Camera owning plans 2021

[EphraimP]

I was gung ho to buy the C70 when it first came out, but had to wait until the end of the year for the financial side to work. By then, I'd heard the rumors about a C200 Mark II coming in April, and was much more interested in. Thought about the FX6, but I'm not up for changing out my lens collection right now, plus there are a few things about the camera I'm not sure about.

Now, as I've been shooting more with my X-T4 with a side handle/monitor set up, I'm not sure if a wide-grip, elbows locked to body setup isn't more stable for hand held than a traditional cine-style rig, at least for me. I think the T4's IBIS is helping a lot here, but it isn't perfect and sometime adds unwanted motion or warping to a shot.

And then, of course, there is a new rumor of a X-H2 coming next year with a big new feature. It's probably a new BSI sensor, or so the rumor mill would have it, but would it be too much to ask for it to include e-nd like the FX-6? That would be a dream feature, even over XLR inputs. No reason the H2 couldn't have both (mini-XLR?). But that's just pipe dreaming, I'm sure.

So I'm personally kind of in a holding pattern. Maybe I'll just keep pilling up the cash for a new camera in the bank and see what comes next. While my current setups annoy me when it comes to having to use V-ND filters and separate audio recording for one-man-band work, it's not like my clients need anything better from me in terms of IQ or output.

It's a matter of what will make shooting less of a hassle and more enjoyable. And, let's be honest, it's always a cool feeling to rock a shiny new piece of kit, especially a camera. 

[TomTheDP]

48 minutes ago, EphraimP said:

 

It's a matter of what will make shooting less of a hassle and more enjoyable. And, let's be honest, it's always a cool feeling to rock a shiny new piece of kit, especially a camera. 

Definitely true. I am really enjoying my XLR device for my Panasonic. Really just want to use it for everything lol. The FX3/A7S3 has that available now too but the Panasonic image seems better than those cameras. The S1 has just been ideal for run and gun even though I prefer a raw image to work with. I am really curious what the Prores RAW from the atomos is like. 

[IronFilm]

15 hours ago, TomTheDP said:

Kind of an impulse decision. It was an even trade for my Zcam S6 rig, which I had for sale.

I do think the RED image is really nice. Small things like the focus peaking and monitor latency are also top notch on the RED. 

Interesting trade! 

Would love it if you one day wrote up a details pros/cons of the modern (but "budget") Z Cam S6 vs the old vintage (but "pro") RED Scarlet MX!

[SR]

On 3/12/2021 at 4:29 PM, MrSMW said:

Oh yes, it's rubbish for that!

But how high res do you need to go for that kind of thing?

Maybe higher than 24mp for your needs, I don't know but you can print a billboard poster with a 12mp camera.

Yea, I think for billboards you can go half of that, too. My 28mp NX1 is my main workhorse for commercial work (still does the trick, even for big prints). But for my personal work, I'm looking to 80 to 100mp as my sweet spot, something that almost rivals (if only) large format cameras when it comes to details.

[Jimmy G]

I'm currently investigating bird movements within local environments and feel the need for a 360° camera for my bird-logging efforts and to help educate myself on how better to understand species motivations and choices as they move through the local landscape, I can't tell you how many times I wish I had eyes behind my head while out in the field! So, I'll likely start with the GoPro Max as it seems to offer the best combo of IQ and audio quality (AQ?) in the market at this moment.

Beyond that, I'm eagerly awaiting the impending S1 v.2 Firmware, and I've been debating with myself (for way-too-long) on the choice between a BP4029 M/S mic (I love M/S recording!) or the more-sensitive BP4025 X/Y mic.

[MrSMW]

3 hours ago, SR said:

Yea, I think for billboards you can go half of that, too. My 28mp NX1 is my main workhorse for commercial work (still does the trick, even for big prints). But for my personal work, I'm looking to 80 to 100mp as my sweet spot, something that almost rivals (if only) large format cameras when it comes to details.

