MrSMW

Sony ZV1 for me. For now.

Indeed and one of the most overlooked…if not the most overlooked aspects for those seeking improvement in their photography or filmmaking.

True and ‘The Compromise’ with that option. Tried it. Hated it. I’ve got a camera on each hip and the sheer bulk/awkwardness just didn’t work for me. Also, on freestanding monopod, the S5 plus lens I can trust, but the S1H is literally tipping the balance. On that basis I wouldn’t trust a Z6 plus external recorder with battery. Internal recording is a must for me shooting hybrid and juggling 3 cameras as a one man band. I do like Nikon and shot the system (film and then DSLR) for 10 years prior to Fuji and nearly went Z6 instead of L Mount approximately 1 year ago.

1x static video on tripod (ceremony, speeches, entrances & exits) 1x roving video on monopod or handheld 1x roving stills handheld Simples 🙂

As do I. For anyone non-pro, then fair enough, but for work... I like the capability of having one body that can do either job equally well and one of my three bodies (the S5), I do use that way, but the other two I dedicate to stills (S1R) and video (S1H), though each can do the others job almost as well. I also could not do with mixing brands etc.

It depends on your needs... Mine as primarily a hybrid wedding photographer are quality of image + reliability. I actually need 3 bodies to do my job and I always stick to one brand for consistency. I also have a requirement each camera can do the others job as 'insurance' should one go down. Without taking lenses into the equation, but are just as much a part of the whole, I personally, right now, clean sheet of paper, would go: 1: Canon R5 stills, R6 video. Bodies are a bit plasticky, but otherwise, for hybrid weddings, I think I'd be hard pushed to beat this combo. 2: Fuji GFX50Sii stills, XT4 video. I came from Fuji and know their video is good, their AF good enough and the stills I think are still the best. Just. 3: Panasonic S1R stills, S1H video. Where I am right now and not unhappy. Bodies maybe a tad large/heavy, but nothing that really bothers me. Only real weak element is the less than stellar tracking AF. 4: Nikon Z7ii stills, Z6ii video. Great all-rounders though possibly the weakest video spec? Great image though. 5: Sony A7iv stills, A7Siii video. Just don't interest me but if I had to, these would be the sweet spot from Sony for me. Very sticky AF but other than that, beyond the YouTube hype, do they really offer more things to more people? I'm not sure...

If I was starting with a clean sheet, for my specific needs, Sony would still only be my 5th choice behind: Canon (never thought I’d say that) Fuji (I miss Fuji, especially for stills) L Mount (where I currently am and no regrets as such) Nikon (I could easily shoot the 6/7 system) Sony (doesn’t tick as many boxes as the others above) But for some, many even, I’m sure the IV and Sony in general is good for them.

No idea, my S1R is for stills only!

How many seconds do you get to comply?

If I was mainly photo the S1R would be the way to go. They sell for less that the S1s and S5s on the second hand market Moving from Fuji XT3, there was and is a definite ‘upgrade’ from APSC to FF, but it’s not especially big and no viewer would notice. The 24mp FF sensor is maybe 10-15% better IMO in low light and back lit situations compared with Fuji’s 26mp crop sensor, but I’d say Fuji’s colour is better by a small margin, so swings and roundabouts as they say. But the jump from 24 to 47mp is much more noticeable. Again, it’s not anything that anyone would really notice on-line or on social media etc, but it’s very noticeable to yourself and if you care about such things as I do… The colour is also better from the 47mp sensor. I have not seen anyone mention that one but IMO, it’s not just the improved resolution, but there’s something in this 47mp sensor wherever it’s coming from…and that seems to be a bit of a mystery except it’s probably the same as the Leica SL2 and Q2 but with some slightly thinner piece of glass/a layer with the Leica version? And it’s not the Goliath unit some folks make it out to be… Maybe with the 50mm f1.4 I am leaning towards, but we’ll see next year. @IronFilm I’m sticking with my original Go for now as the combo with the lav mics & Sony recorders has been working mostly OK this year and it’s more a case of having backups due to others muppetry!

I have considered all of the 1.8’s and have the 85, but went with the f2 Sigmas instead. If I do switch to the 50 it would be the f1.4 for that extra stop of low light capability ie, f2 to f1.8 is not worth it. To me. Plus it’s supposed to have a bit of magic in the quality/rendering department and that is the most important factor to me. The Sigma 65mm f2 is just stellar though… Possibly a tad tight in some indoor scenarios…but I have the 35 version for that so not a problem and then it does have that little bit more reach than a 50, but without having to go as tight as 85. I like ‘willfully different’ and shooting primarily 65 is just that. I have all Winter and early Spring to decide though so not in any rush or doing anything until after that time so we will see. I’ve read so many times in so many places about how 24mp is enough for social photography but you know what, when you’ve tasted 47, 24 is never going to cut it again. There is a real and significant difference. I hummed and hawed for so long over whether to go S1R or Leica SL2 or just stick with 24mp, but eyes opened and at 1500 euros, insane value.

