MrSMW

I’m going to throw another type of hat into this ring and ask have you ever considered shooting faux-anamorphic? That is use a slightly wider lens and use an in camera crop. Or rather crop markers. Few cameras offer this feature, stills or video. Lumix and Fuji do. I can’t remember the Fuji crop markers, but with Lumix you can set up to 2.39:1. With stills, Xpan mode; 65 x 24! I wish Sony and my A7RV had this but it doesn’t so I am making an LCD overlay for this very purpose. OK it’s ONLY a visual framing guide, but if shooting 6k OG, a great starting point to that wide angle anamorphic look, but without the flares (hate them), warped lines (hate them), blurry corners (hate them) etc, all whilst maintaining the smallest unrigged package with the best AF/IBIS, ie, for non-pro filmmakers who are not shooting a moovie or ad for Coca Cola. Hello S5ii. You can ‘black out’ the negative space 25, 50, 75 or 100% At this point in time, it’s almost certainly my direction in 2025. I’ve been shooting 6k 3:2 all year and cropping in post to phone favourite 16:9 but I want a bit more drama for 2025 productions in the width department and shooting anamorphic for me has too many compromises. Not decided on an actual crop yet and waiting for my 3 new lenses to arrive so I can properly play… 20mm f2 replacing 20-60 f3.5-5.6 28-45 f1.8 replacing 28-70 f2.8 28-105 f2.8 replacing 70-200 f4 ^Brings mostly at least a 1 stop lower light capability with a bit of an emphasis on wider end flexibility over actual reach^ I am probably going to end up shooting with frame markers and then actual crop to CinemaScope 21:9 which I think is a nice balance of wide without being too extreme…

I believe you can as long as you don’t claim it’s by either of them. Easy to copy these two as they were a bit shit.

Actually, that's true and forgot about those... OK, on a GH7 I could run that set up...but not over an S5ii set up which is what I have now. 'Sideways' I guess it would be but probably not backwards!

You can make a case for either. Up until this year, I was in the 4k 50p camp, more for the slow mo than anything. This year I switched to 6k 30p for the open gate ability to both punch in and crop vertically for social media in post. Also, because it claws back a stop of light in dimmer conditions, plus there is a resolution/detail bonus which IMO is noticeable at normal viewing resolutions. 6k 30p just looks 'nicer' to my eye and as I don't slow anything by more than 20 or 25% these days, shooting at 50p isn't a necessity for me anymore. Actually, for longer form stuff, I drop down from the 6k 30p OG because of the 30 min recording limit, but for everything else, I think it's a nice sweet spot. I definitely could not go back to 4/3 because I shoot a lot of low light stuff and would need like f1.4 or faster lenses to get parity and those kind of zooms do not exist.

I’ve limited experience of shooting Sony for video, but based on the specs alone, without real pro level grading as in folks that do that and only that for a living…and considering the value aspect, the S5ii is crazy good. It’s got open gate 6k, anamorphic de-squeeze, the best IBIS in full frame and while many say the image is not quite as good as that of the OG S5 or the S1H, I’d say there is so little in it, it’s not a consideration and something only noticeable if shot side by side with everything identical. And then pixel-peeped etc. Will there be that S2H? Maybe, if so, bonus but if someone can’t make an S5ii work for them, it probably isn’t the tool’s fault.

After running a 4 camera system this year, 3 for video and 1 for stills, I am going back to a 2 for video and 1 for stills in 2025. My pair of static S5ii’s each had a 20-60 with a single 70-200 f4 option. I’m changing that to a single S5ii with the 28-70 from my run & gun unit which I have found too short this year shooting 6k 30p OG compared with 4k 60p cropped last year. That single S5ii unit will have the option of a 20-60 and the 70-200 as required. For my run & gun S5ii, I’m going to pick up the new Sigma 28-105 f2.8 because as above, 70 is often too short plus I don’t really want to ever be swapping lenses on this unit. It’s a slightly bigger lens than I’d ideally like, but still just within my self-imposed 1kg max weight limit and I wish it was internal zooming, but there is no better existing alternative for my needs. I say ‘existing’ because I am still hoping Sigma will pop out a longer version of their recent 28-45mm f1.8 such as a 45-90mm f1.8. If they do that, that is an end game pairing for me and I will immediately switch to that pairing for my run & gun video needs and also another pair in e Mount for my stills needs. Perfect…and I mean PERFECT focal lengths for my needs, internal zooming, size & weight OK. But as things stand, I cannot justify the 28-45 without that other lens 😏

It is which is why I am selling/sold one and keeping the other, though that remaining one is moving into a more occasionally used role as it was actually the longer end I was mostly using them at. And a bit short as a result! So I am having a lens jiggle around for next year by adding in something…

Message me!

