IronFilm

1 hour ago, John Matthews said:

That doesn't really make any sense as other companies like Sony, Panasonic, and Fuji are not having the same hikes. Are you saying ONLY some camera companies are subject to European regulatory costs?

When there is an extra sales tax applied, then that is applied exactly evenly across all companies. 

Let's say it's a 20% tax, no matter if it is a Panasonic $2K camera or a Sony $2K camera or a Nikon  $2K camera or a Fujifilm $2K camera or a Canon $2K camera or a whatever brand, they will all need the consumer to pay exactly $400 more in taxes. 

But what if it's a more opaque cost, such as mandatory a 10yr consumer warranty on all cameras? 

Panasonic vs Fujfilm vs Canon vs etc could all have a very different idea of what that exact extra cost is to them. (although you'd hope they'd all come up with vaguely similar numbers) 

1 hour ago, John Matthews said:

Maybe someone can look up the price in England as they are not in Europe.

England does have a european mindset (relatively speaking vs the USA). 

1 hour ago, John Matthews said:

I'm sure you'll be paying the additional customs when you go back to New Zealand, right? Because a double tax makes sense? Even though if you buy something from the B&H site, you don't need to pay New York tax AND your home country tax.

Usually it does not make sense to ship things directly to NZ because shipping costs offered by the seller are outrageous. 

So I have for years been using a reshipping services offered by NZ Post called "YouShop", they're located in a state with 0% sales tax. 

However lately both the service offered by YouShop has fallen immesensely and the costs they charge have gone up immensely. 

So I'm toying with ditching YouShop. Am using shipito for a change, but their free shipping address the offer is unfortunately located in California (thus 10% sales tax, and I can't claim that back from California). And getting a warehouse address in a 0% sales tax State means paying shipito a subscription membership. Hmmm... not sure if I wish to commit fully to it, but if this goes well, then I think I might and start a sub with them? 

1 hour ago, John Matthews said:

That could be. Personally, I think Nikon just follows Canon because they do it too.

Often companies do look to each other, and copy what the other is doing. As in a way their competitor has "done the market research" for them be proving it in real life.

They've proven the market can afford cameras at $xxxx price point, or they've proven that consumers want Y & Z features. So they'll closely stalk each other, and mirror the moves done by the other one. 

Only 2.5% spent on Trabants? Appalling! Increase that immediately. 

1 hour ago, MrSMW said:

I have juggled with so many combos, some of which have worked better than others and as a one man band, it always comes down to the same thing, - what is the max that you can do, and consistently, without tripping over yourself.

The potential issue with 'minimalism' is that often there is no back up, but too much kit and as above, you risk over-complicating and tripping yourself up.

Having 2 identical static video units being fed from 4 audio feeds is minimal set up, but maximum insurance.

Yup, and a person's optimal setup depends so much on their own goals / skills / equipment. 

For instance I was fairly comfortable shooting weddings sometimes with 6x Panasonic MFT cameras. 

Something like: UWA at the back looking forward, a side camera (maybe from both the  L & R sides, or maybe just one) that's mid wide looking forward, a centered camera mid wide shot looking forward, a camera facing backwards to get the wedding guests, and a central tight camera on the bride/groom/celebrant. Plus my manned camera that's I'm roaming with an all in one zoom. (such as the 14-140mm)

That's easily six plus cameras, and it's quite doable. 

That's largely thanks to their great battery life , no record limits, and no overhead. Was easy and zero hassle! 

But if this setup had been 6x Canon 60D or 6x Nikon D5200, it might have sent me insane due to the extra overhead hassle of dealing with their limitations!

With Panasonic however you can just set it and forget it! It's ok if only 5% of the footage gets used. (perhaps it's the UWA at the back, so it's boring if too much of the ceremony is from that angle. Or maybe a framing is a bit too tight, and the people end up standing somewhere a bit off to the side of where you thought, that's fine too). Because setting up that camera cost a lot less than 5% of your day's efforts!

Although I'd still babysit them a little. Especially if I was using a smaller number, like five or four cameras. My central camera for instance might be fairly loose framing, then once the bride had arrived and I'd got my shots I'd wanted with my manned camera, I'd run over and check on it, adjust the framing if need be, and make the framing a little tighter (no 4K shooting back then! So I had to get the most out of the 1080 that I could). Or maybe I only have a side angle camera on the right hand side of the ceremony, so half way through I might move it across the to the left hand side of the venue just to mix up the footage I'm getting with more variety.  Or maybe I don't have any cameras pointing back at the wedding guests at all, so I'll grap the UWA camera at the back and move it around to the front instead. 

