-
Posts
9,446 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Reputation Activity
-
IronFilm reacted to MurtlandPhoto in What is Lumix thinking?!
My take has always been that Panasonic should have prioritized a smooth m43 to full frame transition for customers. Having a blended ecosystem would help both thrive. As it is now, customers have to choose FF or m43, often with FF perceived as having most of the benefits. I think the first round of FF cameras should have had a m43 crop mode with faster readouts and frame rates. And, the mount Panasonic developed should have somehow been compatible with m43 lenses via an adapter. This might have meant messing with the flange distance which maybe reduced compatibility with other lens mounts, but ensured more people within the Panasonic system would have less switching costs.
-
IronFilm reacted to MrSMW in What is Lumix thinking?!
Plus if you wanted to, you could return the lens FOC back to them and they gave you a voucher to spend on something useful 😈
-
IronFilm reacted to Thpriest in What is Lumix thinking?!
Panasonic should have included the 28 f8 pancake for free with the S9. That would have been good marketing. A camera which comes ready to shoot.
-
IronFilm reacted to Marcio Kabke Pinheiro in What is Lumix thinking?!
My 2 cents about Panasonic (which still is the more familiar brand to me - left m43 some years ago for Fuji, but when I got a FZ1000 used and saw the interface, just feels like HOME):
It's imaging division is on the guillotine for some time now - probably the bean counters are pushing it to divest, and only their history is holding it. It is not exclusive to Panasonic - every company that not have a camera division as its principal one could pull a Samsung anytime. Panasonic, Fujifilm, even Sony someday. I only see Canon and Nikon staying in cameras until the last breath.
In M43, it happens exactly what I tought when left the system - Panasonic and OM would turn it to a niche. Video for Panasonic (the G9 II was released because they had the body already developed for the S5II and the electronics developed for the GH7), wildlife for OM.
My bets are that 2025 it the testing year - if they don't get traction, will just dump a lot of people and mantain the minimum ones to keep releasing models for Leica. In the X100 craze, re-releasing the LX100 II as a Leica, for me, is a strong alert. Leica margins could keep the division alive as a OEM for Leica.
And L mount needs cheap and SMALL lenses. In a word - bring Viltrox to L-Mount. Panasonic releasing a 26mm f/8 manual lens with the S9 for $199 and Viltrox releasing a 28mm f/4.5 SMALLER and WITH AF for $99 was one of the most shameless moments of the year.
One last mystery: who makes the GH7 / G9 II 25mp sensor? OM needs it badly.
-
IronFilm reacted to Django in Camera 2025
I love the IQ of my FS7. Nice chunky 4K 10-bit XAVC-S. You can bake in LUTs. I really don't see much difference in specs to the current Sony cams (FX30, FX3, FX6 etc) aside for extreme low-light. Ergonomics are great for shoulder mount, its a workhorse. I keep mine because Sony is used everywhere in pro use and it gives me work. Don't really feel a need to upgrade. That being said for personal hybrid projects I prefer Canon/Nikon. I'd recommend R5C or Z8 if you're a hybrid shooter. Personally I'm thinking of going for R5 mk2 mainly because of Clog2 and tiny bitrate SRAW, total game changer. Guess a C70 would be a good cop, great form factor with NDs and long battery life with that DGO sensor, only caveat is the image is a little too soft for my taste.
-
IronFilm reacted to hoodlum in Increasing interest in compacts, something is strange
It looks like we may finally get a compact camera with wide angle to normal zoom, 8 years after the Nikon DL cameras were cancelled. Except it is Canon doing it with the V1. This is exciting news for me and it could be an automatic buy depending on the implementation.
https://www.canonrumors.com/the-powershot-v-series-will-become-canons-new-line-of-compact-cameras/
24MP CMOS Sensor (approx)
Approximently 16-50mm (35mm Equivalent)
3″ Screen (Approx 1 million pixels)
Screen has a 170° viewing angle
4K Video (Very slight crop, but likely for aspect ratio)
1.4X Crop Mode for Stills
RAW, C-RAW, Dual Pixel RAW
H.265 / HEVC
C-Log3 / HDR PQ
Launch: Late Q1/Early Q2 2025
-
IronFilm reacted to mercer in Increasing interest in compacts, something is strange
Who wants to tell her that if she had just turned around and faced the setting sun, she could have continued using her iPhone?
