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Someone named Vitaly hacking a camera? Oh boy. 😅

So I rented the Pyxis 6K this week to run some tests. We're building a new studio and I wanted to see if these would work for us in our workflow. My criterion for these studio cameras is the following: - Somewhere in the $2000-3500 range - SDI output - Solid 4k image - Clean image for fast workflow (no denoising in post) - Good autofocus - Simple workflow Honestly after spending a few days with the Pyxis, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It's a really simple camera body, and everything is laid out really well. It's smaller than I thought it would be, but built from a heavy duty metal, and kind of heavy overall, which I didn't mind. The 5" monitor is amazing. It's also built out of some kind of metal, but still thin and light. It powers and does video from a single locking USB-C cable. It's touch enabled, so the menus and autofocus can be controlled from there, and the image is really bright and easy to see in the sun. It's honestly just really nice to be able to put the camera on a tripod, plug in the locking and included AC adapter, plug in the monitor, and you're good to go. No janky adapters, dummy batteries etc. The image is really really good. It's very sharp, clean, and as much dynamic range as you could want. I was able to underexpose shots by a solid two stops to hold highlights out a window and the image looked really good after recovery in post. The autofocus kind of surprised me as well. It's DPAF, added somewhat recently in a firmware update from BM, so I wasn't expecting a lot. But it was really solid. Not a lot of control options, but when a head comes into frame it locks on and tracks really well. I feel like I can totally use this for talking heads with no worry about it losing focus. Overall the biggest downsides were the lack of internal ND filters, which is a real killer. For our studio workflow, this is totally fine. But it would be amazing if ND was included for if we want to use them for other projects. Also rolling shutter was pretty noticeable in 6K. Not a problem again for studio work, but could be an issue if used for other things. The other two downsides for me would be the lack of codecs and resolution options. There is no downsampling in camera. If you want to record in 4k or 1080P, the camera crops the sensor. Also you are limited to b-raw, there is no h.265 or h.264. Again, this isn't really an issue for us since the camera can still output a full sensor downsampled 4k signal from the SDI output, while being set to 6k internal. But for other workflows, I could picture this being an issue. I think there is a love hate relationship with this camera's simplicity. All the basic, core functions are there, and really easy to access, like resolution, frame rate, audio, LUT control, proxy recording, etc. But when it comes to anything more complex, this camera is kind of lacking. On one hand I really like this because it keeps things simple and uncluttered. It's really nice to pop in the menu for something and not have 10 million options to sort through. On the other hand if you're missing something important, this can be devastating. Overall This camera nailed what we're looking for in a studio camera, but I'd be hesitant to buy it for run and gun use. I think for run and gun the one and only reason I would buy a heavier cinema camera is for the internal NDs, so with the Pyxis lacking them, it wouldn't really make sense over something like an A7IV or an FX2 which would both be in the same price range.

Thinking of it as a Super-16 FILM camera represents an incredible opportunity when combined with the high-resolution sensor - zooming in post. My experiments with emulating S16 film showed that even a moderate amount of blur applied in post hides a huge amount of detail in the image. This means you can crop into the source image significantly and the blur will hide it. For example: If you were to put a 12mm lens on it, then you'd get a ~35mm FOV at 6K, which you then blur. If you were to put a 12mm lens on it, then crop 2x you'd get a ~70mm FOV at 3K, which you then blur and the blur hides the zoom in post. If you were to put a 12mm lens on it, then crop 3x you'd get a ~100mm FOV at 2K, which you then blur and the blur hides the zoom in post. Depending on how much blur you applied (if you were going for a vintage 16mm look or a more modern 16mm stock emulation) I suspect you could zoom up to 4-6x in post before the digital nasties started being visible through the emulation. I don't know what kind of digital zoom the camera offers, but if it allows it then you could frame in-camera and not be throwing away bitrate when you crop in post. This gives two advantages: 1) It turns any prime into a zoom, perhaps even a 4-5x zoom - much more than the 2-3x fast zooms like 18-35 etc 2) if you crop in post then you can apply additional stabilisation, making it feel a lot larger than the tiny camera it is I suspect that mostly this advice will fall on deaf ears, as people are drastically afraid of softening their images, like they'll be punished in the afterlife for it. When I saw Goodfellas in the cinema on 35mm film projection, it looked like somewhere between 720p and SD - and that was a 35mm feature film!! The amount of blur to accurately reproduce even a semi-ballpark 16mm film emulation is beyond most modern thinking, but if you can wrap your head around the concept then the ILS can become a drastically useful camera.

