Andrew Reid

Nice long (2 hour!) review from Richard Wong. I've been thinking about the standardisation of body designs at Panasonic. Taking inspiration from Sony they seem to want to design a one-body fits all standardised ergonomics. But the lack of the top panel LCD and the angular body of the S5 Mark II does nothing for me. And I'm wondering when Panasonic will start adding a bit of flair and soul to their designs. If they came up with the S5 Mark II body design as a way of creating a Sony a7 IV mould to then go and do a whole set of other cameras with only minor ergonomic changes, they have done a really bad job. The S5 Mark II body is not flagship material. Sony a7 IV is. The Sony a1 has an almost identical design and ergonomics to the a7 IV, but still feels like a flagship. It's been the same since the Sony a9 being based on the a7 III. The Nikon Z8 is probably the nicest of the bunch I think? Not too small, not too big, top panel LCD, very nice viewfinder hump, feels premium. So in general just the design... what do people think of the direction Panasonic have taken since the S5 Mark II to standardise their bodies? The G9 II of course shares the same basic layout and looks too. Maybe they will break the mould a bit with the S1H Mark II if we ever see it? They could certainly use some imagination at this point.

He uploaded the originals which is good... https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1obqp8z2FJCVnLswPCDq4MYPdat6va-AQ?usp=sharing S1H I thought didn't really have a moire issue in 5.9K. So perhaps he has found a way to break it.

Is the full frame 4K 60fps on the S1R II actually oversampled from 8K/60p? The sensor is too slow for that. So when he labels it 4K/60fps full frame, I can't help but question it. It's either a crop or binned, it can't be a full frame oversampled mode.

In Berlin at the moment they have had a number of damaging strikes as they don't treat their workers properly. The thing with MPB is that they should not make this the customer's problem, but intervene on their side and promptly refund if DHL loses a package. They have basically just tossed me to the wolves and said wait 1 month, maybe you'll get something, maybe you won't. It's fucking terrible customer service.

Ah Scotland! Have you any experience with https://www.ffordes.com? They have been pretty good from a buying perspective.

Nice idea for a test but he's only testing the APS-C modes. On a 24 megapixel sensor we are talking rather low resolutions in 1.5x crop mode - something between 12-15 megapixel. So he is comparing 12 megapixel with no oversampling to 44 megapixel with oversampling. What happens when he does the same in full frame. S1H with AA filter at 6K full pixel readout, versus S1R II at 8K - the result would be much closer. S1R II in full frame at 60fps is pixel binning, which is the worst thing possible as far as moire on fine textures is concerned. So it would be nice to see him extend the test beyond APS-C mode, but then that would complicate the conclusion which isn't as attractive for YouTube videos.

I see, so low end compared to ARRI.

The big difference on a forum is the discussion is led by the customer. On YouTube the discussions are led by sales people. That's because the medium lends itself better to glossy marketing. It's TV. Of course you also have a mix of content, not all of it is marketing in disguise as editorial. But I always ask myself, what is the main purpose of the big-name reviewers and what they do... Is the main purpose client journalism, which pays their wages, gets them access, maintaining relations with the PR people at major corporations, going on the junkets and trips, getting your hotel paid for and so on, this is text book client journalism and it allows the camera companies to orchestrate all the good vibes you see in videos like this, by the usual slick operators. Or is it real journalism from filmmakers, like on Vimeo in the early days when we had actual pros and enthusiasts, customers of the camera companies not clients of the camera companies, putting their own independent field tests and shoots up. We have clearly had a bit of a pivot towards corporate propaganda since then unfortunately. And that's not to say the info in these kinds of videos isn't informative or useful in some way or another. But the purpose of it is to sell. I prefer to get my information from other filmmakers and people who can shoot. Chris is an actual real-life store salesmen. There's a layer of gloss over everything he does because he's a good salesman. That's his job, was before, is now. He understands the product, that's also part of a salesman's job. But he doesn't understand filmmaking or photography and that is a huge thing missing from a review of what's supposed to be an artistic tool. There's no Art in it. No cinematic language. Missing are any kind of outspoken views or provocations. There's a craft and grift but not so much any creativity or creative looking shots at a high level (not mediocrity or just eye candy) And it's also quite dry like reading advertorial, not very much humour or insight. Exhibit B: "Better than Sony & Canon" Northrup likes to employ a strategy of playing the different camera marketing teams off against one-another. Which makes them put more effort into satisfying his need to be happy, and his need for access. The troll headlines also have another purpose, to excite the masses in the comments section - most of whom are Sony and Canon users. It's not a one off. He tried it with the S5 II review as well "Better than Sony" If Northrup genuinely thinks Panasonic are a better option than Canon or Sony now you wouldn't know it from his Sony and Canon hype pieces! I know I am at risk of repeating myself here but I really do think all of this should be looked at by the FCC. YouTube is supposed to be part of the open web, not a haven of client journalism under the thumb of a small cartel of suppliers and their PR people. And the camera companies should realise that their modern marketing strategy is going to fall off a cliff pretty soon. People are getting a bit sick of it. People want honesty, journalism and independence, not a circus of shilling. Yes entertainment as well. And it is rare these days I am entertained enough to sit through their social media influencer marketing pieces.

