Caleb Genheimer

I’m fairly suspicious that using Sony sensors involves use-case restrictions, not slapping the S1H sensor into a cine body could be one of those.

Panny REALLY has their stuff “on fleek.” Bulletproof indeed. I’ve wandered off to Samsung and Blackmagic, but I always end up back with Panasonic, they really nail everything down. AF may be a bit behind the competition, but everything that works REALLY works and is 100% dependable.
There are some deals floating around on the S1H that I might just bite on soon, it seems like a decade kinda camera.

Panny REALLY has their stuff “on fleek.” Bulletproof indeed. I’ve wandered off to Samsung and Blackmagic, but I always end up back with Panasonic, they really nail everything down. AF may be a bit behind the competition, but everything that works REALLY works and is 100% dependable.
There are some deals floating around on the S1H that I might just bite on soon, it seems like a decade kinda camera.

Panny REALLY has their stuff “on fleek.” Bulletproof indeed. I’ve wandered off to Samsung and Blackmagic, but I always end up back with Panasonic, they really nail everything down. AF may be a bit behind the competition, but everything that works REALLY works and is 100% dependable.
There are some deals floating around on the S1H that I might just bite on soon, it seems like a decade kinda camera.

@Andrew Reid
If you keep a list of things to poke camera manufacturers about, add 32bit float audio to the lineup. IMO it would be a paradigm shift in “scratch” and on-camera audio to include even a decent float system. Heck, a simplicity-first company like Blackmagic Design could do away with audio controls in float mode entirely, opting only for a headphone volume control (or even auto level monitoring).
I use a 32bit float recorder at work all the time, and I literally don’t have to think about its operation beyond power-up, verification of the mic signal, and hitting the record button.

@Andrew Reid
If you keep a list of things to poke camera manufacturers about, add 32bit float audio to the lineup. IMO it would be a paradigm shift in “scratch” and on-camera audio to include even a decent float system. Heck, a simplicity-first company like Blackmagic Design could do away with audio controls in float mode entirely, opting only for a headphone volume control (or even auto level monitoring).
I use a 32bit float recorder at work all the time, and I literally don’t have to think about its operation beyond power-up, verification of the mic signal, and hitting the record button.

@Andrew Reid
If you keep a list of things to poke camera manufacturers about, add 32bit float audio to the lineup. IMO it would be a paradigm shift in “scratch” and on-camera audio to include even a decent float system. Heck, a simplicity-first company like Blackmagic Design could do away with audio controls in float mode entirely, opting only for a headphone volume control (or even auto level monitoring).
I use a 32bit float recorder at work all the time, and I literally don’t have to think about its operation beyond power-up, verification of the mic signal, and hitting the record button.

Honestly I think what hurts Panny’s L-Mount beasts is their very own S1H perched high atop the pile. It deserves to be there, but a LOT of folks tend to shop between flagships, ignoring tertiary models. In reality… The S1/S5/S1R compare to everyone else’s lineups, and the S1H just… sits in its own tier. If they had sorted the AF, I’d probably have procured two and hung up my camera shopping hat for the next two decades. 

The body shape is just... disgusting (and that’s coming from someone who owns and uses a P4K). They should just make the screen AND EVF each a $500 extra, and reshape the body into something more like RED/Kinefinity/ZCam/BGH1.

I still don’t understand RED’s stranglehold on the RAW patent bs. Like, it’s a painfully obvious method for compressing RAW, based on already-existing open tech (even when they originally “invented” it.) 

What, did the lawyers tasked with contesting it a while back just do a crap job? Or does RED just have a bunch of Big Dick Energy lawyers?? It’s absurd, and I’m still baffled that the big dogs haven’t banded together to take that patent out back and toss it in the dumpster where it belongs. 
 
Everyone wants internal RAW, and the codecs exist to do it easily. That’s what I want in a GH6. If not, then at minimum, ditch the stupid HDMI and implement a pro-grade SDI connection.
 
I’ve also been dying for someone to put a dual-gain ADC audio system into a camera, with 32bit float audio file support. The preamps can be only half-decent, and it’s still a MEGA benefit to just plain NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CLIPPING. It’s like RAW recording for audio. If it can be put in tiny body packs, it sure as heck can be implemented in a camera body.