Interesting update on the FP front. A user has apparently developed a way to use the FP's internal gyro data to get post-production stabilization via the cam's SD card (vs needing to attach an additional piece of external hardware). You can get more details here: https://discord.com/channels/1542149935523299378/1542153963837853807 And this is an FB group where the developer made the annoucement earlier this week, and is discussing it with other owners: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EPzkeRZny/?mibextid=wwXIfr There is also a user (Vitaly Li) who literally just posted about a new mod they're developing that could give the FP 3000x2000 open gate: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1F1sixsTzz/?mibextid=wwXIfr Personaly I've moved on from my dreams of owning an FP, but this is seems like pretty promising news for FP users.

Another new size appropriate lens for the S9 in the form of a 20mm f2.5 launched today. https://www.wexphotovideo.com/panasonic-lumix-s-20mm-f2-5-lens-3358704

I was pretty excited about this idea, but with the limited lens selection, even with the new 40mm f/2, it’s still bigger than my Sony A7R II with the Rokinon 35mm f/2.8. An A7C would be even smaller. It still doesn’t really feel like there’s a proper upgraded/full-frame version of the GX85 + 20mm f/1.7 combo, which I absolutely loved

Completed filter holder V1..... It's far more compact than anything else I've seen that fits anything other than a naked iPhone, which is important because if my phone is a huge rig then I may as well be using a "real camera" and if I can't fit the whole thing in my pocket then that means carrying a bag and (once again) I may as well be bringing a real camera. I cut up some 2mm aluminium sheet to bridge the gap between the two sections of the Tiffen and epoxied it in place. Then I added another layer of 0.22mm aluminium that was painted black (that I ordered by mistake - thinking it was 2mm) to cover it up and give it a semi-nice finish. I did a bit of filing around the edges and added some black nail polish to tidy up the edges, and finally put a pop-socket holder on it so I can hold it a bit more securely. This is how I typically hold my phone when shooting, it's nice and stable and it gives me a good grip. The case is super grippy, so I'm optimistic that it'll work well. I deliberately called it Version 1, because after discovering how easy it was making this one I'm thinking that version two should be a custom one designed from the ground up. After all I have all the tools and plenty of spare materials. I'm thinking I might have a ring of rare earth magnets set into the sheet, and I'll base it on a step down ring that's stepping down from a few sizes above so it's got a bit of material in it. Hopefully I can create something that attaches really well and is still nice and slim.

I know we’re not supposed to talk about action cams, but this action cam is not! Why is no one talking about the Mission 1 Pro ILS? This thing looks so good. Have I bought into the YouTube shill hype? I just sold another camera and a couple of lenses to get it. Is anyone else going to pull the trigger on one?

If you're going to get an ARRI phone, why wouldn't you get one with a built-in gimbal?

I envy the Ronin 4D for that.

For me, 6K is ideal - I don't lose detail when reframing and even with some denoising, a lot of the fine detail sticks around. Really, for anything from 4K through 8K, it's fine for me. 4K just means I have to be more careful with my frame and 8K means using a bit more disk space (which I have plenty of for now, hope hard drive prices come down someday, though). But yeah, the frame rates are fantastic. They're one of the big reasons that Camera Conspiracies loves his M1P ILS so much.