1 hour ago, MrSMW said:

So I can carry 3 units on me (one each hip and one on a strap), but it's too much, especially when it was 3 different cameras re. ergos etc.

Interesting, being waaay heavier into the video world than photography, normally one camera is the max for us to be carrying. I know multiple is more normal for photographers.

But I find it curious the split, 2x hip vs 1x strap. I'd have thought it made more sense to use a dual sling for your main two cameras and put on your hip the 3rd camera you might use? Why have you gone with a 2x hip vs 1x strap split instead. 

1 hour ago, MrSMW said:

I've just ordered another (used S5ii) so will now be operating a pair of them, statically, for video usage, both paired with the 'cheapie' 20-60mm 'kit' lens and each with a Rode WG2.

The final component for this year will be an S9. The S9 will be my run & gun lightweight unit paired up with the S1H for stills as my 'on me at all times' pairing.

My only slight issue with this set up is that it remains a 4 unit scenario and I was determined to go to 3 units, but I can live with it as 2 of the units are identical static units. My previous issue had been 1 static and 3x units on me which was too much. Resolved that.

This makes a lot of sense to me. 

Personally I feel it is risky playing with fire to use less than 2 static cameras, and carrying anything more than two cameras at once becomes a bit ridiculous. 

4 hours ago, John Matthews said:

The pricing is also consistent with the Nikon ZF, which is also $700 more expensive (after conversion). There's no doubt about it- Nikon asks a lot more from Europeans and seems to be far more competitive in the USA. It's not unheard of though. You can get an iMac for $1200 at B&H or the same one for about $450 more in Europe.

$450 more above $1200 is a lot bigger percentage increase than the Z6III has in Europe 

14 hours ago, John Matthews said:

Why is it that Nikon hits Europeans so hard. USA price is roughly $2500 at B&H (with their credit card scheme) and in Europe it's 3000 euros ($3215) with tax. In Panasonic world, the prices are almost always lower in Europe than in the USA. That's a heavy hit.

Not just taxes, but lots of other hidden socialist/European regulatory costs. Maybe for instance consumer guarantees are higher in europe, that's a cost which has to thus be recouped somehow somewhere. 

14 hours ago, Emanuel said:

VAT... but U.S. in the most part of States also has sales tax, although much lighter...

Was rather annoyed by the 10% California tax I had to swallow today. 

13 hours ago, John Matthews said:

You've got to be kidding. Who does that?

Very strictly honest people?

Sure, most people won't do it! But you're technically a criminal. 

13 hours ago, John Matthews said:

Why is Panasonic almost always less expensive then? You have the same warranty laws. Seriously, Nikon is screwing the Europeans. Why? I'm not trying to be difficult. I just want to know why.

Maybe different cost structures they have to tackle the additional regulatory burdens? Or a different appetite for risk / minimizing margins. 

13 hours ago, ade towell said:

Panasonic S5ii has line level too.

The Fujifim XH2s as well, I just found out. 

Still, that's a very short list! XH2s + S5II + Z6III, only three cameras, does make them quite unique indeed. 

13 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

Will there be enough cashflow rich hobbyists in a cost of living crisis to make the Z6 III a success? Does it finally tempt the average Nikon D750 users to upgrade, and who hasn’t already? Does it tempt Canon users to trade in the R6, tired with RF mount as they might be by now?

Indeed Andrew! If I was starting out in photography (with no interest in video) I'd be hard pressed to justify spending more than the sub $400 it costs for a used Nikon D750 or D800 or the $500ish for a Nikon D500 (or if going even cheaper, the D600 for sub $300 or a D7100 for sub $200!!!) vs buying any modern Z Mount camera, not even the OG Nikon Z6 secondhand, as if a person only cares about photography, why not get a D750 for $300 less??

Plus there is the glorious range of cheap Nikon F Mount lenses! 

Maybe by 2030, by that point in time we'll probably have a tonne of dirt cheap bargain priced secondhand chinese Z Mount lenses to choose from (for instance you couldn't today easily find a half priced secondhand Meike 50mm f/1.8 AF Z Lens, but a secondhand Nikon 50mm f1.8D lens? Easy! Found one in second on eBay for under $60), and Z6 will have fallen so low in price they'll be within a whisker of D750/D800/D500 pricing. 

14 hours ago, Davide DB said:

The problem with Seafrogs are the low quality domes and ports.

But perfectly "good enough" for amateurs and very early stage professionals? 

Then once you're past that point and you're an established professional, then well I guess you just have to pay up for "the best" and pass the costs along to the clients. 

