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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.

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...

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

Panasonic is reading the sensor slower in both the normal and DR boost modes, explaining how they can get more DR out of it than Nikon in their implementation. It may or may not be the same sensor. In any case Nikon's compromise is different from Panasonic's and these are both legitimate choices. The ZR was under development before Nikon acquired RED and what RED know-how they added in this camera is likely in the firmware (and post-processing support in the R3D NE format pipeline). In cined's testing the latitude test shows better retention of color across exposure adjustments in post-processing when using the R3D NE than N-RAW and so it would seem that the RED acquisition already paid off for Nikon to become more competitive in the video arena, and this is not just marketing if it benefits users. What Nikon should do now is try to make the h.265 a bit more competitive so that more people who cannot handle the raw data rates can still benefit from the camera. It would be very costly for everyone to shoot everything in R3D NE to get benefits from the camera. I personally am looking forward to seeing some Prores 422 HQ material shot with the camera and see how that fares in comparison with the Z8.

It’s definitely been a tough stretch. Budgets are tighter and clients seem slower to move, even on things that would’ve been quick approvals not long ago. I’m seeing the same pattern where more content is being made but with less real investment behind it. The best move might be putting more time into personal projects that could eventually be licensed or streamed. Even if it only brings in small checks at first, it adds up over time and keeps your creativity active. I still think there’s room for people who know how to make something feel real. The tools are everywhere now, but the connection and emotion still come from experience.

That would almost have certainly have got me a sale in 2025, but as things stand, I still prefer the Q3 43 and if it did not cost so damn much, I’d have one. I’d get a Sony A7CR with the same sensor and a 16-28mm for the less than 10% of the time I need anything wider than approx 35mm and be done for my stills needs. But as much as I love the rangefinderesque format, I have not yet been able to build a system that suits my needs around it since…well since Fuji’s X Pro2 actually. Q3 43 still sits at the pinnacle for me at the end of 2025, but at about double what I am prepared to pay 😏

Yup, but to be fair, Lumix has had a lot of ‘love’ recently from the shill brigade but a lot of them will now (and have already started) flipping over to the ZR. Soon though, Sony will be releasing the A7V and they will then flop back in that direction and will have gone full circle. Beyond that, perhaps DJI will have popped out their rumored MILC and that will become The Next Big Thing? It’s all inevitable.

Fujifilm will probably release a GFX 100RF with a 28mm f/2.8 in 3-4 years, with IBIS, and an updated sensor and no one will give a shit about wanting a FF fuji camera. They'll instead be asking Leica why there isn't a MF sensor in their Q, hmmm?

Yeah exactly, for cheap smaller auctions it’s minimal. The secondary downside to the bullshit Tariff scam is that the options for shipping have decreased as well so the lowest priced options are now unavailable and there are just two options. I used to be able to pay $18 - $20 for a 7 day delivery but now that option is unavailable so ECMS is around $25 for the same sized package. One pro tip i can recommend is that they will store your package for 30 days free of charge while you sort it out and then you are able to combine smaller items for savings on postage. You have to be careful with weight and size however because i once combined 5 items and it ended up bumping me into the next tier and it ended up being $100 or more. Still though, cost per item was only $20 so in the end it was not bad. After your item arrives you can select the shipping rate in a drop down menu. As of last month there is now a 15% Tariff charge that’s added and that’s new. Also be sure to search for coupons in that drop down menu because right now there’s a 50% off international shipping so i just saved $30 on that and recovered some fees. I might do a youtube video soon doing a deep dive into it, I’ve been using it for 8 or 9 years now and learned a lot of tricks.

How did topic turn out to be? Seems like this is best camera in the market right now?

It's true - that's a decent experience. DJI Transmission to their high bright monitor also seems to be higher quality with similar/less lag than my Hollyland Pyros. But I've had glitches/problems with all of them in the past, especially in the sort of areas where my phone shows like 40 wifi networks. The biggest problem for me is that if wireless is the only option, when it's not working, you're just SOL. It can work perfectly for weeks or months, but none of it matters if it breaks down on the day when you're shooting something that matters.