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Congratulations on your purchase! I have the GX85, which apparently is very similar to the GX80, but you might notice small differences perhaps, so I guess maybe not everything I say below will apply to you. I shoot run-n-gun fast-paced stuff so probably very similar to the challenges you are facing. Here is how I setup and use my GX85. This is the screen, showing lots of handy info. Going from top right, here's what I do. I use the custom modes to store different configurations. In this case, it's in C3 and that is fully-manual. You can't set the mode (ie, PASM) once you've created the custom mode, you need to create the custom mode with the right PASM mode. To do this you choose the right PASM mode that you want to use using the top dial, then save that configuration to the custom mode with the "Cust Set Mem" function, and then you can change to that custom mode using the top dial and then further customise that custom mode. I use the standard profile. I've done lots of testing and the standard profile is the most flexible if you're going to further tweak the colours in post. If not, feel free to choose whatever mode you like. I use focus peaking and have set it to a custom button to switch between the high and low sensitivities. I use this in combination with making the display black and white so the peaking is more visible. No flash. 4k 24p. I've setup back-button focus. This means the camera is in MF mode, but I have configured the AE/AF Lock button to enable AF while you hold it down. The way I shoot with an AF lens is to push in that button, see what it focuses on (which is obvious because of the peaking) and then I release the button, then I hit record. This means that the focus doesn't change during the shot. This means the focus isn't hunting around all over the place, it's not focusing on the persons hand or on the person that walks in between you and your subject, it doesn't focus on the background if they move in frame, etc. It won't follow them if their focus distance changes, which can ruin some shots, but my experience is that AF jumping around ruins more shots than the subject moving does. Plus, if the subject moves slightly the aesthetic of them being slightly out of focus for a bit is far less objectionable than the AF jumping around for no reason. IBIS is enabled. IBIS gets a lot of criticism but if you stand still and hold the camera as still as you can then the IBIS will simply help you to be more stable and the jitters and jello effects can be reduced entirely. Shooting in fast situations means that tripods and monopods are often too slow and cumbersome, but if you try and emulate a tripod by using IBIS (or better yet, combine IBIS with OIS from a stabilised lens) then you can easily get very stable hand-held shots that with a tiny bit of stabilisation in post can be perfectly locked off without and artefacts at all. I set my AF to be in the middle of the frame, which combined with back-button focus is really fast and usable. Even if you do the photography thing of putting the subject in the middle, doing AF, then setting up your composition, it all works perfectly. I expose using the histogram. Exposure is a big topic, but I have done extensive testing and have concluded the following. In the Standard profile, you can do quite significant changes to exposure and WB in-post, even with simple tools, if you keep the exposure in the middle. The limits are that if something is clipped then it's clipped (of course!) and if it's in the noise floor then it's also gone. Apart from that, you have lots of flexibility. Audio meters show the levels. I use auto-levelling, but audio isn't really a big part of what I do and if you only shoot short clips like I do then any variation in level that it introduces isn't going to be much over a short clip, and it saves more shots by adjusting itself than it ruins. You can always set it to manual if you like. Aperture and shutter speed. I always use 1/50s when I shoot manually. Adjust as you see fit, depending on if you want to expose with shutter speed and not use a vND. Personally, I find that not having the exposure going up and down randomly is a good thing, and adjusting the shutter speed with the dial is just as painful as adjusting a vND. If you're using a manual lens then you can just set the camera once, and then all your controls are on the lens (vND, aperture, focus) so that's a really nice way of working. Lighting doesn't change that much, especially in daytime exteriors, so it's not a big deal. I've swapped to a high quality 2-5 stop vND and it's got enough range for daytime if you're willing to stop down a bit during the brightest bits. In busy outdoor situations you don't want to blur the crap out of the background anyway, so stopping down is actually more relevant than isolating subjects to the point where the shot could have been taken anywhere. The exposure meter is sometimes useful, but it's dumb. For example if you're shooting a person and a white van drives past in the background it thinks that you should change the exposure. Obviously that's dumb because you're shooting the person and not the van. ISO200 = base ISO. This camera doesn't have great high-ISO, so stick to base ISO when you can. WB = 5600K. I shoot exclusively in this mode. After using auto-WB for many years, I've come to realise that while different lights appear different with a fixed WB, things look like what they are. During the day things look right, sunset looks very warm but looks right, fluorescent lights look green but that also looks right. I rarely change WB in post now, and if I do it's to even out and tiny variations between shots just to polish the final video. My final piece of advice is to get a native zoom lens. Either the 12-35mm F2.8 or 14-140mm F3.5-5.6 are great, but the 14-42mm kit lens is also very capable and not to be underestimated. In complex situations you are often restricted in where you can move to, and will often want to zoom in to control your compositions. Having AF speeds up your shooting substantially, especially when you might only have seconds to get rolling when you see a moment about to happen. Happy to discuss further if you have questions, and I recommend searching around here, I've been posting lots of stuff over the years, including lots of tests and sharing what I have learned. Also happy to talk about strategies for shooting coverage, etc. Once you buy the gear and learn the settings you can make a video. It's what's in front of the camera and what's behind the camera that determine how good that video will be.

There are no riots in Los Angeles. Get your information from a real news source.

