MrSMW

Well try and get your heads around this one… Given the choice of my 28-70 f2.8 or my 24-105 f4, I’ll take the 28-70 every time. Why? Size, weight, minimal extension of zoom but perhaps more importantly, actual focal lengths. 24 is a bit wide for me as a medium wide and I prefer 28 or 35 but in recent years, I have settled on 28 as it’s about the sweet spot for not making stuff look out of proportion. I get why some folks like 50mm but personally find it a bit too ordinary/boring so prefer 65/70. 105 is a bit ‘meh’ to me either being not much longer than 90 (which is my other principal lens/focal length) but well short of 150+ which is what I’d ideally need for longer stuff. So 28-70 used only at 28 or 70 is about 85% of my (stills) work these days with the other 15% split approx <5% 16mm and 10% 90. For video, simples, as above x1.5…although having said that, I am going to be trialling 6k 30p ‘open gate’ in a couple of weeks, as long as I can control/get around any flicker/banding. Why not just go with PAL standard 25p? No option for slow mo…which I am moving away from a little by going for a milder 80% instead of 50% ie, 30 on a 24 timeline. And having said all of that, my ideal focal length lens would be that Tamron 35-150 which would combine 2 bodies down to one, but that would mean switching systems to Sony or Nikon. And I’ve looked, but not! In the end, we’re all different and have different needs and tastes 😬

That's my point. You get stuck at the back of a cathedral with permission to shoot from there and only there and your only lens is a 28mm... A word beginning with F and rhyming with duck comes to mind 🤪

Yes

If it’s any ‘consolation’, quite a few trying out Z8 and Z9, say they prefer the image out of the Z6 and Z7… Probably/maybe due to the bigger boys only having an e:shutter? But otherwise good call I think to invest in what you have. Becoming ultra-familiar with not just your tools, but your entire workflow is very important. It was one of the key deciding factors, along with cost (your dilemma also) in me not switching back to Nikon after leaving that system 12-13 years ago. Flipping 3 older bodies for 2 new bodies yes, but keeping that familiarity very close and since a long time, actually having 3 identical bodies. Also a good call by @mercer re. those lenses.

Based on that pic, I would then have gone Z9 + Z8…which was the plan. The Z9 looks far neater than the Z8 with grip!

If I was switching…and I am not, it would without question be a duo of these, paired with adapters and 3 Tamron zooms; 20-40, 28-75, 35-150 with one unit with a battery grip to handle the biggest lens. I shall have to ‘make do’ with my trio of 2x S5iix’s and a single S5ii. Not sad about that. Not even slightly. The Z8 and Tamron lens combo is IMO for my needs, the ‘ultimate’ at this point in time, but my budget is not quite on that same point all things considered!

There’s your answer. Work with what you have whilst keeping a future eye on that Z8 which I think may turn out to be something a bit special. But right now, be smart.

Embargo on S5iix lifted around one hour ago and reviews left right and centre. They did hold back something and that is 12 bit Braw (external of course) for those that like that kind of thing. Davinci editing only I think though…? Otherwise looking forward to mine arriving soon. New primary workhorse.

I think that once any company is sold to ‘portfolio management companies’ whose main intent is to try and make money from it but don’t really give a fig about who the user is, it’s a pretty quick downhill slide into oblivion.

