MrSMW

Don't think I didn't see what you did there 😜

I miss the year when you could scroll through that list and read 'LUMIX S1H' and shout, "get in there son!" Maybe one day (year) we will see LUMIX or more likely Nikon in the list...

And possibly the right thing for them as a hybrid at that level might just be too niche? Like might be able to pull it off, but their product is considerably less. Fujis cheaper still... There is an argument that the FF market is already saturated so maybe they should not try and compete in that arena, but then MF is 'sexy' over FF which most want over APSC which most want over 4/3. But how would they add video to their megabucks stills camera and bring the price down without massively dumbing it all down? Or maybe in their niche market (really shared only with Leica) for a 'luxury hybrid' to fly? Not literally fly. That is parent company DJI's job.

Exactamundo. I know there are a couple of FF primes that work on the GFX due it being 'not quite medium format', but I'd need a range that met my needs and ideally, all one single line. This is why as things stand, in a few weeks, for my S9, I will be picking up the LUMIX; 18mm f1.8, the 50mm f1.8 and then undecided but either the 85mm f1.8 or the 100mm f2.8, all over the Sigma range. I prefer the Sigmas, especially for photo, but I'm looking at this as head over heart and those boring looking, but consistent size, weight, filter thread, fast silent focusing dullard LUMIX's have to win in this situation. Not without the glass, but well, physics. I'd rather it had 100mp though just for the insane cropping. Right now, I have a single with 3 zooms and with my Mr Sensible head on, no better option. However, if his alter ego Captain Sensible (look him up if you don't know) takes charge of the ship, a pair of the things with a set of 4 Sigma primes might just become more attractive... The Zf would have to go to make room however and I'm not sure about that at this time.

I will certainly look at it. Through my bifocals. After refilling my pipe and changing my pants, naturally, decorum and all that. One does not go on-line without upholding certain standards. I will be surprised if there isn't one, although it could just be a load of wishful speculating chatter?

Which is fair enough and your argument holds water, but there is another scenario and that is if Panny were to acquire Leica, there could be a 2 tier structure which might be: Tier 1 which is your pricier and photo-centric if not 100% photo only M's, and then, Tier 2 which might be your less pricey, but still premium hybrid and video gear. What exactly would this achieve for Leica? Absolutely nothing other than continued existence. In this hypothetical scenario, they have just been bought out! But Panasonic LUMIX or now Leica as they are known, have a stronger place in the marketplace due to brand. I think Nikon NEED to do it with Red and have a 2 tier structure that is: RED Nikon for their video-centric offerings and Nikon RED for their hybrid and photo. In both of these hypothetical scenarios, there would also have to be parts pricing and tech differences, but it's what I would do in their shoes and that is not try to cover al bases or be a jack of all trades, but cover your niche and cover it exceptionally well.

I kind of agree but also am personally somewhat wary when it comes down to too much personal detail as to what, how and how much. You never know just who is reading... Information can be taken and used against people/businesses in an underhand manner and I have had this 4 or 5 times in my career, and those are just the times I aware of! In my specific case...not that I wish this to be about me, but to emphasis the point, I have worked my nuts off for over a decade to achieve something in the marketplace that does not really exist, even today. I get self-entitled folks directly holding out their hands for an info dump (seriously such as, "you don't know me, but here are 10 fundamental questions relating to your business I would like answering" and then get all offended when you politely decline) and others slightly less direct but still fishing, usually as seemingly genuine, but fake enquiries that then have a question and then another and then 2 more and then...but I spotted them well before that stage. I won't even reveal the true nuts & bolts to a paying client. And paying clients never ask anyway. But anyway, there are a few here and potentially for the future that can or will only share to a point, especially if a competitor could say, "thanks very much, I shall take that and set up shop on your doorstep for 25% less". There are others who might wish to share but also wish to remain anonymous so their 'celebrity' status keeps things more grounded. So I can understand the reluctance of some, many even to discuss anything of this nature beyond a certain point. I wish it were otherwise, but that's my experience. It's a dog eat dog world!

That is probably the single best thing they could ever have done or ever could do. No one cares who engineered the thing or where they got the bits from. Everyone cares about the badge. Even people who say they do not care about the badge, they do.