I think it’s great. Another camera that could have been great but isn’t so I have utterly zero interest in and therefore will not be spending any money on. Keep it up camera industry, you are doing good and keeping my money firmly in my bank account 🫡

My S9 sits smugly looking on. At sub 1k prices, its video spec is in another league.

I've had the E-M5ii and E-M5iii. I've also had the E-M1ii, E-P7 and E-PL9. All of them had decent images in 4k. The E-M5iii and E-M1ii were definitely a step up when you turned on its picture mode (I forget the exact term). Shooting in 4k in the other normal modes wasn't bad, but a little "soft" for extreme detail. The major problem I had with the E-M5ii was absolutely horrendous moiré issues. For AF, both the E-P7 and E-PL9 did way better continuous AF in video than Panasonic contrast detect. The OM5 series could be so good if they could just put a little better processing in it and 10-bit. The beige looks like puke. Maybe it would be stealthy for a safari or desert situation. Also, OM System is thinking they can way more for this camera, but they will soon realise the contrary. It costs 1299 euros and 200 cheaper in dollars. I get the feeling OM System is asking the europeans to pay those effing tariffs for the Americans rather than asking the Americans to pay. The price gap is too much, especially since the dollar has been in a rather large decline since January 2025.

I did a bunch of testing some time ago comparing them, and they were less different than I thought they would be, and the CineD and Natural seemed to have the same latitude. I'm not sure if somewhere along the line I got confused between Natural and Standard though, so that might be something to test. Years on, the conclusion I've come to about colour profiles is that if you're going to colour grade in post with any kind of sophistication (and now with the Film Look Creator tool and Resolve colour management we have incredibly sophisticated tools) then it probably doesn't matter which profile you use. If I was limited to basic tools then I might just use CineD and be done with it. It's just preference really. The vND I'm using is the "K&F Concept 58mm True Color Variable ND2-32 (1-5 Stops) ND Lens Filter". They offer one with a larger range, but it isn't the True Colour one so I suspect it has more colour shifts. I've been really happy with it and my tests didn't show any colour shifts. I asked some professional cinematographers for advice and they said this was the cheapest one they'd recommend, so I suspect this is entry level. The NiSi ones were also recommended, but they're significantly more expensive. As always, do your own research, but if you're curious I might have my tests somewhere.

Hehe, I got lucky paying 250 for mine with the 12-32 and a Lumix bag. These bags are highly fashionable in certain groups of clumsy professor photographers.:) The combo usually goes for 350 with the lens. I got my first one eight years ago and paid around 430 for the body. It's still going strong, even without the backwheel which quit on me a few years ago. My favorite lens with it for photo is the 14mm pancake. I also liked using my Oly 45. But it's silver and kinda shiny for street. Planning on getting the Panny 42.5 F1.7. I also got a G3, a cute and small but solid plastic fantastic Dslm style camera. It's the dslrish sister to the GX1. The latter also going for higher prices than a few years ago. GX85 is the best of them all imo for a variety of reasons. 4K video is still great for being 8bit and Rec709. But you know that of course. @John Matthews I just had to get my second one for that nice price and I am looking forward to do a photo tour with two cameras and lenses.

I bought myself a second GX85. It will hopefully arrive this week. Comes with the 12-32, which I already own and enjoyed using for some test clips with the og pocket. I think I should let go my GM5, as it was more an object of desire than being a practical artists tool for me. What do you guys think? Prices are pretty nice and high for these at the moment. Mine is orange and in a very good shape. Much usage would rub the faux leather off I think. I love the subtle color grade @kye Great results with your GX85 cinema beast.:) Btw I really love the colors of the GX' raw files when taking photos . This camera is perfect for street and to carry along. Anyway, how is Prores on the GH7?:) Any nasty artefacts? Awesome to hear and read about your findings with this exciting camera, Kye!

I think you misunderstand a few isolated incidents for riots. Anyone that lives in Los Angeles will tell you things are fine, yet someone from London posts on the internet about how crazy things are there and that people are rioting. Who is right, the people there on the ground or the people who wish to use a few isolated incidents to try and taint a legitimate protest and the people who buy the narrative without any critical thinking?

Citing a few isolated incidents does not provide evidence of city-wide riots. Beyond that, get your head out of your idiot ass and stop getting your news from bullshit alt-right news sources.

In general, when shooting video you don't really want SS, fstop, and ISO changing. Best if they stay where they're at. The ideal way to control exposure, as others have said, is to work with ND filters. I absolutely hate the look of fast shutter speed video. In fact, if I'm shooting, say, 30p, I'll even slow the shutter to 30 as well. It's just a look I like. 180 rule? No thanks, not for me. OTOH, if that high speed shutter judder doesn't bother you, then you can always allow that to be the variable that changes your exposure. It's the default variable for phones shooting vid so it's kind of a 'thing' now anyway.