Then Fuji GFX100S would be my pick without question.

[jgharding]

I got an S1H before lockdown, it's not been used a lot but will pay for itself in some time.

I've been on the Red Komodo pre-order list for 4 months or so with no word. TBH I may cancel it as work is light. I'll see how I feel when i finally get the "do you want to complete your order sir?" call...

The S1H for me is like a baby Alexa, such a good image. But I prefer Komodo post pipeline due to the raw codec. That's it though, TBH the S1H is better for everything else. Maybe I will cancel it TBH, seems like there's little benefit at the moment.

[jgharding]

I got an S1H before lockdown, it's not been used a lot but will pay for itself in some time.

I've been on the Red Komodo pre-order list for 4 months or so with no word. TBH I may cancel it as work is light. I'll see how I feel when i finally get the "do you want to complete your order sir?" call...

The S1H for me is like a baby Alexa, such a good image. But I prefer Komodo post pipeline due to the raw codec and global shutter. That's it though, TBH the S1H is better for everything else. Maybe I will cancel it TBH, seems like there's little benefit at the moment.

[TomTheDP]

13 hours ago, jgharding said:

I got an S1H before lockdown, it's not been used a lot but will pay for itself in some time.

I've been on the Red Komodo pre-order list for 4 months or so with no word. TBH I may cancel it as work is light. I'll see how I feel when i finally get the "do you want to complete your order sir?" call...

The S1H for me is like a baby Alexa, such a good image. But I prefer Komodo post pipeline due to the raw codec. That's it though, TBH the S1H is better for everything else. Maybe I will cancel it TBH, seems like there's little benefit at the moment.

The S1H is quite fantastic. The only need it doesn't fill for me is VFR. Once Panasonic puts something out with a good 120p I'll be set. 

[Stab]

I don't think I'll need another camera for the next couple of years.

I own 2x S1 and 1x S5 at the moment, and they are exactly what I  need at the moment.

The only 'downside' is that the camera's can't record 4:2:2 10-bit and full frame at 50 fps. But, I have now invested in anamorphic lenses and these camera's offer great anamorphic support. In camera desqueeze and even the IBIS takes the squeeze factor into account. Also nice is that the 4:3 crop of the sensor is a bit higher than the normal S35 / APS-C crop (and slightly narrower) and that means that the crop factor when shooting a 1.33x anamorphic lens is reduced with about 20% as opposed to shooting in s35 mode. That's close to APS-H territory which is IMO, all you need for video.

Add to that the great photo quality and decent AF (for photography), the relatively small filesizes, the great DR when shooting in V-LOG 10-bit and the price... I really can't complain.

Well if I have to complain, it's the lack of an OLPF. 

[jgharding]

8 hours ago, TomTheDP said:

The S1H is quite fantastic. The only need it doesn't fill for me is VFR. Once Panasonic puts something out with a good 120p I'll be set. 

Good point, it is limited in high speed, 50 and 60p are APSC crop and 120 is 1080p. The crop I'm used to from a previous Red, so i keep wider options around, but yeah it'd be great if they can give use everything obviously, like full-frame 120p and functional video AF....

 

[jgharding]

27 minutes ago, Stab said:

I don't think I'll need another camera for the next couple of years.

I own 2x S1 and 1x S5 at the moment, and they are exactly what I  need at the moment.

The only 'downside' is that the camera's can't record 4:2:2 10-bit and full frame at 50 fps. But, I have now invested in anamorphic lenses and these camera's offer great anamorphic support. In camera desqueeze and even the IBIS takes the squeeze factor into account. Also nice is that the 4:3 crop of the sensor is a bit higher than the normal S35 / APS-C crop (and slightly narrower) and that means that the crop factor when shooting a 1.33x anamorphic lens is reduced with about 20% as opposed to shooting in s35 mode. That's close to APS-H territory which is IMO, all you need for video.