I think we had some discussion about it! I'm very pro-Mission 1 ILS. I've bought a couple of Backbone-modded cams over the years (well, the first one I bought as a conversion kit for an existing previous-gen GoPro, which I promptly screwed up and then sent to them to help me fix nice guys!). The thing that's kept me from using either one is that monitoring is bad on them. The HDMI output on the older GoPro lags. We're not talking 3 frames... more like 1/4-1/2 second. And the monitor output on the Insta360 One RS... isn't. There's no wired display option for it and the wireless display to the phone is also laggy, even in an area with no wifi interference. Neither was made for pulling focus. And holding a wee little action camera right up to the eye to focus on its little screen (very little on the One RS) stinks - and tools to punch in, while available, are clearly an afterthought and are clunky. So they're most usable for something where you focus once and then just roll - which doesn't fit a lot of my use cases for a smaller sensor. Though they were great for the eclipse that came through the US a few years ago. Anyway. The M1P ILS seems to fix that problem. The screen is as big as you'll find on an action camera. Wired monitoring is possible and (from what I've seen) low-latency. Dynamoc range is, by action camera standards, good. The only reason I didn't buy one when I got the "in stock" notice from B&H was that... well, I just got a Pyxis 12K because the current sale is crazy. That and it's GoPro - they'll be on sale for at least $100 off within a year. That's how I got my M1P non-ILs.

For anyone looking to do something similar a suitable harvesting product is this Allied Vision industrial camera that uses the same Kodak CCD. They are also long since defunct of course but are available on eBay. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284133056331 I think the price seemingly on the high side is probably reflective of people looking to do a DIY Digital Bolex too but when you consider that a used D16 is not easy to come by and is well north of £5K then for someone determined enough this route is something of a relative bargain. Pi 5 and its eco-system have now matured sufficiently to be able to handle the Allied Vision software in the intervening years so it’s definitely viable as a DIY project. Not trivial of course but viable.

It seems RED SDK beta 9.3.0 released in 9th of September has this line: Added: trim support for R3D NE. Hopefully it’s not long until both Resolve and RedCineX Pro include this SDK🙂

Side 100%. Can’t stand tall stuff! I’m rebuying the battery grip for one of my S1Rii’s because it’s just a bit too unwieldy with the Sigma 28-105 f2.8, especially in portrait orientation where having that shutter trigger button is a boon. That lens is only on the camera 20-25% of the time but it makes sense to just keep the battery grip on at all times for the constant familiarity in handling even with smaller & lighter primes plus it would be faff to keep switching. On the other S1Rii, I have the Smallrig half cage which is basically just a base plate with a side rectangle that is supposed to protect any cables, but has 3 threaded holes. Just a case of attaching the thingy that holds a P4 to that left side and then simply have it in the horizontal plane when I want to capture some gimbal video whilst shooting stills plus the ability to flip it to the portrait mode the rest of the time when I want to shoot social media BTS BS. Also much easier workflow than shooting open gate and having to frame for both 16:9 and 9:16 in the same shot and sort through all that footage. Less kit, less BS, better workflow.

Nothing wrong with ZR dynamic range IMO, and highlights look good too. With NRaw ETTR just below clipping point is needed, but with R3D NE exposing correctly by false color works well. Just get Cinematools false color LUT to ZR, make your own in Resolve or use Parallax Monitor app. The ZR is no pocket 4P with DLog2 DR wise, but pocket 4P IQ still does not look even closely as nice as ZR, and guess which one breakes sooner in very low light. The pocket 4P IQ as a gimbal camera is still nice step up from earlier oversharpened stuff and does not look bad when mixed with raw shot with ZR and Z6iii. Have not used RedCineX much after discovering it does not support R3D NE trim save either.

The single biggest issue is that operating the thing one handed is not great and one handed is the only way to also shoot stills at the same time. The answer is to primarily shoot stills two handed and have the video unit attached to the photo unit and in that regard it needs to be small and operate on its own mini gimbal. Et voila, the Pocket series and its rivals. I also need a better BTS and quicker social media option so again, better tool for the job.