Something that's worth noting/remembering is that the 'Flkr Decrease' setting can be used to fix the shutter speed to 1/50, 1/60, 1/100 or 1/120 (180 degree shutter for 24/25, 30, 50 or 60 fps video) when you press the video record button in stills/photo mode (which forces the camera into 'P' mode, irrespective of what the stills/photo setting is). This workaround gives you shutter priority video with auto aperture and, if you want, auto-iso - it's 'photo' P mode with fixed shutter speed, basically. I find this really useful for 'instant hybrid' shooting - press the shutter button to take stills (in whatever mode you have set) or press the video record button to shoot shutter-priority video - no need to move the mode dial. From the manual:

I forgot that for exposure I also use Zebras to show what is clipped. To expand on my exposure strategy, I try to expose to the right (ETTR) but making sure that the only things being clipped are things I'm ok with being clipped. If the DR of the scene is significant, you have a decent ability to bring up the image in post, so underexposing high-DR scenes can be a good strategy. This might sound silly, but when shooting in available light, having the sun clipped is just fine, at night having lights clipped is fine, etc. The GX85 image can always be brought up in post, but you can't bring it down if something is clipped. I have a good thread on testing the GX85 here. Here is an example of the torture test I did with exposure and WB. These are the test images SOOC: Note that these are horrifically wrong in exposure and WB. This is a torture test after all! After correction: Small adjustments in exposure or WB are completely possible in post.

I am thinking full frame sensor is pretty bad for telephoto work at such long focal lengths. You are carrying much heavier glass and cropping into the sensor, aka not making the most of full frame - so you'd be far better off with a Micro Four Thirds camera for that. I am confused with your need for a fully articulating selfie screen at 750mm too 🙂 The R5C has worse AF for video. What about R5 II? Might be worth a look. I'd be tempted to go original R5 and a different camera for your telephoto shots, with a high-res crop sensor.

Have an 11 Ultra since it came out and it does provide wonderful image quality in MotionCam and McPro24Fps. Three things makes photography a difficult task on it though; For street photography I need an app that opens fast and captures fast (preferably the native camera app) 1. When you select 5x in the camera app it crops into the main sensor instead of switching to the native zoom sensor. You have to zoom to 10x and then to 5x again to fix it, every time. 2. The audio clips even at low levels and concerts can't be recorded at all for example. 3. The processing is bad on the native app and has a lot of smoothing and way too much contrast. So raw is really the only option. None of these was fixed for it. Considering the 15 Ultra and it does seem much better in most respects, but I'm not sure I trust Xiaomi after all this. GCam looks great on it though, if it´s fast enough. Anybody has any input on how 14/15 Ultra is to use in practice? The images in this thread does look great.

I have an outdoor shoot coming up and have been meaning to roll over my ND stuff. Might give it a go. https://shorturl.at/RWJJi https://shorturl.at/TE7qr

Or, instead of forcing my 6k open gate camera into shooting 4k cropped, I can stick with my smaller and lighter Sigma 28-70 f2.8 🤔 Arguably, the new zoom is the equivalent of 1mm wider and 10mm longer in terms of focal range and arguably f1.8 is still f1.8 for light gathering purposes, but for DOF equivalencies, f2.7 = f2.8, but nah, zero real world gains for my needs and a HUGE downgrade from 6k open gate. Now if the lens was significantly smaller and lighter, maybe a small argument could be made, but nah… For APSC users, it’s a different matter and the lens makes sense. Just not for me.

The G9 ii is much larger and over 50% heavier than an OM-5: The obvious M43 alternative (larger and heavier, but not as bad as the G9 ii) is a used OM-1 - almost a steal at it's current sub-£1000 used prices in the UK for what you get in a rugged, weather-sealed, reasonably compact body. And of course as MrSMW said, there's the S9 at sub-£1000 new, but that's not weather-sealed nor has an EVF. It's the lack of a compact M43 body with PDAF, 4k50/4k60 and excellent video IBIS that drove me to buy an S9 - my first ever non-M43 MILC (after 13 years of buying M43 cameras and owning a sizeable lens M43 collection). That said, the E-M5iii/OM-5/OM-5ii series aren't really aimed at the video-user market - they are primarily lightweight, small, weather-sealed stills-orientated cameras with a bit of retro style (which is an OM-System self-confessed niche, really).

And remembering that this camera (and predecessors) only have 8-bit color. The problem with Olymṕus is their codecs - they have high bitrates but are much softer than other companies, since the E-M5 MK II days. If you like the look (I had a concert video form the E-M5 MK II that you clearly see that is far from perfect, but it looked fantastic), could be a compelling option, but it probably falls apart very quickly with grading. The thing that amazes me (and the only explanation is that it have a VERY good patent) is that no other company implemented Live Bulb - it makes long exposures a breeze, you see the image "developing" on screen, you just pause when I think it is good. It the feature that I miss the most from my Olympus days (and the IBIS perfectly tuned for video).

That cheap and tacky finish might work in your favour, if your into a less obtrusive style of street photography or videography. It wouldn't be my first choice but I think i'd take it, over a fire engine red one, any day of the week. However i happy enough with the em-1iii so its all kinda irrelevant to me.

That or the G9 II - it seems to be not much bigger (a little taller and the hand grip + EVF protrude just a little more) and it barely costs more used. This one seems to be another example of OM system taking an existing camera, upgrading the processor, and adding computational photography features. The CP features are pretty neat, but it'd be so much better to see OM systems invest in something more interesting/revolutionary. Also, at least in pictures, the limited edition "sand" finish looks cheap and tacky.

