MrSMW

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.

The price difference is indeed a bit nuts. The S9 IMO, should be €£$999 body only. With the little Fuji, I'd go straight for the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 Not much bigger but 2 stops faster at the long end which is also slightly longer. The lack of IBIS is the only niggle for me which is why I'd go for the XS-20 if I was in this market. But at just over 300g body costing under 900 that can shoot 6k open gate and Braw externally? That's a bits nuts innit?! Pro tool, I'd still go S9 though. But then I'd go S5ii (as I did) over S9...but that is just my use/needs case.

Well I was a bit of a Fuji fanboy for almost a decade starting with the OG X100 right up to and ending with the XT3. Was going to then be XT4 and had a pair on preorder but Covid got in the way and the LUMIX S5 came along and I had little kit at the time so a switch to a 'full frame XT3' made sense to me. I could easily build a system around the XH2 and XH2S today but it would be a sideways move so not going to happen, even though the new 16-55mm f2.8 looks very promising. If I was looking for a personal camera, this new baby boy could have been a contender, though I think I'd go Ricoh GRiiiX for a bit of fixed lens purity over a slowish zoom. Tougher call vs the S9 because depending on your needs, the S9 is a more capable camera as long as you can live without the mech shutter and are happy to pay a lot more. I think where it gets most interesting is Fuji's film sims vs LUMIX's custom baked in luts and both have a pano mode I believe? For me, it would come down to the system I was in so as primarily a LUMIX user for video and Sony for stills, as a personal camera, I'd go S9 or ZV-E1, but if I was with Fuji, I'd actually spend a little more and go for the XS-20. Or even XE4.

Yes, a case of they would have been damned either way and I agree it's a better way of doing it, ie, have a limit...but allow it to be switched off at the users risk. It probably would have been better though if they had launched it with this. And with the 18-40 lens... But hey ho.

I would actually be happy and buy an S5ii with nothing more than an updated soft release shutter mech as in terms of feel and sound. I’d prefer to also have a higher res screen as a bonus, but they could stop there and call it a S5ii.001 and I’d be a happy boy. Stick a larger sensor in without sacrificing low light capability or DR, happier still. Beyond that, zero actual needs.

‘Anti-social media feeds’ 😂 but also 😢

Out of those though, I'd only need to pick up the new zoom having 3X S5ii bodies and it would be my pick regardless as it is actually better in almost every way over the S9. Pity there is no real dinky Sony lens if I do pick up that ZV-E1 next year as intended which for work purposes would have the Tamron 20-40mm f2.8 welded to it. For a walkabout/travel, Tamron 28-75 f2.8 I also have would cover my needs but then again, my A7RV is not much bigger or heavier but far more capable so I'd take that with it's 61mp cropping ability. But sorry, polluted this thread with more dirty Sony talk. I will go wash my mouth out after just mentioning once more, especially for stills, the A7RV is an INSANE quality vs compact size camera 😉

The cables I get. The lack of a dedicated battery charger annoys me. I can’t plug in my cameras whilst working. But I am probably a minority.

The lens does not interest me but exactly why plus the record limit, that I put it as a ‘lukewarm’ release. Not bothered myself with it not having a viewfinder or hotshoe or for that matter, a grip as I fixed 2 of those immediately with a slim fit SmallRig cage. Well grip and cold shoe and have not used an EVF in years. The cage adds barely any weight or size but transforms the handling and to some extent, the build. If LUMIX do pop out a sequel to the S1R, I would almost certainly pick one up again (an S9) to use as a sidekick with a smaller wide on it for both stills & video, just not as my main unit. But as an ‘S2R’ looks ever less likely now and because I am with Sony for stills since early this year, a ZV-E1 will fill that same role in 2025.

So basically, if we wait long enough, we will get an S2H plus the bonus of better air quality. I'm in.

This is the key to it for me also. ’Influencer’ is a bit of a dirty word to some and has some negative connotations of being nothing more than a shallow paid shill and that is the case with some if not many, but not all. The key to it would be collaborating with the right people. But they NEED to shout to survive. It’s just how shit works these days. And yes, they do not necessarily need to say what it when though a roadmap would be nice but at least have the courtesy to let your professional heavily invested users know that (if) a next gen model is coming. This recent launch has highlighted that because the community are talking about it left right and centre as a negative and LUMIX are not in a position to have much if any negativity. As above in this thread, they are so close… S5ii/x = good release GH7 = good release S9 = lukewarm release S5D = WTF release No pro lenses in a while (not too bothered as Sigma has picked up some of that slack) Actual most recent lenses = a manual f8 pancake and now a pretty slow compact short travel zoom? Firmware updates = pretty good I’d be happy if they just used the S1H body and stuck the guts of the S5iix in it and called it an S1Hx. I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

Not giving up, not personally anyway as in I don’t see a scenario where L Mount does not form 75% of my kit as it presently does and for probably the next couple of years… But disappointed. I thought the S9 was a pretty OK release and it’s an even better tool now, despite buying and returning one pretty quickly. (A third S5ii just made more sense). Mainly disappointed not so much there has been no replacement for the S1R/H, but that they are not giving any indication whatsoever re. the future. It’s not game over yet by any means, just not looking so positive longer term.