And… …selling it. It’s been a decent stills experience but less so video. From the stills perspective, it takes nice pics but back to the same old dilemma I always have and that is the best camera I have with me at all times is always going to be my phone and it’s a PITA to carry 2 devices. On the video side if things, it worked well enough on the gimbal but operating the gimbal as a one man band hybrid shooter is as much a PITA as that ever was so selling the RS4 mini also and replacing both, ie the gimbal and the L10 with a Pocket 4P. Also, in the static role, overheated in literally no time in the type of environment I typically work in and at not much difference in size to an S9 with a small lens, which despite not having a fan, is surprisingly durable. More so than my S1Rii’s I *think*. I have not tested the latter but as my S1Rii’s have overheated in a static role multiple times and my S9 never has… Anyway, L10, I wanted to really like it, but it’s not cutting it for work purposes (never really expected it to as than as D cam at best) and can’t really be bothered as an EDC and with hindsight I shouldn’t have bothered, but hey, we sometimes need to try to find stuff out. Anyone want to buy a lightly used L10 in the UK?!

I wonder if it will ever get the 'Red-lite' raw codec 'everyone' wants... If that ever happens, what a fucking camera it would be.

Definitely the best value of it’s kind… For not much more than 500€£$, what it’s capable of is nuts! It’s only real Achilles heel for me is the build. Mine is in the XLCS cage so it’s like Robocop visually, but that does’t change the rear LCD, buttons or dials. I’m not one for chasing the next gen camera for the sake of it, but for real world upgrades that would make a genuine difference. Bring in the S9ii…

The 12K line has a steep discount going now, too.

For people in the US, at least (I'm not sure abroad), Panasonic are running some trade-in deals. The one for the S9, in particular, is fantastic if I understand the terms right: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/a/trade-in/61933 The S9 is $1,197 normally, but there's a $300 instant rebate and if you do a trade-in, you seem to get an extra $350 + trade-in value of what they describe as "any working digital/film camera." I wonder just how much of a potato would still quality - $547 for a brand new S9 is genuinely tempting. It's pretty much the most pocketable full frame camera on the market now - would be nice if it had internal ProRes, but I think Panasonic's HEVC implementation is decent. Also, kind of crazy to get sensor shift stabilization on a FF camera for that size/price.

Funny that sony raises prices and blackmagic cuts prices. Allthough for me with the storage space costs at the moment. Braw isnt cutting it. It is better then h265, sure. But I just cant justify the storage costs. I wished they included compressed prores again. Love blackmagic though, it has an amazing look. I think I owned lost of their cameras until the pyxis. But its shitty on gimbals, and storage adds up, not as much as the nikon zr though. I hope nikon announces good news on IBC in a couple of weeks. My c500ii will do for now.

The things that impress me most about this camera are the frame rates and processing. In addition, it’s so damn small and light. I purchased it, and it’ll be here tomorrow. I’ve seen both super positive and super negative opinions about it, but it really does feel like a new category. I have a few assumptions about it, though: I think it will be a stellar performer when it comes to moiré and rolling shutter. It’s also going to be pricey to get wide, sharp lenses for it. That’s why I plan on using it with my S9. I feel like they could complement each other well. I’ll definitely be playing around with it over the next few days.

My old Canon T2i has stopped remembering the date and time if the battery is removed. It Turns out there is a hidden internal backup rechargeable “button” battery, not mentioned in the manual. Luckily it is accessible, as seen here: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Canon+EOS+Rebel+T2i+Clock+Battery+Replacement/139543 The battery is a Seiko MS614SE, not to be found in Canon’s support pages. After some effort I found a supplier that ships it in the USA: https://eu.mouser.com/en/ProductDetail/Seiko-Instruments-Micro-Energy/MS614SE?qs=vrQyzjTsotmt1bmGskqEPQ%3D%3D I will see if the new button battery fixes the problem. There may be more to it. There is also a similar thing going on with Fuji cameras. Starting earlier this year, my X-T3 will reset & lose my settings & the date If the camera is not turned off before removing the battery. There is a YouTube about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vOv-xjUtzw In the X-T3, I do not see an access to a button battery like there is in the Canon T2i.

