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Finally someone has done it https://www.benro.com/en/prelaunch/NE1-nd-filter.html It has a nifty bluetooth controller with auto-AE as well. Curious to see how nice it is to use, but no word on pricing yet.

Well I just ordered an EM1X, sigma 18-35 and speedbooster off of MPB. Trading in my Nikon Z6 setup so I am almost breaking even. Will update the group on my thoughts on the camera. Seems like a beast.

I’ll write a spirited defence of the X-Half when I’ve got more time but suffice to say that having bought one and actually used it they have exposed themselves yet again as knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing.

I, for one, would like to welcome Zhiyun's marketing team and/or their spam bot to this forum. As to that specific light, if it doesn't come in an ugly leather case and have Cam Mackey's signature all over the light and all of its accessories, is it even worth considering?

I don’t know of anyone in my industry who does not shoot Sony. Except me, call sign Maverick.

Looks cool. I'm still a little confused about how it attaches to the lens, and if it's compatible with other matte boxes and filtration, or whether it integrates into a proprietary matte box system. I'd like to see something similar that fits into a 4x4 or 4x5.65 slot, like the prototype that LC-Tec made a while ago https://www.newsshooter.com/2025/09/14/kippertie-lc-tec-electronic-variable-nd-electronic-diffusion-solutions-at-ibc-2025/ (From the interviews with LC-Tec earlier this year, it sounds like they manufacture the LCDs for many companies, including metabones and kippertie, and I wouldn't be surprised if they also manufacture for this Benro product although I have no source on that) No polarization, but not necessarily better color accuracy or anything. Quality can vary. Yeah I've thought about the same thing, and with that sort of tool you could have arbitrary shapes instead of a straight split. I imagine the cost goes up considerably when it gets fancy.

Those last 3 shots, very nice.

The original Olympus OM3 was one of the finest cameras I ever owned. Didn’t need a battery except for the meter (if I recall correctly). Even seeing “OM” brings back memories of long gone days… ironically given the debates about MFT, FF s16 etc, I sold it to get a Bronica MF. Anyway, sorry, totally irrelevant to the post.

I may do a comparison on the blog about the E-M1X and OM1. The E-M1X is... different.

The only principle that they follow is defined by their self-interest. If a law or moral principle exists which they think would help them gain more power or wealth, they use it argument why others should follow it. But they never feel the need to obey laws or ethical principles if it would be disadvantageous to their attempts to increase their power or wealth. Similar to the Russia which cries wolf when Western countries freeze their foreign assets, but do not see any problem in the looting & killing of Ukrainians. These are examples of people who are guided by only their self-interest and will do anything to gain more and more power and wealth. What is amazing is how the common people actually voted those people into positions of power.

To misquote Niemöller: ”first they came for the media. I sat and watched. They came for the gays, the trans and those who are different. I sat and watched. They came for those they claimed don’t belong. I sat and watched. Then they came for me. There was no one left to hear my cries…”

I wish I could sit in the corner with a hot chocolate while someone wise told me that we are over the worst of it… then I remember that Vance waits to inherit, Farage hovers around No10 like flies over a corpse and… unfortunately it does seem that sitting back and ignoring it is no longer a sensible option.

A couple more stills shot with the Sirui 35. Even though I have quite a few other options, this lens usually stays on my S1RII because it’s so versatile.

And now the ZRc: Fourth quarter of 2026 is too late, or something lost in translation. Z30/Z50II sensor at that point is lame. No IBIS is shame, and 4k60 with crop on APSC is unacceptable. But why its not Z30II? Doesn't make sense.

I find the timing for this article pretty funny, I was recently re-working a few files from my old E-m1x and was reminded of how much I liked the look and feel of them, Yes they are technically inferior to the current generation but there is something about them. So just picked up an OM system brand Olympus OM1 and 12-40 this past weekend..... waiting for them to arrive from Japan!

Cancelled my EM1X order. I was definitely interested, but turns out Viltrox speed boosters don’t work in video AF on Olympus bodies 😕 I am contemplating a G9 II instead or simply holding out with my Nikon Z6 for a while more. End tangent. I don’t wanna derail this thread haha.

I ignored their videos the moment he started a video with "welcome back peta-philes"... that was a poor decision!

I have the same vague impression, but I'm not sure. I never really went looking for it. But as you said, if there's some polarization, it stays consistent as the ND is dialed up or down. Definitely, it's one of the dangers of vND. Also with wide angle lenses during the day, the sky can end up looking funky and not just different.