Indeed. My own approach that I have settled on is an 'indoor set up' and and 'outdoor set up' that requires just one single lens change on one of my 3 bodies. Body 01 = longer form, static video using a 28-75mm zoom = 28-40mm indoors and 50-75mm out. Doubles as a gimbal camera but I'll typically use the 'indoor' focal length for this purpose and it never crosses over with the static use. The only difference is how far zoomed out or in the lens is (that never comes off) and whether it's on the gimbal or the tripod using the same Swiss Arca mount. Body 02 = hybrid with 28-70 welded on and is shot at either 28 or 70 but nothing in between, ie, like a twin prime set up. Body 03 = hybrid with 16-28 indoors (shot 16 or 28 only, ie, as above, like a 'twin prime' set up) and 90 out. This. And why I have an indoor and an outdoor set up of focal lengths because it's about the distance to subject which using different focal lengths (but never anything extreme) is 'equalised' based on where I can position myself, ie, closer indoors (usually because of walls) and further away outdoors, because it's possible to do so. For consistency and a 'look' it works and from the video side is basically 2 focal lengths; 42mm indoors (occasional 28) and 75 out with occasional 105 or even 135 out at very specific, but limited times. There's a fella I know who is most definitely not 'world famous' and nor will he ever be who does just this and restricts everything he does to just 28mm. I don't think he's an artist, but taking the piss. Or at least, restricting his coverage for the sake of his 'art'. But then again, if his clients like his work/results and are happy to pay for it, then fair enough, but I couldn't do it...though have in the past using just 35mm for an entire year professionally. I came to the conclusion I was being a pretentious artiste and taking the piss. So stopped doing it 😜

This. Over the last decade+ especially, transitioning from being a photographer to a ‘hybrid shooter’, I have gone through periods of ‘gear creep’. Each time I reach a peak I say enough is enough and downscale it all…only to find the volume of kit creeping back up. I have just been through such a peak and had another ‘enough is enough’ moment but this time it really is enough. There is of course a fine line between being able to cover every single possibility and having just enough tools to do a job. My own experience is providing you do have sufficient tools for the task, then less is usually more. I don’t specifically shoot concerts, but events. There is nothing better than having one ‘do it all’ camera and lens combo in your hands, that you are familiar with, at all times. 24-105 for most brands or even better, Tamron 35-150 for Sony (or adapted for Nikon) would also be my pick on a single body, in this case the A7iv because it is a hybrid and the FX6 is not.

It’s OK. Just that, ie, not terrible and not superb. Other than my gimbal unit for video use, I am switching to battery grips for hybrid use and my pair of inbound S5iix’s. One in the body, one in the grip and another on charge. I think the grip one goes first so if that is the case (it usually is) then maybe one swap later in a typical 12 hour day should be good. I don’t shoot non-stop for 12 hours obviously… 🤪😉 Batteries are cheap, can go in pockets and take seconds to swap so IMO, batteries have always been a non-issue for me. Any situation where it has any chance of running out, powerbank clamped on the tripod.

‘Influencers’ received theirs the evening before last but the embargo re. commenting or reviewing is still in place. Differences re. spec are all over the net. Not being disingenuous, but it’s quicker and easier to point you there 😉

XE4 is the smart persons choice over the uber-hipster X100V. Pair it with an XS10 for light video work. Share an 18-50mm f2.8/4 with maybe one fast prime between the two et voila, a very compact and capable compact kit. I do not choose to, but could and would comfortably shoot a full wedding, Hybrid, with that set up without a second thought. Longer form video I’d want something with a fan in order to avoid overheating and shutdown, but my point is the above kit is EASILY capable of high end pro results, in a small package and at a bargain price. I shot an entire wedding season (stills only) on a single OG X100. I wouldn’t do it today, with that camera, but an X100V? Sure, easy. I just choose not to.

Got to add 200% grain to all finished productions for true authenticity! Ditto, I don’t need the file sizes of All-I as I’m quite happy with 200 mpbsbpssbps and never going to shoot raw UNLESS it’s 6k or 8k 50p, at limited times and to pull stills off of it. And the S5iix can’t do that either so not a problem! I could have got a pair of regular S5ii’s for 4000, but instead, a pair of X’s at 4750 including 2x 2TB portable Sandisk SSD that they are giving away and as I work off those things and they cost about 300 each, not really paying much to go full Batman 🦇

XH2s would be superb for both video AND stills. Save the money on that second body and instead, upgrade that 18-50mm f2.8/4 (best lens for non-IBIS bodies) and go for the Tamron 17-70mm f2.8 for a FF equivalent 27-105mm lens. Or on a budget, original XH1 which is a FABULOUS camera for stills and good for video. But as before, if size is a thing, then the XS10.

