MrSMW

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!

Anyone else received confirmation of their free Sigma lens? After a bit (too much in my opinion) of wrangling, I just received notification from Panasonic Europe/France/Somewhere, that I would be receiving mine within the next 4 weeks. Looking forward to something a bit faster than the f3.5-5.6 kit lens which is great as a stills or video lens at the wide end, but it’s just a little slow at the long end for my tastes. Also looking forward to some news on the 85mm f1.8 (for photo and video) and then the 70-300, the latter especially because 60mm doesn’t quite cut it for my kind of landscape photography work. Not interested in it for video as the 85 will be more than long enough.

Good listen.

Finally, Lightroom 10! VERY impressed with the Panny raw files SOOC. I have done 3 full hybrid shoots (results on Instagram ‘Atelier Firehorse’ if anyone is interested) but this is the first time I have been able to process the raw files. Slightly limited on my most recent job as the kitchen environment meant 6400 iso at f5.6 on the long end of the 20-60. I could have upped the ISO to 12800 but it worked out OK. Just. Shutter speeds were getting a bit low... The raw files needed very little work. I pretty much did some minor cropping, leveled some horizons, adjusted a few exposures, sometimes a bit of contrast or clarity. No sharpening, no presets or anything else. It bodes well for when I can get some f1.8 lenses working on the system. Looking forward to the 70-300 for my landscape work as it should be smaller and lighter than the f4 70-200 and the f2.8 is just overkill for me. Hopefully that 85mm f1.8 shows up next month as promised! Anyone got their Sigma 45mm f2.8 yet? I have been added to a list in France so still hoping...

I still may come back to Fuji... Right now, my only camera and lens is the S5 and 20-60mm. It’s a brilliant combo for most of my needs but came up against 2 needs in the last week and that is the need for a pair of fast(ish) primes and the 35 & 85 f1.8’s should take care of that, plus a ‘long’ landscape lens and a 70-300 is due sometime soon. But it’s weddings that are my primary income so will need to test one of the above primes in some kind of social environment to just confirm to myself the whole system/combo is good enough for my needs... ...or it’s a pair of XT4’s, Smallrig grips and set of f2 primes. Unless an XH2 appeared by next Spring and that would be more likely. I do like the new Fuji but I’d be kidding myself it was suitable for my needs.

I bought a pair of the originals. Hated them. Sold them. It wasn't really their fault, - just a bit fiddly and 2 more things to set up, switch on, switch off, put away... And these things are always about 'wider' but actually I am probably an abnormality because I would prefer longer! It was the one thing that annoyed me about my DJI OSMO Action that I replaced the 2 Pockets with, - it did not have a zoom or cropped function like my old Go Pro had. So I sold that also.

Even though I had one, I always seem to forget that the 16-80 exists. OK, changing my 'one and done' to X-S10 + 16-80. Also it's a constant aperture. And the lens is WR. Personally, for me, I'd still go XT3 + Smallrig grip because; it's cheaper, better video, prefer the screen type and weather sealed. But both I think are equally valid options.

By the sounds of it, this camera should be perfect for you and your needs. I think this mated with the 18-55 'kit' lens and 99% of any users needs would be covered. Unless you absolutely need weather sealing in which case a used XT3 can be had for even less money and perhaps even more sense? Grip not quite enough? (XT3) Add a Smallrig for about 30 'your currency'. Otherwise I think your analysis is about right; 4/3rds we have G9/GH5/Olympus, at APSC, Fuji and then it's the full frame options. The S5 with the 20-60mm kit lens also makes a very compelling 'one and done' option and is both smaller and lighter than say a G9 or GH5 with 10-25mm lens and the sensor is something like 17x bigger 😉

I’m *cough* intrigued to see what it is you are *cough* offering whenever that time comes @BTM_Pix 😀

I'm not a gimbal person, but it's certainly interesting in regard to the future and what is still to come. As a Panasonic user, I'm more interested in the AF side of things 😄

I get away with it because I am shooting very slow paced stuff in the first place and then slowing it in post by 50%. I should add I DO use a variable ND and fixed 1/100th when shooting 50p purely video and it’s for hybrid I don’t as I am constantly flicking back and forth hundreds of times over the course of a day.