Not it.
-
IronFilm reacted to ND64 in Increasing interest in compacts, something is strange
Its funny smartphone brands trying so hard to fake the "DSLR bokeh" but Gen Z do the subject separation by flash light. They don't care about the brand's solutions, they find their own.
I think physical controls is part of the appeal. Here is what my smartphone live view looks like when I want to change the most basic settings. Almost 80% of the screen is occupied by the UI elements:
Now imagine I want to change the ISO. Not only a considerable area of the 17:9 screen is wasted due to 4:3 size of the LV, but almost the third of LV area is crowded with numbers:
Compare that to G7x. Its a small LCD, but at least most of the area is junk free. And it was Canon that was the most aggressive brand in icon inventions:
And then look at here, you can zoom in/out with your left hand when you're taking selfie or filming yourself. This control looks amateurish for us but its huge ergonomics advantage for TikTok generation:
But no just TikTokers. Look how this cyclist holds the G7x. Some PoVs here are impossible to take with a huge 6.7 inch smartphone:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-AOlHAscs8/
BTW, Canon marketing never managed to make an advertisement with 1.7m views that this guy did while not even trying.
-
IronFilm reacted to Clark Nikolai in Increasing interest in compacts, something is strange
Yep. While I'm glad I have a phone on me when a picture is needed to be taken but it's not a good experience. The advantages of a phone camera are: -You usually have it on you. (Best camera is the one you have with you. That old saying.) -You can email them to someone right from the camera (or post to social media or whatever.) without having to copy to your computer first. -The screen is big compared to a compact camera. -Stablization can be very good.
That's about it though. There are many problems with taking photos with a phone. (Except for some recent high end models) zooms aren't good. It's hard to see the controls in bright sun. The iOS camera app's text size for the settings (like time and flash) are super tiny (and hidden away) so hard to see when out in the sun. A real camera would have a larger button or dial for this that you can feel and see easily.
Part of the reason the stability appears to be so good is that the phone takes a bunch of images then combines them, helped by the gyroscopic data, to create a picture. It looks pretty good for an easy snap shot and is good enough for most things but it's not "real" in the sense that the shutter opened on a sensor/piece of film for a moment of time and captured that.
The desire for authenticity isn't new but tends to come from demographics that are surrounded by fakeness.
-
IronFilm reacted to Tim Sewell in Increasing interest in compacts, something is strange
Scans. My 15yr old just bought a twenty quid Sony 10MP CCD compact. He specifically wanted CCD and he uses the flash on nearly every pic - loves the look.
-
IronFilm reacted to MrSMW in Increasing interest in compacts, something is strange
Different strokes for different folks as they say…
Despite being a full-time pro photographer (not so much at this time of year though) or perhaps despite being, I prefer my phone.
I like the idea of a compact but the simple reality is that old adage of the best camera you have is the one you carry with you. And 2 devices at all times is 1 too many for me.
If I was going on a serious trip, I’d take some serious kit. Not the entire kit, but enough to do the job without taking over from the purpose of the trip. Unless it was specifically a photography thing.
So send me out today with 1k burning a hole in my pocket for an every day compact and I’d come back with a phone.
But I will take your Sony A7RV sensor based compact for work purposes please Andrew!
-
IronFilm reacted to MrSMW in Best camera options today?
^ Agree ^
The only reason I switched (2 reasons actually) to S5II's was:
A. I needed more reliable forward motion AF tracking. The AF of the first gen FF S line cameras was and is perfectly fine, except in this regard when it can be a bit hit and miss and just one miss with a critical unrepeatable scene and it's gone.