If anyone wishes to buy one for a very reasonable price, I have a spare 20-60. A battery grip also. About to offload some kit to MPB. EU only!

Or a small lightweight gimbal.

It doesn’t surprise me at all. I could easily get 30+ minutes out of a Sony ZV1 as long as it was not in direct sunlight. Made for a reasonably decent little static B cam. Ultimately not long enough on a few occasions, partly overheating and partly battery life. So the S9 running longer does not surprise me, but I would not rely on that for pro work beyond a point. IMO it’s better role is as a B or C cam for shorter clips.

Something that just recently occurred to me is this 43mm focal length. I'm probably going to pick up the Viltrox 28mm f1.8 in e Mount next year (or the Sigma 28-45mm f1.8, maybe...) and in crop mode on the A7RV, it's 42.3mm so basically exactly the same as this magical 43mm, ie, I can shoot this lens just like having a Q2 and a Q3, but in a single body. OK, it's 26mp at '43mm' but that's still a fraction higher res than your typical 24mp full frame camera. I just tried at my last gig of the year, flicking to crop mode for some extra reach and can't really notice any loss of anything much compared with shooting full frame. So why bother shooting full frame at all then? Crop mode on a high MP full frame sensor just opens up an extra 50% of range. That works for me. Big fan of high MP cameras for stills!

The S9 is not a ‘pro’ camera. It can be used in a professional capacity by a professional user, but no way is it aimed for such. It’s more a ‘high end interchangeable lens compact’ really. Yes you can stick a big cine or tele lens on it, but it would be so compromised as a result, why would you?

This external fan thing is a bit of a nonsense. It’s like raging because the Golf GTI is not as fast as a Porsche 911 GT3. Well doh! Like everything in this world, the less you spend, the less you get and the lowest priced things cannot be expected to compete with the highest priced stuff! My rule of thumb is that most things can be competitive with most things one class up or one class down, but two classes different is too much. So an example in Cameraland, might be X-M5 vs S9 vs S5iii. The X-M5 is competitive with the S9 and there are pros and cons to each, but other than size & weight (which is a whole different thing), the X-M5 is not competitive with the S5ii. S5ii vs Komodo vs Arri… There are levels.

I think that goes for any camera really because if you want/need to add extra bits & bobs for it to work properly for you, maybe you need to consider something more suitable in the first place. But then again, if you don’t mind, enjoy even, building stuff up and breaking it back down as required, that’s cool. I’m in the former camp. A Smallrig base plate on my stills camera as it’s about 1 cm too short for my hand plus a Peak Design wrist thingy so the whole thing is snug in my hand. A Smallrig cage, side handle and Rode Micro on my run & gun video unit, but no top handle, external monitor, extra battery power or anything like that. A battery grip for each of my statics because I don’t want to be running out of power on a shoot and the alternative would be cages plus adding battery power that way, but that is way pricier so battery grips it is. I have think the beauty of something like the X-M5 is its size, ie, lack of. Of course it can be rigged out, but little point really when it has bigger siblings more suited to that in the first place. Unless your name is MacGyver.

Ah OK. Pretty happy with my burned in LUT SOOC anyway so cool beans. I need to have more of a play with this LUT feature on these cameras over the Winter… Looks interesting for stills also from what I have seen but not really applicable to me at this time UNLESS LUMIX MAKE ME AN S2R 🥱

Is this GH7 only then or part of the recent firmware update to the S9 and if so, coming to the S5ii Problem Child? Not been paying much attention recently to such things and don't even know if I am that interested as I'm mostly happy with my Phantom LUT burned in Vlog, but then also slightly interested in whether there is any benefit to me. Must take a look at the RED thingy with Nikon also...but then I don't want to get too interested because I'm not with Nikon and don't wish to really be aware of their grass if it's greener...

