ntblowz

Hello, I hope everyone is well!
Even though I’m not really active on camera forums anymore, I frequently read the EOSHD blog and every now and then the forum, so I saw the thread and thought I would respond.
Because it wasn’t ”poof gone”, it was announced on the channel over a year ago and mentioned in the last three videos.
Before going into why, super flattered that this thread exist. I mean that.
So here are some thoughts on the matter and why I took it down.
Hobby vs Work
YouTube was never my job, just a hobby. So was video making and photography, in the beginning.
When starting the channel I was working as a producer after a couple of years as a radio/TV reporter. So I started the channel to keep my practical skills fresh. And to keep up with the development, which was huge at the time. The DSLR revolution, Blackmagic, cheaper editors etc.
Fast forward a couple of years and I started making more videos at work again. At the same time I pretty much lost all interest in doing it as a hobby. And actually canceled the channel.
Winston Churchill was definitely right in saying that work and hobbies should not be too similar. 
But what I had discovered was a passion for still photography, which I had pretty much no experience with. So I started making videos again.
That’s why my videos became very repetitive and short. I didn’t care about that part, I just wanted to display my stills work and get feedback, talk to the community, experiment with cameras and develop.
After a few years I became a good enough photographer that my new employer noticed and just like that I was shooting stills professionally all the time. And I still do (I work in marketing and PR). It’s a huge bonus in my field and if you are good at it you will never be out of work.
So photography also became less and less of a hobby.
Instead I found other hobbies. They where things that for example got me out into nature, so photography tagged a long a while, as a secondary activity. But eventually it faded. It was also nice to do things and not share it with people. I know I probably could have a very successful channel by making videos about my current hobbies, and even make some money. But I never really wanted a channel for the sake of a channel. And always had a full time job.
The fact is that at no point would I had been able to live of my channel, not even at the peak. Even with sponsors it was never more that a regular salary (in my field and country). But as long as it was a hobby and I was glad to do it, it was a welcome addition to finance camera gear.
 
Time
At the same time as my channel started to feel less fun and other hobbies started taking my time, I started a family. So.. you get the idea: full time job + family + 2-3 hobbies = no YouTube.
Upkeep 
So why take it down, why not leave it for the community? I did..  at first.
Like some of you pointed out, the YouTube crowd in the photography/video space is generally nice and positive. That is my experience as well.
Early on I learned that a good way of keeping the trolls away was to be present. Respond and engage. Trolls are usually idiots or cowards, so they don’t like getting push back.
But once I stopped making videos, views and comments obviously went down. But the trolls started coming back. Not so much after me, and I don’t care about that. But agains the community. The people commenting started being nasty towards each other.
I felt a responsibility to moderate, which was annoying. That’s when the thought about simply removing it started to grow.
It wasn’t an impuls. It was an internal debate that went on for months. And the issue grew much much larger than a couple of trolls. 
I started thinking about five years ahead, 10 years, 30 years..
This post is already way too long so I won’t go into all of it. But I think you get the idea when I say:
Privacy or when the content no longer reflects the creator. Digital minimalism, control over one’s narrative, inactive or outdated content. Risk of misuse of content  due to me not checking the terms updates. Closure.
 
So there is a looong ramble :)
 
To keep in spirit of the forum I can charge my current gear for pro work :)
For the longest time I used the EOS-R for 75% of all my work and the R5 (rental)  for the rest. It wasn’t mine but my employer told me to buy whatever I wanted. Paired it with a 28, 35 and 70-200. 70/30 stills/video.
 
The R5 is peak camera imo.
 
Today is a little different. I started working for a new company about a year ago and again was told to buy what I needed. I would have bought the R5 without hesitation if it wasn’t for the Sigma 35-150/2-2.8.. I just had to have it. So I ordered the Nikon Z6iii. It’s not as good overall as the R5 for me and what I like in a tool camera. But it’s 90% there. And coupled with that lens it’s becomes on par.
 