No issues with my S5 and I don’t use XLR so can’t help sorry! My limited 5 wedding season is now at an end and it took all 5 weddings for me to knock this L Mount system into shape. I ended up and have been most happy with the following combo: Static Video = S1H + 24-105mm f4 on tripod. Chosen because the output is superb and I don’t need or want a faster aperture than f4 for ceremonies or speeches anyway. Plus no record limit and no overheating and as the heaviest of my units, great that it’s on the tripod! Unit 2 is my dedicated stills combo of S1R (1500 euros barely used off a mate) with the 20-60mm as a wide landscape and architecture lens when again, the lack of a fast aperture is not a need. The main lenses for it though are the Sigma 35mm f2 indoors and the 65mm f2 outdoors and the combo of S1R plus the 65mm f2 is just mental. I’m pretty blown away with this sensor and these lenses. Set up 3 is my ‘filming’ clips combo of S5 + Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 mostly handheld but sometimes out of necessity, monopod. I still can’t get a better output using log than I can with the Natural profile tweaked…but I may look at that over the Winter. Potential changes for 2022…? It’s a heavy old lump but I may just swap the Sigma 35/65 f2 combo for just the native 50mm f1.4 and move those lenses over to filming. Other than that, this is my system for 2022 as things stand. In my ideal world, an S5H and an S5R would both exist and either with further improved DFD AF for video, or phase/hybrid AF. But in the absence of all that, pretty happy with this set up now. Pity the very short season ended just as I was getting to grips with it so hopefully 2022 delivers the 30+ jobs I have booked in…

Isn't the 4 being announced next week? I'd wait and see what that brings to the party...

As an S1H owner, nah. Still interested to see what a GH6 might bring to the table but the facts of the matter are quite simple to me; needs + wants. Needs = well, nothing really… Wants = genuinely smaller & lighter without making sacrifices (such as skipping IBIS or a tilt screen) and quantifiably better AF. So looking…always looking, but doing nothing until it’s actually worthwhile doing. Not really sure who this BS camera is for… Probably not going to tempt existing S1H users and not really going to tempt users of other kit looking for a modular box camera…so who exactly? But then again, I’m only speaking from my perspective and could be well wide of the mark re. the market for this thing.

The same for me...but at the same time, also the opposite. Year 01 was pretty dreadful, ie, last year, because there was no precedent, it was all new and we mostly thought it would be over before it was. It still isn't (over) but I think we're making progress? Year 02, ie, this year has been better though because I was prepared for it. I hoped it would not be utterly shite (for business), but it has been. But because I was better prepared and been proactive rather than waiting for it to end, it has not been as bad. I think the answer to anything like this is to take back control. Within the realms of what is possible anyway. Don't follow the herd. Don't try and conform. Be like Seth Godin's 'Purple Cow', but do it for the right reasons and without selling your soul. One of the main benefits of any community is that whilst yes, you do get complete tossers within most groups, the majority belong for the right reasons.

I had the first model but along with every action cam, sold it as none of them have ever really done what I wanted them to do. This might be different however and make a good little unit to pop on the hot shoe of one of my stills cameras and capture some video…

I prefer high-resolution (4K+) cameras paired with a softer downsampled final look (eg, diffusion, low sharpening in post, vintage glass, etc) This is the sweet spot for me.

I think I'd prefer 2 S1H both with R5 AF 😜 I may watch a review or two later out of pure professional curiosity, but the R3 isn't of any interest to me as a purchase.

E shutter in good daylight only otherwise to be avoided like the plague! I used it at my first 2 weddings of the year as a custom setting as a ‘silent mode’ indoors and some outdoors when shooting video to minimise shutter sound being on the audio. Big mistake. Banding in both sets of pics from each wedding. I have used auto e/mech for a long time and will be reverting to that because that does work really well shooting wide open in bright sunlight. Also, holy moire Batman. Back to the S1H for stills this weekend and will almost certainly be sticking with that as it has an OLPF plus I use a 1/8th mist anyway. The S5’s now dedicated to video are only used with 1/8th mists also which I believe helps reduce/eliminate moire? The second wedding I shot purely stills with the S5’s, a lot of moire. Maybe it was the choice of the groom’s clothing/material, but I’ve never had anything like it before shooting Fuji. We are not talking ‘ruined shoot’ in either case, the use of the E shutter or the moire issue, but lessons learned as there are to be discovered with any new system!

Well I tried log and nah… Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t get as nice a picture out of it as I can with the Natural profile. I made custom settings for; log, Natural, Cine D and Flat and shot the same scenarios; in open shade, into the sun, against the sun and the Natural profile was a fairly easy win except into the sun (where it was about equal between them all) and in highlight roll off where log won. For me, there’s just not going to be any/enough advantage to shooting log so going forward, I’m going to stick with my tweaked profile but bring the highlight setting down one more notch. For this weekends 3 day wedding, I’m back to shooting hybrid so trying the following: S5 with Sigma 35mm f2 as my ‘indoor video’ combo. S5 with Sigma 65mm f2 as my ‘outdoor video’ combo. S1H with Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 as my stills camera but ability to flick to video during the ceremony for guest reactions and alternative angles for clips, (as the 2x S5’s will be on sticks and locked on the B&G from two different angles). I’m hoping to hear much less (preferably none) shutter sound from using the S1 because last (hybrid) job, I could hear the S5 shutter in the lav mic audio from ceremony & speeches despite being an average 10-20 feet away! Re. size & weight, something between the S5 and the S1H would be my ideal. I would pick the S1H out of the two if I had to choose as it’s the more stable platform. One thing I am interested in learning is how the ‘less good’ IBIS is going to perform or whether I will need to also switch on the e:stabilisation… I don’t do any panning shots and specifically want the ‘near tripod’ look where the movement is 95% the subject and not the camera, so it will be interesting to see how the S5’s perform compared with the S1H in the real world test that only a full wedding day can provide.