A camera with appeal to approximately 5 people on the planet. Should have made an S1H-S and used the sensor from the S5ii but with the OLPF which is possibly at least partly why the image from it is the best of all the S line cameras. It was the lack of PDAF and somewhat hit & miss reliability of AF at critical times that forced me to go S5ii. People generally love the S1H but for whatever reason, LUMIX do not appear to have milked it but instead, allowed it to slowly die. Ditto the S1R. Criminally overlooked, mainly for stills but...

It makes perfect sense (in my opinion) because: A. I think they overpriced it to start with. Should have been 1250 max. That would have increased the buzz but the price was and is a major criticism by most. B. They fluffed it’s launch within The Community at least. It was controversial to say the least on various levels, but specifically that utterly shit launch lens. C. Outside The Community, people shop on brand and price. Fuji vs Panasonic Lumix, not much in that but the Fuji is something like 40% cheaper. D. Panasonic’s market share is lower than Fujis with Fujis image increasing (TikTok X100 just one example) whereas LUMIX has flatlined at best. Without a halo product in an S2R or S2H very soon, they risk cardiac arrest as even within The Community, folks WILL increasingly jump ship. It’s a dog eat dog world and folks generally do not back losers and LUMIX is in very real danger of being seen as a basket case. And I am a LUMIX fan. They are my brand of choice for video. I tried the S9. It was good but not great. I returned it for another (used at the SAME price) S5ii which is a far better camera at around the same price point. Would I ever consider buying and using another S9? Yes absolutely and have kept my Smallrig cage for it just in case that opportunity comes up, but only as a sidekick to an S2R because it does not tick enough boxes for me to be my A cam for pro work (single card slot and no fan being the principle deal-breakers there for me). The X-M5 is IMO a slightly less capable camera than the S9, mainly due to the lack of IBIS but if I was Average Joe browsing my local camera shop, the sales person would probably steer me towards the sub 1k camera and price-wise, I would convince myself that 899 is better than 1499 or whatever the S9 is currently priced at. But this is all just my personal opinion and maybe the S9 is flying off the shelves, loved by the masses and The Community, but the latter are just to busy to talk about it…

They did not ‘force’ me as such, but without any sign of the next/current gen body that I would like for the stills side of my work, ie, a replacement for ideally the S1R or at least the S1H (an underrated stills machine) and at the time, a decent mid zoom that is not a tank, I did go briefly Nikon and then Sony for the lens options, native or adapted. The adapted route did not quite work out for me as I hoped with Nikon as in AF etc worked just fine, but some quirks I could not ultimately tolerate in post for pro work. Hence Sony which was always waiting in the wings with the A7RV. But yes, not a fan of operating 2 systems really as it’s all non-compatible with the lenses and batteries etc. By the end of April, if an S1R or H replacement appears, as would be my preferred choice, I will be back all in with L Mount and regardless of any future moves they make, pretty sure I’d be set until I take early retirement on an already fixed date. If they don’t pop something out in that flavour then it’s a choice of either going all in on Sony or carrying on with 2 systems. Pros and cons for each with the main con being going all in on Sony will cost me approx 3k, but I would have a more compact and single brand system. The bottom line though is I don’t want to change anything unless I either have to or it’s quantifiably worth it in whatever terms I choose to measure such things. There is merit to each of my 3 options. There are other options but the cost would be something I could not justify so as much as I hanker after a Hassie X2D and some tasty XCD primes, without a Lotto win, won’t be happening!

S9 needs to be priced at 999 or LUMIX might need to call 999. (UK emergency number for non-Brits)

By 'pro work', I mean more full-time content creator or wedding vid etc, ie gigs where the camera/kit is either unseen or no one cares. But yes, turn up to shoot an ad or something when the norm is an Arri or a Venice etc, yup, might be a tough sell! You also have hit on one of the beauties of small cheap cameras and that is you can have a set of them, each with a prime or different function rather than lens swapping. I did it myself for a few months after shooting an entire season of weddings on the OG X100 with the following year having a pair and shooting one with the wide convertor and the other with the tele so approx 28 and 50 in FF terms as opposed to just 35 the year prior. Actually, it was a year or so later as I did that thinking about it with the S or T model which were quite a bit snappier. For stills work, I would comfortably do the same today with this new Fuji. I choose not to, but I could and that tiny camera approach does have a lot of appeal...just not more than my current Goldilocks approach of 61mp 28-75 and 26mp 42-112 at a turn of a dial. The Sigma 16mm and 56mm f1.4 spring to mind... These lenses are available under 300 used and a pairing such as this at 24 and 85mm f2.1 DOF equivalent, would be excellent and paired with something like the XE4 or X-S20, would easily be my pick over the X100VI. The only thing they don't really have is the leaf shutter and ND, but IMO, swap that for range. There's so many options these days, we're spoiled really!

