ntblowz

I just sold my S1 and have bought a S5mk2 with a Sigma 28-70 f2.8. They have them as a pack here in Spain for 2590€. Pretty happy with the deal. Only had time to set up the camera a check a few things. But there are 2 things that I think I'm really going to like, the ability to punch in and check focus whilst filming and the EVF, which isn't as good as the S1's but it's way better than the S5's. I'll have to learn how to use the AF but so far it look pretty good. The lens looks great, nice and compact. I can see it being my main lens. If also means my back pack will weigh less as I'll use the 24-105 less and the S5 is a lot lighter than the S1. All good so far!

Z8 does make R5 look dated, Canon and Sony better have stacked sensor for their next cam at this price range with 45mp+ sensor.
 

There isn't one reason for the decline in websites like DPR and IR, but clearly the ad money has shifted to TikTok and YouTube social media influencers, and away from written articles so that is a big reason. The jazz media company that bought the magazine company that Dave sold IR to back in 2019, saw no worthwhile profit in IR's books.
Not only are these sites predominantly about written articles, they are about a subject that is fast turning into a niche.
Smartphone cameras are mainstream as we all know, and that means proper cameras are now about as mainstream as cassette tapes.
I think AI will accelerate this retreat even further.
The other general trend is that both DPR and IR were not ideal from a content point of view, it was often like reading advertising copy, as is the case with so much in the camera world in 2023. There is a lack of drama, a lack of true insight, it has all become a bit dry.
The camera companies should be really worried about these two canaries in a coal mine and they won't be the last to die. It points to the fact that the camera industry should probably do something to stop the rot and support the remaining sites.
Sadly they won't.

Part of the camera history just gone like that

Sorry but VR and VP will need 8K, just because you dont need it doesn't mean others dont need it either.

Z8 does make R5 look dated, Canon and Sony better have stacked sensor for their next cam at this price range with 45mp+ sensor.
 

Apparently the ghost of DPREVIEW is lurking...

Part of the camera history just gone like that

Imaging Resource is gone (really), without announcement.

https://petapixel.com/2023/05/08/imaging-resource-is-now-offline-as-the-camera-website-shuts-its-doors/

Was my preferred, above DPReview.

This guy managed to get 4K60p recording from 40min to over 1hr 40min with this fan kit

No EVF is a key feature according to Sony
Wonder how long the the camera last with 4K120P in july/aug temperature..
The processor on those new camera felt much more refined vs 2-3 year old release, the R8 makes my R5 felt a bit old for sure lol.
 

Yeah, I hope they fix the CDAF on FHD 50P/60P mode, cause that is ridiculous.

Yeah, I hope they fix the CDAF on FHD 50P/60P mode, cause that is ridiculous.

No EVF is a key feature according to Sony
Wonder how long the the camera last with 4K120P in july/aug temperature..
The processor on those new camera felt much more refined vs 2-3 year old release, the R8 makes my R5 felt a bit old for sure lol.
 

No EVF is a key feature according to Sony
Wonder how long the the camera last with 4K120P in july/aug temperature..
The processor on those new camera felt much more refined vs 2-3 year old release, the R8 makes my R5 felt a bit old for sure lol.
 

So I just tried the ZV-E1 among other recent releases and here are some quick thoughts:
The build quality is better than I thought, nothing like the previous toy-like ZV cams and much closer to current A7 series, probably closest to A7C. Unit carries a certain weight so balances ok even with bigger (prime) lenses.
Very minimal design and button layout. While this may seem like a con its also a pro, kind of reminds me of Leica philosophy. Yes sometimes less is more. 
Set the shutter speed with the dial, aperture with the thumbwheel. Zoom with the rocker switch. Jump to stills/video/S&Q with the mode switch.
Just about everything else is done on the touchscreen like a smartphone. This is where things start to go a little sideways. The tiny 3" display and small fonts of the settings require precision, and the Sony menu and overlays don't help. But it is still more handy than most other A7 cameras with their limited touch capabilities. 
By default just about everything is automatic, like a smartphone. Basically point & shoot. And it works pretty well as in no major jarring issues. The AF is top notch, I tried several lenses including my F1.8 Zeiss and it didn't skip a beat.. smooth AF, pun intended. 
No surprise about the IQ, its an A7Siii sensor. Clear image zoom via the rocker switch is killer though, really like that function lifted from FX3. 
Tried the AI reframing stuff, didn't gel with it. Applies a huge crop.
Now about the overheat. After 15mn of shooting 4K60p indoors using lowest bitrate codec, the camera shut off with no warning. I thought the battery had died lol. That was on the normal level heat setting, so I put it into high and didn't run into the issue again but I was shooting short clips, changing lenses every 5 minutes and didn't spend more than an hour with the unit. I didn't have a fast card so wasn't even able to test out the higher bitrate settings or ALL-I. The camera did feel warm after about hour.
This pretty much confirmed my suspicions through the reviews that this camera is not fit for pro/extended use but rather casual shooting. I still find the price of 2799€ pretty bonkers for a camera with no EVF, single card slot, zero cooling, no mechanical shutter etc. But the IQ and snappiness is impressive.
That being said, it does make the A7SIII feel somewhat sluggish & dated. And all this tech in an A7 body would be nice. I guess its a good preview into what's to expect in upcoming higher end Sony bodies..

Will share once I done the edit
 
Just use HDR-PQ which will have more DR than cinestyle profile, like this guy shot in HDR to get the most of DR.
 

