MrSMW

Shooting video at f22 is gonna be a thing. Yup, that shallow DOF is sooooooo 2021.

Well I’m probably going back to the Natural profile this year, mainly for the AF, but also because it’s a really nice SOOC image that requires very little work. I have a really nice LUT I have made for myself from using Nitrate, but I’ll have to do another one for the Natural profile now as it’s completely different to log. 4k 50/60 helps with AF because of the crop. Wider rather than longer lenses help. Native Panny over say Sigma work better. One area + face detection is the best AF setting for tracking people. I use speed -1 and sensitivity -2 for the AF settings. Another top tip is keeping the camera as still as possible as it’s one less thing for it to fight with. At least that makes sense to me, but no one ever seems to mention that, ie, monopod or tripod or at least IBIS… The rest is down to lighting, background and that thing called luck. It MOSTLY works…

I think an OM-1 based system is probably the still the best option for me right now, but for that operative word, ‘probably’. Sticking with L Mount means sticking with a known quantity and putting +1500 euros back into my account. Switching just adds a little uncertainty into the bigger picture plus costs me minus 3500 euros. Sometimes it’s simply a case of playing safe and that was what I set out to do this year and so I’m sticking to/going back to that plan. For my own sanity more than anything!

Well I have done a total back flip and cancelled my pre-orders. Why? I blame Putin. He's responsible for everything else including the GH6 not having PDAF so why not?! But seriously, I looked again at all my options and came to the conclusion that what I needed most in 2022, was stability. I'm less than 6 weeks out from a stupidly busy season and it's not the time to make sweeping changes. So I have somewhat reluctantly cancelled any/all plans to go M4/3 for my video needs. The S1H has already gone. Love(d) that camera, but it's just overkill (and overweight mainly) for my needs. Kept my S5 just in case the OM-1's arrived too late or any other such problem and the good news for me financially is actually I will come out of this next/current move financially ahead as I'm selling 3x lenses + the S1H and ordering a second S5 body. I'm putting my new gimbal on ice for the season and will look at that again some other time after this next season is over. It's really only the tracking AF I have any issue with in regard to the whole system and if the GH6 is anything to go by, I think there's a good chance that a further tweak for the S line in regard to AF may be coming. And if any S2/H/R etc is in development and has CAF, they will halt all further work until a PDAF solution has been sourced. Or they go out of business. Also, this gives me time to see how the OM-1 shapes up in reality for others over this coming year. You/they can be the beta testers! 😬

Well that also... For real filmmakers, I guess so, but for us that do say wedding video etc, we don't 'need' any of it. But yes, different use case etc...

I’m thinking that for 99% of users, for 99% of the time, the S5 is a better option. Unless anyone really really really needs the ‘extra’ video capability of the GH6, S5 for me all day long. Except for the rear screen. The GH6 spanks the S5 there. S5ii with phase and the GH6/S1H rear screen and happy days.

Yup. These days I go on instinct and my own real world actual needs. The rest is just waffle and opinion.

If reliable (or any) AF is a non-issue, but otherwise video is, then easily the GH6. That one is a no-brainer. Per the specs, reviews & info so far anyway, but I think will be the case regardless. For stills, the jury hasn’t turned up yet. As a compact, all weather, hybrid, the OM-1. Not quite rivals IMO. Some crossover, but otherwise…

So now the GH6 is officially unveiled, how do they ‘compare’? It will be interesting to see some direct head to heads down the line… For me, the OM-1 is my preference… Positives = more compact, lighter, better AF, probably a better hybrid. Negatives = prefer the rear screen on the GH6 (by about 1 billion miles) and I think the launch price is around 250 dollars/euros more than it should be. I think if the GH6 had comparable AF however, it would be game over and a win for Panasonic…but it ain’t, so… Both great bits of kit I reckon with some crossover, but I think slightly different use case.

Looks like a great bit of kit and the AF doesn’t look too terrible (for those of us interested in that kind of thing).

I think Dave means 6 months before the price drops below the initial launch price rather than actual availability of the camera?

It's France. Nuff said. The banks don't allow you to spend your own money and at lunchtime on the day you have set aside for a confirmed courier collection, you get an email saying you have to TELEPHONE to arrange a collection...but it just rings out. Last week I had the joy of driving 30 minutes to a collection point for a parcel that they claimed not to be able to deliver because I wasn't in...and the collection place turned out to be a local bakery...and they had not been a collection point for at least 4 weeks. Then they just send you in more circles as the system can't cope with anything that doesn't work. Oh the joys of rural France...