14 hours ago, Davide DB said:

P.S. 
I have a housing for the GH4 that I use as a paperweight 🙂

Give it me!! 😛 😆 I have a GH4...

nah, I'm kidding. What I meant to say, is you should sell it while it still has value!!!

ebay suggests you could perhaps get maybe $1K-ish for it if you're patient: 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=Nauticam+gh4&_sacat=0&_sop=15&rt=nc&LH_Sold=1&LH_Complete=1 

40 minutes ago, kye said:

Now this is marketing...  clicked on an S9 thread?  Here's a product you might also be interested in... the ARRI 416!

At least it is more on topic than a dreadful Sennheiser 416

26 minutes ago, Davide DB said:

The second hand market is ruthless with prices less than 50% if you are lucky to get one of the latest, mainstream models.

Yeah I personally would never ever ever buy a proper underwater housing for a current gen camera! Waaaaaaaaay too expensive. 

I have a splash bag, but if I was to get a "real" kit then I'd be getting it for a GH5 (heck, maybe even a GH4 if the price is cheap enough!). Definitely not for the newer GH6 or GH7

Or perhaps even the chinese Seafrogs underwater casings. 

Of course if I was doing this professionally, the economics of all of this becomes totally different. And you go for the best. 

99% of the readers of NikonRumors.com wouldn't fully appreciate the significance of this! 🤣 😂 😆😁

8 hours ago, John Matthews said:

Also, to get the camera to be quiet enough for dialogue, you'd need a blimp only adding to the complexity.

Blimps existed for MOS cameras to make them kinda suitable for sync sound in a pinch. 

Or the other option is rent one of the more expensive cameras that are designed from the ground up to be used on sync sound shoots. 

On that topic, if anybody wants to buy one, ARRI has the very best available for sale right now:

https://www.newsshooter.com/2024/06/16/arriflex-416-plus-hs-auction/ 

Was impressed to see that the Z6 mk3 gains waveforms! (as I don't think the Z6 series had this beforehand? https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4680517#forum-post-66604118 Was only Panasonic who had waveforms as a feature in their stills cameras??)

This is a big deal! For people who are used to the benefits of using waveforms already. 

Ohhhh.... and the Z6 mk3 now supports line level audio!! That's also quite unique for a stills cameras, a great feature for a camera to have.

1 hour ago, MrSMW said:

That's it, - I am buying 6 of them.

Only half a dozen? Nah, go full hog, get a round dozen of them!

46 minutes ago, andrgl said:

I hope Nikon can release a competitive zoom lens with fast aperture, it's the only thing keeping me from making the switch.

I reckon they also need a slower zoom, say a f4 zoom that is a mega 10x zoom, not 24mm to 120mm but to 240mm! Or maybe even 28mm to 280mm??? With f4!

It would be a nifty way to make use of that handheld control grip that Nikon has made for their cameras if you could control it like this, while covering sport games or other event coverage. 

19 hours ago, kye said:

Please look through this thread and show me where this was stated.

Oh I dunno, lots of places: 

11 hours ago, mercer said:

But there's still a medium format look.

14 hours ago, John Matthews said:

Granted the title of the thread is "Panasonic GH7". However, invariably with any camera release that is not full frame, the discussion goes only to sensor size and how inferior the sensor is because it's not FF. It's quite ludicrous.

I agree! It's quite frustrating. 

Why can't people just accept each format for what it is?? 

Heck, if we saw a BMPCC 2.0 released which has an even smaller sensor than the GH7, I would still be excited about that. 

And we shouldn't be hating upon it specifically for the S16 sized sensor. 

Sure, we might complain about the lack of modern day affordable S16 cine lenses! That we could use on the BMPCC 2.0

But that's a totally different question to complaining about the S16 sensor size itself. 

5 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

If I'm outdoors standing on a cliff and want to capture the sounds of the forest around me, I definitely wouldn't go the supercardioid route.

"Depends". If you're somewhat far away from the source, such as standing across a pool of water from a waterfall, then a directional mic could make sense. 

Your specific phrase of "the sounds of the forest around (behind) me" isn't what OP originally said. They said at the of a cliff, with the forest behind them. What they see in the distance, from the cliff edge, could be vastly more important to them, than the forest that's behind them and out of shot. 

6 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

Scratch mics are generally mics that pick up audio that isn't used in the final edit but only as a reference. It doesn't really apply to your question, I'm not sure why he brought it up.

Scratch audio might or might not be used in the final edit, sometimes it is. 

I kinda classify all on camera mounted mics, be it for "ambient" or whatever,  as scratch mics. Got a get a mic off camera if you want better than scratch audio. 

10 hours ago, lsquare said:

What do you mean by a scratch mic?

Just "something" to get audio into the camera. 

