TomTheDP

That is true. The sigma FP is limited by write speed to some degree. I am willing to deal with something finicky, but it is project dependent. I appreciate the simplicity of Prores over anything else as it makes post very very simple. I am considering using the Sigma FP for an upcoming feature, but I know I will have complete control over the post production process. I think RED caught a lot of flack because after that one individual opened up their SSD's they were found to be SSD's not specially made for RED. I think the mark up for there SSD's was like 8x what it would otherwise cost. I personally don't mind proprietary products. For example, the Alexa mini can only use ARRI branded CFAST cards. The LF and XT only use specific Alexa SSD's, which are very costly. From what I have seen RED has just not been the most honest and I really think if they were more truthful they'd actually have a better reputation.

Did this like 10 years ago, actually worked well for the Sony camcorder I was using at the time. The good old days before I had to spend 20k on gear every year lol

I kind of still like the old Canon color look. Not accurate but super nice. After comparing the C70, P4K, and Panasonic S1 I definitely like the C70 clog3 with the manufacturer lut applied the best. It is all personal preference at some point.

28mm should be decent on the 6k sensor. You go super wide and you really start to lose a lot of depth, but its scene/location dependent obviously. My suggestion would be to add as much weight as you can. If you can get the rig close to 5 pounds it will make your movement so much nicer. An Easyrig for me doesn't really help to stabilize. Just saves your arms a bit for longer takes. If anything sometimes the easyrig makes stuff less stable, when people let the camera get away from their center of gravity.

It gives you 14 bit color which is a lot more color information than 12 bit. It just depends on what part of IQ is important to you. Past 2k isn't important to me, dynamic range is important, but color is the most important. Dynamic range on cameras like the Lumix S1 have been good enough for me. About a stop and a half behind an Alexa but good enough. Another example, the Lumix S1 can do 12 bit raw/10 bit log and has more dynamic range/higher resolution than the 10 year old RED scarlet. However I found the color overall out of the old Scarlet looked much richer with nicer skintones. The colorist on that project told me that as well. I am sure this is partially color science. The Scarlet sensor is quite old though and was never known to have the best color science. I do attribute a lot of it to 16 bit depth. Its not as much side by side comparisons but having shot and colored features on low end cameras like Blackmagic, Z-cam, Panasonic, Fuji and than doing the same with ARRI or RED the difference is very noticeable. Obviously this isn't a scientific observation. RED and ARRI are high end cinema cameras. So it may just be that they have much more pleasing color science and that's it. But I have also observed still images coming out of these hybrid cameras that always look superior to the video they capture. 14 bit vs 12-10 bit readout. I'd have to find the thread but it was a gent on here who shot some material with the BM 4K, C70, and his old 5D MK3. He was expecting the newer cameras to replace his old Canon but was left quite disappointed.

Looks good though I think if it was rendered as 4k it would look better on YouTube.

I agree most things in life come down to money. I do question the why though. The Alexa processes in 14 bit for prores as well, not really any difference between Prores XQ and RAW. RAW is a gimmick to me. The whole benefit of REDraw is not that its RAW but that it is capturing 16 bits of color depth. Throw any 10 bit log with a decent data rate thru the correct image pipeline and it will look just as good as the 12 bit raw from these cameras because the readout is no different. Sometimes the RAW looks worse due to less processing and more color noise. The RAW gimmick has worked for RED for the past 12 years, who thrive in the owner operator market. Same with Blackmagic which have always touted their RAW recording capabilities, even if BRAW is really just 12 bit log. The new RED Raptor having 444 XQ is actually a huge selling point for me, as to me RAW is just a hassle. All the companies are pushing for RAW. Apple prores RAW, Nikon even if putting RAW video in their cameras as a selling point and apparently it's worth the hassle of lawsuits with RED. Almost all cameras now record RAW to external recorders if not internal. It is a huge part of the entire Atomos brand, RAW recorders. 10 bit log recording is now a standard in pretty much every camera even Go Pros, even a lot of phones have it now. In a world where cell phones are the go to device, I think every feature is important as you need something to make it worth while lugging a camera around that doesn't fit in your pocket. Anyways my thought is that there is a push for better IQ on all fronts; resolution but also, dynamic range, and color depth. However no one has caught up to an 11 year old hacked Canon DSLR. To me bit depth is the major thing lacking IQ wise in non cinema cameras. Dynamic range is about good enough as is resolution. Give me 14 bit rather it be RAW or prores or whatever codec you want to package it in. Hopefully not CDNG but hey I'll take that too.