The number of stops in IBIS is irrelevant - except for marketing purposes.  
The difference between a great IBIS and meh IBIS systems isn't the number of stops, it's things like the travel of the system (how large the movement can be before it runs out of travel to compensate), how fast it can react (high-frequency performance), motor strength, etc.  When you see an IBIS system failing to compensate for camera movement it will be limitations of these aspects.
The GH5 has similar number of stops as many other cameras at the time with inferior overall performance, it was some combination of other factors that made the difference between them.

This forum needs a section called 'Ask Kye'.
Again, I'm just messing and do enjoy your posts 😘

Just got the R8 today and use it for an Indian Ceremony, shot most of it in 4K50P and the heating indicator only goes up to 1 bar so that is not bad.
So much lighter vs the R5 on gimbal, I can felt the weight saving!
 

I’ve been waiting it out for a Z9 to buy as my forever camera ever since it was launched.
Two things were holding me back, namely there being an actual supply of them and then me being able to go to Japan to buy a used one.
I’ve been in no rush and as I’m going to Tokyo at the beginning of June and there are plenty of used ones available at MapCamera now, the time has actually come to get one.
Which has coincided on me going cool on the idea.
Bear in mind that I haven’t been inside a real camera shop since COVID so I’ve never actually seen a Z9 in real life but yesterday I met someone in Berlin who has one and let me have a go with it.
And well…

If the Z8 does indeed turn out to be a form factor reduced Z9 with a 25-30% price reduction too then I’m probably in.
The Z9 form factor doesn’t bother me in the slightest coming from my heritage of D3/D4/D5 use but maybe it would be nicer to have the option of a Z8 with a battery grip to pick and choose sizes depending on what I’m doing with it.
Ironically, it was the lenses that were leading me to and then away from the Z9.
I have a large collection of high end F mount lenses from my pro days gathering dust so the Z9 with the FTZ was the logical way to bring them into the modern era.
But I then didn’t fancy buying into the native Z lenses for when I want to have something smaller and lighter as I found them a bit expensive and not much 3rd party stuff to write home about made it worse.
So in the end I decided it was time to cut the losses with the F mount and go in with L or even E mount cameras.
However…
The man who let me use his Z9 (you might know him, not an Uber League Swingball player or anything but knows about cameras) had something interesting on it.


You have to look closely but it’s that waffa theeen Megadap E mount to Z AF adapter and it changes a lot for me.
The adapter more or less gives native lens performance of E mount lenses on the Z cameras.
I have a couple of E mount lenses so that is good but more importantly it opens up affordable and interesting 3rd party lenses like the Sigma’s contemporary series or primes and zooms and Tamron’s 35-150 f2/f2.8 which are now effectively available in Z mount using this adapter.
This means that the Z8 can not only be viewed as baby Z9 but also as a baby Alpha 1, particularly for anyone with a decent collection of E mount lenses already.
 

So I used both R7 and R8 on a music festival, again R7 1 battery last whole night (4k25p), R8 I used pd powerbank so I don't have to swap battery.
Though I do see the overheating warning bar appearing on R8 but again only up to 1 bar, on R7 I didn't see the bar at all.  
The R7 with Sigma 18-35mm 1.8 is a killer combo, the 4k crop mode is really handy for zoom in (make the 35mm end into a 100mm equivalent zoom), and IS is tripod like stability even in a crowded space, just the 4k60p and lowlight noise is not as good as the R8.

The RAW case was dismissed, and Nikon is free to keep it.

It has been dismissed without prejudice which means both sides have agreed to stop all ongoing claims and counterclaim proceedings.
Without prejudice means that the dismissal does not preclude the whole process from starting again in the future.
One possible reading of that is that they have agreed to stop action against each other in lieu of a license payment from Nikon to RED but that RED reserve the right to start the action again should Nikon not meet these commitments.
That is only one possible (but obvious) reading of it but there are many more as the claims weren’t only one way.
So there is no final settlement in a formal sense (ie Nikon paying them x dollars for an infringement with the Z9) but they have settled on what looks to be a negotiated cease fire on the current actions.
If the “win” for Nikon is to be able to have internal compressed RAW then it could be based on some sharing with RED of one of their own technologies as it is strongly suspected happened with Canon rather than a simple license payment.
Or it could be a bit of both.
If it IS purely based on a license payment then it could potentially be a “win” for other camera manufacturers as they could then apply to REF for the same.
I suspect it is a case of something more mutually beneficial as I doubt Nikon we’re going this heavily into bat on behalf of the whole camera industry.
The only people who really know are the ones that negotiated the ceasefire though and it will take a long time and a lot more guessing to unravel whether this goes beyond anything more than the Z9 being legally allowed to be sold with internal compressed RAW.
Ironically, though, the internal RAW of the Z9 hasn’t proved to be a world beater from tests that Andrew amongst other people have reported.
So, ultimately, this whole thing might well have been two bald men fighting over a comb.

Both sides have now filed a joint motion to dismiss the case so it’s all over.
Whether this means Nikon are paying a license fee or it’s a “win”’ against the patent itself that will benefit all manufacturers is uncertain but it looks like that new Z8 might be even more compelling now.
Perhaps the timing of the settlement and its launch may be more than coincidental.
Full story here 
https://ymcinema.com/2023/04/27/red-vs-nikon-case-dismissed/