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I've been using Flexible Picture Controls in the NX software, have made some Fuji emulations for my Nikon Z f. The latest processor Nikon cameras - Z6 III, Z F, Z8 and Z9 are the only ones that support the Flexi colour profiles. You get plenty of control - custom curves, HSL, colour grading for shadows, mids and highs. You have to be really careful with it though, because all the colour processing seems to be done in 8bit. It has a somewhat brittle processing pipeline, presumably designed for speed as they have to work at 4K/120p for example on a mid-range cam. It is not a patch on what Panasonic has done with Real-time LUTs. But it's a start and you can get some nice results. So far all the RED colour science and codec stuff from Nikon has a faint whiff off BRANDING EXERCISE about it. It's not really quite authentic. R3D on the Z R is basically just NRAW. And the LUTs are just, well... RED branded colour grades. You can do all that yourself on a Z8 with not a RED badge in sight.

Been looking at ditching my m4/3 cameras (OM-1, GH5) for something better in terms of IQ and AF. They've been reliable in terms of not overheating or losing files (same as my Sonys), but the quality is meh at best. OM-1 worked well enough for handheld stuff in terms of AF and IBIS, but the quality from the camera is the worst out of my lineup (A7 III, A6600, OM-1, GH5, R50V). Poor excuse for Log, digital patterning in the noise structure. GH5 is just noisy once you start cranking the ISO, and at least 50% of the events I shoot are in low light. Wondering if the R7 and R8 were reliable, as I've read about issues of overheating around launch (like many Canons), but not much news afterward. Plus, there are now plenty of fans out there to add on back, which should solve the problem in everything except maybe summer sun. And yes, I know the R8 is crippled with a 2hr time limit like my R50V. I rarely need more than 2hrs, but I can (most likely) trigger a restart with an intervalometer like I do with my A7 III.

Blimey if ever there was a GAS curing end-game camera it's the a1 for that price. It has the spec to last until about 2050! It's smaller than the Z8, more nimble ergonomically and has better colour science (I am not joking).

I don't think there's much wrong with the slower sensor to be honest, I have come round to it, and I really like the FX2 as well - the images speak for themselves and it's one of the only cheap cinema cameras with both a proper EVF and mechanical shutter, and we all know that hybrid is where it's at... And again worth saying that unlike Panasonic S1 II - it is in the body of the flagship pro camera, not in the cut-price shell of a mid-range consumer camera. The partially stacked sensors are of course the current cutting edge, a7 V will be great but only if you NEED the speed. I don't shoot much 4K120p or 60p. Cinema 24p is still my most valued spec in terms of frame rates and as for 30p, it is still a TV / YouTube frame rate and doesn't look cinematic. Getting all this sensor talk in perspective, we'll go back to the very start. Canon used a Panasonic CCD in their first 1D DSLR, their own pioneering CMOS tech was not yet ready in time so they switched plans. Then, from the first Canon 1DS it was ready to go - BUT CMOS at this time was much slower than CCD. The 1D classic is the only FAST pro sports cameras ever made with a CCD! In the following years Canon were able to go from behind with CMOS and take the speed crown away from CCD sensors. The in-line A/D line-by-line readout tech of CMOS is what enabled video. Sony in 2005 commercialised their first CMOS sensor in the Sony R1 APS-C bridge camera. It had video only in terms of it could do live-view. The 10MP raw photos still stand up today. The way CMOS handles dynamic range is also different to CCD - a linear sudden blow-out in the highlights, but on CCD a more film-like non-linear and gradual highlight roll off and it was not until the Sony a7r III in 2018 that CMOS started to match CCD for colour fidelity and latitude. That is 18 years of development progress. The a7 IV sensor is a faster version of one of that chip, one of the most groundbreaking sensors of the last 25 years. 33mp instead of 42mp, but it sped up to enable a 7K full width pixel readout rather than pixel binned 4K. In 2025 it's still one of the only mid-range cameras to go past the 24mp mark. I think for £1500 that is a decent offer? Have you seen the a7r III's images? It's absolutely stunning, in some ways beats an a1 and z8. The a7 IV's "slow sensor" is at that level. From those very early days in early 2000s, video took another 8 years following the debut of CMOS - first with the Nikon D90 and then with the 5D Mark II. It took a further 6 years until 2014 for anyone to make a 4K capable full frame CMOS sensor. The a7r II was the first to do oversampled 5K->4K in S35 mode and full frame pixel binned 4K. Oooooodles of stuff has been shot since on this camera and on many other cameras with a similar level of rolling shutter. Of all the specs I care about, rolling shutter only occasionally presented itself as problem in the real world. I've owned countless full frame cameras... Panasonic S1, S1R, S1H, Sony a7s III, Sony a1, Nikon Z9 and Z8 but sold all of them. The only mainstay for me is the GFX 100. The only thing the faster Sony and Nikon cameras offer to the creative process, is speed and less rolling shutter. If action sports and slow-motion is your bag then great. When the a9 III with global shutter (and the slightly noisy base ISOs) comes down to under £2500 I might consider one of those but until then...For cinema... I think the a7 IV and FX2 are the best images you can get for the price. Although the Panasonic S1H has the edge in low light, and for HDMI RAW output to a hateful Ninja, it lacks the autofocus, the ecosystem of E-mount, and also of course the small and light body size.

