 bit internal video, full-frame quality matching stills and the XT4 ups the game further with IBIS and back up insurance of being able to write to both cards which few can do. As a starting out system or moving up from 4/3rds, it's excellent. Weak point is the lack of video-orientated lenses with AF though several of them are more than good enough in this department, particularly the; 18-55, 16-55, 50-140, 23 f2 and 50 f2. It's the system I have been used for 50+ jobs since the XT3 came out (and XH1 previously) but have just moved the Lumix S5 for a number of reasons that are not critical of the Fuji system. There really is not a bad system though, whether it be Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panny or Fuji as each have strengths and weaknesses and will suit certain users better than others.

Yep, should have switched roles with Christopher Lambert in Highlander 😉 He will always be best known and remembered as Bond, but of course was in so many other movies.

Price though... I don't think it's going to be crazy... I think with the S5 at it's size and weight and price, plus the 20-60, - they have really started a push on a smaller & lighter and more affordable system. 500-600 £/$/euros? Maybe 700 absolute top end?

Well I saw on L Mount Rumors this morning that the first of the new f1.8's is due in just a couple of days, the 5th November to be precise and some of the specs have been leaked: Is that Polish, I don't know but weight of 355g is good. Very good. Filter size of 67mm is also good as it's the same as the 20-60 so crossover. Is that length of 82mm (without lens hood), because if so, also good! And if as it seems to be, the 24, 35 and 50 are all identical in size, even further good news because what this camera needs is some fast (enough IMO) compact glass!

If you have a paper trail of email correspondence etc, they can't really do anything but the right thing. You'd hope any company would regardless just because they cared, but sadly we do live in a world where sometimes you have to lean on people to get their attention. Just calmly stick with it...but next time, don't use those High Street Muppets, Jessops!

At 3k, I think you are going to struggle to get 2 cameras such as an A7iii and a Black Magic and lenses etc, so why not just consider one single hybrid and one decent zoom? At 3k, my pick right now would be Fuji XT4 with battery grip + 16-55mm f2.8 and you'd have some change left over. Right there you have got shoot all day capability due to the already good in body battery and with added grip power...which nicely balance out the 16-55mm f2.8...which has a FF focal range of 24-83mm...produces excellent stills and exceedingly high video quality straight out of the box. I honestly think it is the least compromised hybrid available right now, all factors considered including price. My other pick would be the Lumix S5 which is what I have chosen as my hybrid, but for me, I'd prefer to shoot this as a pair with some fast primes...which are coming shortly, but a pair of anything (except maybe XT3's) will bust your budget. My third and final option would be a pair of XT3's, with the 23mm f2, 50mm and 90mm f2 which would just sneak into your budget if you bought nearly new with the only real caveat being no IBIS or OIS with any of that so maybe less useable on the video side without mono or tripod.

This.

France isn’t the UK, never mind the US and just isn’t set up for rental. A website here for 90% of businesses is something to display a phone number for you to call. And then if it was even possible, what do you mean you want it delivered?! Otherwise, sounds like you have to cover a lot more bases than I do @herein2020 I have always at least tried to be something of a minimalist and build my kit on the bare minimum that I can get away with but without compromising the end result. Some might argue that you need X, Y and Z but I counter that with that by the time you have finished setting half of it up, the opportunity is gone. So whilst the S5 or any Panny, does not have blazingly fast AF, it doesn’t need it for my line of work. Fast enough and accuracy is more important as is my ability to work, act and react without the gear getting in the way. As above, my rule of thumb is simple and that is if I cannot walk from my car with everything I need for the job, I don’t need it. I haven’t used flash in over 5 years now and in the last few years, have reduced my LED lighting down to one single unit and one lightweight light stand, no modifiers, brollies or anything. Have not missed it even slightly in 100+ jobs since I did. I could go even more minimal with less bodies and zooms, but using 3 bodies means that if one went down on a job, I could get away with 2 for the rest of the day but if I only had 2 to start with, I couldn’t do the job with 1. But it’s individual needs though. It did make me laugh a few years back when I only shot photography and I used to watch videographers faffing about needlessly with kit that took an age (in comparison) for one single (of hundreds of clips) shot that no one would have missed. So many instances of kit overload to ‘get the shots’...except they were missing far more than they were getting.

