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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.

It worths mentioning G9II, a sort of GH7 in a S5 body.

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 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.

No more of this slop @zlfan, thanks

I've been away from this forum for a while, since around the time I got my XT3 and thought that was the endgame camera for hybrid shooting. In many ways, I was right, until this summer when it dropped and cracked the screen. The first and hopefully last time I've ever dropped a camera. I sent it away to be repaired, however, after paying the €200 to replace the screen, I went to collect it and was informed by the front desk that they don't actually have the parts for the repair, so they've upgraded me to an XT5 at no extra cost. That's a service I can get behind and they've for sure earned a life-long customer with that! Anyone got any starter tips, or lesser known, but great features to look outfor with this camera?

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 have an opinion on that... https://www.eoshd.com/opinion/chris-and-jordan-select-sigma-bf-fuji-x-half-and-sony-fx2-as-worst-cameras-of-the-year-just-goes-to-show-that-some-people-dont-have-a-single-creative-brain-cell/

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'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.

G9 II has a few gotchas: * no fan, so overheats * audio nerfed so you can’t use TC1 / tentacle etc * no hdmi out when recording with hybrid zoom Otherwise, I really liked it but it’s gone to MPB and been replaced by GH7.

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?

They are outdated in that they are older cameras that don't have all the bells and whistles of the most modern camera released but in terms of image quality, I think every single one still holds up. I'd very much miss the lack of IBIS and shutter degree, but I could absolutely do my work with three GH3 bodies if I had to and I don't think most people would notice or care. The cons were low light and auto focus (though I still think the GH5's auto focus was usable in real situations despite others proclaiming it to be unusable.) You also needed to hack the GH2 to get the most out of it, so that could be seen as a con for it. The pros? Great IBIS in the cameras that have it (the GH5's IBIS still blows away IBIS in Sony's newest cameras), the battery life was incredible (at least up to the GH5; haven't used the GH6 or 7), no overheating, excellent image quality, decent audio preamps (GH3 on, from my experience), plus you get all the benefits of usinga M43 camera, like the smaller lenses and the ability to adapt anything.

There isn't a single camera in the entire GH line that wouldn't be usable today. If you want 4K, you'd need to go GH4 or newer. If you want reliable video autofocus, the only option is the GH7. For the best low-light performance, the GH5s is probably your best bet (though I'm not sure if the GH6 or GH7 have great low light performance). The older models struggled more in low light. With the GH1 and GH2, hacking them for more bitrate is suggested for best quality. The most popular models were the GH2 and GH5, but the GH7 seems also to be well-regarded.

Anyway I'm going to lock the thread, it's been completely wreaked as usual and it would be better to go back to cameras.

I think praising someone that dangerous, with that kind of low moral standing, for being a good at executing a business plan is missing the point, but then each to their own. His PayPal chum is even worse. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/10/peter-thiel-lectures-antichrist

Easy to fall upwards when you have 498 billion in the bank! What with all that money his personal life is still a binfire. Only have to look at that to see the true character of the man. All the messy multiple affairs and abandoned sons, daughters. That's what he's singularly able to achieve merely as a man when he's not got the billionaire oligarch hat on. When he's got the billions and the companies he's able to take the credit for other people's hard work and that's how he built his entire reputation.

I definitely like the way these look better but I still thought the 35 Saturn image looked good! To me, I'm just grateful that there are more options out there, as anamorphic has been out of my price range for a long time. And they'll only get better as they fine tune them.

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

Cheap zoom lenses (and especially kit-zooms) are often the BEST lenses. I wrote a whole thread on it here including examples and comparisons, but the summary is: They're cheaper than almost any alternative They're flexible and very fast to use, because zooming is always faster than changing primes They improve your edits because you can get greater coverage and variety of shots in the same amount of time / setups They are in the "sweet spot" between being too sharp and looking clinical and being too vintage, but their aberrations are often actually very aligned with the qualities of vintage lenses people want, just dialled down to a modest amount They have smaller apertures so are easier to focus / less prone to focus errors and don't need as much ND in brighter situations They often have native AF and are kept updated with firmware updates They often have OIS Those with variable apertures are much closer to being constant DOF, where the more you zoom in the smaller the aperture gets, counteracting the effects of the longer focal-length, which makes your footage more consistent They don't get a lot of love online, but that's because most of the discussion online is about the things that are THE MOST of something (the sharpest, the newest, the biggest, the most expensive, etc) and being cheap and good is only really attractive to people who actually shoot in the real world and where a happy middle ground is desirable. My most used lens is a variable aperture zoom lens, despite me owning many much "better" lenses.

Haha. I am not one of those then... Lenses are more important than cameras, really. It's true a lot of people are happy with one modern 24-70mm F2.8 for silly prices like $2k that can only be used on ONE camera and maybe a fast 50mm... F1.2? for another $2k (fuck me... no wonder they don't own many), maybe a longer lens - 70-200mm perhaps for 2 grand or whatever, that is 6 grand totally down the drain. Just get a good 35mm prime and learn to use back-button AF. I don't understand why they think the heavy zooms are such a great option. The 24-70s are massive and don't have the character of a nice 35mm F1.4. 28mm or 35mm are a fantastic focal lengths... Not too wide for people shots, easy to crop to a 50mm FOV. The do-it-all lenses. Give me a small 28mm F2 like the Leica Q over a DSLR 24-70 any day... I have the images to prove it!