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After digesting my trip to China, I'm now planning the next trip to Japan, where we're mostly in a remote location but we have a few days in Tokyo in the middle so I'll try and spend as much time shooting there as I can (which really means leisurely meandering around shooting and having breaks with delicious food / drinks etc). My equipment lessons from the China trip included: The GH7 is a workhorse and I don't think about using it at all, just on what I'm shooting The 14-140mm is a great all-round day lens for home video stuff The Takumar 50mm F1.4 on speed booster is good, but a little soft on the sides of the frame and the rectangular insert is probably a bit much I also learned a bunch of stuff about how to shoot in crowded situations without drawing too much attention to myself. I suspect that this is an infinitely-deep rabbit-hole that the best shooters probably do unconsciously, but like all things practice makes improvement. One thing I did that I think also worked well was to just shoot as fast and as much as possible. Not only did it lead to more shots and variety for the edit, but I think it also potentially helped me be less in my head and shoot more instinctually, which I suspect will yield more creative and expressive results. I've been thinking a lot (and talking to friends) about what I'm learning and what equipment is appropriate: The 70mm FOV seems potentially universal because in crowded situations you want to focus in on something so the frame isn't just full of chaos (photography is the art of subtraction), but in situations where there are less people you get spotted at a much greater distance and so having the longer lens means you can still get closer shots of people without actually getting close to them If my goal is to make edits that feel more immersive, then it makes sense to shoot with a lens that's roughly "normal" so it has a perspective similar to the human eye, which is about 50mm on FF. Having 70mm is a bit longer and would introduce a slight element of distance between myself and the subject, which is emotionally appropriate as I am an outsider in the places / cultures I visit, so this is coherent and adds to all the other decisions I'll make in what I shoot / how I shoot / how I edit / etc. I mentioned wanting a lens that was a bit sharper on the sides of the frame to someone and they countered by saying that having such a limitation will make my work more consistent (not only from the images themselves but also because it means I tend to compose with the subject nearer the centre of the frame) so this is a reasonable counter-point Despite all this, I suspect that I'll want a wider lens for when I get into the emptier narrow streets where it's more about the location rather than the people in it, and I suspect this is closer to 35mm or so As such, I'm mostly settled on the following lens contingent: 9mm F1.7 - for getting that wide-angle distortion that makes buildings etc really pop 14-140mm F3.5-5.6 - for day-time home video shooting 50mm F1.4 with SB - for that 70mm "night cinema" goodness 12-35mm F2.8 - for the wider "night cinema" duties, and being a zoom it means that I can use whatever focal length works for this task (35mm equivalent is just a guess) but also combined with the AF I can shoot a variety of angles / compositions really quickly I'm also likely taking the following, partly as just-in-case and partly to experiment with: TTartisans 17mm F1.4 - if I find that the 35mm FOV is desirable then this is a fast prime I can swap to TTartisans 50mm F1.2 - obviously I'm a fan of the 70mm FOV and I wonder if this 100mm FOV would be useful / workable, especially as it's super fast with shallow DOF Risespray 35mm F1.6 c-mount - this is about a stop slower than the Takumar+SB combo but seems cleaner wide-open so is a way to challenge my assumption about needing the speed of the Tak I'm also contemplating shooting 24p rather than 23.976p, and also 1080p instead of C4K. Both decisions have pros and cons to them though.

Yes, lots of things to trade-off against each other. Thus the arguments about what is best when people impose their own values and priorities onto other people then judge them for doing it "wrong" lol. The more I refine my setup the more that other peoples approaches sound so alien to me. I realised just recently when thinking about my UK/Europe trip that safety isn't something I think about that much when shooting as I tend to go to places that are relatively safe, mostly big cities across Asia. I do find it ironic that shooting in London (the centre of the "civilised" world - right?) is the first time this issue has really made me question how I would address it.

