Andrew Reid

It sort of gives with one hand and takes with the other though! It is a tempting piece of kit. It does show it is possible to keep the size of the camera right down, while still having a filter wheel behind the mount. Blackmagic probably kept it EF as it is an open mount whereas the newer mirrorless mounts are a closed and recently patented system. Maybe also they couldn't fit the filter into a mirrorless mount but FS5 manages it doesn't it?

They need to make the next step: They can keep the same small hybrid bodies, but just make the LCD larger. Why is it still only 3 inch, for example. Would be great to have total confidence in focus. The issue of 180 deg. look to motion and fine tuning exposure has to be brought into 2022. No more dicking about with ND filter glass. If they can't add an ND filter due to physical size constraints, patents or cost, then they need to find a way to get the look of 1/50 in bright light without NDs. A lot of good progress with things like codecs, but compressed RAW is obviously still a big thing missing. Stills photographers wouldn't accept only shooting JPEG! So perhaps they need to get more serious about getting round the table with RED and sorting something out for the future? IBIS is a nice-to-have but they can make it work more creatively and make the look more natural. OM-1 is the benchmark in this regard! Also let's see manual focus take the next step. A ring on the lens barrel is hopeless for video. It should be a smooth dial on the camera all under one hand driving the lens elements semi-intelligently with subject snap on.

Scene... nothing Take... nothing Roll... nada Director nobody Sound blank Cameraman missing. Just about sums up modern filmmaking world!!

It makes a Canon EOS R5C look like a biscuit tin. The transition ARRI made from film cameras to digital has been masterful. Some of the best engineering ever in any industry ever. Must be such a huge challenge to keep the electronics cool when they are so densely packed and sealed in. And that they are made to last a decade without going obsolete, is also a huge difference between ARRI and the rest.

The male model dancing was clearly an attempt to break the usual mould of attractive woman and shallow DOF. However given that maybe 80-90% of the customers for this camera are men, it has probably backfired as a marketing tool failing to be attractive eye candy and failing to demonstrate the capabilities of the camera. So a double win there by Fuji. I have an idea for their marketing work-from-home chinless wonders. Why not shoot a SHORT FILM WITH ACTORS if you want to demo a new filmmaking tool!

Compared to X-T4 although it is certainly the better camera, it's also much more expensive. When it comes out, inevitably in short stock at £2500 or so in the UK, you will be able to pick up a mint X-T4 on eBay for about £1000. Main differences are 4K/120p (cropped), anamorphic modes and the ProRes. For me ProRes LT should be in there as it stands up really well. ProRes 422 and HQ have enormous file sizes so are less practical. LT is just as fluid to edit and grade. If I want 700Mbit/s file sizes I'd probably just shoot BRAW instead. On the other hand, if main selling point is the 4k/120p and one has £2500 to spend then for not a huge amount more you could get a full frame 4K/120 camera or even an EPIC-X (5K 120fps). If you need an anamorphic mode, 4K/120p (given the 4K/120p is similar crop on both) and ProRes all in same camera then GH6 is cheaper at £1999 and has the lovely HDR sensor readout too. The 6K open gate and anamorphic mode is probably what I am interested in most, really glad Fuji put that in. But iffy AF, sticky IBIS and still no real progress with things that matter (exposure, NDs, larger screens) mean there are compelling alternatives. OM-1 I am really impressed with. The image is SUPERB. The IBIS is really natural. AF is Sony/Canon level bullet proof. It is currently one of the best all-round shooting experiences for the money!

Put an ARRI sky panel S360 in there 🙂

Wide angle is always pretty bad for IBIS. Better off switching to a lens with OIS at 24mm or wider or just turning it off. Wide angle shots don't need a ton of stabilisation. AF is probably better at 16mm than 28mm. Less work for the camera to do as there's a much deeper DOF going on.

GH2 certainly had character. Distinctive colour science. With the GH3 they switched to a Sony sensor for first time. GH4 they modernised the image processor quite a bit for 4K. GH5 I think has really nice colour science especially in 10bit but it is way more modern and clean. GH6 is more of the same I think, whereas the OM-1 has more character. It's not just the sensor or colour profiles, or LOG and which LUT, but how the white balance is baked in as well. Sometimes a bit of weirdness is good for character. I tell myself that when looking in a mirror too!

LOL! RED's overall group of patents is: Compression of RAW video in-camera, recorded to solid state media at 24fps or more, and it is lossless So it wouldn't apply to a 2005 XDCAM, which shoots MPEG to memory cards or DV to tape. In those cameras Sony takes the RAW sensor data and compresses the hell out of it in-camera, but at no point does any of that RAW data go down on the tape or media as RAW values. It is MPEG. Similar to today's codecs or MP4. So whilst Sony was dicking about with Mini DV and MP4, RED was doing RAW video for Peter Jackson. So it is worth remembering that Graeme Nattress invented the first patented compressed cinema RAW codec. Whether we like RED as a company or not, or think that they should relinquish control so we as filmmakers can benefit from more competition in compressed RAW cameras, is unfortunately irrelevant as far as patent laws go.

I'd have thought it would perform very similarly to Panasonic's L mount lenses when mounted on the S5 or similar. The AF system and IBIS are more a function of the camera than the lens!

The XDCAMs shot RAW?

It may indeed be, but I just don't see any actual proof yet. Are there any ProRes files to download with a huge dynamic range in the scene? Dark subject next to a bright window? You can't trust the marketing videos as they are all an unknown. You don't know how far they really pushed the camera to create the eye candy, and how much was smoke & mirrors and fancy fill lights. Isn't this cropped though? I think an extra 1.3x or something? 2x crop in total for the 4K/120fps so may as well get a GH6 for that? Forget rolling shutter, you can get global shutter on Sony F55 for $2500 used now. 🙂 Or stick the RED Motion Mount on an old Scarlet-X. It isn't underwhelming for me, I just wish it were a bit different to what I already have!