Different planet these fucking filmmakers 😉

FX9 is low end?

I can vouch for that!

I didn't get a box of choc after spending £20k with them over the years. I should ask for one. Some good shops in the UK but it is a pity West Yorkshire Camera closed down recently. Loved them.

LOL!! An ingenious solution isn't it?

The thing with narcissists is they will voluntarily add themselves to any hitlist like Jordan did, it's all about them, it reveals how they see themselves as pretend-artists in an industry that prefers to reward the grifter over the creative at every opportunity. I think he has an insecurity complex because there's no visual talent to justify him being anything but cosplay.... no artistic substance, stubbornness, or interest behind the eyes... these people lack the self-sabotage ability to speak out like an artist would about various topics and issues. That's because any sane person would put their career first, well a career psychopath would anyway. It takes a certain amount of eccentricity and weirdness to buck the trend doesn't it? What's good about the current forum here... all this talk we do it because we consider it relevant and worth talking about or debating... We are not thinking about our careers and attention economy. Whereas the masses don't push back, they don't debate, they're mainly just are fed things for popular consumption, and there's a lack of appreciation that it's the art of cinema and photography that's the whole point of it all... no point in such powerful cameras and tools existing for any other reason, who the fuck needs 8K to shoot advertorial content for the web? And maybe the insecurity of people like Chris and Jordan or the Northrups comes from the fact that it isn't important what some fucking ex-camera store salesman thinks... not important enough to justify their celebrity status anyway. Eventually they will get tired of pretending to themselves. They're not important enough to justify earning more than a teacher, nurse or psychologist. Not important enough to make them a gatekeeper of public opinion and online content. Certainly not important in the grand scheme of things where art is remembered, cinema is remembered, camera reviews filled with mediocre shots of frozen landscapes, very quickly forgotten. I just think we can do better and here on this forum we sometimes prove it. We are not uncritical. We are not being spoon fed. We don't particularly look up to prominent and famous influencers on Tik Trump, or hang off every word Fro Knows Shit All says, and we are capable of judging the ex-stock photography models. No talent behind the lens... you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink. This is why I wish the camera companies would wake the fuck up, it is not selling cameras. If anything it is an unappetizing circus of shit. Off-putting. These fucking marketeers have been to some of the most beautiful and cinematic places in the world only to come back with nothing but mediocrity. I think it's really bad for sales, really uninspiring marketing. It has come along as a new thing, had some success and now it's time to move on. At the moment it seems to be all the camera companies want. The rise of tame client journalism, and creative mediocrity. They look down on us. They think mediocrity as a gold standard is what makes the normal guy on the street think he can be an artist too! I just think we need a much tougher push back against the camera companies and their marketing idiots. I am going to start myself. A message will go off to key Panasonic contacts soon, and point out that they're doing it all wrong. I don't care if I am ever invited or given access again, I think the push back has to start with me. It's not going to be Northrup doing it is it? They have completely undermined, rejected and neglected what really sells cameras... art, artists, people who can actually shoot, like you guys.

Yet they are happy to do it... They can't say no. They have to trade that little bit of credibility and trust each time to keep the megabucks rolling in. Far better to be an artist. Your store of worth is in the exchange beauty and creation of cinema, rather than in the negative slight of hand of a salesman... whether they are boxed into this position or don't have a choice is neither here nor there, it's what they are, and what they have chosen to be. The sad thing is all these influencers will have to keep on trading credibility and respect with every advert until there's nothing left in reserve and people's patience has simply run out. They are dispensable transient commodities whose ultimate destiny is at the whim of an online economy. Maybe they think it doesn't matter, that people will understand that it's just an advert and that the bills have to be paid. But one day they will end up on the trash heap, discarded and replaced by someone newer. Besides I really don't see the satisfaction in being this kind of influencer. It must be fucking horrible. To have to always sell yourself on demand to whoever is dangling the cash... Must feel like being a fully-clothed prostitute.

It takes a special kind of Kermitting to wind me up as a love camera shopping more than life itself. But MPB have managed it, on about 5 separate occasions now in two countries, which is an achievement Gonzo himself would be proud of. I think posting off thousands of euros of gear to a warehouse 20 mins bike ride away is daft. Especially if the post is on strike or it's DHHelllll. Their staff are so bad at communicating or making you feel valued. They let me drop stuff off once, and then dodged the question and refused to answer when I wanted to do it a second time. How about catering for this demand of 20-30 high-value customers per day wanting to do business with you and open a fucking counter! I don't care if it has Miss Piggy herself behind it, it's better than losing $$$ to the post!

