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Happy December Everyone! To kick off the new month, I've created a couple of new production beds that you'll find on my Rock page: "STRUTTIN’ DOWN MAIN" "EMOTIONS RUN HIGH" https://soundimage.org/rock/ They're 100% free to use in your projects with attribution, just like my thousands of other music tracks. AD-FREE & COMMUNITY SUPPORTED My website is completely ad-free and supported by the community. If you can, please consider making a small contribution to help me pay for my overhead. You can make a small donation here: https://soundimage.org/donate/ You can also check out my Genre Ogg Music packs (mainly for video game developers.) https://soundimage.org/ogg-music-packs-2/ Or my Game Music Mega Pack here: https://soundimage.org/ogg-game-music-mega-pack/ Enjoy! 🙂

I can understand that camera companies are not exactly incentivized by the profit motive to release *perfect* cameras, but it's a shame that this is artificially feature limited when it's getting so, so close. I just shot a project in 3:2 open gate on my S1H and it was such a great experience for myself and the director, though I did run into some of the limitations of the slower readout speed and ibis wobble. I guess Sony is saving 6k and open gate for the A7S4 and Fx3ii. It remains to be seen how they will integrate 32 bit audio recording. I am sure I'm not the only one waiting for these features in a proper workhorse body for doc. I'm close to pulling the trigger on an S1ii anyway as it has the fewest compromises of any system, but it's hard when you know an S1hii could follow or the Fx3ii is likely around the corner. I'm making money from my gear these days, but not so much that I feel like burning money on an intermediate body. All the tech is around for a perfect doc mirrorless camera.

Only if it was medium format. I’ll get my coat.

Only works if people buy the stuff at these prices…which they mostly will so 🤷‍♂️

For hybrid work, I’ll keep my S1RII thanks. Next choice would be used Z8. For pure stills photography a used A7RV. For purely video work, S1II. Or maybe ZR for the form factor and screen plus ability to adapt E Mount glass, but not the RED raw codec which is overkill for my needs. That would be my personal 4-5 choices based on not just the bodies, but lens availability.

Oh dear https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/mirrorless-cameras/sony-suspends-new-a7-iv-firmware-this-is-why-i-never-update-my-firmware-on-day-one How many people has Sony charged $800 to replace the mainboard, when the cause appears to be dodgy firmware? The a7 IV bootloop occurs on V5.0 as well, so it's not just the new V6.0 that it's happening with as is being widely reported.

Apparently in the UK we are paying Trump's tariffs as well. £2800 = $3696 USD I just think it's an utter disgrace how the Japanese companies are treating their customers. Their currency is at an all-time low vs the GBP as well, so when the foreign currency is repatriated back home they're making an enormous margin on the FX as well compared to pre-pandemic times. The US market and corporate greed dictates the value of everything in the world, it seems.

The a7 V is quite a predictable upgrade, nevertheless it's excellent. It does however miss a lot of video features that are present on the Panasonic S1 II / S1R II for a similar price, and the cheaper Nikon Zr / Z6 III... No open gate, no anamorphic, 4K is still maximum resolution, no real-time LUT can be baked into footage, and of course Sony still has no internal RAW codec to call their own. Still, this is a $3000 entry level camera so we can't be too greedy can we? Compared to... Sony a7 IV. The previous a7 IV is now even more of a bargain, it will probably go down even further in price used, most likely to region of $1200. Stills quality the same as a7 V and probably more than most people will ever need. Video quality is excellent but the rolling shutter is on high-side, that's one area as well as the Super 35mm 4K/120p where a7 V has an advantage. Sony a9 III. Well, keep an eye on that used price as it's already not a million miles off what a new a7 V costs... Sony a1. Again, the more powerful option vs a7 V albeit with a few of the new features missing, you can pick one up used in the UK for £2700, same price as a new a7 V. Nikon Zr. THE choice if you want fake raw. Nikon Z6 III. Much more price competitive than the new Sony. Panasonic S1R II. The dark horse. It does more. Price is high though and I much prefer the Sony body design and build quality. Panasonic S1 II. Certainly has the edge on the a7 V for video, if not autofocus. More expensive, but again keep an eye on the used market prices. Overall I think the a7 V is predictable - it's good that we have another partially stacked sensor option though.

Is the 16 stops in the room with us right now?

Yea, its 13.5 stops after 7k>4k oversampling and AI processing. Pixel level DR should be 12 ish.

So Apparently A7V is semi stacked but without Z6III DR shortcomings (they would consist in 16 stop in marketing material to say "our semi stacked has no downside", otherwise 16 stop is impossible without NR). Video is 4k60p but 1.5x crop at 4k120.

Yes, I think even my Pentax K5 (the first ever capable interchangeable lens camera with built in, sensor shift IBIS) shot better video than the Nikon D90.

