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I thought that about picking up some FX3’s and my next wedding film would look like a sequel to The Creator. But stupidly, I stuck with my S5ii’s 😒

I am actually in the camp of ‘gear is great’ and love a chat about kit, but just saying that too many focus on the camera and only the camera above all else as in, “if only I had Camera X, I would make it in this industry”. I’m all for filmmakers large and small to break away from the norms and don’t think kit should be restricted to just the most expensive stuff when some very very ‘low’ end gear has been proven to work just as well and in some cases, has made certain shots possible on the first place. As already referenced, The Creator being shot on FX3’s and The Batman (for certain scenes) using a lens that can be purchased of eBay for under 100. I think the Ronin is such an example but could this show have been made without it? Yes. Will the way this show was shot influence others to emulate? Probably. Will some of them buy or rent a Ronin as a result? Probably, but the result was not solely down to a single piece of kit.

Thank you for your extensive reply. I was basing my info on the official Ronin blurb, as well as both the Adorama and B&H sites. Nowhere does it say you need all these additional elements clearly to make the most out of the cheapest kit. That's exactly the reason these gear-head forums need to exist. It's very easy to get tangled up by a barrage of technical data without the prior knowledge.

That's simply not true. The focus motor is an additional $270 purchase. The 6K version of the Ronin 4D also doesn't come able to shoot ProRes RAW or 4444 XQ. For that, you'll need to add the ProSSD mount ($200) and a 1TB ProSSD ($800). For most MF lenses, you'd also need to buy a mount other than the one included with the camera - I haven't seen many DJI DL mount to anything else adapters. A Leica M mount costs $300 new. Used prices on most of the above are about 2/3 of new cost. The 8K version of the camera includes the mount and a ProSSD, but (if I remember right) not the motor. And while almost none of the cameras that I mentioned include ProRes RAW (except the S1R Mark II), a majority of them are capable of shooting raw (many of them in a format that works in Resolve without conversion (additional $80 fee for Raw Convertor license if PRR). For those that don't, you can buy a used Ninja V or Video Assist 12G for $200-500. For stabilization, you can add a $400 gimbal - though compared with using the R4D, it will be much more of a pain in the ass. On the other hand, most of the other cameras can support lenses weighing more than about 1000g which is about all the R4D can support if you want to use the 4th axis. External 5" screen? If you don't already have one sitting around, you can get one of equal or better quality to the R4D screen for about $200-300. Any of those other cameras can also be set up in such a way that they will be small/light/unintrusive. That's simply not possible with the R4D. The closest you'll come is the Flex unit which costs $900 and then you'll be in a backpack ($200-300 if you buy the official PGY Tech one) and still carrying a pretty big/obtrusive camera. The main advantage of the Ronin 4D is the integrated 4th axis which eliminates a lot of footstep motion and helps smooth things out on a car mount, etc. In my experience, it's better than using an EasyRig with the springy arm or a ReadyRig Nimbus - and can be used with either for even more smoothness. The second advantage of the R4D is that everything is tightly integrated. If you get a Gimbal with subject tracking, that'll be on a separate screen and is usually driven by a second camera rather than through the camera's lens. If you get a DJI Focus Pro or other Lidar-based manual focuser, that'll also be driven through a second camera and another screen. With the R4D, you can draw a box around a subject and turn on AF and when you start tracking, it will do so uncannily well... about 95% of the time, and randomly lose the subject the other 5%. It's a great single operator camera - but again, it's far from the device I'd choose as my only camera. If I could have only one, I'd take something else for sure. It would be my first choice for my second camera, though... hands down.

Further north and more nuclear power station adjacent. Or further west if the S you are thinking of is somewhere on the east coast.

Looks to still be mirrorless/photo form factor. That would be fine with me if the EVF tilted and there were NDs. Having the grip rotate would be nice too.