Think about selling it and see how you feel. If you don't have a negative reaction to the thought, and it's not a practical choice, then sell it. If you do have a negative reaction to the thought of selling it, then think about how much you might get for it and what you could do with that money. Then think about swapping the camera for those other things and see which gives more excitement. Ultimately, if you're not shooting for money, then you're doing it for enjoyment, so ignore the specs and go with what would bring you the most happiness. Thanks! Not sure if I said this above, but my approach for the GX85 shots was to just apply enough of the film simulation in the FLC to get rid of the "video" look in the files, which I think was only about a third. The GX85 has a strong look to begin with, so I didn't need to add much to the colours. After many years working out colour grading tools and techniques across lots of cameras I've worked out how to get images to not look so digital, but now I can do whatever I want with them, I have to now work out what I want! It's a work in progress as everything is. Prores V-Log on the GH7 is an absolute joy. I have been doing some low-light testing over the last week or so in anticipation of my next balloon adventure, and I compared using a 17mm lens with using my new 9mm lens to get a 17mm FOV (firstly by shooting C4K Prores 422 and cropping to 17mm FOV in post, and also by shooting 1080p Prores HQ and cropping to 17mm in-camera) and even then, at ISOs of 5000 or more, the results were still not like the normal results from cheap cameras. In the grade it feels like footage from any cinema camera I've tried - the controls all feel great and the image responds how you want it to without colour shifts etc. Hell, I'm in groups where there are guys dealing with FPN from their RED cameras at base ISO that is worse than this camera has at ISO3200. Absolutely! There is something magical about this combo. I don't know what, but it's a joy to use and the files just seem to have something special to them. Dual GX85 bodies is a great way to go actually, and saves time in changing lenses all the time. Great stuff!!

From what you've said I would strongly suggest you to use Manual mode and to customise the dials individually (like @ac6000cw posted above) to configure one dial to be ISO ("Sensitivity" in the manual) and Aperture on the other. This would give you immediate control over the ISO (which you should only raise once the lens is wide open and there isn't enough exposure) and Aperture. This gives the advantage of the exposure of the shot not changing automatically during the shot. This is almost always something you want to avoid. Like I explained earlier - you don't want the exposure going up and down when bright objects come in and out of frame in the background. In situations where you do want the exposure to be adjusted during the shot, for example if you're moving from a light location to a dark one, or if lights get turned on/off, you can adjust these things with the dials. This will result in the exposure suddenly changing during the shot, rather than it gradually transitioning (as auto-ISO will do) but this is actually an advantage in post instead of a disadvantage. This is because if you need to adjust exposure during a shot then in post you can just chop the clip up into a few pieces (on the exact frames that the exposure changed when you changed the dials) and can automate the it from there. The challenge you have when using auto-ISO is that every shot where the exposure is drifting up and down will need to be adjusted with curves to compensate for what the camera did, and this can take literally hours. I shot a rodeo once using auto-ISO and a guy fell and the bull went over him, nearly treading on him, and so my framing went: him on top of the bull, pan down to him on the ground under the bull, him on the ground after the bull has run off. The exposure was all over the place as the elements in the frame changed and the camera "helped" me with exposure. The exposure automations I had to use to create an exposure that looked like nothing happened were complicated and took me literally hours. Had I shot it using one exposure then I could have just used a single exposure automation to bring up the exposure would have only taken minutes, and even if I'd have adjusted aperture or ISO during the shot it would only have added a few minutes in post to chop it up and adjust each segment individually. As you saw from my stress tests above, there is a lot of latitude in the files, so I cannot imagine that many situations where you'd want to change exposure during the shot. I used to be a full-auto shooter, and shot like that for years, listening to people online about how doing things manually was better. Now we have better tools in post, I have now fully switched to manual shooting as I've been through the pain of adjusting things in post to compensate for the camera wandering around. Just looked. I have -5 Contrast, -5 Sharpness and -5 NR, and 0 Saturation. There is a whole topic about why I have set these the way I have, but that's what I recommend. 5600K makes things look like what they actually look like. I shot for years using auto-WB and just couldn't make things look natural in post, they always looked like something was off in some way. This solves that issue. I found that when shooting in available light, even doing a custom WB on a grey-card gives a worse result than just using 5600K. I'd encourage you to set it to 5600K and carry the camera around with you in a pocket for a day with the smallest lens you can find and just take a 1s clip of every location you can find. Then pull them all into your NLE and see how they look. You might be surprised at how well it works across all the different situations. If you can, take it to some night markets where vendors are selling food from vans and people are selling low-value items. You will find the most incredible variety of ultra-low-quality lighting imaginable, as every vendor will buy the cheapest LED lights they could find at the time. Trying to "correct" for these lights will be futile, but the footage should still be a representation of the environment you shot in, even if it won't look like a beauty commercial. A note on testing... I shoot in similar situations to those you have mentioned, and I have come to the conclusions I have come to via lots of experience and an incredible amount of testing. Testing is so important to getting good results because so often you are convinced of something and then do a test to verify your opinions and find that the results are radically different than what you were expecting. So many people online are full of opinions that are so easily proven to be false with only a few minutes of real-life testing. I'm not sure if you've come across any cinematographers doing latitude testing of a cinema camera, but it's very telling that cinematographers (whenever possible) will do camera and lens and lighting tests prior to shooting a TV series or movie, and it seems like no-one doing videography or photography does these or talks about them. Hell, I was looking at a lens the other day and couldn't even find anyone who published test images at different apertures to see how the lens performed wide open vs stopped down. I found lots of photography bloggers who published lots of images and had lots to say, but testing? Nah.... Professionals test, amateurs guess.