My Sigma FP does a similar thing not sure if its pixel binning or line skipping or if there is a difference between the two. It is 4k rather than 3.5k but not far off. Similar camera, 11 years newer, but only 12 bit readout. The Sigma FP post workflow isn't the greatest but at least CDNG can be immediately put into resolve. But yeah not 14 bit and definitely lacking when comparing to a RED or Alexa, including a 10 year old RED or Alexa. @mercerowns both the FP and 5D MK3 and I believe he has said the lower bit depth on the Sigma is noticeable. I have heard that from others too.

I have been thinking about this a lot. Why can't current cameras do 14 bit 4k raw? The 5d MK3 featured a processor capable of 14 bit RAW at 3.5k, that was 11 years ago. I guess color depth isn't marketable? Although 10 bit seemed to be and still seems to be a huge selling point. All these years later and no cameras have this feature outside of cinema cameras which have been doing this since 2010. To me that is what is missing in the lower end cameras. I have been tempted to get an old 5d MK3 and run magic lantern on it as a B-cam to my Alexa. Obviously there is a dynamic range difference but the color information is there. The workflow and ergonomics simply aren't good enough for me to use the camera on professional projects.

Yeah I am happier shooting Canon, Fuji or Nikon for stills. Why bother using a system you don't like unless its absolutely necessary to do so. I think two bodies isn't a terrible idea if you can use EF lenses on the pana body with no problem. To me for stills an EOS R would do just fine. Even a Canon DSLR, 5D or 6d, have a great look out of camera, though they are lacking in lowlight against the newer options.

I might have to consider the 20-60mm for the Sigma FP. Been using the Alexa mostly which is only EF mount or PL mount. The CN-E 18-80mm looks good for a cinema lens but 4.4 is a bit slow for S35. Really need a f3 or 2.8

You can turn on lut monitoring to see more what the final image will look like after color grading. HLG is an option to give you a more contrasty look while still preserving most of the details.

For me shooting narrative projects a solid 20-85 cinema lens would be amazing. 20 is just wide enough to cover most wide angle needs on S35 and 85 is long enough to cover most shots on that end.

I guess longer lenses feel less intimate to me. As an extreme example lets say being on 16mm for a close up feels to me like you are actually right next to the person vs say being on a 85mm. Though I would agree that longer lenses generally look more pleasing. All personal preference at the end of the day of course.

I tend to find myself on 35mm most of the time, which I consider right in the middle. I feel it gives me enough depth without too much compression giving that almost voyeuristic look. I do like super wides occasionally even for close ups, though it can be too jarring. I don't use super long lenses that much. I think its nice to get a POV look, like a perspective shot looking at something from afar. I did that a few times with my last project on a 120mm. Another use is trying to make a character feel more isolated. I mostly shoot narrative projects though so I guess lens choice becomes a lot more intentional.

probably best thing to do is rent a few different systems for different projects and see what you like using the best. If you work someone in the video field most of the advantage of a certain system is just practical usability for whatever it is you shoot.

I mean at the same time a lot of these new cameras do handle natural light pretty well, especially the full frame sensors. I think the big differentiator is still the lack of 14 bit readout on most cameras. Dynamic range is pretty respectable but we are still only getting a 10-12 bit readout. I'd love to play with 5D MK3 raw footage. I imagine its lacking in dynamic range but has a certain mojo due to the 14 bit readout. What I found with the S1 sensor is the dynamic range was good enough for most scenarios, even some pretty difficult ones. I find after using lower end cameras for many projects from production to post, and now using an Alexa from production to post, you can tell the difference. If you are just comparing single frames maybe not as much, but overall the Alexa sensor and color science is just easier to work with and looks better when pushed really hard. If I wanted to be smart I'd get a RED Raven or Komodo for quick projects. You still get that great IQ, albeit not an Alexa, but in a much smaller and less power hungry package. That would be run and gun enough for me.

I assume the stills are 14 bit which makes a big difference, at least from my experience comparing stills to video RAW on most cameras. But like you said it could be as simple as just an inferior sensor. I would say the A1 is likely doing NR but it sounds like the underexposed areas look very organic.