Curves are available in the advanced settings when creating custom picture controls (which you can the upload as recipes).

Nikon is going to add RED profiles to their image recipes. So any of recently released Expeed7 cameras can use that for both still and video. Flexible Picture Controls that you have to use to make these recipes doesn't support LUTs or curves. I wonder how close to RED colors they can go with that limited set of tools.

A7V specs just proves again how FX2 was an odd release. With fast read out speed and no crop 4k60 they just humiliates FX2 users. Its like they couldn't get rid of that slow sensor fast enough and made another body out of it at last minute. Hybrid camera market at $2k-3k range is very competitive. No camera maker afford to neglect this segment.

I have been getting back into the Sony A7 IV recently. The more I think about it, the more I think this (along with 2018's a7r III) is where Sony finally got things right and properly came of age. It's really very good and current used prices make it one of the best bang for buck full frame cameras. Constantly surprised at how good the EVF is for the price. The IBIS is much improved from previous gen. As is the colour science. The menus are still complex, but they're much snappier and faster. And the grip, all buttons, really have much more feel. The fact they kept the build quality and ergonomics the same as some of their most expensive cameras, i.e. a9 II or original a1, is the opposite of what Panasonic did with the S1R II being in a mid-range S5 body. And although the sensor is slow compared to an a1 or stacked sensor camera, the price is low, the image is fantastic, the 4K is oversampled from 7K and you still have the option of faster frame rates in the Super 35mm crop modes. Also although the H.265 bitrates are quite low by 2025 standards, the codec holds up magnificently. And small files are what I like. Autofocus is not up to the high-bar of a 2025 flagship Sony like the a1 II of course. But it's pretty damned good. £1600 is a steal (used). Bring on the a7 V... Rumours have us expecting the same 33 mp sensor but partially stacked, but I don't they put a 7K or 8K mode in there. 4K/60p without a crop, maybe 120p in the S35 mode more likely.

Since the sensor is dual gain, below a certain ambient light level you should switch to the higher gain setting, ISO 6400. When you do that, presto, the noise is either gone or greatly diminished.

SSD review says 256GB and 512GB Lexar Professional Golds get up to 85C and the 2TB card only to 63C. In the same review Delkin Black 512GB is the coolest at 39C. I have had no problems with 2TB Lexar Professional Gold in Z6iii at 25C in direct mid day sun, but 6k50p NRaw may not be as taxing to the camera and card as Panny’s 422 H.265.

it started happening faster in hotter conditions, 24-27C, but still happens at around 20C. When I narrowed it down to the card being the issue, I would just leave the camera running on my table while doing post work, and would regularly fill up the card or run out of battery with the Delkin or OWC without any warning, but with the Lexar card about 10-12 minutes in, the heat warning sign would come on, and it would terminate recording in about 20 min or so. PS Should add the cards that cuz thermal issues for me are 128GB gold Lexar Cards

Around £2300 so not a massive amount in it.

How about the original Sony a1? The Z8 is a bit of a bargain, but out of the two I regret selling my a1 more, because it was smaller, lighter, and here's the kicker - better colour science. Which I'd never thought in a million years I'd say about a Sony. You also save a lot of card space by shooting in the upgraded 8K H.265 mode that looks as good as N-RAW for a quarter of the file size. E-mount saves you further money on glass and adapters as well. If the OG a1 is similar in price to that Z8 with 24-70 bundle, I'd be tempted to go for the Sony and stick a nice small, but cheap, vintage 35mm on it. I'd then pair that with a little Micro Four Thirds camera, maybe a good old GX80.

New advanced Venus processor apparently. Dunno how that translates to write speeds etc

What climate is that in? Good to know there are cards with better heat management.

