Andrew Reid

New blog post: https://www.eoshd.com/news/thousands-of-sony-cameras-are-mysteriously-failing-but-sony-isnt-telling/

Leica could indeed be a good fit, or Blackmagic. But they don't have the spare cash to throw at that big support network ARRI has and needs to service all those demanding bastards that use the gear. I think it needs to be a bigger company like Sony or Panasonic. Maybe Nikon bought the wrong cinema camera brand? Should have waited 🙂

The gear doesn't matter thing is so boring, it does matter and you can't shoot much without it. The GH1 opened a door, because the aesthetic on offer was very different to the small chip digital camcorders at the time or Mini DV. It opened the door to all those interchangeable lenses, and there's a big difference in look between these lenses let alone between a GH1 and a Mini DV cam. Actually you can tell the Magellan is going for a certain look too with the GH7 - it isn't Hollywood, it's documentary style and looks quite clinical in places with a deep DOF, which they didn't have to do but the Lumix lenses are like that and it works well. So choice of gear, informs the look of what you're making and does matter greatly. The difference in image quality between a GH6 and GH7 doesn't matter quite so much... But the format of camera, and era of camera does.

The GH5S is pretty unique, largest multi-aspect sensor ever in a Micro Four Thirds camera, so larger and wider than the new GH7 sensor, the best low light performance, and it's basically a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K with same sensor but more features and it does double duty as a stills camera. Only some of the Lumix bodies have gone UP... like the GX9 and GX80. You can get a GH5 for crazy cheap now, but the GH5S is much rarer. I just have too many cameras though, and want to look at getting an S1H again or an S9 so I can make some real-time LUTs for it.

Because I will do literally anything to avoid eBay, I am willing to let some of my favourite gear go for knock down prices. I have a mint GH5S which wants to find a good home 🙂 I also have a Nikon Zf if anyone is interested in some full frame Fuji-style shooting. This is loaded with my pre-release Fuji film styles for the Nikon Z mirrorless cameras. £500 should do it for the GH5S and the Nikon Zf price is negotiable. The stuff is in the UK - collect over coffee in the Peak District or Manchester. Or post within the UK or Europe. I'll be going back to Berlin soon. I also have a couple of compacts which wish to depart the crowded EOSHD HQ and go on a shoot. Canon G12 (CDD) and a Sony RX100 VA. Prices of those can be discussed below if you're interested!

The gatekeeper is talent.

Looks fantastic. Any interviews with the cinematographer / crew out there? They used Panasonic GH7 + Lumix 12mm F1.4 for most part https://www.eoshd.com/news/in-ny-and-la-theatres-january-major-new-movie-magellan-is-shot-on-the-panasonic-gh7/

Probably because it wasn't ready for the Burano, time and technology marches on. A future Fuji GFX camera with a 12K sensor is an appealing prospect though. Full frame sweet spot I think is 8K.

I just think it's a form of culture rot and US cinema will go down with the ship. The west is in decline and it's time for China to take over at the top of the world order, and that includes cinema. Better start learning Mandarin.

There's something about that 33 megapixel sensor. It's a sweet spot. It also helps to shoot with manual WB as the Sony AWB doesn't just dial in the Kelvin it does a wild green/magenta bias depending on the light, and gets it wrong sometimes. But the underlying image is REALLY good, if you don't mind a bit of occasional rolling shitter.

A very good example of why used beats new yet again. The sony a1 is now cheaper than the rumoured Sony a7 V at £2999. So there you go... Absolutely zero reason to buy an a7 V 🙂

For those web content creators who consider 8K a bit mushy for Youtube work🙂

For a start nobody seems to be able to concentrate for long enough to watch what is being made. Boomers have movies on in the background like elevator music for smartphone scrolling. Everyone could do the industry a favour by un-addicting themselves from their phones for long enough to look up for 10 seconds and watching something long-form, challenging and not family friendly. But everyone is too exhausted and overworked for it, and they have children hanging around on tablets - you can't get the time as a couple to go out and watch Taxi Driver and you can't put it on at home either because it would upset the brats. It's a big cultural shift in the world and filmmaking is one of the big victims of it. It is strange as pre-pandemic, I thought cinema was doing well and there was that moment when Oppenheimer / Barbie were all that people talked about, and the F1 movie has done incredibly well, one of the biggest grossing movies of all time. Apple is spending billions on movie production. There are signs of life. Why is it that everyone seems to be struggling so much - well, it's just a typical industry recession, less demand, because put simply - there's just TOO MUCH CONTENT and too much competition from people's shitty phone addictions for the customer's attention.

Camera market is a total sideshow for Zeiss, whose main income stream is from EUV lithography machine lenses, as a partner with ASML -> TSMC. The iPhone CPU is etched into silicon using Zeiss glass. These big companies are interested in growth. They'd rather buy an unprofitable, but growing company, than a profitable but stagnant one. The Chinese might buy ARRI for the patents and branding. Only if it stays in German hands will they continue as a cinema camera manufacturer. That's what I think anyway and I could be wrong, we'll see.

ARRI are closing two factories in Germany. https://www.eoshd.com/news/arri-closes-factories-contemplates-company-sale/ The ALEXA factory remains for now. 150 jobs are to go. Reasons for this and words from ARRI's spokesperson are in the article above. But in a nutshell they really need saving - and like Nikon buying RED, it should be Sony to do it for ARRI. They will lead the cinema camera world if they do. The question is will there still be a cinema camera industry if the current pace of collapse continues?!