Train Dreams on Netflix I don't know how many of you have already seen it, but I still wanted to recommend a film that I watched a few nights ago on Netflix that hit me right in the heart. It was presented at the last Sundance Film Festival but then went directly to Netflix without going through movie theaters. And it's a real shame because the cinematography is stunning. Shot in 3:2 in the Idaho forests with an almost documentarian feel. The story is infinitely sad and very slow. The reviews are almost all enthusiastic, and it has become one of the most viewed films on the platform in recent weeks. The negative reviews accuse it of being truly slow, but in my opinion and that of others, the beauty lies precisely in the film's slowness. If you manage to get into the mood, it hits you right in the heart. I don't want to spoil too much about the story, but the ending truly moved me. The DoP says that the film was shot almost entirely using natural light (à la Lubezky), and many scenes are set at dawn, sunset, and nighttime using real candlelight. The chiaroscuro is a delight for the eyes. https://filmmakermagazine.com/129137-interview-cinematographer-adolpho-veloso-train-dreams-sundance-2025/

Same. On this particular project I found myself reaching for it more than the GH5. Not for the bird shots as that really required good slow-mo, but for the people shots? Looked awesome. It pancakes the highlights though; just loses details that LUMIX cameras hold onto. Other than that, pretty great for a $300 camera.

Oh god. That thing. When online people complain about lousy footage with the cliche "was that shot on a potato"? They're probably talking about the D90's codec.

Not surprised. I love the video from this camera when I see it online. I love the footage in this simple family video. Shot in "muted" with FilmConvert applied on top. Kit lens. I once filmed a wedding with a GX80, a Sony 1080p pro-level camcorder, a Nikon D90, and a Nikon D3400. It wasn't easy to match to say the least, but I was able to keep the story center-stage, not the crazy colors of each camera.

finally something different

Anyone here has one of those for sale it basically replaced from iso plastic ring and makes isco focus closer

I had only original S5 before the S5II, but the various 8k and 4k H.264 4:2:2, H.265 4:2:0 and Proress samples from S1RII looked clearly not that over-sharpened during the short period I played with them in Resolve. They were much closer to S5, colors were kind of richer, and in low light shots it looked cleaner and good. I was seriously tempted to switch back, but did not want to get rid of my new Nikon lenses. I was also put off by the various crop modes and over heating. Now, with Z6III, ZR and 4 Nikon lenses it would need S2H with good EVF, 4” screen and H.265 IQ comparable to R3D NE for me to switch back. Proress Raw HQ file sizes are even bigger than what R3D NE has, and raw controls worse in Resolve, so that is not an option for me.

I'm of a more ramshackle mentality, but even my loosey-goosey philosophies hit a limit. fyi, this particular doc was about people that are trying to help conserve raptor migration through SoCal. So, lots of bird shots. Which we don't really do, nor have done. The whole thing became kind of a production experiment. We were only answering to ourselves so we could take risks like that. The scope of the project kept changing, but the finances never did. There was very little money in our pockets, and what we did have we needed to save for travel. And being a seriously-non-affluent-filmmaker, it basically came down to a make-do-as-we-can process. Our personal finances, as well as the various situations of the shoot, were all over the place. We were borrowing/renting lenses and gear in a very haphazard way. Sometimes it worked. Mostly it did not. Meanwhile, the stuff we had in our own collection was inferior. For instance we used a POS Vintage Photax 500mm w/2x extender for an entire season to get a lot of the BIF shots. That was an insanely unfortunate thing to do, but it's what we could afford to have on hand. The biggest bitch was not having a real tripod. We truly wished we had friends/colleagues that could have let us use a pro Sacthler or Miller. More than willing to carry some sort of hefty rig into the wild if it would've allowed smooth shots when filming at a +2000mm FF equiv. That FOV reach is f'in hard to control. As a side note, it was pretty wild running around with birders carrying equipment that was so expensive and professional while us "filmmakers" were often using, basically, consumer toys to grab video. At the end of the day, the images are passable by a certain standard, but when you pixel peep you can tell it's all held together with spit, bubblegum, hopes, and prayers. "f8 and be there" was the mantra we had to talk ourselves into and accept. "The best camera is the one you got." ...That sort of thing.

Photo and video. So many so-called reviews are really just biased opinion pieces that are all about getting views, sponsorship and ad money, rather than authentic unbiased guides, but that is just how it is. I think anything around that pixel count will deliver similar results whether it be Nikon, Canon, Sony or Lumix and never tried a 100mp medium format Fuji or Hassie and it would be quite interesting to shoot one or the other back to back. On-line, unless told or pixel peeped to a high magnitude, I doubt anyone could tell and for me personally, there is a sweet spot of professional pride in my craft as it were and for stills that is FF and for video FF or APSC and possibly even 4/3…

Yes, but again it's all about intent. If the ppl making the movie elected a particular piece of gear bc that was their intention it's a good sign they know what they are doing. Most artists are really picky about their instruments and cinema is no different. Why? Bc the creative intent changes with the instrument selected to convey the idea. Great photographers know this and have to think clearly what will be sacrificed by changing their usual gear for any given task. The Arri trope is all about the industry. Ppl making bad movies just mark a bunch of high-end gear bc it will make it look like every other movie out there from the last 15 years.

I couldn't agree more, Most of my stills now are on the S1R2 and the files are fantastic. Only step up for me would be a GFX100II. I don't think any of the typical reviews can address this, I think you have to shoot and work on files for a few months to get a good feel for what you can do (and can't do) with them.

This video from @Tito Ferradans has some info on it, but he doesn't show everything needed so you might need to watch a bunch of YT videos and search to see if other people have shared how they do it.

Yes, my OCD would not be able to cope with that. I don't like even having 2 different cameras within the same brand, never mind other brands... I can just about get my head around having and mixing in drone footage, but that is because the alternative is not realistic and as a fan of minimalism (well, as minimalist as I can be without compromising any major element), I'm all in on one system now.