I have not owned the Pocket 6k but have shot with the Pocket 4k and the Alexa side by side. The Pocket 6k is a great camera. I guess I have never been a huge Blackmagic fan. I like the images from their OG cameras however they are just funky to use. The new pocket cams just feel cheap compared to Panasonic gear. It is really just my personal bias. Blackmagic is definitely the easiest option for cinema features and codecs for a really cheap price. I do like the low light capabilities of the S1 line and the extra dynamic range is also nice to have. I think using color space transform to ACES is a great way to gain better control of WB without having to shoot in RAW. I am not sure how that workflow affects the color accuracy of LUTS, such as the Emotive color Alexa luts. The biggest benefit of shooting RAW to me is the ability to fine tune white balance. It is a critical feature when trying to match cameras. With the S1 emotive color got the contrast and roll off really nice but the WB threw off the color when shooting side by side with an actual ARRI ALEXA. An Aces workflow might be a way around that though. I think for now I shall stick to the Sigma. It is a great camera, it just requires transcoding for certain NLE's, which isn't the end of the world.

The GH6 still stands out to me as its internal 4k or 6k 60p looks better than the full frame 4k 35 crop on the S1/S5/S1H. I recently sold my S1 to get a Sigma FP. The S5iiX might bring me back to Panasonic. I have always been impressed with the dynamic range on the S1 sensor and with a nice internal codec it would be hard to turn down. The GH6 also has 4k 120fps which the S1 sensor can't hold a candle to. The thing is I rarely shoot above 24fps and I think the S5/S1 Sensor in full frame 4k/6k 24 has more dynamic range. The GH6 is cheaper though. I am also interested if there will be a S1H2 with a new sensor that has a faster readout for 4k 120fps.

I don't know man I think it looks great. Looks very organic and the colors look vibrant. I think it is a winning combination.

Looks really good @FHDcrew

The 14 bit ADC mode seems to increase dynamic range over the 12 bit ADC. The entire patch range went up to 15 stops.

Yes definitely. With Blackmagic I believe the Fairchild sensors were dual gain but not the newer pockets or the Ursa 12k. So much goes into cameras its hard to determine what is actually advantageous. Recently I used both the Sigma FP and ARRI Alexa Classic on a feature film. It was a good opportunity to put both cameras through their paces in a variety of scenarios. During production I began to question my decision to use the Alexa classic due to its size. However now that I just finished coloring the film I can say the Alexa was so much easier to work with in post. It just looks nice without any work needing to be done. It is also so easy to adjust. We only shot in prores 422 sometimes at 1600 iso for low light scenes. It still looks amazing. I worked on a short film where we shot on the Z-cam S6 in 4k prores 422 and Panasonic S1 in the 10 bit 4k codec. We came back to reshoot a scene and used the Alexa. Again the Alexa felt so effortless in post. I am sure my post workflow for the Panasonic could be better. But I can't argue with my eyes. Probably not a fair to compare a once 80,000 Hollywood camera to a prosumer $2000 camera though. Even when shooting in 422 it's still doing a 14 bit readout. But I think the color science and processing is almost just as important. I know that with the right post workflows most cameras can look identical these days when shooting 10 bit log or RAW. But the simplicity of cinema cameras has really drawn me away from prosumer gear, seeing as you can get a lot of older RED's and Alexas for reasonable ish prices these days.

I am not saying it's an issue, just a reality. 12 bit linear RAW gives a similar amount of information as 10 bit log. This is why I assume people aren't seeing a difference when shooting linear 12 bit over the internal 10 bit on the S1H. Bitrate could still be an issue as 150-200mbps these H265/H264 codecs are doing isn't a lot of data to work with. The Fuji XH2s does 14 bit ADC when shooting 4k up to 30fps. I am not quite sure on Blackmagic cameras. The URSA 4.6K had a similar dual gain sensor as the Alexa but I don't know if the color depth was the same. Atomos claims this about their recorders with the A7S3/FX3 "The Ninja V captures tremendous detail with 12-bit log files with over 68 billion color graduations! This is converted from the camera’s 16-bit linear RAW output. This process has the advantage of being visually indistinguishable from 16-bit Linear recording, while still having practical data rates." Obviously the good old 5D MK3 does 14 bit with magic lantern, if that counts. ARRI does this with their cameras, they package 14 bit into a 12 bit log as there is really no benefit to 14 bit linear over 12 bit log, at least according to them.