If your use case is with C mount Super 16 lenses, "a bunch of lenses" might fit in a coat pocket. The tripod can also be an insanely light tripod or even something like a Manfrotto MP-3.

More here, there and also over there to include the new 200mm & 500mm teleconverters. E. ;- )

This highly-cherry-picked reel appeared in my feed. The image quality looks pretty impressive, so when the stars align the potential images from this thing are very nice. I guess the question for me is how many situations would the ILS be the right camera choice for? For example if you're going to pack a bunch of lenses, a tripod, and rig it up with filters, then go somewhere to shoot, setup your gear and potentially direct the scene in front of the camera, using a larger and more capable camera wouldn't make much difference to the logistics but could give advantages in DR and usability etc. For example, the ILS body is roughly 90mm x 60mm x 45mm, very similar to the Lumix GM1 which is 100mm x 55mm x 30mm. Small for sure, but by the time you add all the lenses and all the rigging, it's not like your camera bag is that much lighter. Does anyone know what the stabilisation is like with third-party lenses? Like, is it the same as the normal GoPros with their own wide lenses? or is it poor / hit-n-miss?

If it makes you feel better at all, nearly every Ronin 4D that was ever made is convinced that it is currently 1970. 😅

Guess they figured the RED camera went over so well that they should make one themselves! 🤣

GoPro ILS vs BMPCC OG... not a completely scientific test, but lots of shots in different scenes, so a good real-world comparison.

Funny you should write this, I just got a A7v last week. My reasons are a bit different, we were awarded a project once again where we shot the bulk last round on Sony cameras, and will be using some of the B-roll for the new shoots. I just wanted all the new parts I'm shooting on Slog 3 cine as well. It feels a lot more refined than the A74 I had a while back!

The recreation of the Digital Bolex that David Bross (of the Digilog camera app) has been working on is now functioning. He's got help from Joe Rubinstein from the original Digital Bolex company. It sounds like he'll have two of them to be used by filmmakers to test it out. https://www.cined.com/david-bross-digital-bolex-rebuild-reaches-working-prototype-kodak-ccd-raspberry-pi-5-free-loaner-units-planned/

Of these only the Allied Vision Prosilica GT 3300 has the KAI-08050 sensor that the DB used. The Faux Bolex project was designed using Basler brand machine vision Gig-E cameras and uses Basler libraries but if someone is savvy with programming they should be able to change the code to make it work with other brands. Don't look at line scan cameras, look at area scan cameras. The FB project uses Gig-E for connection, (not USB or CameraLink.) The Basler model with the same exact sensor as the Digital Bolex is avA2300-25gc. The monochrome model would be avA2300-25gm. Other sensors also use the TrueSense colour filter and have global shutters so this might not be the only suitable camera. Basler cameras model numbers are easy to figure out. The av means their Aviator series, the A is area scan, the 2300 is the approximate horizontal pixel size, the 25 is max frame rate, the g means Gig-E connection, the c is colour (and m is monochrome.) If anyone makes one, please share your progress with us here. https://github.com/lafauxbolex

Thanks! I didn’t see the other discussions. I haven’t been here in a while, as I’ve been busy installing solar panels on my roof and taking care of some other upkeep. This camera seems very quirky, which is a bonus for me. I’m looking forward to learning how to use it and figuring out what it’s good at. I’ve never had the ability to shoot at some of those frame rates, and 8K isn’t really my thing, but I’ll give it a try. It reminds me of the BMPCC OG days. Just so you know, I sold my GX800 (amazingly, a bigger and heavier camera) along with some kit lenses. I’ll probably let go of my Leica 15mm f/1.7 as well, since it won’t be of much use to me with this camera. I have a few plans for this thing, especially using some of my vintage glass, which could be a lot of fun. I’ll definitely report back once I’ve had a chance to play around with it.