Out of curiosity, how much is that combo going for where you live? I'm always looking for it, but it often seems a bit pricy for me. In France, it can be found for about 350 euros.

FX30 = 2.36 FX2 = 1.04 I think it’s one of the coolest looking cameras ever, the FX line and that tilt EVF ‘looks’ great and for folks that like and use that kind of thing, it probably is, but I don’t have the time and have been an LCD shooter for years now. It’s just a speed thing for me constantly hopping between stills on one body and video on another and the less differences the better. I don’t think the camera is as good as my Panny’s for video and I already have a better Sony stills unit…but I really had hoped it would be good as a true hybrid for my needs, but that LCD just killed it for me 😏

But then we would not benefit from his/her/their annual single (on average) contribution. I feel enlightened already.

Totally agree! Bcuz one of the R5Cs main strengths is how feature/option-rich it is. But that also means you constantly need to be making sure you have the right featues turned on/off, etc. For example, I use the S35 crop mode and/or the digital teleconverter for added reach - but if you don't manually set the cam back to full frame or take it out of TC mode, the cam won't go back to the default mode when you turn it off 🤷🏾‍♂️

After 850+, I’m still thinking about it… 😂

I have a lot of respect for the skill involved with shooting weddings. I did two about ten years ago and decided that it wasn't for me! Yeah, no thanks. I appreciate you mentioning that. I'm not willing to take that risk! I bit the bullet and ordered a used R5C. $2400 a 22K shutter count, and a cage included. I don't expect this to become my primary camera over the C70 but will be nice to have when photos are also needed. I think I might re-buy the SmallRig v-mount plate so that I can power it off of my Intellytech mini v-mounts, and then just uncouple it from that setup and run it off of the regular battery for stills (I really like an EVF for stills). In the interest of keeping things small and lightweight, I probably will not bother with a separate monitor.

Canon R6II and R7 can record 4K for long hours without overheating, on my ex R7 the only time I see heating bar was during summer inside a clear tent which is like greenhouse on stereoid, even DJ's equipement got overheated, but R7 still only 4 bars out of 10 so pretty alright. R8 on the other hand will need a fan to go through summer outdoor for long 4K recording, for broll it was fine though, just you will see the the overheating bar pretty often in video. The 4k50P quality is really great, but now I got R5C the quality is even better, R5C is probably the closest to C70 in terms of noise performance in clog. I also got powershot V1, this one can record 4K for hours without overheating, but the bar did went to 5 at one stage, that was because the location is next to the heater. It is a nice C cam for wide and as a pocket cam. So my current setup is R5C/R8 and V1 for 3 cam and 3 60/40w cob lights with battery for wedding, with this setup I only need 1 pelican case, 1 backpack and 1 bag for tripod/stand. I used to have the R5 as well, after their latest firmware I haven't seen the overheating warning at all, even I shot 8K broll in outdoor summer. One thing with Canon is on the EOS side, only R5II/R5/R5C/EOS R can have hdmi out + internal recording + internal screen on, all other models the screen either go black if recording internally or have internal screen but can't record internally if you are connected to hdmi

A 200-800 may be appropriate for wildlife documentary but adding TCs to an f/9 long lens to increase the size of long-distance subjects in the image is unlikely to be very useful. The aperture with a 2X will be f/18 and usually one starts to see significant blurring due to diffraction at f/13 and smaller. The best use of TCs is generally for increasing the magnification at close to intermediate distances where the image quality degradation is not significantly present. At long distances, especially when photographing over water, the temperature variations across layers of air, and humidity in the air, distorts and blurs the image and the longer your focal length, the more obvious it becomes. It's almost always better to be in a location which allows the wildlife to get closer and then shoot without a TC. I'm saying "almost" because there are situations where the light is good only when photographing subjects at longer distances and at closer distances the light is blocked by trees, hills etc. so in that case the longer focal length is needed to get the good light (but atmospherics still apply). In a video, the small aperture may not be a critical issue as the shutter speed is typically lower than in stills (e.g., 1/50s to 1/100 s when at 25 or 50 fps), bright sunlight giving f/16 1/100 s at ISO 100, for example. However, bright sunlight can lead to harsh shadows and in order it to look good, it should come at the right angle (which is usually low above the horizon). At low angles the sunlight is attenuated more by the longer distance of travel in the atmosphere. This generally improves the quality of light on the subject but the quantity is reduced. For stills, usually people want high sharpness in the details of the animal which can dictate a faster shutter speed such as 1/400 s or even 1/3200 s for birds-in-flight. A lot of the time there are clouds and in many cases the most atmospheric and beautiful light is before and after sunrise and sunset, and in those conditions you might be at ISO 25600 even with a f/5.6 lens. A lot of wildlife are the most active in these time windows. So the best times-of-day for photography might not be possible with an f/9 lens let alone f/18. Having the skills to pan effectively make it possible to do some shots successfully in lower light by allowing the subject to have controlled movement blur (sharp head, blurry wings, landscape blurred into trails) but this requires great skills. Even though some softness can be corrected with sharpening and noise-reduction algorithms, garbage-in-garbage-out still applies. A lens with a really small aperture means usually elevated ISO and increased noise. A 200-800+2X will have significantly reduced contrast over a native 1200 mm lens, for example, and if the noise is increased by the need to use fast shutter speeds and higher ISO, then the deciding parameter (contrast divided by noise) in terms of the clarity of subject details will be reduced from multiple factors: atmospherics, low-light-noise, reduced contrast due to use of imperfect optical system (with TC), all working to make it harder to get high-quality images. I'm not saying it's not a good idea to use a lens like the 200-800 for the stated purpose; especially for video with the camera+lens on a tripod and fluid head, it may be a very practical compromise for travel-based wildlife photography, but one should have realistic expectations and when people talk about 2X use to magnify long-distance subjects with a small-aperture lens, then I can't really but feel that the OP hasn't thought it out through and might not have a lot of experience with very long lenses. I think a lens like the 100-500 is much more travel-friendly and might give a greater pleasure of the experience but it also requires you to be closer to the wildlife or select subjects that work with that range. It might be a good idea to take both the 100-500 and 200-800 and use the 200-800 when you feel up to it (traveling can be exhausting) and when photographing subjects which require the reach while the 100-500 can be carried along more casually and with other lenses. For video I think fluid head and tripod give the best results when it comes to these focal lengths, but a fluid head won't easily adopt to regular photography with shorter focal lengths such as landscape in low light. A 1600 mm lens is going to be tough to keep steady no matter what gear is used.

