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Or maybe you will not 😂 I still stand by the ‘fact’ that it’s an excellent choice for my needs and the only alternative combo I would switch to right now at the end of 2025, would be Nikon Z8 + ZR + Z6iii (or perhaps 2x ZR’s) vs 2x S1Rii + S5ii and if a fairy waved her magic wand in my direction and said it could happen overnight with zero faff or cost, I’d accept her offer. But as fairies don’t exist, I’ll just have to stick with what I have!

Some test results... SlashCam have the S1R II 8K at 22ms, but I think open gate brings that closer to 30ms? Sony a1 is at 15ms for 8K, no crop. The 4K/120p is also much better / cleaner on the a1: S1R II https://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Test/Panasonic-LUMIX-S1R-II-Sensor-Bildqualitaet---Debayering--Rolling-Shutter-und-Dynamik--Rolling-Shutter---Panaso.html#RollingShutterPanason This is important because 4K/120p is usually what sets apart your £3k new camera from a £1k used S1H. Granted there's a few new features that have come through since. But if you don't need the speed, the a1, S1R II, Z8 and so on seem a bit pointless to me? There's so many cheaper options if 60p or even 30p is your only need. a7 IV, S1H, Fuji X-H2, and so on.

What follows is not my opinion. Just a bunch of facts. Sony a1 is £2800 used now. Let's suppose Sony a1 is same price at point of acquisition as a new S1R II - ok you may have to get a used Sony with a few marks and 10k shots on it, but such is the nature of the used market these days you'll easily find an offer with 1-2 year warranty like a new cam. For 8K it is 422 10bit 500Mbit H265. The equivalent to H.264 at 1000Mbit. 300Mbit is a bit low for 8K and the much slower sensor in the S1R II means rolling shutter is problematic in the 8K and open gate modes. But that's an ok trade-off if the price is lower. But it is £2999 at WEX. So for sure the a1 is a direct competitor. E-mount is more adaptable. I can even autofocus my manual focus lenses on it. There's fewer native lenses for L, and fewer adapters. E-mount is all-round superior because it's been around longer and has a larger installed user-base. I like L-mount, but it just doesn't give you as wide a choice in glass. And we must take into account the size, design and build quality of the body, where subjective opinion matters a lot - but there's no denying the S5 II body which houses the more powerful panasonic tech is a mid-range £1300 consumer-grade construction and feels like one, whereas the a1 is firmly in the professional bracket, along with the a9 series. And AF on the Sony still way ahead. Open gate is definitely a plus for the Panasonic. As people who own multiple cameras though, my choice would be to bring out the trusty S1H for a grand when open gate or anamorphic is needed. When it comes to other more common scenarios like autofocus shooting, higher frame rates, 4K/120p, low rolling shutter and a wider choice of lenses, most people would be served better by the a1 than the s1r II or s1H. The a7rv sensor is fantastic. Same sensor in the Sigma Fp-L... which is why I kept hold of it, despite it being an odd duck. I don't think I will 🙂 It's a great camera but just doesn't light my fire enough. The Sony a1 is nearly 5 years old and has a better spec, a better lens mount, is smaller and better built. The GFX 100 is king for manual focus vintage glass... the large sensor is just glorious, and the design - although it's a bit of a chonk - is just such a pleasure to work with. I'd rather have the Sony a1 and GFX 100 at the core of my camera world, and everything else I add to that is either a bargain or a niche use. For example I love my X-Pro3 for a small street photography camera, and the Ricoh GR OG. Definitely considering adding an S1H to the bag again though, as it's entered bargain territory and is one of the very few modern mirrorless cameras still to have that oh-so-rare AA filter. The S1H's image is better than the S5 II and the differences to the S1 II or S1R II are probably pretty tiny. 6K is enough for me. Z8 is the best spec on paper for the price in today's world. You mean in a worse body 😉

Maybe I misunderstand but the X-M5 has C, FS1, FS2 and FS3 settings on the Film Simulation Dial so you can set up multiple custom recipes. That said, I wish the dial was used for something useful affecting actual shooting, the Film Simulation Dial is unnecessary in my opinion because you can just use whatever you want when converting/editing your RAWs. That would have been good enough to go into the Q menu to change the setting. In general I feel like Fujifilm really oversaturate with the different models at this point with barely any difference. Do we really need X-M5, X-E5, X-Pro3, X-T30III, X-T50, X-T5, X-S20, X-H2, X-H2s? I currently have an X-H2s and an X-M5 but I'm completely ready to jump ship to whatever brand offers a small rangerfinder-shaped body with medium to high end specs. Going to wait and see in the next few years what Sony A7C III (hate the low-quality EVF and low-res screen) and Panasonic S9 II (has no EVF and no mechanical shutter) will bring. Biggest pro of Fujifilm bodies is that they all have a joystick for AF points.