10 hours ago, lsquare said:

I'm assuming it'll be compatible with the Panasonic adapter to record 32-bit audio? Will it fit inside the mic holder in the XLR2? Microphones seem to come I various sizes. 

Yes, perhaps it might need a little strip of rubber if it is very lose, but probably not. 

10 hours ago, lsquare said:

I thought these kinds of mics were unidirectional.

No, they are supercardioid 

@lsquareif you want a scratch mic with your DWM-XLR2 to get decent-ish ambient audio, then get the Deity SMic3S if on a very low budget, or the Sanken CSM1 if on a medium budget. 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1830582-REG/deity_microphones_dtm0304d11_s_mic_3s_short_shotgun.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1404643-REG/sanken_cs_m1_super_cardioid_short.html 

7 hours ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

At the risk of jumping in on a question that was basically made for @IronFilm, if your goal is to capture ambient sound as a 360 degree soundscape, you probably want an ambisonic microphone.  Look into something like the Zoom VRH-8 or the Rode NT-SF1.

Unless they're specifically doing 360VR videos, or maybe some other niche usage (I dunno, creating audio library with lots of different format options??) then usually ambisonics is not a good idea for ambient recordings. 

3 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

Laowa have announced a range of T1 cine lenses in FF, APS-C and, yes, MFT format today that will narrow the gap for GH7 owners looking to emulate the “hang on, is any of this in focus?” look of the larger formats.

Sadly only two MFT lenses!  Strange that they don't offer the 33mm T1 in MFT mount, so that there can be fleshed out a small 3x lens set for MFT.

3 hours ago, kye said:

There are enormous differences in what people can and cannot see in images.  

Why bother striving to film things that are not going to be seen at all by your views??

At a certain point in time you hit diminishing returns hard 

5 hours ago, zlfan said:

For example, in the current era that bokur is the king, super 16mm still is very suitable for documentary and in depth news reports. A famous scene of the Citizen Kane is that the young Kane played behind on the snow field outside of the house, their parents talked to the banker in the front in the living room, and his future was determined. Actually this is very suitable for S16. s35, vv, 65/mf will bokeh the background, which is an addition to the story. This is often the case in news and documentary, you want the background layer to have more information more layers to make the whole scene dense and impactful.  

I'm fairly certain (without bothering to look it up, just from memory) that famous scene in Citizen Kane was filmed not with deep focus but with a split diopter.

But yes, I agree with your general point. 

9 hours ago, mercer said:

If there isn't a difference then why would Yedlin shoot Knives Out with the Alexa 65? Why would Tarantino shoot the Hateful Eight in 70mm film?

It's wrong to assume that just because a person is famous that they're immune to "big = better" hype. 

9 hours ago, mercer said:

Why were the epic films from the 1960s shot in VistaVision when they all could have gotten the same look with a smaller sensor/film plane camera?

Larger sized film stock was an easier way to get better technical performance, they didn't have 6400 ISO cameras back then

10 minutes ago, John Matthews said:

On a side note, I thought the GH7 looked better than the Alexa in most of the shots with a simple 709 Lut. Blasphemy?

Nope. 

https://www.eoshd.com/news/zacuto-revenge-shootout-part-2-results-revealed-francis-ford-coppola-and-audience-majority-give-win-to-gh2/ 

1 hour ago, Emanuel said:

 

I can answer you.

Definitely not an affordable powerful laptop with the graphics power of a non-mobile version of RTX 4090, as of June 2024, coupled to 24GB VRAM as minimum requirements for certain tasks tailored to the needs of a portable powerful editing/grading workstation to only say a few.

People used to fly every single week spread all over distinct countries and studios/offices without budget to have a personal workstation for each and not interested to rent/use someone else's gear, as myself included, would tell you why ;- )

Yeah, but you could just do also that with a laptop and a eGPU, and it would be an even more convenient setup to be traveling with than one without a monitor like this Beelink

On 6/11/2024 at 2:48 PM, eatstoomuchjam said:

You can attach an eGPU with an RTX 4090 to just about any PC laptop with either a Thunderbolt or USB 4 port. 

Exactly, I could get a dirt cheap but still high performance laptop such as a Thinkpad P71 for just US$550 then pair it with a beefy eGPU. Oodles of power!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/116213947999 

A mini PC will still need a monitor, what is your use case here that can't be met by a beefy gaming laptop / workstation ?

5 hours ago, Evgeniy85 said:

Oh man, don't you love youtubers and their thumbnail game? "This 3/4 adaptor changes everything!!!!!!"

Technically that's the title which they're optimizing when they say "This 3/4 adaptor changes everything!!!!!!", not the thumbnail 

At least you have an Amazon!!! (not the case for me)