GX80/85 here too (they are the same camera, varies the geographic version, EU or US). Just arrived from street back to my Lisbon base, 5 minutes ago, with one in hands... as casual shooter for covering this: https://www.portugal.com/activities-experiences/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-biggest-party-in-lisbon-santos-populares-and-santo-antonio-2024-edition/ + FX30 with my new Sigma 16-300mm f/3.5-6.7 attached to 1.5x Clear Image Zoom and no complaints on ISO as far as low light concerns under street bulbs by night, go figure for 4K 25p always under ISO 1000; + Osmo Pocket 3 which didn't leave the case this time and it's one of my favs; + Insta360 One X2 in my shirt pocket, despite its terrible low light/night shooting performance other than my beloved Osmo, the same, never came out... Its small form factor with the cheap kit 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 lens makes it unique. Didn't even feel the need to use my Osmo, can you imagine? And Panasonic batteries last and last... A single battery for all night long, two batteries for Sony. Follow @kye's entry for everything else, it's for free and you have there more with him than whoever else here or anywhere out there ;- )

Still think is a high price, but in the same ballpark of the X-T50 outside USA, it's ok. Could get one only for stills - or just be sane and stay just with the X-S20, since even with just one camera almost don't have time to use it properly...

Haha... maybe things are a little different for me as I have both ADHD and ASD so my brain sees details rather then summaries. Lot's of Macro photographers tend to be on the Autism Spectrum for this reason. Probably why so many people got confused with what I'm trying to achieve, as sadly communication is different too as there are subtleties. I'm kind of leaning towards the R5C at this point but a little lost over the lens lineup. I wrote above what my thoughts are as I want to cover my bases and not leave anything out since at this point I don't have any experience as I've never done anything like this before. So what focal lengths will I need? Time will tell basically..... Sure for stills currently based on what is available where I live; I use the 15-30mm Pentax and 150mm Irix, the 200-500 f5.6 Nikkor, and Sigma 105mm - though prior to the 15-30mm I used the Samyang 24mm F1.4 which got crazy internal reflections at brilliant points of light. Just checking the Canon website I can see a CN-18-80mm and 70-200mm which probably would cover me on all bases but sadly these are Super 35mm E-mount lenses, so not even full frame. Something like the RF 24-240mm would be ideal as a one-stop-shop for a lens but I made that mistake with my Nikon already in the 18-300mm DX. It's awful and heavily compromised for my liking. Good for "snaps" though, great recon lens :-S I guess I made my decision on camera body, now for the lenses....??

When I had the camera, I basically just left it on A. Even when shooting on a Mediterranean island in the height of summer. I find that when documenting real life stuff, the 180 shutter rule is a bit more maliable than when shooting for narrative or performance. In fact, I would go so far as to say for a protest, having a very fast shutter speed can even be advantageous as things move so quickly. You can pull crisp stills from your footage and any noticeable choppyness in the shots will emphasis the electric feeling of actually being there. With A you can just focus on framing and let the camera do the exposing. It will play with ISO and shutter speed, but keep you aperture locked to whatever you set it.

Right. These days, you can pick one of Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Panasonic (and arguably, Fuji) and have everything you need. Beyond that, you're really just micro-optimizing in ways that are less meaningful than you might think. Most of them just take turns buying the same Sony sensors anyway. Each has some things that they do better than the others - and if you change your mind later about the things that are important, you could certainly regret it. But at some point, obsession over small differences between systems will lead to making a YouTube channel with a theme song about "All I want is the perfect camera, all I want is the perfect ca-me-ra..." (FWIW, Kasey is borderline convinced for the time being that his R5 II is the closest thing to a perfect camera and he also likes taking photo/videos of birds/squirrels in his local area). Am I actually suggesting that someone watch Camera Conspiracies for actual information about buying cameras for their use case? I can't believe I'm saying this, but... maybe I am.