I shoot weddings so I am thinking bride entrance, confetti walk etc.
It happened. Several times.
B. I shoot outdoors mainly and some days, over 35c / 100f, direct sunlight and without a fan is not good.
I never had an overheating issue, but it could just have been a matter of time and was constantly on my mind.
With the S5II's, they still get hot, but I am not concerned.
_
I have personally never noticed any file quality difference between the S5 and S5II, but then never shot them side by side and 6 months apart.
There may be a difference, but nothing I have noticed or concerns me especially.
IMO, the S5 is the budget filmmakers bargain of this current decade.
-
IronFilm reacted to newfoundmass in Best camera options today?
The overall quality of life improvements (plus auto focus) are just worth it to me. Currently my three camera set up is the S5II X and two S5 bodies. I just prefer the image out of the S5, it has better colors and just looks more natural (less sharpening.) That's not to say that the S5II doesn't have a good image, though. It really boils down to preference.
I've only used the S1 a few times, but it's a great camera too! I do think the S5 though is overall a better value on the used market. It's crazy how affordable they are.
Some will tell you they are awful and completely unusable, but they are fine once you figure out how to work with their limitations. But there are limitations and it's important that you know that going in. It is nice not having to worry about it as much with my S5II X BUT there are times when that auto focus fails, as there are times when Canan and Sony auto focus fails.
-
IronFilm reacted to KnightsFan in Best camera options today?
1) With the caveat that I don't use AF, the Panasonic S5 is a wildly good value at $800 used (what I paid for mine). Imo, the improvement in noise and dynamic range over the GH5 is worth it, but if you're always in well-lit areas maybe you won't notice much benefit. If you aren't tied to existing lenses, camcorders can be more convenient than hybrids. I'm not familiar with available models since I don't shoot events, but I'd research camcorders for event videography with no photos.
2) C400 or FX6. The C300 Mk III is also fine--I choose full frame because of the lenses I own. It also depends on how much weight matters, as the FX6 is extremely light. If I need photos as well, then add a photo body in addition, and honestly everything is so good these days that I'd take anything modern.
3) Assuming 1-3 person camera crew, it depends on the script. My general pick right now for myself is a C500 Mk II (cheaper than a C400). I used to have Z Cam, which has unbeatable wireless monitoring and control, but I don't like the lack of color management support in Resolve. I would pick a Z Cam F6 if I need to fit the camera into tight spaces. If it's a lot of fast action like a car chase, a Komodo's global shutter would be great. The Ronin 4D is also very interesting for extensive handheld--never used one myself, though. If I can step up in budget, I'd love to try the Blackmagic 12k LF.
-
IronFilm reacted to BTM_Pix in Best camera options today?
With the recent price drop, the Pocket 4K is now under £1K new and that has pushed used prices below £700 so they are now far more affordable.
It shoots ProRes as well as BRAW so theres no need to get involved with Resolve and even if you did want to shoot BRAW there are now direct importers into FCPX.
As you are shooting multi-camera for live events etc then the BM range are absolutely hands down better options than any other range for work like that.
With the ATEM Mini Pro series starting at under £300 you can do the live camera switching (or even just very efficient multi camera monitoring to a single monitor) and have full remote control of the cameras as well.
If you get three used P4K cameras and the ATEM Mini Pro, then its £2.5K for the whole integrated multi camera system and the cameras are obviously more than capable in the cinema role too.
Particularly as it is roughly the price of a single X-H2S.
Without the live aspect then options such as the X-H2S etc are a good choice of course but as an all round system for fulfilling the different roles that you've listed then the P4K x3 /ATEM Mini Pro is far more suitable in my opinion.
-
IronFilm reacted to Benjamin Hilton in Best camera options today?
If budget is no option, FX6s all around. You're talking a sturdy body to handle the shake of long lens, good autofocus, good low light, good audio and timecode options, good dynamic range and color. If you are majorly constrained by budget, GH5s would be fine, FX30s would be better if you can afford them. As some have mentioned though, lens constraints are a major factor here.