Although I can be a bit negative about the current states of camera releases and so on, I just want to say how much I appreciate this forum. A daily fun read and fun to participate in. You folk have created a creative haven with a good technology knowledge, and this is very rare these days. I just provided the platform for it and a blog. It's striking how far it has gone thanks to you lot... I think there are cycles in human history, eras when good wins, eras when bad takes over. No guesses as to which era we are in as a world today. The camera community is a microcosm of reality. Go back 10 years ago and we had a camera community as a whole led by artists, photographers and filmmakers. Now we are in a different cycle, and I look at who is leading it with disdain. We have a bunch of gatekeepers who are all salesman cosplaying as journalists and artists because that's what the industry rewards and priorities with access. Client journalism has taken over from filmmakers and artists. How proud I am that this community is so different. In the face of such mainstream BS on YouTube. BTW - Do you remember when Jordan of DPR/Petapixel threw a big tantrum on this very forum and left for 2 years at the peak of the DSLR revolution / video, before returning with a nicey nice guy attitude like nothing had ever happened? It was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of EOSHD, from his side. I think when a filmmaker features your "content" on their blog it's a compliment and a good thing, not a leeching, or theft, right? But he was feeling insecure... attacked by my previous posts about the rise of the shills on social media. In order to feel targeted you first have to believe you are the victim. But if he stops to think about it and genuinely deep down considers himself the artist/filmmaker he always cosplays as, he would not have felt like a victim at all of anyone's push back against the shills and their excessive gatekeeping. Had he sympathized a little bit why I was "dumping on every reviewer", he wouldn't have had a problem with it. So in the end this tells us something important about influencers like Chris and Jordan - that they themselves sees themselves as defacto salesmen whose job it is to sell. It's their whole identity. So of course he felt particularly personally attacked. Even though I wasn't targeting him. In fact back in 2016 Chris and Jordan hadn't come to mind in my criticism at all. As creatives we need to push back when we see the over-commercialization of a space, or an online community. Don't be afraid to call these guys out.

Is this why they sent you the box of chocolates?

It's a shame isn't it, as their range of gear is incredible. Well designed website, all well photographed, fast shipping (when it doesn't go missing). I know DHL being shit isn't MPB's fault, but you'd think they would try and at least care. I had several emails simply go unanswered over a period of a whole week and these were the polite ones before I had to start shouting at them, which sadly seems necessary for them to do anything apparently! Indeed, I mean for a start having a prime location and warehouse in Berlin but failing to open a proper walk in camera store for the 4 million people on your doorstep is a bit of a red flag when it comes to management.

"Despite our efforts with DHL, we have been unable to track your package. As a result, we have now escalated the matter to an official investigation of the missing package." Unable to track... no shit! Tracking hadn't moved for 3 weeks when I alerted them to it. 10 days just to tell me what we already know. "Our internal security team will be in touch with you shortly to request additional information and documentation that will help us resolve this case." What can I provide them that I haven't already... pathetic redundant procedures. They sent the fucking parcel anyway, not me. "Please note that the full investigation and outcome may take up to 30 days." By which time it will be over 2 months since the delivery was supposed to arrive. "Your cooperation is essential during the investigation process as we may require additional information. Please provide us with the requested information promptly to ensure an effective investigation. Please note that while we conduct our investigations carefully, the outcome does not guarantee a successful claim if the package is deemed lost." Ah how very reassuring MPB, thank you very much.

Depending on the country, I can highly recommend WEX and I've had good experiences with RCE Foto in Berlin, can walk in and exchange gear / buy gear / get paid cash the same day with a proper store and they offer pretty fair prices too, better than Calumet or MPB in most cases. MPB started off as a really well organized business. Not sure what changed in recent years but when it goes wrong with MPB now it REALLY goes wrong. Their staff just seem to sit on their hands and can't communicate. With MPB in the UK I had to haggle for ages just to get them to honor a voucher which was promised in exchange for keeping hold of a camera with a fault which wasn't part of the condition rating or as described. And then other times they have gone above and beyond, they're so unpredictable.

