MrSMW

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.

They Live in a TikTok style. Yep, that’s about the sum of it.

I really liked the look of the Amazon Prime series, Tales From The Loop. To me, it had just the right balance of ‘vintage & modern’. A lot of it is the sets/location and lighting of course.

Kiwis and Aussies...and then there are those folks in Tassie 😉 Sweden and Denmark speak a different language but mostly understand each other. I’ve watched ‘The Bridge’ 🙂

Hmmm, opinions and all that, but I am pretty sure there is a lot bigger difference between European countries than there is between US States?!

Well I don’t have the 24-105mm f4 but it is a consideration and going back to one dedicated video unit plus two dedicated stills cameras vs 3x hybrids. If I did go to the f4 zoom, I think I’d be more inclined to go log and manually shoot 640 outdoor and 4000 indoor. With the f1.8 primes being just over 2 stops faster, 100-1600 works pretty well for me but I think log has maybe another couple of stops of DR over a standard profile? On the other hand, log is not so good with the AF on the S5 due to the lack of contrast? So I understand though not tested that theory myself. Yet...

Most of this kind of thing is wasted on most people most of the time. I make the effort to get something/anything to the best level I can and in a style that I like both for my own satisfaction and because that is what I get booked for, - my style/vision/presentation of my work. So I guess it comes down to what your work is and for whom.

I think I will wait until it comes out on streaming services...and then avoid it.

I have been meaning to investigate further just how dual gain works... Is it only in log then? Ie, the camera itself will only switch between 640 or 4000 as it sees fit and disregards all other ISO's, or something else? But yes, I (currently) shoot in the Natural profile though I am considering log after some further future AF and lens testing. So shooting with a profile, dual gain doesn't apply, ie, the best settings are not necessarily 640 and 4000, but whatever works best? My rule of thumb is always to shoot with as low an ISO as possible and I use a variable ND all the time outdoors during daylight plus indoors a lot of the time because I tend to shoot mostly wide open with fast glass. Ultimately for me, it's about finding the best balance of; workflow (log requiring more work), best picture quality (log if graded well without resorting to raw) and highest dynamic range (log I presume?). Currently quite pleased with what I am getting from the Natural profile, but if I can get a better result without creating a headache for myself re. workload, I'm interested in looking at it further.

Not a fan of monitoring in B&W here either. I (currently) shoot profiles (a tweaked version of Natural current choice) as I'd rather get as close a sense of the final result as possible. Each to their own and all that. Tried it with photography also and nah, it's not for me.