-
IronFilm reacted to MurtlandPhoto in Ursa Cine 12K now available as camera body only with option for recording to dual CF Express for only $7,000
There’s been a few instances of Blackmagic doing a large price drop seemingly completely out of the blue. Their official reason has always been that they lower the sticker price when their cost of manufacturing drops, whether by economies of scale or something else. No idea if it’s true, but they’ve done this type of thing before and I love it.
P.S. They also have marginally raised prices on things recently due to supply chain shortages where many other manufacturers haven’t. To me, that points to some truth that they have strict profit margins to maintain without much wiggle room.
-
IronFilm reacted to fuzzynormal in $2300 Leica SL2 for hybrid work, pros and cons
f me. I'm over here shooting a doc with an EM10iii I bought used for $300 and thinking, "Dang, this looks pretty good!"
And yet now I want an SL2.
Damn you all.
-
IronFilm reacted to Marcio Kabke Pinheiro in X-M5 New Fujifilm Creator Focused Camera
I have the 13mm. Sharp as hell.
-
IronFilm got a reaction from majoraxis in News item: Religious Group builds permanent outdoor film set near Sydney, Australia
I guess for audio the Amish won't be allowed to use a carbon fibre boom, and it has to be a wooden boom?
-
IronFilm got a reaction from Davide DB in What is Lumix thinking?!
They will indeed say nothing about Panasonic. But we all know the SL3S is just going to be a rebadged Lumix camera.
That it's relatively easy to reverse engineer the logic to conclude we'll probably see the Panasonic version of the SL3 released six-ish months later.
-
IronFilm got a reaction from John Matthews in What is Lumix thinking?!
They will indeed say nothing about Panasonic. But we all know the SL3S is just going to be a rebadged Lumix camera.
That it's relatively easy to reverse engineer the logic to conclude we'll probably see the Panasonic version of the SL3 released six-ish months later.
-
IronFilm reacted to Ninpo33 in What is Lumix thinking?!
I think you misunderstood my post. I was saying that whatever the SL3-S ends up being at this weeks announcement could give us a clue of what to possibly expect out of the S1H2. Of course Leica isn’t going to mention LUMIX. Ever..
But the normal flow of product releases has been all messed up between the two companies so at this point, who knows…
-
IronFilm reacted to MrSMW in What is Lumix thinking?!
I think it will need to be a hell of a camera simply to exist…which may explain why we have heard next to nothing about it. If one will ever exist…
I’m still not sure about the latter but think it more likely than not and if one ever does appear, probably last chance saloon for them at that level?
The ‘S2R’ seems far more likely doesn’t it and ‘should’ be a re-bodied SL3.
I have my fingers crossed for that for mid-Spring latest or it won’t work for me this year. Or possibly ever. (Pure business perspective).
For video I have needs and they are covered.
For photo I have both needs and wants and those are technically also already covered, but I want to have everything within one system ideally.
-
IronFilm reacted to eatstoomuchjam in What is Lumix thinking?!
Sorry if I wasn't clear! I meant that since there are rumors about Leica releasing an SL3-S (which would almost certainly have Panasonic guts, just as the SL3 does) and because there are rumors that Panasonic will be releasing two bodies soon (one of which will likely be the S1R II which puts SL3 guts in a Panasonic body), it's not out of the question that whatever is in the SL3-S will be in Panasonic's S1H II.
I'd say that Panasonic sales don't meaningfully compete with Leica sales - both are niche companies and Leica is much more the "luxury" brand. However, if Panasonic release an S1H II, it will be competing with their own S5 II which is already really good (not to mention the original S1H which is also really good). The S1H, when released, was like $4k. At almost 2.5x the price of an S5 II and still more than 2x the price of the S5 IIx, an S1H II is going to have to be a hell of a camera to ship more than a few units (assuming the price stays similar).