ALEXA 35 has the following grain types: K445 Default P425 Cosmetic P325 Soft Cosmetic G733 Nostalgic G522 Soft Nostalgic F567 Clarity F578 High Clarity L345 Shadow H457 Deep Shadow Default is "Go-to for most situations. Smooth skin tones, excellent clarity and detail." And the others are either a softer texture or more grain, more vintage look. Well done ARRI for recognising the importance of real film grain in a digital camera! Faking it in post isn't the same. It also works hand in hand with sharpening. For example High Clarity offers "Greater sharpness and detail compared to the Default. Good for landscapes, trees, product shots. Even more detail than Clarity." This is really nice as in mirrorless cameras you get a ton of over sharpening artefacts if you want finer noise. The only way to do it is to ramp up the digital sharpness and ISOs, which isn't a nice combo! You can tell why ARRI are still favoured by filmmakers who are actually artists rather than marketing men.

The design of the hybrid screen / EVF module is extremely lovely. But is there a way to get rid of the unsightly cable? You'd have thought it could be attached directly without wires.

Might get your cabin bag double scanned. Notice how the ports are secured with a metal plate internally so they don't wiggle and break. This is what $95k gets you!

Some interesting teardown shots in it!

It wasn't around in a camera in the 70s though was it. The patent isn't on the type of compression, it is the use of it in cameras! Much as it sucks we have to place most of the blame on companies like Sony who sat on their arse doing nothing for cinema or RAW codecs until it was too late and some sunglasses salesman had done it first. Again the patent isn't so broad, it applies to compressed RAW when it is recorded to solid state media not magnetic tape! It might be controversial but it isn't bullshit. If it were bullshit, they'd lose vs Apple's lawyers. RED were early out of the blocks with the RED ONE and compressed RAW. It was developed in 2005/2006 when the ALEXA didn't even exist and pros were shooting MiniDV tape!

It really does just look like every other camera out there. The content is all dross. Not a cinematic or emotional moment in any of it. Though of course that isn't the camera's fault is it? It is brash eye candy only fit for tv ads. I would expect the X-H2S's image to be very good but so is the EOS R5C, A7 IV, GH6, OM1, Fp, Fp-L, 1D C, NX1, XT-4, A7S III and so on. If it makes full use of the film simulations with ability to simulate grain styles like the Alexa 35 and has 14 stops dynamic range in 6K then I'll change my mind. Then it is progress! Otherwise it is merely another good offer in a sea of good offers, if you get what I mean.

Are you sure it is not just a broadcast safe range clipping problem in the NLE?

You do realise that dynamic range is about contrast don't you. Difference between lightest and darkest regions. His entire face is evenly lit, so you just need a strong ND and expose for the mids. Sorted.

The AF is fast as a whippet in good light and L-mount lens, but it's very variable! It is very unreliable with Canon lenses through MC-21 so not like a Sony in that regard. But it is a big step from the Fp when the conditions are right! I have a Panasonic 24-105mm S lens to play with so will give that a go on the Fp-L next. Here's where I think the main appeal of the Fp-L is though... 1 - Small manual focus lenses, with ability to crop into that enormous 9.5K full frame sensor... especially in 4K mode where resolution is pretty constant until over double your FOV. Handy to have a tiny 35mm F2 Leica M mount lens on there and use it like a pocket size 35-70mm F2! 2 - Landscape photography. Very nice results for that. Wider range of photography with artificial lights is a bit of a faff though because of the rolling shutter and banding under a lot of electric light sources. 3 - The Cinema DNG factor. In 8bit it can be a bit ropey in the highlights but the 12bit files are THICK. Also the full frame RAW stands up really well even though it is pixel binned from 9.5K, I can barely tell a difference to oversampled 4K. Aliasing is really well controlled and it doesn't lack detail! 4 - I think it appeals an upgrade from the original Fp if you liked that. It is a bit on the expensive side considering it is basically a different sensor in the same box, but I do think it is quite unique to have 12bit Cinema DNG (with an SSD) + 61 megapixel stills in one pocket size body running off a GH2 battery. Bit easier and cheaper than using a RED! 5 - The EVF is definitely a quality piece, but not a reason to get the Fp-L over original Fp since it now works with both. The viewfinder is massive and very high res.

Meanwhile Canon's version is 2500 euros! Any 16mm F2.8 zoom is going to take some serious glass, so these are not easy to make. I think it shows how much is going into the pockets of shareholders at the publicly listed companies vs private though. Sigma can do this kind of lens for 1600 euros less than a corporation. And they are making less of them too. Which means the profit margins at Canon / Sony / etc. are absolutely enormous and we're being seriously ripped off.

Do we really expect a company not to patent their invention and surrender billions of dollars to competitors? I am playing devils advocate here. If RED keeps winning the legal cases, you've got to assume their patent works. If the combined force of Apple and Sony can't overturn the RED patent you guys need to look at the US patent office and courts as they are the ones making the decisions, not the guy who invented lossless compressed REDcode.

It isn't harsh light on his face. It's soft and diffused. It's a bounce light, reflected fill light. It isn't direct sunlight. Whenever somebody says that a certain brand rather than a specific tool shows "nasty specular highlights on skin" that is almost certainly a red flag for bias on this forum. It doesn't, what's out there just looks like any old marketing shit so far. Could have been shot with practically any camera of the last 5 years. There is nothing that stands out as special in relation to the X-H2S and it all looks too clean and too digital. Plus it is on YouTube - where are the original files? Show me the original files from the X-H2S and then you will convince me if it is a step forward or pretty much the same as everything else.