I have done a lot of business with MPB over the years and around 50% of the time something is always going wrong. I find that I simply can't trust them any more. MPB were once a sponsor of EOSHD, we had a really good relationship. So the experiences are all more recent and in my opinion things have gone right down hill. Sent some stuff to be traded-in in Berlin, and asked if it was ok to drop it off at the door since I live 20 minutes away from them. First time they said yes, sure. So rather than trust the post, I dropped the box off myself. But at the warehouse, just a metal door and no staff, so you can't make a habit of it. Why they don't have a proper physical drop off point let alone a walk-in store for a shop of their size and trade volume is beyond me. As if they can't be bothered to get an extra 3 or 4 staff. Then in predictably ironic fashion they lost a delivery via DHL, more on that in a minute. The condition rating "Excellent" is one of the other problems... they seem to place a lot of quite heavily used and sometimes faulty stuff in that bracket. I know because I have received it! Once I had a camera with a faulty HDMI port, no mention of it in the description. Another time, a Leica M Typ 240 which you'd think they'd spot the broken dial on. Apparently not. This was in the UK, but be it Berlin or EU they're all the same company... although you wouldn't know it, because the Europe-wide MPB website staff refuse to talk to you if you ordered from the DE website, even though it's in the same building, same stock, same warehouse, with same people in it, in the same city. So DHL lost the package they sent out with at least 900 euros worth of gear in it. So after a week of the tracking showing it hadn't moved in Berlin despite going from Berlin to Berlin, I got in touch. They were quite unsympathetic and told me to wait 14 days. So come nearly a month later without my stuff (part of it my OWN GEAR which was sent back as part of a trade-in I didn't use as they quoted far less than promised for it), on 17th Feb I asked them to investigate. This guy, I use the term lightly as he's more a fucking bellend from my perspective, then replies back immediately and says he's opened a Lost in Transit case with his security team, who will presumably now open a case with DHL. So I come back 10 days later for an update and find they never bothered even doing that, they simply forgot. So it's now over a month without the gear, and I have about 2500 euros worth of open trade with them that they want to send in for a quote via, yes you guessed it, DHL... no drop off possible any more. They really seemed to have gone downhill and I don't think their hiring philosophy or getting workshy depressed part-time photographers is doing anything much for their operations side... maybe get some staff who are able to communicate and carry out basic procedures on time, that would be a start.

Attention economy! Did you see the Northrup video on the S1R II, with the clickbait title "better than Sony and Canon"... How the turn tables. I wouldn't be surprised if he is just using this to bait Sony's PR team into giving him more attention. *Attention economy* I agree with you 100%. Yep, I sold my GH6 for less than £700. Indeed and although it was $1000 more expensive at launch than the S1R II is today, that Panasonic still does not have an answer to the 2020/21 flagship sensor technology in 2025 should concern us all. I don't know how much longer they can half-commit resources to this market without leaving it entirely. And add on top of that the uninspired design department, unimaginative marketing and unintelligent product strategy as a whole and I really do think Lumix is on the way out. S1R II just reinforces it if anything. That it came out before the S1H II as well... Means we have to wait even longer for the real hybrid filmmaking camera, which is Pana's biggest strength!! They ignore their strengths and deliver what nobody wants. Look at the S9... people were expecting the GH7 launch and they showed them that!! It's just dumb. Yeah cloning 5 year old Sony/Canon bodies but with worse AF seems to be the new Lumix strategy. From pioneers to copy-cats. I fully agree. Yes that's another elephant in the room nobody talks about, the S Pro lens range absolutely cannot compete with Canon/Nikon/Sony. All I can say is that it's a good job Sigma is carrying the whole thing, as left to Panasonic and Leica, L-mount would be seen as so expensive nobody in their right mind other than rich Leica users would go anywhere near it! The image quality is the least of the S1R II's problems. All looks good. But then so do 7 or 8 other full frame cameras.

WOW What is this groundbreaking new marketing technique? Tell me more! Overall it's a positive step but the elephants in the room are hard to ignore... 2020/21 spec, delivered 4-5 years too late to challenge Sony, Nikon, Canon, Fuji. Sony has the a1, which you can get on eBay for not much more than the S1R II. Nikon has the Z8. Canon has the original EOS R5 which is the cheapest of the lot if you buy cameras like a normal person... i.e used! Fuji has the GFX 100, again cheaper than the S1R II. This Panasonic does not exist in a bubble. I love the low light performance, open gate and Realtime LUTs. I am sure the EVF is almost as good as the original S1R. It's just getting harder and harder to justify buying one and investing in the Panasonic ecosystem. Maybe the trick is to ignore the wider market and marketing stuff, and just take it as it is (specs wise). Oh and the ergonomics, style and fun factor do nothing for me... I wish they'd add a bit of personality to proceedings and innovate on the control scheme of our beloved cameras. Also, a larger screen wouldn't go amiss. And I still think the Sony a7R V has a big advantage in size and ergonomics over the S1R II.

Haha It's as perplexing as Panasonic's marketing. "Yamane san I have a great plan, let's turn up 7 years late with something almost as good as the competition... but not quite" 7 years in a fancy oven only to find the heat was off!