Were they accepting any in the first place?! I checked their website as soon as the camera was officially announced and pre-order for body only was available, but the kit simply read, "add your name to our contact list and we'll get back to you some time".

It's difficult to get this kind of info from France, but as things stand, the body alone is available for pre-order with deliveries starting from the 7th March. The kits are still not available and all you can do is register a wish to be informed when they become so. I went with just the bodies despite the offer on the kit zoom. If the option comes up any time soon, I may switch my order to have one body with the kit zoom because I could see a use case outside of work. It's cutting it fine with work though as my first gig of the year is 8th April... Worst case scenario, I still have my ZV1 for ceremony & speeches and keeping it as my back up option anyway, plus I'd just have to buy a used EM1-iii or G9 to tide me over for a few weeks if there's any delay. This has been a concern in even putting the order in at this time, but in the end, the last 2 years and the potential of this coming one, made the decision for me which was minimise the compromise, maximise the opportunity.

For me, it’s the entire package including lenses. I have a list of requirements. Against that, I matched every available option. The OM-1 (including lens choices) ticked more boxes than anything else on the market now or coming any time soon. The only box it didn’t tick was it has a flip out side screen rather than a tilt screen. And it’s not a Sony…

Ha, just read Andrew's tweet: "OM-1 is a nice camera but will sell exactly 0 units at £2000" Well one muppet has pre-ordered a pair so we're 2 up on your 0 already 😉

I didn't mind it too much as in it wasn't a deal-breaker but instead, a 'known compromise'. In some ways, it was quite good, ie, ergos and stability etc...but actually, it was a bit of a beast to handhold for very long and so I had already decided to go back to using it on a monopod most of the time. Anyway, no longer an issue as the courier collects tomorrow and then it's just a case of wait and see when the replacements turn up.

Decision made: S1H + S5 (plus some lenses) outbound, pair of OM-1's inbound. Sticking with Panasonic S1R/L Mount for at least the time being until I can test the stills capability of the OM-1's. Of course they are not going to match, never mind beat, the 47mp FF S1R, but how close can they get and is that 'close', good enough... For my video needs however, I just need that 'well above average' and reliable AF. The fact that it will come in a lighter and more compact package, is a bonus. I've had 2 absolutely shitty years financially and perhaps more importantly, creatively. The work I have booked in this year is an absolute opportunity to make a massive dent in the latter and I really don;t wish to be going into it with compromise. Not 100% decided on lenses yet, but pretty sure it will be the Panasonic f1.7 pairing of the 10-25 and 25-50, plus the Olympus 17mm f1.8 for gimbal work. Just need to find some used versions of all the glass in good nick. EXTREMELY sad to see the S1H and S5 go. The S5 less so because despite it's excellent photo and video output (plus nice size and weight), I wasn't 100% happy with various other aspects. Great bit of kit, but not quite good enough for my needs. The S1H has been the best camera I have ever owned. For video at least. Could have been a bit smaller and lighter and the only real 'deal-breaking' issue for me has been the less than decent AF and the wrestling & fudging I have had to do to get around it. Obviously, the new boys have not arrived yet and won't until March, but they tick all the boxes for my needs and the only criticism I could level at this time is that they are maybe a little over-priced and something more like 1950 euros might have been more appropriate. I believe it's the right decision for me and my needs. The S1R is going to be a tougher one to replace, NOT THAT I AM LOOKING TO! By divorcing my video needs from my stills needs totally going forward, it does give me a few other options and my preferred one would be to keep it all 'in house' with 3 matching bodies and cross platform lenses. Absolutely zero rush though as anything that isn't the S1R would need to be a bloody good option!

Ask Fuji's X100. He/she/they will respond, "well I have one and I may be APSC, but I'm pretty dinky" 😬

Yup. We can chase that next bit of kit if what we have is preventing us in some way on a technical level, but the rest is 'the art'.

I think one of the problems MFT has is when they allow bodies or lenses to get too big because then folks cry, "but I can get a FF camera the same size!" often with higher spec and cheaper prices. With the shorter focal length 'pro' glass, there isn't much difference in size compared with FF equivalents, but when you get to the longer stuff, there is a much bigger difference. All I do know is that the appeal of MFT for me is when it's kept as compact and light as possible. Like Bruce Lee. I was thinking back earlier today that one of the 2 set ups I have enjoyed the most (not talking about ultimate quality of output or spec sheets, but the feeling I had using the kit) was: A pair of Fuji X Pro-1's with the original trinity lenses of 18mm, 35mm and 60mm. also A pair of OMD EM5 mkii's with the f1.8 trinity of 17mm, 45mm and 75mm. I want to get back to something like that, but with a requirement for a third body due to my hybrid capture work needs.

