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By the way, I happen to think that woke left needs to get a grip and stop being pathetic, have some backbone. All these tech leaders and CEOs coming out suddenly in favour of Trump and all handshakes and congratulations- it's pathetically two faced isn't it?

On the subject of Musk: I find it interesting as he has entered politics during a personal crisis... a midlife crisis... a divorce... and off the back of a lot of strange behaviour evident online, as well as drug taking. We should be concerned that someone who is mentally in a bad place suddenly has a way into government, in a big way. I think we also need to look at who is controlling the Trump narrative and who is spoon-feeding him lines. What he says may appear spontaneous on TV and X, but it's really just a load of whining and no solutions. What solutions he does suggest are simplistic and unworkable. Take his promise for example to deport 20 million people from the US. What would that do to the economy and inflation?

So the current situation is very similar in the UK. High prices at the checkout and pump, a sense that if you vote for any government left or right, you always end up with the same problems, and illegal immigration is too high. So let's examine the problems and see who is responsible... On inflation, Putin had a big role in that. Fuel prices skyrocketed due to his invasion of Ukraine. Electricity prices in the UK have gone nuts. Gas, petrol, etc. close to all time highs still now 2 years later. Russian gas supply to Europe is all but gone. No more cheap energy - so inflation, a big part of it is on him. Inflation was also pushed higher by the pandemic, and if we're to lay the blame of the pandemic at the door of an insecure science lab in Wuhan, I think that would be accurate. So it is interesting to find out how many Americans blame inflation on Biden, and not covid and war. In fact under Biden, inflation has come back down to target levels. For some reason Harris did not make a big play of this in the election. So the message didn't resonate. In terms of immigration, a certain amount of legal immigration is needed otherwise the economy of our Western countries would simply collapse. Since the UK's exit from the EU for example, illegal immigration has gone up but many of the Europeans working in our hospitals and hotels have left, which has caused a big decline in service quality and a staffing crisis. Now we can pin the blame for very high immigration on Biden or neo-liberal governments and corporate types...but it isn't that simple. For example under the right-wing Tory UK government uncontrolled immigration skyrocketed, because of war in places like Syria and very bad criminal gangs smuggling people into the country, and the fact illegal immigrants could pretty easily find work on the UK jobs market with no need for an ID card unlike in France. So if we're to blame inflation on war and pandemic, immigration on war and economics, those are the two biggest issues people blame Biden for yet he had nothing to do with it.

Surely they feel that way, because nobody can control Elon Musk (nor Trump). I could be wrong, but I have faith it will turn out ok (or at least better then the current situation). And for once things may actually change.

Hello, I'm still using this system and would like to buy a second unit. Unfortunately Jim Chang doesn't produce them any longer. Would anybody be willing to sell his used system? Thanks and best regards, Andreas Kielb www.scope4rental.com

Off the usual topic and don't want to get too political but I have to say I found this absolutely fascinating. Especially the part where he talks about the stash of top secret documents that Trump was found to be hoarding... And that nobody talks about his motive for it. For a President who had not shown any interest in reading all this high-level clearance stuff, why did he have so much at home and what did he intend to do with it? As for Musk, it is true that since his takeover of Twitter it has become the propaganda mouthpiece of choice for Russian server farms and their bots. That's reflected in the numbers and the content. So with Musk now having 'an in' on the US government, maybe even heading an official department, the CIA and Mi6 will have to very carefully scrutinise his personal ties with Russia and Russian money, and his personal motivations behind his position on Ukraine which is essentially to throw them under a bus for a deal with Putin. Having him on the call with Zelensky is the early sign that a surrender is on the cards, Trump had him on the call to say to Ukraine - look who's in charge now. It's Musk. Yeah, the guy who said you should surrender Crimea and make a deal with Russia. In terms of which way Americans voted in the election, I think many voters were understandably not thinking so much about the security implications of having a convicted felon and oligarchy in charge, more so they were worried about the cost of living, inflation, woke politics, the economy, immigration and law and order...In my humble view the democrats really messed things up, on numerous issues, they lost for valid reasons, and it isn't simply down to racism, sexism and the anti-woke brigade... the Biden administration was in power for 4 years and stood for very little... got very little done... You look at all the woke tech bosses like Tim Cook now lavishing praise on a convicted felon and you have to say that the left of America has very little backbone left... it's all about career progression and money for them. But yes, the world is in deep shit now.

So reading between the lines, YouTube/Google smashed Vimeo and the operators of YouTube/Google are the CIA who as everyone knows, are funded by aliens? If so, that's cleared that one up. What about TikTok? Who is responsible for that shite?

Yes and thank you for the article...👍 But between an inevitable drift of capitalism (which needs to be a little regulated, in particular against any monopoly like anti-trust law) and a stinking conspiratorial attitude affirming that it is the CIA, the aliens who would be behind all this ... "yes, yes it is well known" is a little pathetic. There are political influences everywhere, but it must be proven " It is the purpose of Google / the CIA to destroy human-community " 🤪 "Vimeo was a serious-threat to power because it offered an independent, community-run information stream. The Internet is a trash can to stir up shit ....so the less we do it on anything the more we are sure that it will go down to the bottom. Have a good day 😉

I will to some video test soon whenever I get some time off. Meanwhile you can have look at the tutorial. Having the the control of the lens in your hand and the character of a real lens is another game. I wish anyone would try the feeling. It's amazing, I am waiting for some more lenses with different focal length to arrive. I will also test what it's like with an anamorphic in the front. Motioncam pro with its raw video it's fantastic!

