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All of them of course. Gotta make that coin whenever and wherever you can.

They will be very important as the cameras will be the capture device for the worldwide free training data they’ll be getting from the cloud storage/editing function that will be offered to the users who’ll be unwittingly doing the training for the company. And paying for the capture device as well. And they ban DJI for being untrustworthy eh? Makes you wonder which family member is backing this financially ?

Great hack for the filter holder! I'd somehow missed how obnoxious they made the camera bump on the 17. Sheesh. I'll have to look to see if my Magsafe filter holder fits over my case (the standard iPhone 16 Pro soft plastic case from Apple). I think I eventually found one, but it's been a bit since I used it. But that is also my preference - just let me use the normal case and a normal screw-in filter and not some weird one with a proprietary filter system that won't work with my next phone. And yeah, Magsafe is definitely the way to go for filters - and if your filter adapter passes through the magnet, you can also get a magsafe CF Express reader/writer. That's really useful when shooting ProRes on the 16 - and presumably for shooting raw on the 17 series.

Getting ready for my next trip and I'm going far more minimal this time, and so the focus is on using the iPhone 17 Pro as my second / backup camera. As such, I've been working on a vND solution for it. The significant considerations for me are.. It needs a ton of ND As it doesn't have an aperture, if you want 180 shutter then you need enough ND to shoot F1.78 in bright sun It has significant IR pollution issues It suffers from IR pollution far more than my GH7. If I shoot with my GH7 and my 1-5 stop True Colour vND I never get IR issues, but the iPhone gets them even with just this 1-5 stop adapter. I need an adapter that works with my iPhone case I'm not taking my phone case on and off when I use an ND, and the "solutions" that the smartphone filter companies provide seem like pretty shitty cases compared to the rugged cases that I prefer to use. I want it to be as small as possible - adding an ND filter shouldn't make it look like I'm shooting a Nolan feature film As such, I've developed the following approach. I'll stack my existing 58mm K&F 1-5 stop True Colour vND with a fixed NiSi 3-stop ND that also has IR filtering in it I'm modifying the Tiffen MagSafe filter attachment I bought to work with my Otterbox case (photos below) Cutting it like this and overlapping them gives the height step-up required so the filter part sits on top of the lip that the case has around the cameras. After some testing, I found that I could position the 58mm filters so that they don't obscure any of the rear cameras (including the ultra-wide). The two limiting factors in the arrangement are that I can fit two 58mm filters but not three (the third one starts obscuring the ultra-wide camera) and if I position it so the three filters are fine on the ultra-wide then the other cameras start to be obscured by the filter holder. The above is only held together with super-glue, but I have will cut some 2mm aluminium sheet and glue it in place with 5-minute araldite (epoxy) to make the thing sturdy. The MagSafe connection is remarkably strong, partly because the Otterbox case has magnets in it designed to transfer the magnetic field to the outside of the case. It'll be strong enough for careful use anyway - it's not like I'll be shooting with it and also wrestling people at the same time! The more that I think about how good these smartphones are now the more ideas I have on shooting with it. Once you toss in high-quality filtration like this, plus anamorphic adapters and all sorts of other things, the shooting possibilities get really exciting!

So by my man mathematics, DJI must have given away 10x X2Dii units for every one they have actually sold. I get the marketing strategy behind getting maybe 10 or so units out to some key Photo World 'influensters', but holy macaroni, just how many of these things have they given away? Who knew that DJI were such a philanthropic company... Jealous? Moi? Insanely, - it's a dream camera for me, but at ballpark '12k' for the body and 35-100 zoom lens, I cannot make the financials work in my favour. Even if it also did video. Which it doesn't. Not even slightly. Why is it peak camera for me? It's looks, the brand heritage, the build, the feel, the handing, the menus and of course the image quality. Except not quite the image quality. I have downloaded files from a number of sources and expected to be blown away and drink some of that readily available on-line Kool Aid, except I wasn't. Yes, they are great and super-detailed...but so are those from my whatshouldbevastlyinferior LUMIX S1Rii. I have not been able to shoot the exact same scenes side by side, or any of my own stills with the Hasselblad because I don't have access to one, so can only go on similar type shots...and as above, I'm not blown away or seeing any magic. In fact, quite a few of the shots I have downloaded with human subjects, the focus has been slightly off which suggests to me 2 things: Thing A: The focus is slightly off. Thing B: What muppet was given this camera to test and why has said muppet not pixel-peeped their own images they have put out into the world to be pixel-peeped by other (lesser) muppets like me? I was also considering something Leica. Not as well as, but instead of as in something 'more' than my LUMIX's but maybe not quite Fuji GFX/Hasselblad 100mp level. But based on my findings, I've dropped the whole idea. Are there some extra-fine details or other such mojo coming out of these bodies? Possibly, but nothing real world to my eyes. Are they better designs, better built and have more brand prestige? For sure. Does it (the pics) all look the same on social media? Of course they do, but that actually isn't the point unless your sole intention is content creation and the tools are just tools, but for some of us creatives, the tools are part of the creative process. Anyway, the point is, I'm not sure whether the shark has been jumped here, but I suspect there is a maximum amount of shilling going on because come on, you received a 12k gift and you know full well that unless you sing it's praises and go light on the criticism, you are never going to be gifted the next model to 'try out' when that comes along. Nope, you will be off the Christmas Card list faster than writing to Santa and addressing him as You Fat Fucker. I think I only came across 2 or maybe 3 reviews out of about 30 that I have seen that had bought the thing with their own money and those reviews seemed a bit more balanced, but still almost exclusively positive...but then maybe some of those folks needed to validate their own purchase and also hope to be noticed by Mount Hasselblad and be in the next model gift club... My answer to all of this? I went out and bought a pair of f1.4 Sigma lenses to replace my LUMIX f1.8's, ie, another of the most marginal upgrades. But it's my money so... ... PS: Unless Hasselblad are reading this, in which case, you fucking rock 🤘and of course I'd love to receive one and here's my address.

I’ll let you know once I’ve shot with them and done an edit. I can’t shoot these things side by side ie, Lumix 35/85 vs Sigma 35/85 because it’s work not a set up test so will have to go on feel & results but shooting essentially the same kinds of scenes week in week out, I have continuity in that regard. I’m not expecting any quantifiable night & day difference, but rather some subtle but worth it to me differences. The Sigma’s are going to be slightly larger and heavier. I don’t mind that and were only talking +200-250g so well short of say using a chonky zoom that would require a battery grip. That should be all good and I actually prefer something with a bit of heft for stability. I’m going to get actual aperture rings. Yay. My biggest criticism of the LUMIX f1.8 primes is their lack of aperture rings. Even the super expensive LEICA SL primes don’t have aperture rings. ALL lenses should have aperture rings on my planet! I’m expecting a fraction slower AF. I can live with that for the way I work and I could happily shoot manual focus 95% of the time so… The lower light capability (approx 2/3rd of a stop) is welcome, but I don’t really need it as f1.8/f2 is actually fine…and the Sigma f2 primes were another option, but the slower f2.8 90mm puts me off a bit for indoor work compared with the f1.4 85mm so I ruled them out on that basis. I actually had a set of them including the 90 a few years back and loved them, but I don’t think they are the right option for me right now. Finally, I think I am going to enjoy the shooting/ownership of metal vs plastic and there is that undefinable ‘I want to shoot with these’ rather than ‘I have to shoot with these’ factor. All in all, considering I am funding this 2 lens update by trading 5 lenses, it’s my ‘upgrade’ to something fractionally more ‘premium’ that makes up for not buying a Leica or a Hasselblad!

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.