Add to that the great photo quality and decent AF (for photography), the relatively small filesizes, the great DR when shooting in V-LOG 10-bit and the price... I really can't complain.

Well if I have to complain, it's the lack of an OLPF. 

Anamorphic support is downright amazing on the S series, i don't think there's much more you could ask for, it really is the best!

Yes the lack of OLPF actually made me send the S1 back and get the S1H, it drives me mad, i despise moire and somehow interview subjects always pick the worst clothes. I was able to refund the S1 and get a second hand S1H for not too much more. S1H also fits the Tilta cage way better.

Do keep an eye on second hand S1H prices, 2500£ or so isn't uncommon now for the body in great shape

[Stab]

Just now, jgharding said:

Anamorphic support is downright amazing on the S series, i don't think there's much more you could ask for, it really is the best!

Yes the lack of OLPF actually made me send the S1 back and get the S1H, it drives me mad, i despise moire and somehow interview subjects always pick the worst clothes. I was able to refund the S1 and get a second hand S1H for not too much more. S1H also fits the Tilta cage way better.

Do keep an eye on second hand S1H prices, 2500£ or so isn't uncommon now for the body in great shape

Yea, I would buy an S1H if it wasn't for all the people complaining about corrupt .mtd files, camera freezes, etc. I also had those with my 3 S1 bodies. Many times and I was furious when it happened during weddings. But since I changed to CFexpress recording, I have no more problems. The S1H does not have that option, only SD-card recording. Which frankly, I don't dare to use anymore on paid gigs. Especially weddings...

Now there are many people without problems, but some never had problems and then all of a sudden, boom, a corrupt file. Did you ever have anything happen?

The Facebook groups of 'S1 and S1 users' are full of those posts.

[jgharding]

5 minutes ago, Stab said:

Yea, I would buy an S1H if it wasn't for all the people complaining about corrupt .mtd files, camera freezes, etc. I also had those with my 3 S1 bodies. Many times and I was furious when it happened during weddings. But since I changed to CFexpress recording, I have no more problems. The S1H does not have that option, only SD-card recording. Which frankly, I don't dare to use anymore on paid gigs. Especially weddings...

Now there are many people without problems, but some never had problems and then all of a sudden, boom, a corrupt file. Did you ever have anything happen?

The Facebook groups of 'S1 and S1 users' are full of those posts.

Again, a great point I forgot about. I did have two of these, and now I record on Ninja V exclusively, so had forgotten, but yes it's a travesty. To allow this in their top DSLM body and just not address it other than tell people to buy new cards, then start blaming card manufacturers etc... it was all terrible.

I just switched to Ninja and carried on. There's no visual gain from ProRes at all, even if you push the footage into a pixelly mess of colour it's the same, you just have bigger files and slightly easier compatibility.

I'd prefer to use internal but I don't trust it, so yeah I see what you're saying.

The Ninja is a good tool regardless, but I wouldn't want to carry it around for a wedding, you'll wanna stay light I guess? I've never shot a wedding.

[Stab]

1 hour ago, jgharding said:

Again, a great point I forgot about. I did have two of these, and now I record on Ninja V exclusively, so had forgotten, but yes it's a travesty. To allow this in their top DSLM body and just not address it other than tell people to buy new cards, then start blaming card manufacturers etc... it was all terrible.

I just switched to Ninja and carried on. There's no visual gain from ProRes at all, even if you push the footage into a pixelly mess of colour it's the same, you just have bigger files and slightly easier compatibility.

I'd prefer to use internal but I don't trust it, so yeah I see what you're saying.

The Ninja is a good tool regardless, but I wouldn't want to carry it around for a wedding, you'll wanna stay light I guess? I've never shot a wedding.

Damn, bad to hear that.

Yea it's absolutely a travesty. I have been in contact with various people from Panasonic before but there are no solutions, simply because they don't  know (or at least that's what they say) the cause. They can't 'reproduce the issue'. 