Looking great. Now some pictures in motion, please:) And a tutorial:) @Cosimo

FP with evf, swivel or tilt screen and mechanical shutter, 10bit h264 codecs from Panny, please. FF 4K60p for better marketing reasons too. Thank you:)

Panasonic, if they bring out a S9II with mechanical shutter, evf and hotshoe plus full hdmi for 1499, a GXX with a GH5II inside for 849, a S2H with FF 60p and internal ND for 2999, a GM6 with 10bit 150mbit 4k up to 30p and 100mbit HD up to 60p for 799. The latter would be a beautiful bonus, though a very beautiful one indeed.

The Topaz one should be worldwide like other software goodies and workshop offerings as well. Some Laowa treats would be sweet or some tasty smallrig deals. Keep em coming.:)

This thread is a good idea, but might be tricky since the handful of actually-active members on the forum are spread between England, a few EU countries, the US, and Australia. Most of the deals are fairly country/geo-specific.

If anyone spots a 50% off all things Hasselblad, shout in my direction. Thanks in advance.

Hi, Opening this topic so we can share black friday deals. Prolly looking out for a dji mini 4 pro deal, maybe also the sony zv-e1. But we can share everything. Cheers

Greetings Fellow Creatives, If you happen to be using my free music tracks in your projects, please don't forget about my Ogg music packs. These packs enable you to download all of my tracks at once from various genres. Here's a link: https://soundimage.org/ogg-music-packs-2/ That said, I've uploaded some cool new seamless abstract texture images...perfect for tiling. You'll find them here: https://soundimage.org/txr-abstract/ Have a good weekend and keep being creative! 🙂

Apparently at 4k30p you hit the 2h05m limit sooner than overheating warning, hence bigger body. Regarding lenses, they patented a compact 16-48 f/2.8 design few years ago, I don't know why they don't make it.

Just read carefully this article: https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/independent-ends.html

amazon prime streaming movie looks much better. not sure why. my guess is that the camera used for movie is much better than for news, and this carries on in the final product.

Yup. They were my favourite for primes, but I preferred various recent Tamron's for zoom stuff, notably my current trinity of 20-40, 28-75 and 70-180. But this year, Sigma moved the game on with their 28-45 f1.8 and 28-105 2.8 and all that's 'missing' for me with them right now is a longer sibling to that 28-45. I've said it before and will say it again, - if they make something like a 45-90 or 50-100, also f1.8 and internal zoom, I'm done! As it is, I'm getting the 28-45 and 28-105 for next season as they just make complete sense for my needs. Plus, yes, I also love their philosophy and family run nature.

DX Z-mount needs ASAP the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8. For primes, I guess that Viltrox will be one of the bigger sellers. About the Z50 II - solid camera for the price. But would be even beter with an IBIS for $100 more.

Honorable mention to DJI - because they are thinking kinda outside the box. And choose to grow in unexplored markets. They started with drones, and snowballed the market - except in some niche sectors, they crushed everyone else. Second marlet tried was cine, with the DJI Ronin 4D - which I think is the most innovative camera of the decade. A lot of completely new stuff there - the LIDAR Af with the depth map for manual focus, the wheel control, the 4 axis gimbal. Not so great in ergo, but was an amazing achievement. This path they not suceed, but was a ambitious 1st try. And the Osmo Pocket 3 - almost everyone that tries it falls in love (including me). Amazingly easy to operate (my wife is using it to make social media videos for her clients, she knows NOTHING about filming, and the videos come out very good), very good stabilization, and the image quality is like 80% of my X-S20. The only camera that I ever used in auto ISO - its metering is VERY good. And in a very unusual and compact form factor, a REAL pocket cam. There are rumors that they will enter the traditional camera market - I have my doubts, since all the markets already established that they entered they have no (the Ronin 4D) or ok success (action cams and gimbals). They rise on unexplored paths - and I guess that if they make a camera, would be breaking some molds. (albeit I suspect that the 1st breaking mold camera should be - or MUST be, to be a success - the 1 inch "half-frame" Fuji)

It's admirable how Yamaki-san looks after his factory, his employees. The temptation to hive off everything to China to please the shareholders isn't there in Sigma's case, which makes them unique in the industry.

Favourite COMPANY or favourite cameras? From a personal point of view favourite company is definitely Sigma... Family run, different, innovative, the best of all the companies at modern lenses, and best bang for buck too on those. The Fp-L may not be the best all-round mirrorless camera... this would be the Sony a1 or a Nikon Z8... But they're a proper thinking-man's camera company and embolic of what makes Japan so special when it comes to their family run companies. Sigma behaves the opposite of American anything-for-profit evil entities. Their APS-C primes are lovely on a Fuji body, and much better bang for buck than your Sony GM primes for example or Canon RF. In terms of favourite tools by one company overall - if I had to pick just one or two then these would be by Sony, the a7 IV bang for buck is very good, Sony a1 and a9 III are all-rounders with faultless capabilities in every area - there's very little you can't do armed with one of these Sony bodies... In fact ever since the a7r II and a7s II they have been on a very good incremental improvement path, starting with ergonomic improvements, then colour, but really in every single area of a camera spec they have not put many a foot wrong. Favourite company though? Not a chance. I don't agree with their hugely inflated prices on lenses and the higher-end bodies, I don't care for any of the top brands in terms of companies - not Sony, not Canon, they are a corporate shadow of their former selves in terms of philosophy and company culture. Fuji would be second to Sigma for me as a company - their strategy is unique and there's nothing better in medium format, APS-C or compact cameras than what they're providing in 2024... X100 VI, GFX 100 II, X-H2 - wow what a trio that is...in terms of the ULTIMATE power, feature-set and specs the GFX 100 II is better than anything, even Sony a1 II. Third favourite company would be Atomos... haha only kidding.