//MB

I don't know what people see in new cameras really.
Used ones just so much more exciting.
A GFX 100 for £1800. You don't need to buy a single medium format lens for it... Bang on a 10 quid adapter and Minolta 50mm F1.4 for 50 quid and it looks like a Leica M11 with Noctilux F0,95.
A7 IV for £1300... What a bargain that is. Does everything.
If you need the exotic frame rates and codecs... EOS R5, 4K/120p, 8K raw, £1700.
Sony a1... You can go to Japan and the flight pays for itself.
The list goes on.
I will never buy a new camera or pre-order one again.

GH5
GH4
EM10iii
OM-1
5Dii
XPRO2
XT-5
P1100
DSC-RX10
iPhone15
iPhone12
Xiaomi12 Ultra
DJI Mavic Pro
GoPro Hero
All those different cameras were used to make our latest indy documentary on-and-off over the last 3 years.  We finally finished post-production (for real this time) last month.  Not to mention all the different ridiculous vintage lenses and modern lenses employed along the way. 
So that happened.  
My advice?  Yeah, don't use so many cameras...and then try to make all that cohere somehow with no legitimate color grading skills...
Surprisingly, I found the EM10iii footage the most pleasant looking color-wise when exposed correctly.

The new Canon RF 45mm 1.2 should fit ur taste.. similar rendering as the old EF 50mm 1.2 but much lighter and abit smaller.

Matching Iphone colour to Arri... quite close!
 
 

The phone arrived today as expected and I've had a few minutes to play around with the camera. I shot a short test scene using ProRes RAW and ProRes 422 in the Blackmagic app. Here's a quick look at the footage with just Resolve's Apple Log 2 CST applied. Very first observations:
 
Open gate is only available in RAW or RAW HQ RAW can only recorded to an external drive. I have a great Magsafe SSD that I use for this. Sensor stabilization is not available in either raw mode Resolve is super sluggish with the raw files unlike ProRes RAW or BRAW files from my S1ii. I hope this gets optimized The normal raw controls are there and the footage is very flexible as you'd expect I used Resolve's built in Apple Log 2 CST for the test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97PPh276M4o

Mid season report.
Actually, I am nearing end of season with just 2 more jobs to go this year until June next…which is quite normal for me.
The TDLR is I almost love it…
Why ‘almost’? 
I’ll get to that…
The Good =
The body design actually. Yes I would rather Lumix had moved to a body style more like the FX3, but I guess they thought that might scare photographers who expect a hump. Whatever the reason, it’s not as innovative as it could have been and despite not having a top screen, really is like a smaller S1H in the hand and IMO, that is a good thing. In my hands, with no battery grip or any other adornment other than the smallest Senheisser mic, it feels just right in terms of size, weight, build, comfort, ergos.
It’s a true hybrid. It would be even better with an internal electronic VND, but hey ho, maybe that will come with the S1H2? With 5x C1-5 custom settings and a simple photo-video switch, it’s fabulous for hybrid work. I don’t even use all 5 photo and 5 video settings, but have it set up basically as: landscape photo, portrait/candid outdoor, portrait/candid indoor and low-light, all with a starting f stop, aperture, WB, ISO and equivalent matching settings for video so it’s actually only one flick of a switch to flip between video and stills in any given scenario. Brilliant.
The sensor. 44mp. Perfect 👌 for me sweet spot between the more traditional 24mp and the 100mp of the bigger MF sensors. Suits both photo and video.
Video files and capability. I shoot 7.2k 30p open gate and the file sizes are not huge or slow to work with. With baked in conversion LUT, SOOC I love them. Yes raw would be even better, but an almighty faff and overkill for my needs. The open gate allows any number of crops, 30p a 20% reduction in speed on a timeline and the 7.2k quite a bit of scope for punching in etc. Having said that, not fully edited a finished production yet but I have checked and edited a few bits here and there and it’s even better than the 6K I was using before which itself was better than the 4K from Lumix FF cameras so thumbs up.
The Not So Good =
Battery life is pretty poor. I’ve always scoffed at people reporting poor battery life and never experienced it on any camera. Until now. It’s not great, but a spare battery in my pocket at all times is how I now roll and is what it is.
AF accuracy for video is good but not Sony level. Ditto for photo. Having come directly from an A7RV, I’d give the nod to the Sony for ultimate outright stills quality and AF, but the S1RII gets the nod for video and body.
I don’t think there is anything else other than I have a pair of them matched with the 35mm f1.8 on one and the 85mm f1.8 on the other.
The S9 is on lighter duties of video only, mostly longer than clips and sometimes even full length ceremonies and speeches and has only overheated once and that was on a very hot day in direct sunlight. The S1RII by the way, I have never even had a warning and has never got hot to touch, - just the usual warmth you might expect shooting a thing all day long. I may replace the S9 next year with an S1IIE for a bit more robustness and utility, but waiting to see if any S1H2 appears before doing that, if I do that. Almost certainly will trade the Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 for the new Lumix 24-60mm f2.8 next year as I think it will suit my needs better and appears to offer better AF and detail/rendering.
S5II soldiers on in its static role and just does what I need it to do. I do need to find a way to get rid of the battery grip and the heavy tripod however and working on that…
So ‘almost’ love it. It’s the battery life and good but not stellar AF plus the less than exciting body design that drops it 2 points for me so I’ll give it an 8/10.
Along with the Z8, probably the best all round hybrid camera available today? At least for my needs. Taking into account lens options and prices.