Makes perfect sense, especially when traveling

What is your planned presentation/use for these photos? One of the not-so-secret secrets of wildlife photography is that the photos are rarely presented as-framed in camera. The D500 has 20 megapixels which gives you a bit of room to crop in if your presentation is going to be social media or embedded in a 4k video. The Z8 and R5C are both 45 megapixel sensors - so you'll be able to crop in even more than on the D500. An 800mm lens won't be meaningfully different in FOV on FF than your 500mm was on APS-C, though. You mention the built-in TC on the 200-800, but there's nothing stopping you from going out and getting a 1.4x TC for the lens that you have now... or a 2x, but on modern very high resolution sensors, I've never seen a 2x TC that looked better than just cropping. If you don't want to crop or if you want to shoot 4K for presentation at 4K, you really should be looking at APS-C or M43 cameras. Bonus, you can also still use a TC.

That all depends - if you have a 61 megapixel FF sensor, the only real benefit to it is the ability to crop in. Much heavier glass is also subjective - I kind of love the Canon RF 800mm f/11. It's obviously very limiting to have a fixed f/11 aperture, but the lens is otherwise a decent performer and not that different from using a 400mm lens at f/5.6 on M43. I would say, though, that stabilization is huge at such long focal lengths - and that might be a reason to consider a Panasonic body and Panasonic lens since their hybrid IS is by far the best. I don't have much problem getting sharp photos on the R5 with the 800/11 since whatever mix of IS is used works pretty well - but I also only use it in fairly bright areas and I don't mind bumping up the ISO a little bit.

I got really excited for a second when I saw the EVF but that A7IV sensor is a buzzkill. For a video first camera I can't get around the 26ms rolling shutter. Unless you shoot static shots, this is just bad performance. I also find it insane Sony is still not offering resolution above 4K or internal RAW in 2025. For 3200€ I find that unforgiving considering you can get a used/grey FX3 for around that price. Not even going to mention the competition options. Don't get me wrong, this is still a very solid hybrid camera with some worthy improvements but I'd still pick FX3 over it unless you absolutely need an EVF and even then an A7S3 would probably still give you a better image, especially low-light. Sony is still doing one step forward, two steps back.

R5C got some solid updates including AF. I find it actually way superior to Nikon Z8/Z9. Smoother, more reliable tracking. Less pulsing/hunting. Nikon AF can sometimes trip or get confused but Z lenses do offer minimal breathing which is nice. The main catch with R5C is no IBIS and average battery life. If you can live with those two cons it's a better hybrid in my opinion. Grading N-log is also more time consuming than C-log.

£1299 in the UK. $1299 would be the original US pricing without Trump's madness. So the tariffs are adding $400 onto a $1299 camera body. All of it into the pockets of a fascist administration rather than a nice Japanese camera company, too. Ouch.

I have one on the way after looking at the image samples here: https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_14_ultra-review-2683p5.php The 75mm F1.8 lens in particular... Like some of the famous Zeiss Distagons it has a floating element to get close. With such a fast aperture in combination with the close-focussing abilities make it look incredible. The 14 Ultra in fact has two such lenses, a 75mm and 120mm. And the main imager is 1" Which also in the close-to-mid focus range has a very shallow DOF. I have lighted tweaked that last one in Pixelmator Pro, the JPEGs have a surprising amount of chonkiness to play with. Then there's the RAW capabilities... With Motion Cam Pro there's the RAW Cinema DNG recording. Within Xiaomi's own camera app is the expert RAW mode for stills, with Leica's colour tuning. This allows you to completely turn off any noise reduction and sharpening... one of the main caveats of modern smartphones. I think at £600 used this is the real deal. The 15 Ultra doesn't change things very much, indeed to go any better would require a big leap. We're talking at least Micro Four Thirds size sensor instead of 1", and F1.4 maximum aperture. And to make this pocketable is going to require a lot of physics bending. There are some other options like the Oppo Find 7 Ultra, and Vivo X100 Pro which have a large 1/1.4" sensor on the telephoto lens, 200MP. But the lens quality itself is a bit compromised as a result. The Vivo X100 Pro has the Zeiss modes, Zeiss lens simulations, even RAW video built into the main camera app I believe. But I find Xiaomi's image processing with Leica to be the best of the bunch. Looking forward to when it turns up from CEX this weekend with the photography kit which gives it ability to use filters and a proper shutter release button! I think for street photography requiring stealth, 3 lenses in one pocket and very high speed, this is a better choice than a proper camera, X100 VI or Leica Q. The ultimate shot getter?

I considered the same dilemma myself a few months ago and it boiled down to this: My need for pro-video features = less, I am a purist when it comes to shooting moving images - no peaking, no zebra, no elaborate extras, no clutter on screen, I have very basic audio needs, far more need for a fast operating nimble camera that can switch quickly between the highest possible video specs and nicest possible ergonomics for stills, so for me the EOS R5 was a better deal than R5C, far less money used, it behaves in a more nimble way for smaller scale creative endeavour and filmmaking, with better AF and is a superior stills camera, the overheating aspect is much improved vs the launch, and the hardware was never really limited very much by raw thermals anyway - it was all silly firmware trickery. So I recently went R5, but the mount just doesn't do it for me. With the Nikon Z8 I can use many more adapters, many more of my existing lenses, far more comes off my shelf and is happy on the Z8, especially for stills. So it really boils down to lenses and whether you'd be happy with a normal R5, before considering the Z8 as a step up from that.

