Emanuel

Got the news just now! And here I am in the same day my own father would turn 86 in this Feb 28 if he hadn't left us one year and eleven nights (ten days) ago... : (

What a sad end/tragedy for one of our legends, terrible news:
https://www.tmz.com/2025/02/27/gene-hackman-family-suspects-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-death/
https://variety.com/2025/film/opinion/gene-hackman-tribute-best-movies-the-conversation-1236323080/
 
Impossible to think of the existence of cinema without his presence forever in our memories.
 
From Gene Hackman's fav movie of his filmography (in his own daughter's words), also a curious metaphor of what life is:
 

In fact, I've just bought one Mark II unit upgraded to work with AF @120fps and my FX30 for a bargain... Less than 70 bucks! :- )

Right, I am getting myself sponsored by NordVPN and Bingoplus.com because whenever I am on Bingoplus.com which is the only on-line betting platform I use for all my on-line bingo needs, it is always whilst using NordVPN and I wouldn’t trust anyone more for my on-line privacy than Nord.VPN
Thanks NordVPN!
Thanks Bingoplus!

Price point IMHO is half part of their strength. And how reliable their product is, an extra reason why we never put them out of our radar.
- EAG

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.

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.

There's a lot of whining about Panasonic not pushing hard enough in raw specs. Yet, many of these critics go silent when firmware updates completely transform the camera's usability. Panasonic focuses on features and tools that don’t generate the same hype as 4K 120fps or internal RAW—but they offer things like false color, shutter angle, and a lower price point. It’s just a different approach.

Great post man, my vote to stick it! :- ) 
At times, I even think to myself that a disclaimer urges to pop up to avoid armchair opinion makers out there...

I've used all of those actually! I built a live streaming business with the Sony PXW-Z90 almost 8 years ago. It was the best option at the time, because of the SDI connection that we could output to our switcher. Originally I wanted to use GH5 bodies but I wasn't confident in HDMI or the HDMI to SDI process in a fast paced sports environment. Locking SDI to SDI seemed like the way to go. Plus every other mirrorless option at the time, minus Lumix, had overheating issues so they weren't an option. The Panasonic AG-DVX200 was also briefly considered, but at nearly $5000 each it just wasn't gonna happen.
I really liked the PXW-Z90 at the time. Today though, it's not good enough in low light for event coverage, in my opinion. Today the footage LOOKs video-y, with poor colors, roll off, and dynamic range. They're still used by my old company, and for several other smaller pro-wrestling companies, and I just don't think the footage looks very good compared to what you can get from even a low end mirrorless camera these days.
I rented a FZ2500 when I was considering it as B and C cameras to my GH5 years ago. Not bad, but the G85 bodies I was using were still better. 
Gimme a power zoom I can buy once and use on whatever new Lumix body I upgrade to in the future and I'll be a happy camper.

Maybe this is your excuse to buy a Panasonic FZ2500? (or an older model)


Has a S16 sensor, with a 24-480mm equiv. F2.8-4.5 lens
Has v log, built in ND, and the camera can capture both DCI and UHD 4K, with even a 10bit 422 output. Aside from it being an odd DSLR format vs the usual video camera ergonomics, it's a not too bad camera for lower budget event coverage? If you need a powerzoom, it's the best Panasonic has to offer unless you go for the more expensive Panasonic HC-X20, or the even more expensive Panasonic DVX200 (except, it is dirt cheap secondhand now), or a frankenstein configuration. or a much more expensive option such as the Panasonic AJ-CX4000GJ (funnily enough, it is has a 4/3" sensor in it! So it's kinda-ish like "Panasonic's top of the line MFT camera", but without a MFT mount, it has a B4 mount)"
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1532968-REG/panasonic_aj_cx4000gj_b4_interchangeable_lens_camera.html (you too can have one for the low low price of $25K)
Personally though, if I was doing that kind of live event coverage (one with a modest budget, small but bigger than the smell of an oily rag) where big zooms during a shot matters, I'd be going with a Sony PXW-Z90V (or  maybe Sony PXW-Z150 if I see a bargain for it. Or both! This type of shooting often uses multiple cameras). 

Nikon beating Panasonic to releasing a video focused power zoom for their full frame cameras was not something I expected...
C'mon Pannyboy~!

I agree on more power zooms. But is also important they be parfocal, or close to it (like many of Sony's zooms). I recall that many Panasonic zoom lenses were decidedly not parfocal (and DFD focusing did not help).

I have the PZM thingy for the 18-135mm EF-S, and is a lot of fun!

Very fair.

Unless you're Matt's doctor, though, his weight is really not your concern.  If he has health problems, it's up to him to decide if he'll talk about them or not.  This thread was a lot better when it was trolling people about Dave Bautista and/or Perry Farrell.
Let's focus instead on his lens reviews where he does a portrait shoot with it stopped down to like f/13 which will be diffraction limited on just about any modern sensor!
Or on his thing where he has to bring 43 and 250 lenses in like 43 suitcases when he goes on trips!  Instead of, like, a couple of GFX 100 II bodies and a decent selection of Fujinon glass!  And if he really needs extreme telephoto, swap that out for any modern 61 megapixel body and the same focal equivalents as above + extreme telephotos.
Or his pockets.

