IronFilm

I believe the AJA camera uses exactly the same sensor as the BMD 4K one. Which was BMD's worst ever choice of sensor. 

Plus the very high cost of the AJA Cion at launch (relative to BMD with the same sensor), and a bunch of other quirks with it, set it back and the camera never took off. 

 It is a pity, I'd have liked to have seen an AJA Cion mk2!

But yes, it shows what you can do even with lower DR and terrible lowlight performance!

Heck, even I'd rather shoot with a BMPC4K + URSA Mini 4K combo than shoot with one RED ONE MX. (which the two cameras together secondhand would cost similar, or less, as what a RED ONE does)

Will be seriously putting forward this as a proposal for the feature film I might be shooting this year, as an alternative over the RED ONE (which unfortunately the director/producer has their heart set on! We have had a shoot already last month for this feature film with 2x RED ONE I was DoP for). I'll certainly have a few other suggestions up my sleeve as well to try and swing away from the RED ONE preference, such as Sony PMW-F3 or Sony FS700 4K raw output.  (EVA1 + GH5S would be the dream! But probably way out of the budget)

And yet people will complain over and over about a camera having 12 stops of DR instead of 14+, and call it "not a cinema camera because the DR is too low"
 

I've collected a few gems from Facebook:

A waterproof gimbal? Haha

I've collected a few gems from Facebook:

And yet people will complain over and over about a camera having 12 stops of DR instead of 14+, and call it "not a cinema camera because the DR is too low"
 

If you wait until the a7Smk3 is announced (which who knows is when... might not even be this year! Maybe. Maybe not) then you will have to wait for the GH6 which is just around the corner... but after that comes out, you'll wonder if you should wait for the GH6S? But then after the GH6S, perhaps wait and see what happens with the a7Smk4? And so the cycle never ends...

I wish it was EVA1/C100/FS5 form factor however. 
You can call me David if you wish :-) Or Iron! Or IronFilm! Don't care :-P

As I've said many times, a7S doesn't have an overall two stop advantage. Sensor tech / processing matters far more. 

You're talking about an extreme scenario where it is "do anything to get the shot", such as opening up wider with the F stop (and wider focal length too perhaps), and changing the entire lighting scheme. 

I'm talking here from a practical scenario that commonly happens on film sets over and over again all around the world. 

There is a creative choice in the DoF that is picked which is appropriate for the story to be told and the director's vision (so DoF is then fixed, or at least the "DoF range", unless you get *forced* off it due to technical/logistical issues), how you achieve that with a 4/3" sensor or a Vista Vision one doesn't really matter in the long run. You just then select appropriate lenses to then achieve this. 

But my additional point, is that in this selection of lenses for that chosen DoF, you put on the back foot when using an a7S vs GH5S (or a S35 camera) as you'll have to set the lens now to a higher F stop. 

I've collected a few gems from Facebook:

You mean, like...
I'll be informing the authorities about this!

If it helps I think this is a good mental checklist -
1) Shutter speed - (180 degrees, so no need to worry about that).
2) ISO - (Native ISO, or as low as possible, so no need to worry about that for now)
3) Now select aperture to match your intention for the shot.  This is a really key thing, because depth-of-field is a really powerful tool in your storytelling arsenal.  In my opinion - use shallow depth of field sparingly - when you really want to heighten the sense of isolation of the subject. Also, remember that contrast within a story is important - so sometimes deep DoF, sometimes shallow, sometimes inbetween.  Think about the story relationship between the subject and the surroundings!
Back to exposure -
So you've selected your shutter speed, provisional ISO, and aperture....
4) Underexposed?  Increase the ISO, or lighting if possible.  Your camera will have a maximum usable ISO that you will have to discover for yourself in terms of acceptable noise.
5) Overexposed?  Add ND, or reduce lighting if possible.
That might seem like a lot to think about, but honestly, I do all of the above in a matter of seconds before I hit record.  It just becomes instinctive.
Some curve balls -
There's a tiny bit of leeway around the 180 degree rule. You can adjust Shutter Speed a little bit here and there and get away with it if you need to.  Best to stick to 180 degrees most of the time though.
Another exception is if you're doing a shot with literally no movement, like a product shot or a cut-away.  Then the 180 degree rule goes out of the window and you can use even very high shutter speeds with no problems.
Having said that you should make your aperture the creative decision and then base your other settings on that, sometimes you have to compromise.  Especially, you will sometimes not have enough light available for the aperture you desire, and have to shoot more open than you would ideally like, at least that is my experience.