Somehow I missed this promo short film, its kinda brilliant in how it showcases a lot of the features in a pretty creative narrative, really liking the overall image from this new sensor:
 

No translation, but you don't need to.
 

Or is Mackey playing Depp playing Mackey...

I feel like this is a supercharged version of Sigma Fp

Na never, they are format standard competitors

I feel like this is a supercharged version of Sigma Fp

It's official! 🤯
https://x.com/Blackmagic_News/status/1965611991441252600

Recording 2 different ratio (1:1/16:9/9:16 etc) to 2 card... that is something new! 

Recording 2 different ratio (1:1/16:9/9:16 etc) to 2 card... that is something new! 

Nikon rumors have the image, that screen look quite big.
Not sure if this one have fan cause I didn't see any air vent

Time to revive that 18-135mm usm with power zoom add on.
 
With that thickness and lots of vent this one wont be overheating at all, Lumix really need to take a cue on it

You are welcome. 
 

There is, car wobble, and thermal won't be as good as sensor sticking directly to thermal plate.

There is, car wobble, and thermal won't be as good as sensor sticking directly to thermal plate.

53 minutes recording 6k 30p continuously 31 degrees Celsius in the shade before the heat warning came on but it kept rolling and the speech ended before I got to experience a shutdown.
Not too shabby!

You forgot Chris and Jordan LOL

Casey Neistat and Candice?
Matt Granger and his 200/2 Nikkor?
DSLR video shooter and his entire camera studio attached to a rolling lightstand?
Gerald Undone and his own ego (or Sony?)?
Bloomie and his cats?
The Camera Conspiracies guy and his most 3d popping lens?
Snapchick and Raymond?
Cam Mackey and yellow-toned footage of cars driving around in the sand?
Pooter McCubbins and ugly poorly-made leather goods?
Potato Jet and his FPV drone?
Matti H and Pooter McCubbins' leftover views?
Mathieu Stern and other peoples' lens adapter ideas?
FroKnowsPhoto and his Canon rep?
 

Cue all those who recently made, ‘Why I moved to Lumix’ pieces on YouRube gushing over the S1II, scrabbling for a piece of the Canon pie. Or Nikon pie. There’s 24 hours between the two so plenty of time to choose which ship to jump to next.