Not giving up, not personally anyway as in I don’t see a scenario where L Mount does not form 75% of my kit as it presently does and for probably the next couple of years… But disappointed. I thought the S9 was a pretty OK release and it’s an even better tool now, despite buying and returning one pretty quickly. (A third S5ii just made more sense). Mainly disappointed not so much there has been no replacement for the S1R/H, but that they are not giving any indication whatsoever re. the future. It’s not game over yet by any means, just not looking so positive longer term.

Half of the industry seems to have jumped the shark at the back end of this year…

Without question, if I had a blank slate, I’d buy either Sony or Canon now. Maybe Nikon, but mostly likely Sony. They may not be the most exciting and are lacking in various areas, but so many options and combos that can be put together. For stills, for my needs, I have already found the best combo (IMO) available ok the market based on a single body plus 3 lenses. For video, ditto but with L Mount. But would I invest in L Mount today? Absolutely not because it does appear very much now as Andrew says, they are soft-quitting the marketplace. Leica is too expensive and Sigma look like they are just focusing on glass now so it does look like: Leica = high end bodies LUMIX = low to mid bodies Sigma = lenses As a business user with a clean sheet start, absolutely no way I’d invest in a product line that I had no faith I could grow with over the years. But it is what it is. A bit sad really…

Yep, it’s a bit of a yawn fest… S5D? Umm, yeah, that one is going to absolutely fly off the shelves… The kit lens. OK as a little travel thing I guess but only if you shoot in good light and don’t mind variable aperture. Some LUT stacking firmware and I think an option to remove the record limit on the S9 and cause it to melt at your own risk.

I've just come back from a long dog walk mulling all of this over and come to the same conclusion that I have had for some time and that is I would like and hope LUMIX do something substantial, whether it'a announced today (unlikely it seems now) or in 3-6 months, but it doesn't really bother me if it's never. I just don't need to make any significant changes to my system other than for next season, I am almost certainly going to switch out my Sigma 28-70 for the new 28-105 because I feel I am lacking a bit at that longer end. On the stills front, ideally, I'd like to at some point bring it all back into one system; L Mount, but if there is not going to be any genuine successor to the S1R or S1H, I'm probably going to pick up a ZV-E1 as a secondary/slash back up stills camera, primarily for it's low light capability. But I could live with...and have been living without any of the above most of this season and it just works so no actual real need. I would not like to see LUMIX pull the plug and just die however. Regardless, I'm not going to simply dump everything and jump ship because as I keep saying, for the video side of my needs, L Mount does it best.

I suspect it is because Canon & Nikon are THE established camera names. Sony is just everywhere. Fuji is more the 'photo enthusiasts' brand, ie, not so much folks who buy a camera just because they think they need or want a camera (because they buy CaNikon and these days, Sony), but the folks who are actually interested in photography. LUMIX though, as I have already ranted (yet remained brand loyal for 3 years now) just are not on the radar. It's like they live in some kind of bubble isolated from what is going on in the rest of the world...

The single biggest problem IMO with LUMIX is they just don’t make any hype off their own backs. Any hype that does exist comes from a handful of vocal users. Just one example is the Olympics. Every Olympics do ‘we’ really need a new camera? Probably not, but how much do the likes of Nikon and Canon hype it? What hype re. anything is there ever from LUMIX? Just like shit quality pictures etc on social media that we are talking about on another thread, to 99% of people, the quality isn’t the thing. How popular something is perceived to be is. The more popular something is, the ‘better’. It’s a popularity contest. They need to get this into their thick skulls. And even if they do have something coming, it’s possibly too late now because whilst the product might be A grade, there’s no hype! 😏

We need 360 Live installing on the Lumix Bros phones and then we’d know for sure. Land of the rising sun, then S2R and/or S2H. A branch of WEX somewhere Southern UK, some derisory piece of crap no one was asking for.

Having said that, even if they do not announce and never make another camera for me, I’ll most likely stick with L Mount for at least another 2+ years because it just makes more sense than any other option and is already ‘peak camera’ for my needs. And I am already with Sony for stills.

That would be my concern. Or rather, is my concern as in it sends a sign that at least at this time, they no longer wish to compete in the mid/upper end of the market and people like me then think, well I can’t invest any further and may just jump ship sooner rather than later whilst I can still get something out of it financially. So if there is not one single juicy thing announced, then yes, I’d have concerns over this and much as I find Sony somewhat boring, I don’t think there is any chance of them stopping.

Well as they are part of the L Mount Alliance, they have a huge lens option right there, so it’s just a body they need.