And this is where it falls apart for me... As a 'one & done', a single body with longer of those two zooms is OK...to a point...the 100mm in MF point being not even half the reach I need. Could I compensate with cropping? Yes, that's why I prefer a high MP camera for stills, but even 100mp is pushing it a bit taking what is an approx 80mm lens in FF terms, to well over double that and f4 for anything low light, (which can be quite a bit of my work), is borderline too slow. I had and used the LUMIX f4 24-105 and it was not the best experience other than outdoor and day time. And this is the 'weakness' of MF for me, - the sheer physics over 100mm in FF terms, - it just gets too big, too heavy and too slow. For my specific needs. On the other hand, the 2 body approach could work, but is utterly dependant on each unit being much more compact and light over a single 'one & done', though the combined size & weight of 2 units might be more. For a 2 body approach to work, it HAS to be primes only and something no bigger ideally than Sigma's f2 range, so their 20/24/35/50/65 and jumping up to 90mm, f2.8. On a body ideally no bigger than A7RV or at a push, Z8, a set of 4 would work for me and of course these are native to Sony and almost native adapted to Nikon, but to Fuji GFX, I don't think so? And even if a workaround could be found, it comes back to the same thing and that is, "then what is the point?" as in you switched from one solution to another that doesn't benefit you in any way so why? Same as I love the idea of a Hasselblad X2D prime set up, - I would absolutely love it...but I think more with a rose tinted spectacle approach than a real world one. And that is without considering the cost! So right now, the SL3 for me still remains the single best option all factors except cost considered and that is where it does not and cannot work for me. A pair of those with a 4x prime Sigma set up would be nuts, but nuts beyond my means. My A7RV to me is my 'poor man's SL3'. And it is a very fabulous poor man's SL3 so until such time as something significant changes, it remains in it's role.

Don't get me thinking about that one! That's been in and out of my shopping basket numerous times and in some ways, is the ultimate option for stills. My stills needs anyway. The ONLY thing that has really stopped me has been lenses. Just how do I get a small/light/compact kit that can cover everything from 20-200mm providing nothing slower than f2.8 FF equivalent and no smaller than 24mp at the long end... With MF Fuji, the body can do it, but the lens/whole system, not quite, or rather the compromises are ones that I am not prepared to make. Having said that, a pair of the things with a set of 3-4 primes and... aaaaargh, nooooooo. Change for me at this point in time has to bring something quantifiably useful because my needs have already been met. It's interesting looking though and I think sensible to at least look at any and all options because that in itself can sometimes provide a creative aspect not previously considered. So I look and I consider.

I had the debate myself over SL2 vs S1R a few years back but in my case the need was primarily hi res stills and only a secondary need for video and at the time, not log. The S1R easily won that argument. It was, for stills at least, a better, but 1/2 price SL2, though the Leica beat it on design and badge. Obviously. But time marches on and though many of us consider the S1R and S1H well overdue and this latest launch is not quite what many hoped for, but cut out all the hysterics and simply ask yourself, "is this a good piece of kit for my needs?" and that is the only bit of info that is actually relevant. I have warmed to it and could make a case for it, but still wish it had been 60mp+ for my own selfish reasons!

Yes this is a definite thing. Maybe less so for the younger brigade but Nikon is a camera company. Canon is a camera company. Olympus, Pentax, Leica, Fuji are or were camera companies. OK they made other stuff but folks know or knew them as camera companies. Sony and Panasonic = giant electronics companies. Who just happen to make cameras more recently. Sony has arguably become a camera brand but Panasonic LUMIX has a bit of an identity crisis and I do think it’s because it says exactly that on the box, Panasonic LUMIX. It should have been LUMIX and just LUMIX from the start. It keeps circling back to the same broad topic; branding and marketing.

I don’t think there is any ‘perfect’ solution on-line, but a forum is easily the best IMO. Everything else is shit. All social media whether it be Fakebook, YouTool, Instagratification, DickTok, all have a place in modern society, but as I think you can probably tell, I personally despise them. They are all just soapboxes for anonymous persons to either spew venom or fabricate a false image of a lifestyle that is not their actual reality. I’m not really a fan of folks even here being anonymous but that is just my opinion and not my call to make. I think there is only 2 things missing here right now and they are connected and those are: A. More active members and B. A small mod team. I think A is probably affected by not having B in that some threads can descend into the old Wild West at times. I’m not talking about having a team of Off Topic Nazis patrolling the place as some if not most of the off topic banter is a large part of what makes the place and community, but folks who know where the line is and can steer things and if necessary, do a little bit of tidying up here and there. One final thing that folks always say they want is less gear talk and more talk about actual work, but the reality is a new camera is going to get 10+ pages of chatter and a piece of posted work will be lucky to have 10 people comment. It’s just how it is ie, IMO, gear talk WILL just out-balance everything else at least 10:1.

It’s called ‘timing’ and ‘progress’ respectively isn’t it as in just a few months back, some of those older cameras might have made sense, but with march of time, increasingly less until such a point as they do not. I don’t think we are quite at the ‘do not’ stage yet with those models, but launches like the S1Rii start to compete and once the prices drop and firmware upgrades happen, should make even more sense. The SL2 with zero tilt screen option for one thing would just kill it for me. But as it does 8k it gets all the chatter. I said it somewhere else above, but IMO they should have launched it as a 6k beast and locked all 8k function for say 3 months and opened that up with firmware. But then there would probably have been as much furore over that choice! I suspect so. Especially once prices dip below 3k. I’m still not sure I would buy it for my needs because of the way I work and as my principal video unit, the S9 works better (minimal size & weight on a free-standing monopod) despite the S1Rii being a MUCH better camera in hand and full stop. For stills, Z8 vs A7RV vs S1Rii, I could make a case for any but still favour the Sony, and not just because I have one. For video, as things stand, I would pick the Panny with the Z8 a very close second and the day it gets full LUT support is the day I would give the nod to the Nikon.