I had that camera for about 1 month and then sent it back to Amazon because the GX80 came out at the same time. Still, I recorded some great moments on it. One of the videos is so precious that I have it on my desktop at all times.

Went hot-air ballooning and if there was ever a challenge for shooting, this was it. Extreme low-light and extreme DR from hugely bright light-sources. They say you can't take bags in the balloon, and it had been really wet weather, so I decided to go small. I took the GX85, TTartisans 17mm F1.4 for the low-light, Laowa 7.5mm F2 for an ultra-wide, and the 12-35mm F2.8. I was a bit cheeky and took a sling bag and kept it under my jacket. The requirement is that nothing is loose in the basket and that you can hold on with both hands for landing, so I figured my bag under my jacket was basically the same as having a big pocket. It's a crazy early start. We arrived in the field before first-light and they started setting up in pitch darkness guided only by torches. I started shooting at F1.7 and needed ISO6400 at first to get any kind of level on anything except their torches. I shot on the 17mm at F1.7 and gradually reduce the ISO until the balloon was mostly inflated, then swapped to the 7.5mm for a few wide shots, and then swapped to the 12-35mm F2.8 and it was time to get in the balloon and off we went. I also shot with my iPhone 12 mini for some quick shots using the ultra-wide when I didn't want to change lenses, and also as we were approaching landing, as I had put the camera away in anticipation. It was super-foggy and the pilot ended up having to land early and for a while we were going pretty close to the treetops so I'd put my camera away when he told us that he'd be landing at the next opportunity. Frame grabs.. mix of GX85 and iPhone, put through a quite moderate FLC pipeline. In retrospect I took the complete wrong equipment and used it in the wrong way (so, it's business as usual!) but the FLC pipeline really took the footage to the next level, and I used just enough strength on the film emulation to get rid of the digital look to the images. Here's a comparison. Grade (same as above): SOOC: The GX85 has super-whites so despite being SOOC that image is actually slightly clipped in-post and some highlights can be recovered, which the FLC grade has done, but you get the idea. The SOOC is with the GX85 default profile and has much more of a video look to it, despite being pretty good compared to other similar cameras. If I was to take the same equipment again, I'd lean into the darkness and just use the 17mm at F2.0 where it cleans up and use the GX85 at something sensible like ISO1600. This would have the early shots as perhaps being unusable, but it would mean that the torches the crew used wouldn't have been clipped (I clipped them in favour of exposing what they were shining on). We're going to go again later this year, and for that I plan to take the GH7, 9mm F1.7 and 14-140mm F3.5-5.6. This will be a much larger setup but if I use a neck strap then I only have to have one lens in a pocket and so I won't need a bag at all. I just bought the 9mm F1.7 and it's sharp wide-open, so apart from having AF, it is both an ultra-wide as well as a low-light lens. I can crop in-camera and/or in-post to get a tighter FOV, but you don't normally need long focal-lengths when it's that dark. The more I use this FLC pipeline the more I like it. If I'd have shown these images to my 2018 self, I wouldn't have believed me when I said that it was me that made them.

Yes I have the Beastgrip DOF adapter, but... controversial opinion alert... Mirrorless cameras are a far better tool for interchangeable lenses. They have the grip, the physical controls, the EVF and the ergonomics and weight balance, where a smartphone just feels shit when there's a big weight on the front. For me, the Beastgrip was interesting to play with for a few shots, but nothing more. I just didn't see the point when I could just pick up an X-Pro3 instead. As a standalone camera the 14 Ultra has an upper-hand over mirrorless camera creatively though which is why I bought it... in that it's capable of firing off so many different shot styles on the spot, in a few seconds, with ease and speed... which I absolutely love and to do the same with interchangeable lenses would take forever and the shots would be gone or the light would be different. Not to mention the stealth factor for street photography too. I think the beauty of these smartphones is they are..... smartphones. Always with you, and no need to reach into a bag of lenses every time you see a shot worth taking.

Picked up a used GH6 and got the LogC firmware and I am loving it. I have a Lens Turbo in FD mount and the underrated 35-105mm Canon lens, but am looking to keep this set up as native as possible. I picked up a 7artisans 24mm 1.4 on the cheap and am pleasantly surprised by the lens, especially since every review I could find of it, trashes it. Since almost every review was with the lens on an aps-c camera, I assume some of the goop is cropped out with m4/3. Anyway, I'm looking for a cheap zoom, probably a Panasonic kit, that is better than it should be. I intend on making it my Spielberg f/5.6 lens, but then I got to wondering if any of the kit lenses are accidentally parfocal? I'd love for the little 14-42 PZ to be that lens, but for some reason I doubt it. I assume I'll eventually give in and get the 12-35mm for the added IBIS, but the point of the camera is to keep it on the cheap. Here are a few frames from the 7artisans in case anyone is interested. These were my first few shots with the lens and the LogC profile. Other than the Arri LUT and an s-curve, no construction equipment was harmed with this set up...

1+8 pro with Helios 58mm on a steady tripod, 226mm FF equivalent.

Defocus Test: 1+8 pro with Vega20mm @f2 wide open (78mm FF equivalent) Vs canon 5D3 with Lomo 75mm @f4