I think whoever integrates BRaw in body outside of Blackmagic will see big time adoption. 
 
BMD I think might be prohibiting it to protect the Pocket line, but honestly they will see Resolve Studio/Pocket sales on the tail end as folks buy B-cams and full versions of Resolve. Heck, they could limit “third party” BRaw files to Studio version only. 
 
I can’t stress how much better Resolve is versus FCPX, ergo how much better BRaw also is versus ProResRaw. I really want BRaw as the “new ProRes” industry standard, and I think BMD could do it easily if they let other parties put it in-camera. They claim to hate Atmos with a passion, yet they compete in the same space with monitor recorders... they need to one-up everyone else by putting BRaw into third party bodies.
 
Panasonic seems perfectly positioned for such a move, and it’s exactly the kind of thing that would sell truckloads of MFT cameras.

I think whoever integrates BRaw in body outside of Blackmagic will see big time adoption. 
 
BMD I think might be prohibiting it to protect the Pocket line, but honestly they will see Resolve Studio/Pocket sales on the tail end as folks buy B-cams and full versions of Resolve. Heck, they could limit “third party” BRaw files to Studio version only. 
 
I can’t stress how much better Resolve is versus FCPX, ergo how much better BRaw also is versus ProResRaw. I really want BRaw as the “new ProRes” industry standard, and I think BMD could do it easily if they let other parties put it in-camera. They claim to hate Atmos with a passion, yet they compete in the same space with monitor recorders... they need to one-up everyone else by putting BRaw into third party bodies.
 
Panasonic seems perfectly positioned for such a move, and it’s exactly the kind of thing that would sell truckloads of MFT cameras.

I still don’t understand RED’s stranglehold on the RAW patent bs. Like, it’s a painfully obvious method for compressing RAW, based on already-existing open tech (even when they originally “invented” it.) 

What, did the lawyers tasked with contesting it a while back just do a crap job? Or does RED just have a bunch of Big Dick Energy lawyers?? It’s absurd, and I’m still baffled that the big dogs haven’t banded together to take that patent out back and toss it in the dumpster where it belongs. 
 
Everyone wants internal RAW, and the codecs exist to do it easily. That’s what I want in a GH6. If not, then at minimum, ditch the stupid HDMI and implement a pro-grade SDI connection.
 
I’ve also been dying for someone to put a dual-gain ADC audio system into a camera, with 32bit float audio file support. The preamps can be only half-decent, and it’s still a MEGA benefit to just plain NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CLIPPING. It’s like RAW recording for audio. If it can be put in tiny body packs, it sure as heck can be implemented in a camera body.

I still don’t understand RED’s stranglehold on the RAW patent bs. Like, it’s a painfully obvious method for compressing RAW, based on already-existing open tech (even when they originally “invented” it.) 

What, did the lawyers tasked with contesting it a while back just do a crap job? Or does RED just have a bunch of Big Dick Energy lawyers?? It’s absurd, and I’m still baffled that the big dogs haven’t banded together to take that patent out back and toss it in the dumpster where it belongs. 
 
Everyone wants internal RAW, and the codecs exist to do it easily. That’s what I want in a GH6. If not, then at minimum, ditch the stupid HDMI and implement a pro-grade SDI connection.
 
I’ve also been dying for someone to put a dual-gain ADC audio system into a camera, with 32bit float audio file support. The preamps can be only half-decent, and it’s still a MEGA benefit to just plain NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CLIPPING. It’s like RAW recording for audio. If it can be put in tiny body packs, it sure as heck can be implemented in a camera body.

The body shape is just... disgusting (and that’s coming from someone who owns and uses a P4K). They should just make the screen AND EVF each a $500 extra, and reshape the body into something more like RED/Kinefinity/ZCam/BGH1.

The body shape is just... disgusting (and that’s coming from someone who owns and uses a P4K). They should just make the screen AND EVF each a $500 extra, and reshape the body into something more like RED/Kinefinity/ZCam/BGH1.