Usability - yes it's subjective, but having used both systems I can say that they are streets apart in terms of the ease of use of the menu buttons, function set, and general workflow.  This is a general Panasonic advantage over Sony I think (I'm no fanboi, I know full well that Sony have their own advantages - but making their gear easy to use hasn't generally been one of them in my experience).
Reliability - I've experienced no reliability problems with either system, but all the overheating stuff I've read about would seriously concern me if I was a potential owner.  Also, I'm referencing things like battery life, which I've always found better to manage on the GH5.
Portability - Real world use, the a7S is almost always going to be a bigger, heavier package because of the full-frame glass.
Adaptability - there's no incentive to adapt down from FF.  GH5 users adapt all kinds of lenses, all the time.  Again, real world usage, the GH5 is going to be more usefully adaptable by far.
a7S wins for low light (obviously).  Picture quality I don't think there's much in it.  I'm always happy with the results I get, and always see fantastic footage around from both systems.  Sensor size is completely meaningless to me, and I don't understand why other shooters are hung up on it (bearing in mind that the GH5 produces stunning images, and can be made to shoot extremely shallow DoF if required).

Quote from the video comparison with the a7S:
 

I've been saying this for a long time that is the downside of the a7S, what good is insanely lowlight if your shallow DoF is impractical??

With the GH5S you can shoot both in low light *and* a DoF that makes sense for the shot. 

I've collected a few gems from Facebook:

Now we know why Andrew Reid had been so quiet in the GH5S rumor threads! ;-) 
NDA was tying his hands! I half suspected as much. 

I do love my monopod for fast paced event shooting! As heck,  I do not own any  cameras with IBIS! :-o
Get a G80 instead, just is a step up that is worth it. Have that as your IBIS camera for low budget / event shoots. As likely they won't need the 10bit codec anyway for heavy post demands. 

Then get a GH5S for your relatively "higher" end work. 

And either camera can be the B cam to your other one! 

When doing events your GH5S is your B Cam on a locked off tripod while you grab shots on your GH5S. 
On films your GH5S is A cam but your B cam is the G80 just to grab a few extra bonus angles as well. 

 
GH5S + GX85 + GH5

Yeah... starting to think just getting an EVA1 could be better! 

Patience! I am certain in 2018 we will see a successor to the G80 or GX80

 

With luck we'll see the GH6 come out late this year in 2018, other early-mid 2019 is my bet. 

Hopefully a G90 comes out mid/late this year as well. 

I've collected a few gems from Facebook:

Concerning the EVA1 comparisons, have a look at the following video at around the 20mn mark, there is talk/footage comparing GH5 to EVA1 IQ specifically regarding DR, color, detail, motion & sharpening.. 
the difference is pretty drastic imo (EVA1 owners shouldn't have to worry about their investment!)

I've collected a few gems from Facebook:

The Sony F3 is worth so little that there is no point selling it. And having a big "cinema camera" in the eyes of some people can have its benefits too, that a DSLR will never quite do :-/ Sad but true. 

I agree crazy high ISO is silly, but good clean 3200 or 6400? Fantastic. 

It means you can shoot faster with less lights:
 
 

I've collected a few gems from Facebook:

I've collected a few gems from Facebook:

When it comes to lowlight, then yes the GH5S is better in lowlight than the a7Smk2

Especially in a practical sense as MFT sensor allows you to use faster lenses than would have been practical on the a7S. It really is pretty simple when you think about it & try it out. 

I've collected a few gems from Facebook:

They likely didn't do extensive testing. 
I bet it varies, depending on how long it has powered down for. (this has been my experience with TC on many many many other cameras)
But if it is a consistent 9 frames, then a firmware update will indeed be the easiest thing in the world for them to bring out ASAP :-) 
Why do you want ISO 400,800? Isn't ISO 100,000 enough? ;-) hehe