Do you think the Kolari magnetic oplfs might push the S1ii into the S1h territory as far as look goes? (Added cost of course)

I certainly like the combination of vintage lenses with modern anamorphic adapters. In some ways the images might be similar to the modern lenses with vintage anamorphic adapters. It's certainly much more accessible.. Please do, and make sure to post it here so I'll find it - I get the sense that there might be a lot of tricks to get the most from it. I pulled up Buyee and a quick search for "50mm F1.8 m42" revealed quite a number of things: Lots and lots of lenses that are many hundreds of dollars It's got the search engine from Amazon, not the one from ebay... I would categorise its approach as a "vibe search".. like "that's a lens right? ok, sure.. here are a bunch of lenses - knock yourself out!" It ranked the Takumar 28mm F3.5 surprisingly high up in the list, considering that further down in the list were quite a lot of Takumar 55mm F1.8 m42 lenses (which match 2 of my search words instead of the 28/3.5 which matched ZERO of my keywords!). Damn Takumar made a lot of 55mm F1.8 lenses I've been buying vintage audio valves/tubes from all over the world since the early 00s and have found the Japanese to be the hardest market to buy from, especially as buying vintage stuff likely means dealing with older vendors who are less likely to be interested in dealing with language barriers, international postage, customs, etc. Back then it was pretty common for us to search the net, or forums, or even business directories etc, or just see something pop up on ebay and we'd contact the seller and then buy all of their stock from them. Most of the time we couldn't even get the Japanese vendors to reply to our emails.

Good move from Nikon marketing with this and the ZR in general. The ZR marketing campaign has been a complete success IMO, and whatever we think is not important. What's important is getting the Nikon/RED name out there with YouTubers and influencers. A better Nikon/RED camera will come, so not worried about the ZR's shortcomings.

Michelle Wai is advertising ZR? Its a first for Nikon https://bilibili.com/video/BV1PGs7zvEXu

Going back to the GH7, one thing that surprised me on the trip was the GH7 + Voigtlander 42.5mm F0.95 + Sirui 1.25x anamorphic adapter combination. When I saw that the Sirui was under USD300 / AUD500 I was stunned as anamorphic was something that I had dismissed as simply being inaccessible to me - too expensive / difficult / complicated. I ordered it immediately. When my tests revealed it was quite happy paired with the Voigtlander F0.95 primes shot wide open, I decided to take the 42.5mm on the trip with me as a creative experiment. The FF horizontal equivalent for the 17.5mm and adapter is 28mm F1.5, which is interesting but I'm not a huge fan of the 28mm FOV, so I chose the 42.5mm lens to pair with it, which gives an equivalent of 68mm F1.5. It's a longer lens for street shooting, but will give me some distance to work with (useful for a rig that is as large as this combination) and will give some great shallow DOF too. Here are some sample frame grabs from the night markets in Xiamen Island, China. When I used it in Hong Kong I found the focal length really came into its own. There were so many layers and so much movement, the best shots are just a confusing mess without the motion that helps you identify what is going on. Here are some more minimal frames. I have pushed the grade in these very heavily. Loads of contrast and vignetting and a strong application of Film Look Creator too. The Voigtlanders are soft wide-open too, adding to the look. IIRC these images were shot with the lens stopped down a bit (I'd forgotten my ND filter!) so it can be quite well behaved. It has sent me down a rabbit hole of looking at how to get a more vintage S35 / FF look. More on that later. My mini-review of the Sirui is this: It's very affordable It's large and heavy, but build quality feels very good and seems to have tight tolerances It's sharp It doesn't flare much at all, even shooting in the streets at night I only saw flares on a few occasions when the headlights of a car hit the lens just right The focusing mechanism is a joy, I used one finger to focus it for a lot of the time I was using it The bokeh is surprisingly cats-eye / swirly, and doesn't have that strong a vertical stretch (at 1.25x it's only a mild squeeze factor so that makes sense) It has a bit of coma with bright lights If you like what you see above, I'd recommend it. I started off thinking that my bag was very heavy and not taking this combo next trip would be a good way to lighten my luggage a bit, and on the trip home was thinking that I'll take it everywhere and just pack less clothes.