Indeed, ultimately ending up in my case with the Hassie X2D for stills plus something like the Burano for video 😱 Like so many, I am always looking for that ‘Goldilocks’ camera (and system) that ticks the highest number of my boxes within the range of the 2 most important factors; requirement and cost. So I think you can make direct comparisons between different cameras to a point such as XM5 vs X100 or S9, but my X2D example is probably a bit of a stretch! That’s how I settled in the A7RV. For me it is the ultimate Goldy in that it’s relatively compact and can be used like an X100 on steroids with any number of native or adapted tiny primes, or with some high end glass, against the likes of the 100mp medium format monsters. With something like this new Fuji, it’s highly capable in it’s own right, and can be upgraded with a gimbal, cage and external recorder etc…but then it gets equaled or beaten by others. Unless you want that ability to rig it out for say jobs and then return it to its basic state for personal use. I like kit you can do that with and at this price point, it’s ridiculously good. IBIS would have made it bonkers great!

Nope, never. Just me myself and I 😱 Renting kit in France is not as easy as it is in say the UK or US. Bigger cities have some rental places, but I am nowhere near any of them (closest is Paris at 3 hours) and the courier system isn’t great… The only playtime I get is if I can get into an actual bricks & mortar shop which again means big city which for me as a country boy, is about 1-2 times a year max. So I need to really nail down my needs, do my research as best I can, buy & try. And even then, sometimes you know straight away with a bit of kit and with other stuff, it takes time and more prolonged usage. But as above, all of my needs are now covered and all of the major brands could now tick all my boxes so it’s mostly a case of want plus cost now that determines any future kit. Arguably, I do not need anything beyond the S5ii from LUMIX and I don’t, but I would like certain things and if those things come in the future, I will consider them. Just give me an S1H and an S1R in an S5ii body and holy crap, that would be a dream set up!

Maybe, I dunno... How many users there are for Sony or how popular/unpopular is also irrelevant to me. In fact, I tend to prefer stuff that the cool kidz are not using on TikTok which was partly why I was a big fan of Fuji 2011-2019, ie, they were a bit more of a niche underdog than they are today. I buy stuff that is the best for my needs within my budget. End of. S5ii for my kind of video work. I prefer the form factor and styling of the FX3/30 by FUCKING MILES, but ultimately, can they do 6k open gate with class leading IBIS? Nope. I love my A7RV for stills. I think it would be great for hybrid but I have not shot a single clip of video on it ever. Or even looked a the video settings. For me it's simply my stills workhorse and benchmark for every other camera out there. I keep coming back to this hypothetical question of what would I use instead and the short answer is always, well actually nothing. Too big, too expensive, doesn't have the lenses...nothing comes close as a system. And that is the thing with Sony and maybe it is because of it's popularity with the masses, - it is such a massive system. For me now, it all hinges on a single body or a single lens, what I do next, if anything. And who gets there first. Or at all. If Sigma bring out a longer focal length sibling to their recent 28-45mm f1.8, such as a 50-100 or thereabouts f1.8, it's game over LUMIX for me, as in I WILL buy that pair of lenses for my A7RV and possibly trade all my L Mount gear for Sony as there are certain pros that outweigh the 6k OG and better IBIS. If LUMIX do bring out an S2R that is basically a half price version of the Leica SL-3, it's goodbye Sony because that WILL be the camera to beat my A7RV and the Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 would complete the L Mount system for me. But then if LUMIX make the S2R AND Sigma make the 50-100 f1.8, double bonus!! The one thing I know is this though and that is what I have is already good enough. I have spent years trying to find a combo of tools to suit my needs and this year has been the first time I have achieved that with zero complaints or even niggles. It. Just. Works. Could it be improved upon? Sure. Smaller & lighter but that's about it. If 'they' can come out with something more interesting than the typical DSLR box, even better! 'They' have 5-6 months max collectively or other than 1 lens swap, next year I'm re-running this years set up.