I think a lot of it is the luck of the draw... On one day, the more popular retailer will have the stock, but then the next, the less popular will have it simply because ‘everyone’ went to the other. I preordered from CVP in the UK somewhere around the late-middle Sep and received very early Oct so had mine about one month now.

Shout out to Kotaro and Hanna for making the interview 😬

No chance of renting here in rural SW France. Paris or other big city maybe but not here. My set up going forward really is 3 identical cameras, 5 lens options including 2 zooms and all working on a single day as hybrids: 35mm f1.8, 85mm f1.8, 45mm f2.8, 20-60mm and 70-300mm. Three of which don’t quite exist yet... Also have the drone (Mavic Air) a tiny bag of audio gear, 1 carbon tripod, 1 freestanding monopod, 1 lightweight light stand and 1 dimmable & directional LED and that is it. OK, a couple of spare batteries and a power bank plus some ND’s but that really is it. All fits in a single 30 litre backpack except the monopod which fits in my hand. It’s the minimum I need for providing photo & video at a wedding, event or for my documentary commercial work with the essence being I get out of the car and pick up 1x backpack, 1x monopod and still have 1x free hand to lock the car but not shake hands with people as we don’t do that any longer. But then I might want to go into the mountains and shoot a 96mp raw landscape and can also do that with the S5 and the lenses I have (or will have) for proper work. I have found that for stills it’s as accurate as anything out there...but not tested that at a wedding of course and no amount of testing or other work can really test gear like a wedding!

Yes I have wavered over whether it’s my ‘one ring to rule them all’ camera...or in my case 3 bodies as that’s what I need, but there’s more than ‘enough’ for it to be so for me. Best camera I have owned and used to date. Not that I am buying any more bodies right now as tomorrow here in France, we are back into at least another 4 week lockdown and I don’t have any need anyway until April ‘21...if that even happens and with these crazy times, who knows. My only remaining question is how will it work with a fast native prime and as I am not investing in the 50mm f1.4 because it is; too big, too heavy, too expensive and not a focal length for me, but I am looking forward to that 85mm f1.8 that is supposed to be coming next month. Actually 2 questions, the second being how will the whole eventual kit of 3 bodies + 5 lenses work on a real wedding day...but by then it will be too late as I will have spent the cash. But only if weddings are properly back on! Not anticipating any issues however as I shot weddings in 2012 on a pair of X Pro1’s on original firmware and the AF on those things was like a snail on mogadon. And the S5 is in another league, albeit not the same league as Nikon or Fuji and never mind Canon or Sony. I had 3 other hybrid projects lined up; a glassworker, an upholsterer and a classic car restorer, but all now on ice due to Covid and not even allowed out to photograph the autumnal leaves which will all be gone by December 🤬

Something else I noticed was that when the; R5, R6, S5, A7Siii etc embargos were lifted, every man, dog and MeTuber had a review. Nikon announce the new Zzzzzz’s and I think some bloke in Australia mentioned it. Briefly. OK, slight exaggeration, but seemed to be a LOT less reviews and general buzz about it. That suggests to me Nikon’s marketing department are idiots.

Indeed. This is me, the hybrid shooter. I don’t want cables and monitors and additional batteries and cages and rails and gimbals and... just a camera and a lens. At the same time, I am realistic and don’t expect to get ‘everything’ and there has to be some form of compromise somewhere, but once again, another manufacturer fell short in one key area. If I hadn’t settled on the S5 (only criticism, the AF) then I think the XT4 is next best for my needs when I had hoped it was going to be Z6ii. Great that they are offering raw externally in principal, but I just think there is more important stuff that should have been a priority. But then I don’t know if there are technical limitations. Ultimately, they give us what they give us and not a great deal we can do about it.

Nikon have lost the plot. Raw options appeal to about 7 people on planet Earth whereas internal 10 bit options to around 7 billion. Great that they wish to offer these things but they need to be competitive in the wider market to survive.

It’s been there for a few days now, just update your software!