The zebras work in 8bit on the display, any value above a certain brightness i.e. 250-255 get the zebra treatment. When the picture profile is changed to Z-LOG for the wider dynamic range, and the values aren't clipping, the highlights won't get zebras. Without hacking Nikon's firmware, it's not possible to add them for Z-LOG.

https://petapixel.com/2025/12/30/china-now-owns-the-action-cam-market-the-us-once-dominated/

Hi all, Have just purchased Z-LOG to use on my D810 but have discovered it doesn't show highlight display (zebras). Is there a workaround for this without using more conventional 'flat' profiles? Cheers

Nice images for sure. Still i'm not preordering, more cherry picked stuff with little in the way of information to back it up. I have convinced myself i don't need another camera just yet, and i just have to stay with the programming... till theres some reviews and more info out there and even then i'll be a little skeptical. If its like mercer said and has a face plate or similar that would definitely increase my interest, but i'm gonna wait and see how its achieved first.

A steam train visited Sydney for Easter so it was fun to capture some video of it.The day was overcast so didn't use any ND filters.The lens is an clunky old AF-S 24-85 non VR that needs persuasion to get past a notch at 50mm

Happy easter everyone, good spring weather to get the camera bag out

As an American I'd like to quote the immortal words, the best words, the POTUS has shared on this holiest of days, "Praise be to Allah" Seriously though, it would be wonderful if there were more folks truly (not just pretending) trying to live by the actual authentic philosophies of the New Testament. If only we could be so lucky. Happy Easter.

Yes. Which is why the debate might best be framed on a personal level and a philosophical one. Therein lies a certain simplicity, sure; a simplicity that can be fair, or not, to an individual. With all this capability the genie bottle has been opened and that bottle has been chucked far away into an open ocean. Hang out with the genie or go float with the bottle is how I look at it.

To those like me, this is the most important day of the year, so my best wishes to everyone!

(Cross-posted from reddit) I've been working on and off for a while now on a Leica M mount for the Ursa Cine 12K LF. I was having problems with minor flexing in the plastic - and the random Micro 4/3 to M mount adapter that I used as a donor turned out to be a bad choice for a few reasons. In the meantime, I found some ways to mitigate the plastic flexing and I disassembled a Fotodiox L mount to M mount adapter and found it a lot more suitable, plus with a larger diameter which also seems to help with stability. Because of shape of mount cavity on the camera, the lens also needs to be mounted upside-down with my mount. Unfortunately, there is some play in the adapter so any lens will need support if racking focus. This latest prototype still focuses just a little too much past infinity with the f/1 Noctilux so I have one or two more prototypes to dial it in just a little closer - and then I'll switch from the cheapest PLA in my house to PCCF and print what I hope will be the adapter that I actually use. Limitations? Every modern Leica M lens that I own (21, 24, 35mm) that is 35mm or wider cannot be used. They stick out past the rear of the mount and would impact the glass in front of the ND filters. Similarly, with my Simera-C set, However, my incredibly old 35mm/3.5 Elmar does not protrude and, as can be seen in the couple of snapshots I took from the last round of testing, works great (and is beautiful, as it is on any camera). That's the widest L mount lens that I own that can fit. HOWEVER While using my M mount glass is part of my goal in building this, the bigger bonus is that having a Leica M mount lets me adapt a bunch of other vintage SLR glass that is not otherwise usable (without mount conversion) on the UC12K LF. And since those lenses were designed for SLR's, the wide angles don't protrude. This will address one of the few things that I've found to be a bummer - I really love my FD mount and Minolta SR mount glass! With an FD to M mount adapter, they will all be 100% usable now. In this round of testing, I checked the 50/1 Noctilux and the 35/3.5 screw mount Elmar - both are gorgeous lenses on any camera that I've put them on and this is no exception. Did some 3:2 frame grabs from Resolve with no grading done beyond slapping on a BMD film to rec.709 lut. I also seem to have done the math wrong for a 3:2 ratio in Resolve, but I'm also not going to bother going back to fix the slight letterboxing.