A Masked Luchadore. A Call to Action. 'Santo Drive' is a visual homage to Nicolas W. Refn's 'Drive' (2011). Shot on a BMPCC 4K with a Kowa 8z Anamorphic lens adapter. BRAW 8:1 (Sandisk SDXC). ISO 3200 😀
Color Grade based on my Blackmagic Pocket 4K LUT. Download Available HERE: https://bulentozdemirfilms.wordpress.com/bozbmdfilm_p4k-to-rec709-lut/
 

You misunderstood.
Pixel-binning has a strong anti-aliasing effect (blurring). Especially so for a 3 x 3 pattern.

Yeah, I have several. I have a Kowa Anamorphic-35 1.75X (a variant of what most call an “Inflight”,) which, while for 35mm gate size, is easily usable on MF (considering everyone and their mother uses 16mm gate scopes like the 16-H on full frame cameras without issue.) I also have plans to modify my B&L CinemaScope Attachment II, which is natively for projecting 70mm prints, and has an absolutely ginormous rear element. 
I honestly don’t care how much my rig weighs, or how big it ends up being. I’m gearing up to shoot narrative fiction, not a YouTube vlog. I’m after unique, immersive and impactful images that feel at home on a theater screen, that create their own world on the screen.
I love Nolan’s work on 70mm, especially Dunkirk and Interstellar. The Alexa 65 has also shot several films which really leverage the larger sensor to achieve a unique look: Bohemian Rhapsody, The Revenant, Rogue One...
I’m not saying smaller sensors can’t look great on the big screen, but a really big sensor leveraged the right way can’t help but look like it belongs on the big screen.
If prices drop on the S1H, I’ll very likely end up with that body, I’m just a bit bummed with Fuji (or perhaps Sony is imposing  limitations on the sensor,) because I REALLY like Fuji. I like their physical design philosophy, their color science, and their overall proclivity towards a “left-field” approach (like leapfrogging Full Frame straight from APSC to MF.)
I’m perfectly happy to wait out the market with my GH5S and Pocket 4K, they’re a great duo for getting the job done on contract work... but they’re not what I’m after from a personal creative perspective.

Wow, this sounds way less oppressive than Adobe subscription plan! I’ll have to look into it!

Please have an open gate raw mode!

It’s worth noting that the new Rapido Technology FVD-35NP will allow us to shorten long scopes, reducing the squeeze factor... but also gaining angle of view.

I’ve done a decent amount of front/rear group mismatch pairing. What I’ve found is this:
1. you can often find mismatched pairings that function at equivalent quality to their matched arrangement.
2. mismatched pairings are not able to be focused, meaning that they are in focus only at infinity. (This is different from what anamorphic users refer to as “dual focus.” The anamorphic is infinity only just to be clear.)
3. The maximum angle of view is determined by the front element group, and cannot be changed. (Note a key distinction however that the squeeze ratio changes, which DOES change which taking lens focal length will be associated with the unchanging angle of view. This also means that the vertical field of view changes as well.)
4. the source-point flare comes from the rear element group, the secondary mirrored flare comes from the front element group.
To take all of this and give a specific example, let’s say I’m trying out pairings with the front element group from my Kowa 16-H. On my Blackmagic PCC4K, lets say my favorite lens to use with it stock is my Canon FD 24mm, which also happens to be the widest lens I can use if my final delivery is going to be a tasty, vignette-free 2.39:1. 
Let’s move on now to the (imaginary) mismatch pairing. I have an old B&L CinemaScope kicking around, and I pair the rear grouping from this scope with the front grouping from my 16-H, in front of my 24mm, which is set to infinity. The B&L elements are nice and cozy right up against the 24mm’s front, but things look blurry. I move the 16-H front grouping in and out until I get a nice sharp image. Neat! If I focus the 24mm on something closer, say, my C-stand at 5’ from camera, I can’t seem to achieve anything sharp no matter what the distance is between the Kowa and B&L element groups. Oh well... infinity it is! (That’s what variable diopters are for anyway, right?)
Ok, so we have our trusty 24mm. We have a Frankenstein of glass from two scopes in front of it, and it’s nice and sharp (at least at infinity,) so what now? Well, let’s shoot a chart, pull some footage into an NLE, and figure out what the squeeze of our new Frankenscope happens to be. A quick stretch of the footage to where the chart looks normal reveals..... 1.75X! Neat! Now, there’s definitely some vignette, but that’s ok, we’re after 2.39:1 delivery. Let’s crop in until the vignette goes away, shall we? The result? vignette free when cropped to 3:1. That’s cool, we could probably go a little wider with the spherical lens.
A quick scour through the camera bag unearths a LUMIX 21mm lens. Let’s ditch the 24mm and try the 21mm. Abracadabra, drop some 21mm footage into the timeline, desqueeze and crop out the vignette: 2.39:1. There now exists a 1.75X scope that can go as wide as a 21mm taking lens! That’s a wider taking lens than the Kowa could handle stock! 
 