The Sigma BF, from what I’ve seen so far, looks like a design-first camera that deliberately embraces limitations and a very specific tactile shooting experience. If your baseline is “fast, familiar, efficient, and feature-complete,” then yes, it can easily feel like a compromise for the money. But cameras built around constraints are often the ones people actually end up using, because they push you into a different pace and a different kind of attention. Calling it “bad” is basically mixing up “not optimized for my workflow” with “objectively worthless.” Same story with the Fuji X-Half. If it really ships as JPEG-only and is clearly marketed as a “fun,” frictionless camera, then the fair comparison is less “serious camera vs serious camera” and more “intentional point-and-shoot experience vs phone.” In that context, price becomes the whole argument: a fun toy is fine; an expensive fun toy is where people split. And wanting RAW isn’t necessarily pixel-peeping. It’s about long-term ownership, personal rendering, and not being locked into a single pipeline. Fuji could improve the proposition a lot with a smart firmware strategy (RAW/DNG, better HEIF options, more flexible output) without changing what the camera is supposed to be.

Looks like you can just change the URL of the map camera link to get previous months.. https://news.mapcamera.com/maptimes/2025年10月-新品・中古デジタルカメラ人気ランキング/ https://news.mapcamera.com/maptimes/2025年9月-新品・中古デジタルカメラ人気ランキング/ etc.

I had the vague impression that LCD panels had some element of polarisation to them, but maybe that's not true. However, even if it was true, the fact you haven't noticed any probably means the polarisation isn't changing direction as the strength varies. I do a lot of tests where I match different shots in post, things like latitude tests etc, and if I use a vND to control exposure then I'll end up with two shots where the subject is the same WB/exp but the sky or the level of reflections in water/glass will be completely different, which ends up being the polarisation from the rotating element of the vND being a different angle between the two shots.

I wonder how it compares with sales? I imagine Sony & Canon still top that but wonder how Nikon & Panasonic sales have done over the same period…

e-ND filters (at least the ones I've seen) are LCD panels with what is effectively a single very large pixel, so yes, it won't have some of the drawbacks of a vND, especially including no X when dialed up. I've never noticed any polarization with mine which is the inline filter for the EF mount on Z Cam. They are also effectively infinitely variable (if someone wants to nitpick that, feel free) so they also make it less important to have a clickless aperture, if you're one of the people who needs stepless exposure pulls on a regular basis. As for color accuracy, that'd depend on the quality of the LCD panel used, I imagine - but at the very least, I would expect it to stay consistent throughout its range. I'd also be curious in the future if someone will come out with an electronic ND that allows for gradations or split filtering, etc. Landscape photographers would be all over it.

The FX3 really is the 2025 version of what the C300 was in 2012…every…human…is…using it. I’ve met multiple talented wedding videographers who shoot with it. So many use it. It’s ubiquitous.

Interesting to look at the trends... Canon is extending their lead over Sony. Nikon is only at 5.56%... Had expected them to be closer to Sony, after all the Z6 / Z8 series seem popular, right now DJI is a growing threat. Blackmagic are slipping back as the bigger companies cannibalise their niche of advanced video features and RAW recording. Sigma is holding steady, but obviously this revenue relates 99% to lenses, there cameras are a very small niche. Fuji is steadily going up... Their stuff especially X-mount is not really Lensrental's target market but more pros are seeing the benefits of GFX Panasonic pretty flat at 2% mark, it's a poor showing considering how good their specs are. Leica are pretty stagnant despite lots of new releases, SL3, Q3, etc. Revenue from RED halved, Sachtler also down hinting at problems we know exist in professional filmmaking

I own the Blazar adapter and have used it extensively. I like that it can go wide, most 40-45 vintage lenses will cover full frame, especially if they have 52mm threads. It will even work with a few older 35-70 zooms past about 40mm. It's a little dreamy on the sides when using wider lenses, but once you go to around 75mm, it cleans up across the frame. It also has great focusing performance - with the taking lens set at infinity, you can do it all with the focus ring on the adapter and even wide open, infinity is spot on with every lens I've tried. Below are a few samples I have handy. First two shots are the 50 Nokton around F8. With my copy of the adapter, no amount of stopping down cleans up the edges on 40-50mm lenses. 3rd Shot is the 58 Biotar. Next 3 shots are the 75 Nokton. Image is great across the frame when stopped down a bit, but there is some fringing with the lens wide open.

Same. But, if they added raw they'd change the whole ballgame for me.

well as an X-Half owner I have to say, it's a very fun camera to use, overpriced, yes! A bunch of years back, they voted the Canon XC-10 the worst camera and lens of the year, and to date that camera did so well for me and paid for itself over and over again! I don't shoot puddles! am

Got any shots from that?

Nice frog, thought it was real for a second 🙂 I have recently picked up another 'faulty' anamorphic from Sirui, cost 160 euros and this time is the Sirui 50mm T2.9 1.6x anamorphic for Sony E-mount. Repairing it was quite easy as whoever put it in the spares & repairs bin doesn't seem to know that the anamorphic squeeze and 'de-centered internal elements' are not the same thing 🙂 It's definitely not in same league as an Iscorama for character but it still has a cinematic look and much less distortion than the little Saturn from earlier. https://store.sirui.com/blogs/guides/full-frame-anamorphic-sirui-50mm-t2-9-1-6x-lens-review?srsltid=AfmBOooPLqqtjgePHhwDkxLrA3fHpbTeyJOCB631Vf1LeSC6Fh2TRP1N I think for $450 it's a bargain really.