I don’t advocate the use of technology — whether AI or anything else — without human intervention, obviously. The same here. It’s useless to debate this on its own, I guess : ) No doubts. Man, I am the guy who hates those bloody camera menus, let's not forget it! LOL Moreover, this oversimplifies the whole story. Not fair to anyone, AI included : D

I've been using it extensively with my Canon R6! Really cool device. Definitely one of the best gyro loggers I have used. It substantially reduces the inconvenience of using an external gyro logger; on supported cameras it will read lens info and focal length from the metadata, eliminating the need for you to make custom lens profiles or be at super specific focal lengths. You create two sync files, then you let the Niyien A1 record continuously. You then can just record as normal on your camera. The Niyien tool will auto sync everything! I ran into a few issues at first, but they were eliminated by making sure I was using a fast enough micro SD card and adding a 1.0 sec sync offset to the gyro data in Niyien tool; seems without that the gyro data will slowly drift. I think it's just a timing thing with the R6. But yeah, it works great. I personally have a very solid heel-toe walk and handheld technique, so for me with careful walking I can use the Niyien A1 and reduce the sensitivity down to 2-4%. This has two advantages; #1, I can drop my shutter speed as low as 1/60. This looks very close to 1/50 or 1/48 for 24p footage, effectively giving me natural motion blur in camera. With careful movements and low sensitivity, there is not too much motion blur artifacts, so it lets me have a near 180 degree shutter! 1/125 shutter for 4k60 stuff works great. Again, I have a very very solid handheld walk so this works for me. #2, when keeping the smoothness at around 2-4%, the crop is very minimal, around 1.2-1.3x. That's not bad at all. Almost all of the video below was filmed on my Canon R6 using the Niyien A1. The final sequence was actually all 24p footage with a 1/60 shutter!

There is also Chinese camera manufacturers like DJI,Insta360 and Z-cam capturing specialised market share

They could learn with Blackmagic. They could learn with Red.

Same. As for the machines, an AI generating things just won't ever be legitimate craft to me, regardless of perceived value by those that end up engaging with it. This doesn't mean it can't be employed to make art. There's a ton of nuance and philosophy as to why there's a line here, at least in my mind. That is my hill to die on. I fully expect I will be in a shrinking minority in this regard. As for "A Gift For All Ages," here's a relevant anecdote: I thought about replacing the puppet with an AI generated cartoon. It's something like 6 shots. Pretty easy. To a layperson this would certainly elevate the perceived craft of the final film. They'd be, like, "A composite cartoon is in this goofy movie!?? Neat!" AI generated, or not, wouldn't enter into their consideration as long as it looked good. Doing AI for this wouldn't sit right with me, however, as it wouldn't be a human creating the images. Now, this cartoon idea absolutely would be derivative -- as it would be an homage to the classic MGM stuff Hanna Barbara did in "Anchors Away." So, a wholly unoriginal concept. But, for me, the respect I have for that craft just won't let me take the easy AI route. If I ever do replace the puppet with a cartoon it will be me learning how to mimic the look using Blender or hiring a true 2D animator to do it. That's a philosophical choice. Because ain't no one, really, outside of me, that would ultimately care. Or, hell, would probably even see the film, if I'm being honest. But I just can't do it. Can't use AI. Humans are inherently attracted to quality. And that quality needs to be a human creation to matter to me.

I wish they could fix their Japanese design menus. The same for the other companies BTW. Not proper for cinema acquisition. Period. They could learn with Blackmagic.

LOL You're right, Matt : ) But his art goes beyond that anyway, as much as AI can. Without mentioning that cinema is also a written form, since writing is art too. (People of the image have always made the terrible mistake of minimizing it... BTW I’m here 'cause of Andrew’s writing style as well JFYI) With this technology, you can transform your pictures/shooting. So, craft stands. [No less for creation] Of course, with its pros and cons. A bit like 'A Gift for All Ages' film. Without all the earlier art made by Capra, for instance, it would have been something else, or perhaps it would not even have existed. :- )

The 0.71 speedbooster to Mamiya 645 is around Aus $700 so not on the XMas list.I am quite happy with my present rig

sorry about the confusion the adaptor and cross section with dimensions posted on Thursday is for a camera with a PL mount and the adaptor will therefore take the older standard lenses.Adapting the other way is more difficult

I've been using Kdenlive for years: