2016: Camera and Lenses in Review

[Andrew Reid]

Emailed Richard Butler at DPReview.

But since he's on so many sites, it would really help to somehow get a wider audience to know what he did.

REVENGE!!

[Mackeral_Fillet]

As a previous owner of the GH4 I purchased the G80 as a stop gap until the GH5 is released, intending to sell it once the GH5 is released. 

The G80 is everything I need in a camera right now and unless there is a really compelling reason to get the GH5 I think I will stick to the G80. The only I think that I'd really use is the 4k 60 for slowdown. Will wait and see if the GH5 is ~£1k 'better' than the G80. 

[Cinegain]

It's like a tablet VS laptop. You just get more stuff done in a productive way with a laptop that has the proper interface and tools built into it. So I bet it's going to be pretty sick (not just 4K60p, but that 10-bit, jacked up bitrates, 1080p slowmo, V-LOG X, maybe choice between H.264 and H.265, anamorphic mode with de-squeeze monitoring, timecode, headphone jack, hotshoe audio interface, fullsize HDMI, RAW out, maybe it's as fast with read-out/processing as the E-M1 Mark II and has negligible rolling shutter effect etc). Means we're also going to keep seeing 'Lumix'-logos pop up as we watch shows like The Grand Tour.

[Geoff CB]

5 hours ago, Vesku said:

It is strange that DXOmark gives GH4 clearly better sensor score and iso score than G85.

I think GH4 has more dynamic range. It is more important in low iso = normal use.

Keep in mind that those are photo assessments only, has nothing to do with the video quality. A7r2 is better in photo mode than A7s2 because of downsampling, but A7s2 is incredible for low light video.

[mat33]

The best camera for 2016 for me was the camera you bought that was released in 2014/2015.  Sure there were a few glimmers of something new, but really only small improvements and then usually pretty piecemeal -slightly better IQ but still crappy battery life or ergonomics or build quality or something. Its been a slow year if you like  buying cameras,comparing tech specs and shooting test after test, but quite refreshing to escape the endless quest for better IQ and to focus on film-making. 

[Cary Knoop]

20 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

Best lens of the year, hmm... so many to choose from. It would have to go to the Sigma 50-100mm F1.8 but it's just so damned big and breathes a LOT.

Very true, I have it mounted on the GX85 with a Speedbooster and I feel sorry for the flimsy body

Low light performance at f/1.3 is great though:

 

[Kurtisso]

21 hours ago, Ed_David said:

What was everyone's favorite new camera or lenses or lighting?

Mine is the ice light - cool little light.  don't know if it came out this year.

thread of the year is Ebhrahim's Epic Rangefinder journey.

Sorry, had to get that in there.

That was about 30 hours of my life.

 

[dantheman]

3 minutes ago, Cary Knoop said:

Very true, I have it mounted on the GX85 with a Speedbooster and I feel sorry for the flimsy body

That looks great, can I ask what type of speedbooster you use in combination with this lens and the gx85? Is your Sigma Nikon or Canon mount?

[Cary Knoop]

Just now, dantheman said:

That looks great, can I ask what type of speedbooster you use in combination with this lens and the gx85? Is your Sigma Nikon or Canon mount?

It's the Metabones Speedbooster Ultra for Canon mount.

 

[Davey]

20 hours ago, Geoff CB said:

I'm going to second this, rented it for 3 shoots this year, 2 videos and one Wedding photo shoot. It's performance is incredible.

Would love that lens some day. 

[Oliver Daniel]

On 18/12/2016 at 1:08 AM, Andrew Reid said:

The white balance seems better.

The sensor is much cleaner in the shadows.

Much less noise at ISO 800 and above, better colour saturation too.

I think Ed's mention of the tube lighting is intriguing, it's something I've wanted for ages, much better form factor and softer spread of light than traditional rectangular LED panels, also the colour accuracy is meant to be superb on the Ice Light 2.

Super portable as well.

Just wish the pricing was a bit less hot! Ouch!