My anger has subsided over the years because I started to use CFexpress and that has been great, but I would love to buy an S1H if I knew it was free of problems. But I just can't know. 

I use a 'dual-body' setup now during weddings so an external monitor / external recording all day is a no-go for me. Also, the filesizes. I shoot about 25-30 weddings in  (normal) year and they are about 500-600 GB each. Backed up two drives makes for 1.2 TB per wedding. I keep the footage for a year. It adds up quickly.

Can't imagine shooting Prores or anything similar for weddings with volumes like that.

[TomTheDP]

7 hours ago, jgharding said:

Good point, it is limited in high speed, 50 and 60p are APSC crop and 120 is 1080p. The crop I'm used to from a previous Red, so i keep wider options around, but yeah it'd be great if they can give use everything obviously, like full-frame 120p and functional video AF....

 

I am not even mad about the crop its just that the 120p 1080 is pretty poor quality. Would like to see a nice 2.5k 120p that is fairly comparable to 24p in quality. APSC crop is fine for me. 

 

7 hours ago, Stab said:

Yea, I would buy an S1H if it wasn't for all the people complaining about corrupt .mtd files, camera freezes, etc. I also had those with my 3 S1 bodies. Many times and I was furious when it happened during weddings. But since I changed to CFexpress recording, I have no more problems. The S1H does not have that option, only SD-card recording. Which frankly, I don't dare to use anymore on paid gigs. Especially weddings...

Now there are many people without problems, but some never had problems and then all of a sudden, boom, a corrupt file. Did you ever have anything happen?

The Facebook groups of 'S1 and S1 users' are full of those posts.

What type of cards do you use? I've never had an issue with my sand disk extreme pros. 

[Stab]

4 hours ago, TomTheDP said:

I am not even mad about the crop its just that the 120p 1080 is pretty poor quality. Would like to see a nice 2.5k 120p that is fairly comparable to 24p in quality. APSC crop is fine for me. 

 

What type of cards do you use? I've never had an issue with my sand disk extreme pros. 

 

I had 3 different S1 bodies (now 2) and used 5 different cards. 3 of them were Sandisk Extreme Pro v30 cards of various sizes, and 2 were brand new v90 cards. One Adata v90. And one ProGrade v90. The latter was suggested and is an official 'supported' card by Panasonic themselves. I had camera freezes and corrupt files on the first shoot with both the v90 cards.

All combinations of cards and and the 3 camera's have given me problems. So yea, basically proved it is not about the cards but the camera. Oh and those Sandisk cards were used in 3 different GH5's and a GH5-s for 2-3 years without any problem.

People keep pointing to the cards, but it is the camera. And specifically, how it offloads the buffer to the SD-card module. That's all I know. 

Since I changed to the other slot, I have used both XQD and CFexpress without a single problem or corrupt file ever since.

[TomTheDP]

16 hours ago, Stab said:

 

I had 3 different S1 bodies (now 2) and used 5 different cards. 3 of them were Sandisk Extreme Pro v30 cards of various sizes, and 2 were brand new v90 cards. One Adata v90. And one ProGrade v90. The latter was suggested and is an official 'supported' card by Panasonic themselves. I had camera freezes and corrupt files on the first shoot with both the v90 cards.

All combinations of cards and and the 3 camera's have given me problems. So yea, basically proved it is not about the cards but the camera. Oh and those Sandisk cards were used in 3 different GH5's and a GH5-s for 2-3 years without any problem.

People keep pointing to the cards, but it is the camera. And specifically, how it offloads the buffer to the SD-card module. That's all I know. 

Since I changed to the other slot, I have used both XQD and CFexpress without a single problem or corrupt file ever since.

Interesting, weird how some cameras dont seem to have the issue. Very problematic though. 

[Avenger 2.0]

Just bought an original BMCC 2.5k EF for €200 😍 Just couldn't pass that up 😋

[IronFilm]

Damn, people are almost giving away the OG BMCC!