Good for him! Takes a lot to recognize you have a problem. 
Still, he looks a lot healthier (and younger) in that video than he does now. Sometimes people who lose weight tend to go overboard.

That ^ is Dave, well known camera reviewer and influencer.
Normally ends his reviews by smashing the kit to pieces.
And here is a pic below after he went on the Matt Granger diet.

'the animal' dave batista has clearly cut down on his massive steroid + hgh intake. word is he wants some 'normal' movie roles
i ran into him at my gym in LA years ago when he was at his biggest, and my trainer knew him and introduced me, and i gotta tell u.... you cannot imagine how huge he was. this is a golds gym in LA. many muscled up guys. hes standing next to my trainer who was 6'2" 235 and he absolutely dwarfed him.  he ~WAS~ like an animal, the wrestling nickname was appropriate.
fwiw he was SUPER nice so i like him lol

Who the heck is Dave Bautista? The singer from Jane's Addiction?

I believe he had brain surgery a few years back. I don't remember what exactly the problem was. He's clearly fighting something. There have been others too on YouTube. It reminds me to make more efforts to eat healthily and take care of myself that much more. Life is so fragile. I send my good wishes his way.

From the reviews seen so far there is everything and nothing.
GU tested it in "lab mode" and slaughtered it. He was smart to report the bugs to Pana who fixed them for him via fw updates.
Other youtubers reported problems found by GU but they didn't get the updates and didn't even know they existed. So people who look at their reviews think it all sucks. For example, some say AF is not up to par. If you look at Richard Wong's review the AF is perfect and aligned with Sony. He has fw 1.0. he is the only one who tested extensively on animals and cars and there are some smart features.
Other youtubers have tried it on real projects or real use cases and there is very little criticism and they speak very highly of it.
Moving the camera left and right like crazy and screaming that the RS is terrible or claiming on paper that having only 12 stops without DR is like swearing in church, seems like bullshit to me. The beloved 5DMKII ML had 9 stops of DR and yet everyone was wetting their pants.
In short, lab is one thing and reality is another.
BTW the same youtubers who now blast the S1RII are the ones who would hate an S1R that we like a lot.

Can be a good test for CIA recruitment. Look at the chart for only 8 seconds and close your eyes and anwser the question "in which modes 60p 4:2:2 is available?". 

Personally, I don't care about RS anyway so it's a non issue for my way of filming.

But some things feel rushed in a way that they made it more complex it needed to be. For example, you can use our dual native ISO but if you want DR Boost you now have new base ISO settings. It feels counter intuitive to calculate small things like that while shooting for a gig. In a way it reminds me of the GH6 when it came out, in which you had to film in 2000 ISO when using with DR Boost on. Then a year later the G9II comes out and its like "dude just set your ISO level and I will boost the DR for you no matter what".

And what's with the 120fps tops? Even my old S1 can shoot 180fps in FHD (crappy image but still).

However, they finally have no crop up to 4K60, the moire issues of the past are non-existent and the beefy colour rendering (subjective) coming out of the image is more than welcome. I like the fact that they stuffed in every little thing they could, with not much left to be desired.

I don't know/care if it's going to make Sony or Canon shooters swap, for me it's a safe upgrade path from the original S1 series.

It does have active cooling (AFAIK the same system as used on the S5 ii).
But it's having to deal with a lot more heat due to almost 2x the data rates if reading the full sensor area (compared to the S5 ii), and 8K video is 4x the pixels per frame vs. 4K video so the processing and encoding pipeline is working much harder. Based on the review comments and RS results, the less-than-8k video is oversampled from 8k capture, so probably great quality but a lot of heat to deal with (and short battery life).

TBH I think overheating performance (let alone DR + low light) and price under $2.9K (€2.762 from my supplier) without VAT (for professionals, not consumers) for such small form factor (under 800gr!) are both a must : ) How come not having an active cooling system along with? Or a cheap semiconductor route instead, as Andrew mentions? 
60p up to 5.8K is the price to pay for?
Other than that, imagerie coming out from such features combo like IBIS + their same hybrid AF, once more this time for a 2nd round and turn to follow the S5 II, look like pretty hard to resist and stellar to me... I'll probably see myself to bite : P Who not, sooner or later? : X 




https://petapixel.com/2025/02/25/panasonic-s1r-ii-first-look-the-ultimate-hybrid/
 
PS: Something I guess I like to see going with them... they usually try to bring some cherry to the top, most of their tradition is that, more than any other brand except Blackmagic IMO who tend not to leave any rabbit out of their hat for next time, hence my hat. 
Their newer is their best can certainly be a good motto. 
I am sick of a few minutes before overheating, when it's supposed a professional use even being a hybrid one, no excuse, it's not a smartphone! You can go and burn in hell, shame on them, Canon and Nikon... They play games on us... Makes little to no sense to my book to say the least :- )