Exactly what ^he^ said, except I do use AF. Not all the time but probably about 50:50 on a typical wedding day. It’s the viability of Panasonic’s camera division that concerns me. Especially as I came from Fuji who have some very interesting stuff available in the next few weeks and ‘probably’ coming next year… Ie, I think their future does stand or fall very much based on what they do in regard to AF simply because the sheer volume of negativity surrounding the AF is overwhelming the rest which is arguably the best kit going at these price points.

Unless they are incredibly stoopid, I can’t see Panny releasing any new camera (I don’t consider the GH5ii as ‘new’) without AF that is at least competitive with Fuji & Nikon. Fuji, who were for a long time, way behind the rest for video, pulled out the stops and jumped right up there with…was it the XT2? Panny might just be able to do something similar with their AF. They MUST know it’s killing their rep. and really pulling down their sales so surely MUST be addressing the situation?

Any look my video has will be a combination of: Tweaked Natural profile; highlights down, shadows up, contrast down, sharpening down. Use of a 1/8th mist. No luts, just a basic tweak as required to each clip. This is why I may switch to log as my clips can be a little bit all over the place. One single creative finishing lut on an adjustment layer that adds a ‘filmic’ look, dialed back to around 30%. Still playing with that one. Plus in the case of the S1H, the OLPF that the S5’s don’t have. So no single element but the combo of the whole. Still playing with it and log might be the answer to take it to the next level and vision I am seeking to achieve. Audio is easy. Or rather, I just use the KISS principal and primarily do not trust or use anything that is not mine, so no mixing decks etc. Why? Consistency. Every wedding I go to is different and uses different systems and some have nothing to plug into anyway. 2 rules: 1: mic as close to the person’s mouth as possible, as in jacket lapel. Most of my work is outdoors and I can rarely get a shotgun etc close enough, especially if the person speaking regularly turns away. 2: always find out from the clients in advance what is happening and when and brief them re. audio, setting a focal point such as a lectern if there is going to be more than 3 people talking (though I sometimes hot swap mics discretely if needed). I am far (FAR) from being an audio expert. I simply use 3x old (7-8 years?) Rode lav mics which I am going to replace at some point with some less Michael Jackson circa Jackson 5 fro mics with some more modern more discrete versions and 3x Sony pocket recorders that cost about £75 each off Amazon. There is a bit of clothing rustle from time to time as I can’t keep those fro head lav mics off the clothing. In principal, video and audio and stills, I just aim to keep things as simple as possible and as minimalist as I can with the least compromise which as a one man band, is key. ’My’ S5H is just the S1H version of the S1 so I’d go with; fan, OLPF, damped shutter for stills and higher screen resolution, otherwise not a single thing more I would want. Other than improved AF, but that’s a given 😉

@herein2020 thanks for the feedback. I'm not one of those needy types that needs validation from others, - I'm quite confident and only need to please 2 people: 1: Myself. 2: My client. In that order. Always worked for me 'shooting for myself' rather than any client brief and this is why my clients book me, - because they do not want to be involved. Probably wouldn't work so well for commercial clients and why I have so few 😉 But sincerely thanks for the feedback and pretty much most, if not all, absolutely valid. This version is not quite the finished one. Rather I just happened to pop it up on to Vimeo yesterday afternoon to see how it looked on various devices, but already intended to make a few tweaks to the grade here and there. Re. log. I've been pretty opposed to it and other than the low-light, I do think I need to give it another chance and I was already 50:50 about giving it a go for my next job in a few weeks. I already have the Gamut in camera LUT loaded and in Premiere, so will probably do that. Re. the stills, yup, already intended to 'Burns' them or similar. Re. any talky bits not matching the audio, I agree and the missus flagged that one up yesterday, so it's on my 'to do' list. I didn't notice the wobble, but I'll fix with some warp stab. Generally, at this stage, I usually just leave it now for a week and go do another job and then return to it with a fresh eye after 7 or so days. That tends to flag up niggles. That drone by the way is from an original Mavic Air purchased early 2018. It's been crashed at least 7 or 8 times, has chipped props, doesn't fly straight, drifts...and badly needs replacing for the 2022 season!! Oh and that jittery light, - I think it was due to the 1/8th mist filter on the lens...and I really do need to remember to shoot at the native ISO's (note to self). But again, overall, in regards to the tools, the cameras, the merging of the S5 with the S1H...so an S5H would be my perfect tool. I shall go tweak next week!

Oh and there is a glitch near the start I need to sort and if you notice anything else, let me know.