I don't know about the Sony A1 but against the Z8, the S1RII might be? I do think the S1RII is the best of the line. It's more capable than the S5II/X for video and offers quite. bit more than the S1II for stills, so for hybrid users like me, is a bit of a gem. 8k 30p @ 300mpbs video with stellar IBIS, especially if the E stab is switched on with a quality that for every test I have seen, just looks better than the S1II. Or 7.2k 30p open gate as I have been shooting most of this year, but pretty sure I am going to 8.1k 30p next year using the 2.39:1 crop markers (ie, the flexibility in post to do anything within a 17:9 output but see and shoot in pano mode). From a stills perspective, I think my old A7RV had a slight edge, but I had my editing of those files absolutely nailed down to my taste and it's taken a little longer to dial in the S1RII and again, probably going to start using the in camera Jpeg 65x24 crop mode whilst retaining the full 3x2 raw file in case I wish to use it. Having 5 custom photo and 5 custom video settings is fantastic as I have settings for 'everything' now. Factor in the hybrid zoom function for stills (can only use it up to 4k in video mode) and the prime lens equivalent, is great for getting a 1.4x crop whilst still retains the full-size raw file, so again, great for composition. I'm still debating over whether I can get away with just the Sigma 28-70 or whether I do need the 28-105 (for ceremonies and speeches and I probably do), if I start shooting in 65x24 mode where you lose so much height in favour of width, longer lenses tend to be too long for the format... I am going to pick up the new 24-60 f2.8 for sure for video as pretty much every test shows that despite it not being an S lens, it's pretty exceptional for it's size, weight and cost. I think Andrew, you'd come around to the S1RII in time, especially as the prices come down. Better than the OG S5 and S9 easily. I love(d) the S9, but just not quite 'pro' enough for my needs and other than as a C cam, I won't use it as a primary camera in 2026, - too many niggles. Mainly too easy to jog a dial and have your settings off when shooting video and if shooting 1/50th at 30p as I am doing in a PAL region, aaaaaaaaargh, LED light flickering and banding!! Better than the S5II other than for long static stuff. Better than the S1II? I think so also as that I see as a more dedicated video camera or at least one with less stills capability and I think the colour is just better with the S1RII being a different sensor. Would I trade it for a Z8? Easily...but only as a sideways move as there are pros and cons to each... S1RII to Z8 for stills? Probably... My other S1RII for a ZR for video? Possibly, but only for that rear screen and the form factor. S5II for the Z6III? For my static work, pretty equal. Cost to change = not worth it, especially as a sideways move which it would be for me. I loved my S1H and I do see my S1RII(s) as a mash up of the S1R and S1H but more capable than either, in a pretty decent body.

When we arrive to this point (comparative HERE in Portuguese, against the best pocket cam till iPhone 17 Pro lands) we set up the whole competition today, late 2025 at least. For some reason there are rumours DJI will launch this 4Q 2025 the new Osmo Pocket 4...

I get it. I'll happily wait for a mark 2 of the 100RF.

What exactly are you getting that you can't get somewhere else? Is it R3D only? See below then... I wouldn't count that as a win or worth the money to upgrade. Currently, the R3D in the ZR is 1500Mbps. You HAVE to shoot RAW to get the most out of the ZR when you compare it to other cameras. One wedding would be 4+ TB of footage. For $500 more Panasonic delivers a camera with 10 stops of latitude (the same as an Alexa LF) a solid 3 stops more than the ZR. But it might overheat. 9 stops without their "DR Boost" which is still better than the ZR. Or you buy and FX6 with electronic ND and make your life 3x times easier. If the ZR shipped with R3D with ELQ compression than it probably would be a decent buy. I'm definitely not sold on it for its current price and feature set. But considering the starting price is so low, and discounts will happen, it might be an interesting camera in 8 months.

Sincerely if anyone would have told me I would get so much quality for about 2500 USD in my country 5 years ago I would have kissed his feet. You talk as if it is some kind of BS camera it is based on. The Z63 did have some issues, with like half a stop less DR than the already very good Sony 24 megapixel sensor in the Z6. It also has some pulsating in the shadows which seemed to have been eliminated. But in the end for me, this could be the best ever reportage/documentary/weddings event/ content creation camera. Not just because it has superb image quality, but it hss 32 bit audio. This is the feature people forget to mention. With this camera, I could fit two of them and some lens in a traditional photo bag and some small travel tripod and do a documentary. Perhaps I would add those small flat lights, a wirreles mic system and you are good to go. Now I can always get a cineback, rig it with an external monitor, wireless video transmitter, Vmount battery and shoot an advert. Their are just endless possibilities with that camera.