It’s called ‘timing’ and ‘progress’ respectively isn’t it as in just a few months back, some of those older cameras might have made sense, but with march of time, increasingly less until such a point as they do not. I don’t think we are quite at the ‘do not’ stage yet with those models, but launches like the S1Rii start to compete and once the prices drop and firmware upgrades happen, should make even more sense. The SL2 with zero tilt screen option for one thing would just kill it for me. But as it does 8k it gets all the chatter. I said it somewhere else above, but IMO they should have launched it as a 6k beast and locked all 8k function for say 3 months and opened that up with firmware. But then there would probably have been as much furore over that choice! I suspect so. Especially once prices dip below 3k. I’m still not sure I would buy it for my needs because of the way I work and as my principal video unit, the S9 works better (minimal size & weight on a free-standing monopod) despite the S1Rii being a MUCH better camera in hand and full stop. For stills, Z8 vs A7RV vs S1Rii, I could make a case for any but still favour the Sony, and not just because I have one. For video, as things stand, I would pick the Panny with the Z8 a very close second and the day it gets full LUT support is the day I would give the nod to the Nikon.

The only thing really missing for me with Nikon is they still lack the ability to burn in a LUT? Plus do they have open gate in at least 6k? I'm not sure and haven't checked. Realistically, I don't think I can do anything this year and am happy and set with what I have all things considered, but after this season, a switch to Nikon could be on that cards and the LUT thing could swing it for sure as that is a HUGE part of my workflow these days.

Right now, based on what is available and for my needs, Nikon probably does have the sweetest 3 camera option with the Z8, Z6iii and Zf. I have come so close to flipping to that set up and the only thing that stopped me was the cost to change, but what with used prices as they are now, slightly more possible than it once was. The Z8 is a near perfect pro stills camera for me, the Z6iii a video workhorse and the Zf an excellent ‘fun’ hybrid option that straddles the other two. I already have the Zf, a pair of MAGA hat adapters, 3x Tamron lenses and the 40mm f2 SE, so for me to flip, cost aside, it’s not actually that big a step. I hate you @Andrew Reid 🤬

I like where it's going. I have a need to have my phone with me 100% of the time. I have the need for a camera maybe less than 10% and on certain specific occasions, so would not object to carrying a small man bag or simply putting on a grip and lens for those times and not carrying a small man bag.

Mine is more like this: But came with less vegetables.

Worst case scenario, you could always offer your services as a budget funeral director.

Yes. I got my fold up off Amazon for under €70 and it has been one of the best purchases of my career for sure. Instead of 3-4 trips from vehicle to venue, it’s been a single one each way.

For outright static use image quality in video, the S5 probably has the edge over the S5 but as Andrew says, pretty much everywhere else, the A7iv does dump all over it. S5ii however, now we are talking overall parity. The Sony probably edges it for stills, the Panny for video & IBIS and everywhere else, much of a muchness. You can't get an S5ii though in normal circumstances sub 1k yet, though it won't be long.

It's like large country house owners in the UK who have to open up their houses to the paying public so they can keep up at least some semblance of their 19th century lifestyle. And I am all for that as it would be a poorer world if we did not have access to such things. Or like a medieval marriage of convenience in order to ally 2 countries so one did not go to war with the other. Leica I suspect simply do not have the capability to stand alone as few companies can these days. You need to be a Sony to do that.

I can make a case for both such as say; single body with 24-70 vs two bodies, one on each hip, with say a 28 and an 85. It's certainly more convenient to zoom, but it does mean a larger and heavier unit in your hands which over a typical 12-15 hour day, adds up and just isn't as enjoyable at any point throughout the day. It's really when we get about 100mm that zooms tend to make more sense to me because we tend to have 85/90/105 and OK 135, but there isn't really much in prime land above 100'ish' compared with below. At this point in time, I am in the 'one & done' camp, but that does require 3 lens changes albeit, not regularly. Possibly, but right now I'd pick the S9 for video based on current spec and let's not forget the twist & tilt rear LCD. I doubt even that would work my friend 😘

I think certainly for stills, at least at ‘ordinary’ viewing levels which for 99.9999999999999% of all viewing these days is on a device and mainly a phone…and with compressed images at that! The artist/craftsman in me still and always will fight back against that even if I am the only one that sees or even knows about it. It’s one of the reasons I am chasing more megapixels. It’s not because I think it improves the image in any way as such, but because I can crop ever harder with a lower loss of quality which means I can use smaller and lighter kit which has so many benefits including enjoyment. Tech for tech sake no. If it’s just data on a spreadsheet, who gives a shit, but when that tech relates to real world quality of life…