The Digital Bolex uses a Kodak KAI-04050 sensor. The sensor is available in colour and monochrome models. (BTW, the colour ones use a TrueSense filter, not a Bayer filter. ) So presumably there would be better resolution with the monochrome ones than the ones with the TrueSense filter. Here's the spec sheet. https://www.imperx.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/KAI-04050-D.pdf I played around with footage from my colour Digital Bolex, using a monochrome plug in that allows you to assign a grey level to any colour tone with a lot of customization. It looked really nice. But probably shooting black and white with a dedicated monochrome camera might be better somehow. There are a few example videos online shot with the monochrome version. The story is that so many people had been requesting custom builds using the monochrome sensor that they decided to just come out with a monochrome model.

I am currently taking a good hard look at the V… Not the A7RV that I had, but the more recent V for vanilla, as in none-R, the 33mp one. As a pure stills camera. In a direct comparison between the A7RV I had and the S1Rii that I currently have, bodies only, nothing in it. The Sony has more megapixels which gives more latitude to punch in allowing shorter focal length lenses plus even better (more accurate) AF and is smaller & lighter with battery life and the S1Rii counters with…well with what actually…?? ’Something’ I can’t quite put my finger on… It’s only slightly behind in the above factors and the only thing I can come up with that I prefer over the Sony is, “I prefer using it”. But…and this is the big one and the above confirms it even more, there are quite a few bodies that do what I need them to do, but very few lenses. As things stand, I’m not going to jump immediately, but my primary tool for next year is going to be based on a specific lens, or at least something very much like it and that lens is the Sony 50-150 f2. I can’t quite get past it. It is the perfect outdoor lens for my line of work. Yes I wish it was smaller and lighter but that is it’s only compromise. The cost isn’t because for business use, it’s not that big a deal. But, it’s E Mount only so native on Sony or adapted on Nikon. The more recent A7V beats the A7RV for me as it’s; better in low-light, even faster and more accurate AF and I prefer 33mp when I don’t need to crop so aggressively. There is nothing else from Sony that would work for me as a body. Nikon, I had the ZF and with primes and smaller zooms it’s fine, but with the 50-150 adapted, it would be trash to use, especially as there is no battery grip and I prefer the A7V/S1Rii style fully artic screen. Ditto ZR. And there are reports of banding in certain lighting conditions. If it had a mech shutter and the type of rear LCD I prefer, I’d be all over it. Z8? Could get away with no battery grip and it’s an option… Z9? Prefer it over the Z8 and could be an option… But with both of the latter, there have been reports of this specific lens, the 50-150, not working quite as well as it does natively… And then the final piece of this particular puzzle is the fact that is not a fact but could become a fact, that from within the L Mount alliance, someone pops out a rival lens to the 50-150… No signs but a patent went in a few years ago apparently for a longer focal length to the Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 which was I believe for a 45-90 or very similar. That would do it for me as keep me in the L Mount alliance for all my needs because with the S1Rii I could just about punch in for my needs. So you have 6 months L Mount Alliance to come up with something and it MUST be internal zooming and MUST be f2 or faster and ideally, basically the existing 28-45mm f1.8 in longer focal length such as 45-90 and then we’re good. Because if not, I will almost certainly be chopping in one of my S1Rii’s for either a Sony or a Nikon plus 2 lenses. For video though, all the other (4) bodies and lenses will remain LUMIX/Sigma because as things stand. A. They are unbeatable for my needs. B. The cost to change would be hideous and if that change was sideways at best, what would be the point? The simplest answer to all this is make that fucking lens Sigma. You have 6 months to get it on the market. 7 months at a real push because if there is no sign of it within 4-5 max, I will be jumping ship for all my stills photo needs.