Someone posted this video. This is something I wanted to do when I get the camera, because until now Nikon compressed format have been damn solid. He compared the detail in the Nikon Flat profile and the Nlog in h265. And the Flat profile is much more detailed. Either people should test with sharpness a bit higher in camera, or someone at Nikon has made an error in the settings of the Nlog. As the Flat profile is so much more detailed than the Nlog one. At least it seems it could easily be corrected with a firmware update.

I am considering going back to an OG S1H, just think the new cameras have lost that true flagship feeling, and the price isn't low enough to justify the trade-offs. Still no S1H Mark II but other than it being faster, and probably worse in low light with a more oversharpened image, I can't see what it will bring to the table and will probably be four or five and a half grand! The S1R Mark II / S1 Mark II, whilst better than an S5 or S9, are not a good alternative to a Sony a1 or Nikon Z8. And Fuji GFX 100 still has the best look of everything. It makes full frame look like a toy!

X-T50 is the new X-T30 whereas this is a side-step. I reckon the X-T50 is worth the extra to be honest. Or get the original X-T30 which used is around 600 euro.

I’m a big believer in both planning and walking when I choose to walk rather than being pushed. Or fading into irrelevance 😉

Yep, no IBIS. Saw some shots of the new kit lens with OIS + digital stab in camera, looked ike a bit better than past electronic stabilization from Fuji. Neat camera, good move from Fuji. But now the total mess that Fuji is in firmware camp - or you could call it Fuji cripple hammer. This new camera is just a X-M5 with en EVF inside the X-T30 body. But its Film Simulation dial accepts film recipes, as in the X-E5 - but the X-M5, with the same internals, don't. Nor the X-T50. With a simple firmware update, Fuji could bring recipes to the X-M5 and X-T50. And for the X-S20, in the free dial that comes with film simulations as standart (since is not a dedicated dial, is even easier). And with a bit of code (just creating 3 empty "slots" in the Film Simulation menu) thay could bring it to all the 5th generation cameras. But, even with Lumix trouncing then on this regard, and with all the other brands making even easier to make personal color profiles, I doubt it. And with the AF still worse than all others, it is more than clear that the firmware side of Fujifilm is a mess.

Seems like a good strategy. You're established in a market that seems like it should hold for that long. Mmmmm, perhaps, but only in very special cases. Personally, I've yet to make that sort of model work. A bit of a unicorn, that, I think. Or, maybe not. I suppose one could chase the zeitgeist and try to surf what waves are cresting and work the biz side of things. Right now that's probably going to be the 'content-creator' market, which seems like more of a grind than a considered creative film making endeavor. Doing a content channel can still be a productive pursuit, however. Nothing inherently wrong with it. The other thing that goes along with AI is the whole internet 2.0 and the enshittification of it. Andrew here could probably tell a few stories about how that shook out.

It looks like the R3D offers about a 1/2 stop more DR than N-RAW and better color in the latitude tests, as you point out, so it's a tiny step over the Z6III. Interestingly, the Z9/Z8 have the same, or slightly better, DR using N-RAW as the ZR has using R3D. So the 4-year-old Z8/Z9 cameras still produce a comparable, lovely image. Very curious what they'll do with the Z9II/Z8II, as they can easily add R3D, but they need to have their cinema line and photo lines..

Maybe, - I couldn't say as there are a lot who say the opposite and say the market is over-saturated and everyone else is undercutting them. I really don't know and pay almost zero attention to what anyone else is doing and never really have! Perhaps another reason why I keep ticking/plodding along? And on that note, back to editing the 4th to last of the season and then 'just' 3 more to go for this year...

It is, but when exposed 2 stop ETTR. The NR is not fixed, and changes with S/N ratio, apparently.

Wedding seems like of one the safe plays right now. People who want to get married still want actual photo/video.

Ticking along but still here after 25 years comprising approx the first 10 as a photographer and the last 15 as a hybrid shooter in the wedding industry. 5 more years to go and then I will be packing it in out of choice. In the meantime, just have to make sure I keep my head above water and not overly concerned in that regard as neither AI nor the wannabes can do what I do. Yet, as far as AI goes anyway... Seen a lot of changes but no real challenges as such and for whatever reason, I just seem to have been in a place where I can just tick along and by 'tick along', I don't mean cruise, because I am always working at it and on it. Rather I just don't feel the need to follow every trend and possibly because of that, why I have remained pretty constant whilst I have seen so many come and go.