Visitor price with the tax taken off for used ones is £2950. A used Z8 is £2080. With a used version of the 24-70 f4 that is bundled with the ZR it is £2375 so only £725 more than the ZR combo, albeit used. Hence the quandary.

Just chiming in, I've had a fair bit of overheating warning and shutdowns with my gold Lexar CFB cards, not a single issue with Delkin black or OWC purple cards! PS, I should add, this is with the S1Rii (x2)

I wish someone in Nikon or RED explain what they did and what these codes actually do. NRAW show less purple noise at extreme underexposure but colors are all over the place. R3D NE is in a pool of purple noise, but colors are intact.

Does it have a different processor? I don’t know… I thought it was S5II spec in S1II/R body but I could be wrong 🤷‍♂️ All my long takes will still be S5II so not concerned in that regard but zero overheating issues or even any warnings on the R’s, but then I only shoot clips on them.

I might be interested in the S9! S1iiE, as far as I can see it’s the S5ii sensor in a better body with a faster processor. Or have I got that wrong? The CFExpress cards will still be a problem but not as much as the other new Lumix cameras I believe. I’d love to have no crop in 50p but I work outside in 35+ degrees 4-5 months of the year so the S1ii is just a no go for me which is a shame as everything else about the camera would be almost perfect for me.

I’ll be selling my S9 in Jan if it’s of any interest?! I’m in the UK for a couple of months and not back in France until the New Year. It’s a red one, comes with a Smallrig cage and has no issues that I am aware of… That aside, I think I am pretty set on an S1IIE with the 24-60 as there are some good deals on that and it does all I need it to. This would replace the S9 for me whereas the S1II is a bit overkill and the overheating…well I doubt it would but the S5II doesn’t and the S1IIE is basically that in an S1II body so… Or, I might just go the 3 body approach and shift one of my two S1RII’s over. Basically it’s a 4 body + primes vs 2 bodies + zooms question and there are pros and cons to each. No decisions until the New Year when Panny may throw a curve ball and despite not needing one, an S2H is so desirable, I have to have one 😵‍💫

That screen looks huge. They finally did it. A world beyond 3.2 inches exists. In the land of low camera prices, with my lack of impulse control I wouldn't stand a chance. Just out of curiosity what are the prices on used a Sony a9 III? I am actually more tempted by that by anything Nikon related, when it comes down under 3k.

It's absolutely pointless even talking to these people (if they are indeed real people), we are so far apart and they are so far down the rabbit hole thanks to social media. The great tragedy is that the internet in it's original concept was supposed to level up people's knowledge of the factual world and to broaden their minds, connect them with other cultures and other people. The way the billionaires have just completely subverted the technology is horrific and they are all mega rich as a result. Zuckerberg should be in jail. On social media, even the order of comments under a post swaps around depending on who the algorithm believes you will agree with most, so the counterbalance of views just never gets seen. And the end goal of all of this was never to break society - that's just collateral to the main mission, which is shareholder value. And if Zuck and Elon weren't bad enough and all the dark money sloshing about from Russia, I am equally as disgusted at the so-called "moral" liberal elite of tech leaders who stay silent on the destruction of our society and community cohesion in the name of profit. Like Tim Cook for instance.

It makes sense to change cameras and not brands! I’ve been interested in the S1iiE as it does resolve a couple of things that I dislike about the S5ii. The S1iiE’s screen and evf would be much more comfortable for me. Like you I prefer the screen behind the lens. Whilst in general I prefer 1 camera for video and one for photo that’s not always possible. The photo/video switch would be a real upgrade. I have written the S1ii off for me as it won’t handle the heat here in Madrid but from what I’ve seen the S1iiE handles the heat better. So I’m thinking of changing a S5ii for the S1iiE and maybe picking up a S9 if I can find a good deal.

Had a chance to have a look at one in the flesh. It feels good in the hand and the screen is everything that everyone has already said it is. The overall size of the camera is even more compact than I thought it would be, particularly when they are displaying it alongside the next one up in the Nikon RED range ! I was sorely tempted at the price here which works out at £1650 including the 24-70mm f4 lens for visitors. I’m here for a few more weeks so maybe I might buckle but the issue for me is that they had a Z8 at the next display and for an old fart like me that just appeals more, especially in light of the is it/isn’t it stuff about the RAW and the file extensions etc. I might just sit this out (again) for another year to see how the dust settles with firmware updates for the ZR and actually the Z6III as that might be the compromise play for me, although the Z8 will likely still win out. So, ultimately, I was able to put the ZR down and walk away fairly easily. Unexpectedly, the one I had far more difficulty walking away from the was the much maligned Fujifilm X-Half. Kinky.