It's inevitable, but I agree and don't really see them as rivals. The GH line is a niche filmmakers dream. The OM-1 is clearly being marketed at folks who like adventure sports in extreme climes (or at least imagine they do, a bit like owners of 4WD vehicles in cities that never climb anything more than the occasional kerb) and wildlife people. I think the OM is also more hybrid/stills orientated whereas the GH's have always been about the video side of things really. I imagine as a result the OM is going to have much wider appeal all things being equal.

Another fun fact and that is as a child growing up in the 70’s, the original film OM-1 was my Dad’s camera.

I'd forgive it this factor if it has stellar AF. But, as I said in another thread, I'm becoming increasingly aware of the bloat in my own kit, - bodies, lenses as individual units and then as an entire kit to lug about, set up and use. I made a fundamental and somewhat risky choice around a decade ago to dump my full frame DSLR to go APSC mirrorless. I feel a decade on, I need to go through a change to get back to that ethos, - compact/light/nimble/gets out of the way for maximum creativity and minimal fumbling.

Not just bodies, but lenses also, so when a company has both... Before I went L Mount, Olympus was my first choice, - the brand that came closest to my spec as an entire system. The only 2 deal-breakers for me were I wasn't 100% convinced with the low light capability and the lack of 10 bit 4k 60p. OM-1 addresses both of those issues, at least in regard to the video side of the equation. No other brand does. I've checked every single combo possible including all the non-native lenses and there is not a single system that checks every box. L Mount = AF + lenses Fuji = lens fails for video. Canon = overheating, real or artificial warnings...no thanks, plus the R6 and R5 are big plastic lumps (EOS R came last in my build/feel test 2 years ago). Expensive RF glass and I don't want to adapt. Sony = A7iv closest to my needs, but has a couple of negatives for me. Sigma = let's not go there. GREAT glass, niche cameras. Nikon = Internal video spec on the Z6ii Panasonic GH6 = Obviously I don't know the answer 100% but I suspect the AF will be improved, but still not great (but happy to eat any one of my various hats if it proves to be otherwise) and it seems it will be even more video-orientated and has been to the pie shop. The OM-1 on the other hand fits that ethos I was chasing when I went from chonky boy D3s's with big zooms to dinky X Pro1's with primes, ie, more compact, lighter, more nimble...and after some familiarity, allowed the kit to get out of the way allowing for more creativity. I felt towards the end of my time with Fuji, I was beginning to fight the system and fudging various things in order to simply make it work as best as I could. That's how I feel about the current L Mount set up I currently have...in regard to my specific needs, - it's getting bloated and I'm wrestling with it somewhat and having to come up with workarounds and aaaaaaaaaaargh, I might talk about kit a lot, but I actually don't really care about it as anything but as a tool. I just want 'it' to do what I need it to do. Nothing less and also nothing more, which is why I don't give a fig about 4k 120p or 8k or 100 frames per second stills. Hold on to see what the XH2 is? Much as I'd like to as I like Fuji as a brand, the same question comes back, - what about the lenses? I don't want to have to select something that isn't quite right, but the best option available. 4/3rds between Panny and Olympus, IMO has the best lens options by a mile such as: 17mm f1.2, 45mm f1.2, 10-25mm f1.7, 25-50mm f1.7 and equivalence be damned, but 35, 85, 20-50 and 50-100 would be a DREAM combo for my needs so; 34, 90, 20-50 and 50-100 is as close as is possible. I had forgotten about the Pen F, - one of my favourite cameras I never owned. I was shooting Olympus (EM5 mkii's) for video when I moved to France 6 years ago and was toying with Pen F's for stills, but went all in on Fuji for photo and video so it never happened. Could be of interest, but if...and it's still an if (though more likely than not likely) I move to OM for my video needs, I will have to test for stills because right now, I can't see much touching my S1R (other than similar level cameras, but it crushes my old XT3 easily). Around 50% postponements from 2020 and 2021 and the rest new bookings. It would probably have been around 25 totally new bookings without the postponements as I had to turn a lot away. My comfort zone is actually around 20-24 as each job is an average 12 days commitment; travel, attendance, office etc.