These days middle-of-the-road is really good, FWIW. I sounded more pessimistic there than I meant to. 😄 The difference in DR between a mediocre modern camera and a good one is only a stop or two and the good one is usually only a stop or so off from an Alexa. But yeah - 18-22ms of rolling shutter when at full sensor width 16/17:9 will be noticeable, but IMO usually not overly offensive. 25ms in open gate starts to get into noticeable even by someone who isn't looking for it. But hey, it's still better than the $15,000 Eterna 55 with d-range on or in the 5.8k or 8k modes... a lot better than the 36mm wide 8k mode (around 32ms). I talked myself into a Pyxis 12k at the current sale price. Will be selling my E2-S6G soon to make myself feel better about adding another camera. RS and DR on it are both very good in the 8K mode which is how I'll be using it most of the time. Autofocus with EF lenses adapted to L mount is... well, it's a beta. 😅

Yeah from my experience I'd say the DR was actually really good. Obviously I couldn't do any measured tests, but it felt really comparable to the Lumix S5II which has some of the best DR in the business. Rolling shutter was not good though, pretty obvious jello with even a basic pan. And that's coming from someone who usually doesn't complain about rolling shutter as I rarely see it reflect in real world shooting

Agree and if they ever come out with a longer option such as a 70mm or even am 85mm and manage to keep it f2/2.5, they would make for a great little set. 20/40/70 would be really superb! They make less sense if you are already invested in the f1.8’s which are hardly large and pretty light.

This is the right solution IMO. Gimbals that you attach a camera to are so much less usable/useful than camera-integrated gimbals!

With 10 years experience in the industry, you should start by reaching out to all the clients you worked with in the past, who you feel like you delivered great content to, and who you have built a good relationship with, no?

Nice to see you and your family — I presume, enjoying it! : ) The score fits the ticket perfectly! *thumbs upª Other people’s good fortune I can live with ; ) it’s their misfortune I can’t : X

Lovely vibe to it, very easy to watch, and Thassos really does half the work for the camera, doesn’t it? The A7 IV and Tamron combo looks like a great travel setup: small enough to actually carry around, but still with that full frame look when the light gets nice. The GoPro shots blend in better than I’d expect too, always handy for the bits where you don’t want to risk the main camera. And yes, that music choice definitely adds a bit of “summer holiday from another lifetime” feeling. Nice way to say goodbye to the season.

Unless you desperatly need build-in NDs, internal prores or EF lenses without an adapter. I would have retired my 6kPro a few years ago if the FF camera had ProRes, or even a good h265 codec.

35mm f1.4 dg dn II plus the 85mm f1.4 dg dn ‘Used As New’ from MPB…except I also bought the MKI 35mm by mistake and have to send that back for a refund 🤦🏻‍♂️ They will get a run out this coming weekend at a 2 day job and then on a 3 day job the following weekend and then that’s me done until late next Spring. I did consider the f1.2 35 and the new 85 is due out any day, but bigger, heavier and when would I ever need f1.2 so nah.

I do Brandon, exif data! All the examples I downloaded were shot on the 35-100 with various apertures, shutter speeds and ISO, but otherwise yes, you are correct and I don’t know if it was camera or user error that the focus is slightly off…and it could be either. I’d really need to try one myself but here in France, rental is available, but only in big cities and only if you pick up and return in person and the pricing is pretty steep. When I am next back in the UK, I might try and convince a camera store to let me pop my own card in their demo model and shoot for 5 minutes out in the street, leaving one of my kidneys as security. Yes, printing is no longer part of my workflow and I’ve long since stopped offering books & albums for all kinds of reasons, mostly financial and I can only presume clients don’t really print either. They almost certainly intend to but almost certainly do not. I however don’t pixel-peep so much, but enjoy working with the best files I can work with. The edit is as much a part of the process for me as the capture. Less so for video where I prefer the capture and not so much the edit, probably because unless I start shooting raw, those files are not nearly as malleable. I know 99% of what I produce is going to end up on-line or social media whether it be my own or my clients, but I still want to work with and put out the best quality even if it is never realised by anyone bit me. I’ll find out this weekend as they will be waiting for me the morning of my next wedding with the planner who took delivery of them as I am on the road…