Or is it? A meander through the maths:
21/1.75=12mm lens equivalent horizontal
24/2=12mm lens equivalent horizontal
BUT!!! (You may say, and you’re correct) there is no vertical squeeze factor here, so vertically, the 21mm is STILL wider than the 24mm. Yes. You are using a wider focal length lens, but your horizontal field/angle of view remains unchanged. The two scope configurations both are and aren’t equivalent to each other. Oh the joys of anamorphic. This is why anamorphic lenses are said to have two focal lengths (one horizontal and another vertical,) and it’s why we get oval bokeh too! 
The final kicker is when we add our variable diopter of choice: an SLR Magic Rangefinder. The stock Kowa is now choked to a maximum of 28mm, and the Frankenscope can only do 25mm. It turns out that in practical application, the limit of all wide anamorphic adapter setups is the variable diopter, not the scope. The new Rapido FVD-35 is right at the limits of the very widest anamorphic adapters. What’s more, a bigger diopter setup to squeeze out those last few distorted degrees of angle-of-view would be laughably gigantic. The FVD-35 is 134mm in diameter. That means it already sits only 2cm above a 15mm LWS rod setup, so unless you want to go full 19mm studio rods and use 6.5X6.5 mattebox for filtration, the FVD-35 will do “just fine.”
Why, then, would anyone bother to Frankenscope? Well, because lenses are so much more than the numbers. Even by the numbers, you might prefer a novel squeeze ratio. You might want beautiful mixed gold and teal flares. You might want the thick, lush flares from an old scope with some added sharpness and contrast from one more modern. You might want a unique look, that’s all your own, completely custom. Besides that, the experimentation is really fun! 
A quick look at remotely reasonable anamorphic offerings reveals: Xelmus has a 40mm and Atlas has a 32mm, both of which only cover a standard 35mm open gate. The FVD-35 is right in this ballpark in any case. Unless you find an exceptionally rare 22mm LOMO, or rent some top shelf glass, you’re not going to go wider... never mind that depth of field becomes so deep when this wide that the differences between spherical and anamorphic are difficult for most people to differentiate. As someone who hacked scopes apart to try and go wider, here’s my conclusion: do what works for you, but you’re gonna need a big variable diopter, because that’s the bottleneck. After that, find your wide scope of choice, Frankensteined or stock, it’s just preference. 
I had some awesome results from very humbly priced pairings. I bought a half dozen or so scopes off eBay, and did my level best to spend $100 or less on each. A great trick is taking big/long adapters meant for 35mm projection, and pairing their front element groups with rears from shorter 16mm projection scopes. As a general rule, this seems to significantly shorten the scope’s length, and reduces the squeeze factor. There are a plethora of theoretical 1.8X, 1.75X, 1.5X, and 1.33X custom scopes out there for anyone with the willpower and funding to go on a mix and match bonanza.
 

Redstan, Tony and Alan are all the same person. You can add Keyser Söze to the list to. 

This statement is behind every piece of frustration that basically anyone has ever had about the files a camera delivers.
Unless the camera can write a RAW stream in every mode that the sensor supports, then that's the entire problem.  You're frustrated by lack of open-gate functions in FF cameras, I'm frustrated with my sub-$100 action camera that applies dreadful sharpening and NR to its 2MP sensor and then writes the files in abysmal quality 15Mbps h264, the P2K became a cult camera for writing RAW 1080p internally, the GH5 got hype for the 5K open-gate modes and 4K 400Mbps ALL-I modes, the P4K got hype for RAW 4K60 internally, ML has people voiding their warranties on cameras to get higher quality video to the card, etc etc.
Taking the image from the sensor and not stomping on it before writing it to the SD card is basically the only thing we care about and talk about.