The amount of money you spend on cameras is peanuts to what you could be spending on super-portable lighting. For your main readers, the "enthusiast", the majority seem to leave lighting as an afterthought, the complain the colour/noise/rendition/clarity in this and that camera isn't good enough (in clips where the shooter really needed to use some lighting). 

There's the Icelight 2 - very soft and lovely.

There's the Scorpion Light Kit. (I have this and it's absolutely fantastic. Clip a light anywhere on small Sony batteries!). 

Aputure - all their products, like the LS1-C, are marvellous, portable and affordable. 

Lume Cube - smartphone controlled tiny lights. 

 

On 18/12/2016 at 3:15 AM, Geoff CB said:

I'm going to second this, rented it for 3 shoots this year, 2 videos and one Wedding photo shoot. It's performance is incredible.

I've decided to say "fuck it" and go native Sony so I can get the best performance from a single system instead of all this chopping, changing, adapting - and focus on creating 100%. 

I'll be getting this lens for my FS5 and whatever Sony stills cam I might have anytime soon. 

That reminds me - the FS5 deserves a mention. After a wobbly start in 2015, this camera has matured into a real workhorse beast this year. Such a versatile camera! 

Shame the TERRA 5k hasn't made it out yet. Looks brilliant as a concept so far!

[Ed_David]

I don't know if I'm still up to the job.  I've put on a few pounds.

[Raafi Rivero]

On 12/19/2016 at 5:44 AM, Oliver Daniel said:

Shame the TERRA 5k hasn't made it out yet. Looks brilliant as a concept so far!

The Terra 6k has shipped to a few users. There's a very active Facebook group where I go to get my daily Kinefinity talk fix. Here's one of the first clips:

I took the plunge and ordered the 5k version which won't ship for a few months. 

 

Wish i I had known Panasonic was planning to release the G85 - bought a GX85 early in the fall. It performed admirably until it took a ding and that was that. The G85's superior build quality is definitely worth the bump up in price. 

Technically it came out in 2015, but I'm really loving the Westcott Flex light: lightweight, portable, good output, dimmable. I got the daylight-balanced one during a flash sale at B&H. 

[wolf33d]

On 12/18/2016 at 6:50 AM, Andrew Reid said:

Emailed Richard Butler at DPReview.

But since he's on so many sites, it would really help to somehow get a wider audience to know what he did.

REVENGE!!

Has the guy who has been ripped off here refunded since then? I followed the whole story but then no news. 

Since the beginning of my time on EOSHD I have hated this guy, looked from the beginning that he was the guy spending his life behind the PC testing and commenting on things he did not even use. Yet people here were drinking his speeches... 

[Davey]

On 19/12/2016 at 10:44 AM, Oliver Daniel said:

The amount of money you spend on cameras is peanuts to what you could be spending on super-portable lighting. For your main readers, the "enthusiast", the majority seem to leave lighting as an afterthought, the complain the colour/noise/rendition/clarity in this and that camera isn't good enough (in clips where the shooter really needed to use some lighting). 

There's the Icelight 2 - very soft and lovely.

There's the Scorpion Light Kit. (I have this and it's absolutely fantastic. Clip a light anywhere on small Sony batteries!). 

Aputure - all their products, like the LS1-C, are marvellous, portable and affordable. 

Lume Cube - smartphone controlled tiny lights. 

 

I've decided to say "fuck it" and go native Sony so I can get the best performance from a single system instead of all this chopping, changing, adapting - and focus on creating 100%. 

I'll be getting this lens for my FS5 and whatever Sony stills cam I might have anytime soon. 

That reminds me - the FS5 deserves a mention. After a wobbly start in 2015, this camera has matured into a real workhorse beast this year. Such a versatile camera! 

Shame the TERRA 5k hasn't made it out yet. Looks brilliant as a concept so far!

That's me alright. Lighting is something that I see in the natural but don't understand how to recreate unnaturally. Stills photograhers know FAR more about light than people like me who just jumped straight into video. I really do want to make an effort with light this coming year.