In general, I think FF is the sweet spot for a lot of stuff - not that the format is intrinsically better than anything, but because that's where most of the research/development goes. Lens makers and camera makers put the most work into those systems and lenses for those systems. S35 is just behind it with one vendor putting almost all their eggs in that basket and, as you said, it being the default for a number of video-focused things. Unless the gimbal is camera-integrated, they sort of end up being the worst for lots of stuff. Everything ends up being harder than it should be, including stuff that should be simple like accessing camera menus. I'm really enjoying the focus rat bag. It's a lot less involved than putting on my Ready Rig and if I have an image stabilized lens, I can get stable enough footage. If I were shooting Panasonic and lighter gear, I wouldn't even need/care about that!

Nope, that is exactly where I am; I've had more seasons than Kiefer Sutherland in 24 who only managed 9 seasons, - I'm closing up Season 26, the last 15 of which have steadily become increasingly hybrid with the last 5 being approx 90% hybrid packages. In 2027, it's 100%. The format of these events has barely changed in the last 26 years, - more fashion and annual fads, but the core of it is the same; two people get ready, meet for a ceremony, drinks & snacks after, then they eat, there's some talking stuff and then they dance. Having said that, the variety of things to capture is high with so many genres of capture required including; landscapes, architecture, still life, candid moments, food & kitchen, bands, formal elements... But aside from that, yes, my biggest driver kit-wise has been 'smaller & lighter = faster = better'. The compromise is always 'quality (of output) vs volume, size and weight of kit' and I could make a strong case for M43, APSC, FF or MF but the sweet spot for me is FF stills and either FF or APSC/Super 35 for video. M43 doesn't really have the ultimate low-light quality I need and MF doesn't really either, especially when we are looking at lenses such as Hassie's 35-100. Folks often suggest things to me that seem so obvious to them but my question back at them is, "do you do this week in week out, all season long, as a one man band, because if not, I appreciate the thought, but nah". I'm still exploring even after all this time. For example, I picked up my 4th gimbal recently after quickly returning every single one previously...and once again, absolute failure. It's not me, - it's the tool...and yes, well aware of the saying about blaming the tools, but sometimes it really is the tools, so selling the gimbal and a camera and doing something else instead because the simple reality is, the stability in LUMIX cameras is now so good, I can actually get better...or rather, more consistent footage, NOT using a gimbal, but using just the camera. (What's wrong with the gimbal? Simply having it and then having to operate it whilst not being able to do anything else is a fucking pain in the arse!). So yes, the tools are critical and am I at 'peak camera'? Absolutely, - I just need to be at 'peak operation' of said tools and I pretty much am with just a few niggles such as gimbal type work as in I don't want or need 'a gimbal', but have a need/want to be able to produce 'gimbal-like' footage at certain times, so it's a case of need/want driving choices, rather than buying tools and then trying to make them work/fit. My decisions are also not cost driven, ie, if the Hassie R2D2 actually made quantifiable sense, I'd find a way to fund it. In fact I had a plan and that was to take 2x more jobs in 2027 than I wanted plus the sale of some kit, which would fund it. We're talking an extra 2-3 weeks work in total, for something that would last years and maybe I could market & milk to death and be part of any future model launch, but my conclusion remains and that is it would not allow me to do anything I already cannot and therefore makes zero sense other than on a pure 'want it' factor.

I will say that even though the Beastgrip adapters are made for phone use, they actually have very good build quality and the newest versions have pretty decent optics, with 1.33x being better corrected than the 1.55x. They also have good front filter threads - the 1.33 uses 58mm and the 1.55 is 62mm. Once you get them properly attached to your lens, they aren't going anywhere. The first versions are not as well corrected, but that may be what you are looking for. The build quality seems consistently good across all models and versions. I'm guessing you could find some on the used market for reasonable prices, as they aren't super expensive to begin with.