Oly cameras are charming. I have had plenty come and go. I don't like NOT having at least one. Currently own a EM10iii. The intangibles just make them "funner" to use.

I had one for a while and whilst I didn’t much care for the video compared with my full-frame Lumix at the time (S1H), I did like the stills files, but most of all, the form factor; the weight, ergos, build and sheer ‘rightness in the hand’ of the thing. Also the lenses, both the fast primes and the zooms. If I was ever going to do 4/3rds, it would be the OM-1 without having to think about it.

I've been enjoying his stories of the celebrity portrait shoots from the 90s and 2000s For a start the guy's work is fantastic, a great eye and a great instinct... superb really, and fascinating to hear his creative re-telling of the shoots. But in these videos he's also really candid about the stars, and their dreaded publicists / PR handlers A mixture of great... to really lacking respect for the photographer's art. The Paul McCartney one is pretty shocking but not as bad as Hilary Clinton 🙂 Love the PJ Harvey stuff though.

"Passionate people in a time when there's not a lot of courage going on" Too right Ms Obama.

He popped up in my feed a few months ago and I’m really enjoying it too.

I had a similar experience with this post. He's done hundreds of worse deeds just a year in to his second term, but this got me particularly upset. He's scum for the sake of being scum.

There is something about his post about Rob Reiner that has really had a big impact on me. I thought I’d become desensitised to the depravity, stupidity and contemptuous lies but this one is different. Almost like a test of what he believes he can get away with and a test of how much people around him would let him get away with. The answer to both of those is now, clearly, whatever the fuck he wants to.

It was a real low blow. Everyone has a big respect for Rob's achievement in filmmaking, the joy he brought to millions... Has the fucking penny dropped yet in the heads of these astonishing idiots who are in Trumps' fantasy land with him. It's a proper fucking cult. He has turned half of America into a right-wing cult. I don't know what's worse though... Is it the fantasy land of America-first narcissism or these kind of psychotic displays when someone dies... of him celebrating someone's death, throwing a pack of insults out to the family, at the time of the biggest tragedy of their lives, I can't even imagine what Rob's daughter is going through right now having found them all dead and then the media circus and that fucking cunt chiming in from his government hideout. He is simply incapable of forgetting or forgiving.

Dear @zlfan These posts are like spam. So I am going to put your account on pause while I look into whether you're a bot. Too many incidences of low quality posting recently and I have to make an editorial decision to protect the place, ok?

No more of this slop @zlfan, thanks

None of those images show the full dynamic range. It's a low light test more than dynamic range.

It honestly gives me a "plastic feel". I don't know, it's like the texture of the things appearing in the video can't be related to anything "alive", anything that materially exists and so can transmit an impression of actual feeling. And on a side note, that disappearing shoe... The channel's description : H E L P

The Chinese are great but they need to watch this And this...

By the way the collapse in price of the vintage stuff is extraordinary, you can get an Iscorama close to 500 euros now, almost back to 2010 pre-DSLR video prices

Yeah, thanks this shot is exactly what I'm talking about - the muted way it handles the sun is not what a good cinema anamorphic should look like. They don't have the big stretched ovals in the horizontal flare, the fatter flare lines and blooming. All these kids putting down pretty significant $$$$ for all this sterile stuff from China No question is it more practical though.... But better image it ain't 🙂

I have the 35/50/75 Saturn in E mount and haven't experienced any focusing issues on the A1, and of course that's with no Desqueeze support. It does have a bit better EVF than the Panasonic cameras, but I haven't found the EVF to be a night and day difference. I own the 35 & 50 Saturn in L mount and have had great results on the S1RII. The 35 isn't quite as well corrected as the longer lenses, so it has a bit of character, especially against the light. Still, none of the Sirui lenses can rival the results I get with my favorite anamorphic adapters, but there is something to be said for simplicity and reliability. Also - I'm not sure if the S5II was included, but the recent update for the S1II/S1RII now provides 1.6x desqueeze. Still attached from the 35 Saturn on S1RII.

I've yet to see any that have the rendering of an Iscorama or Soviet era LOMO, or the TOTL Hollywood lenses. They need to dial the coating down a lot and get rid of the very thin chickenwire flare. Anamorphic flare is much more than that as an aesthetic.

Great find! I have been using these lenses since Sirui introduced them with the earlier/larger Venus series. The new Saturn series that you reference is an improvement across the board...not only are they smaller & lighter, but the optical qualities are also improved. I have even used the 35 for astrophotography, as it's pretty wide on 3:2 open gate, with good performance across the frame wide open. I feel they are really a nice compromise between size and performance and I appreciate the 1.6x squeeze. If you don't like the pincushion distortion, it's really easy to correct back to neutral or even barrel in Resolve and you don't lose any of the image, as you are expanding the frame when you make the correction.