Well, can't comment on anything Canon as I have never owned one but did consider the R7 along with various other Canon offerings. Usual caveats of YMMV plus your own individual needs plus most things are 'good enough' these days so comes back to the individual needs bit in the end, but... S5ii vs S5iix is quite a simple one: S5ii = cheaper vs S5iix = pricier, better for rigging out, for fans of The Batman. I don't need to and won't be rigging out, but I am a fan of The Batman, so went that route for that reason alone. Love the look of the Leica SL2-S and the Lumix S5iix is essentially going to be my 'SL2-S', except better. And cheaper. As in I can get nearly 2 of the things for the same price. No contest when it's purely business, Lumix wins. It doesn't have any kind of tilting screen (the Leica) so a bit of a negative for me. From what I understand, the Sigma ef adapter works of course, but is not great if good AF is a priority. It's not something I'm going to be using as between Sigma and Panny, they have all the lenses I want and need. OK, hoping for a more compact I series 70-200 zoom, or better yet, an equivalent of the Tamron 35-150 but more compact, such as say 40-120, just as long as it's constant f2.8. But going off on a tangent now...

Fuji have a huge history of making film. Nikon do not. They make cameras. Clever people at Fuji have taken that knowledge of making positive and negative film and crafted digital versions of that history. Perhaps not identical digital replicas, but at least emulations that evoke something along the same lines. The most recent ones such as ‘Classic Negative’ are not based on any particular film stock, but instead an era. Or a collective representation of an era. The bottom line is sensor aside which ‘may’ have an impact on the result, it is more a case of their ‘intent’ and effort to produce these things that sets them apart. With most other brands, the result tends to be more a case of that is what that sensor produces with a few digital tweaks. The ‘same’ profiles in Photoshop applied to the Fuji raw files are not the same as those that come SOOC with Fuji Jpegs. The results SOOC from the ‘medium format’ Fuji digital cameras are just bonkers beautiful and probably the closest thing to ‘digital film-like’ files. If I did not shoot 50:50 stills and video on every job, I would without question be shooting a pair of GFX100S’s with a pair of primes. Or the Hassie X2D which is also crazy good for stills. Which is fortunate as it can’t shoot video. My rule of thumb would be: Ultimate SOOC or raw/edited stills, either of the two above cameras. ’Film like’ stills SOOC either on their own or combined with shooting video, AKA hybrid, then any Fuji camera. Possibly the most ‘film like’ of all, OG X100. Properly vintage user experience compared with any more recent Fuji camera is an added ‘bonus’ 😂

Try a used Fuji XS10 with the 18-55mm f2.8/4

Brain fade 🤪 Yes, exactly that. I've actually been setting up the S5ii ready to receive it's new brothers into the cult and it's looking good. OK, I will have to endure/get used to FLIP OUT SIDE SCREENS, but it's not like I haven't had them on a number of cameras for years, - I just prefer tilts.

This forum needs a section called 'Ask Kye'. Again, I'm just messing and do enjoy your posts 😘

Do DR next @kye as in when the manufacturer quotes 97 stops of DR, but it’s actually 11 when all the planets align. I’m just messing 😉

Yep, the only time I prefer them over a tilt. Having said that, I had better get used to tilt only as by next month, I'm going to be running a 3x tilt only set up!

So 4 then.

Agreed I struggled to get Flog where I wanted it to be so always stuck with shooting Eterna. 1/8th mist VND with sharpening dialed down fixed that for me. All in all, one of the nicest SOOC looks around IMO. Filmic/cinematic etc are different definitions for different folks. I personally go with ‘do I like the look?’ and with Fuji I do. But yes, always struggled a bit with the lenses and that is ultimately what made me leave Fuji. There are more lens options now however with some new stuff (Tamron 17-70, Sigma 18-50 for zooms) plus updated primes. I could easily go back to Fuji.