IronFilm

A few years ago I said something here on this forum about how AI could even replace wedding photgraphers/videographers. My point was that I didn't know what the technology would look like, but it would eventually be possible. My wild brainstorm was something along the lines of setting up a dozen video cameras, then AI uses that information to generate a whole edit, with closeups and clear audio, nicer lighting, etc.
Doesn't look like the tech that far off. Budget weddings won't even need the video cameras, just a couple photos and a description of what happened. It won't be "real," but will the influencers and influencees care?

Yeah he covers this exact topic toward the end, and agrees with you. The entire film and media production industry will be vastly different in the coming years, and that is obviously an understatement. But also the pandemic did not help. I've watched my audio engineer and video peers fight for the tech/quality standards that have governed terrestrial tv and radio since its creation - and the pandemic, which forced all productions to use Zoom video/audio conferencing tech via hosts' living rooms with crappy audio situations - actually proved to the higher ups that audiences don't notice the loss in audio/video production quality. Which is also due to the reality that social media had already crept up and normalized subpar audio/video quality in the minds of the audience. Now YouTube/TikTok/IG audio is a 'style' or 'sound' - not an example of inferior quality. 

Mine arrived last week! Didn't realize they were 200-240 volt (I'm in the US), so I was running them at essentially half power with some of my own cables. Got a wattmeter to confirm, and yup, they were only pulling half what they should have. Did get a step-up transformer off amazon, though, and wattmeter confirms it's pulling almost the full 500 watts! If I had known that they were that voltage, I might not have got them. For the price, even with adding in a $50 step-up for each unit, they're not too bad! No flickering when I put my phone in slo-mo, which is good. 
Need to get some third-pary reflectors, though, these ones are orphanage grade.

Yeah, I think we spoke past one another. 
The S1 focus brackets raw images nicely with one press of the shutter. Lots of control over the number of images, their depth & step. Easy to dump that sequence into PS or Affinity, etc. and render a blended image. That's what I was referring to as "old school" - doing the post-capture stacking in a software later on. 
It's the focus stacking feature that renders in camera a single jpeg that I was having issues with in terms of unwanted artifacts. Perhaps the processing in the G9 is improved? Granted I have been working with challenging, detailed material.
The process of focus bracketing is fine and I've no complaints in doing it. It's also nice when I can avoid it altogether. 

Is there an option to shoot in vlog but monitor in rec709? Probably your peaking will work better then? (am guessing here, no experience with the Panasonic L Mount cameras, but this is how it functions on some other cameras) 
Or....  (and I know @MrSMW would HATE this suggestion 😅 but maybe it works for you @Walter H?), shoot vlog but output rec709 over HDMI (am pretty certain the S1 can do this??) then do the peaking with the external monitor (little 3.5" external monitors exist?). That's another process I've heard of people doing to get better results with peaking. 
I know the built in photo stacking feature in the Panasonic G9 is very powerful for when doing macro shots and needing more DoF, doesn't the Panasonic S1 have this too? Or is it of no benefit for your style of shooting? 
 

Just realized you're not using a proper boom pole or any real shock mount either!! 😮 😮 😮 
Near the top of the list (either just before getting a shotgun mic, or just after getting a shotgun mic) should be getting a shock mount and a real boom pole. 
Such as one of these:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554999-REG/Rycote_041107_INV_7_InVision_Indoor_Microphone.html 
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/880280-REG/Rycote_041118_INV_8_Microphone_Suspension.html 
Or get a Radius shockmount (they're new company set up by the ex-Rycote people). 
https://radiuswindshields.com/ (B&H is not stocking them yet) 
Here is are dirt cheap Boom Poles you could get:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1384773-REG/airo_abp1_boom_pole_1.html 
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1601173-REG/proam_usa_boom_sq_10_telescopic_boom.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1266050-REG/e_image_ba12_11_5_section_telescoping_aluminum.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1666142-REG/digitalfoto_solution_limited_bm01c_carbon_fiber_microphone_boom.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1374872-REG/came_tv_ms300c_carbon_fiber_microphone.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1504170-REG/proaim_bp_12c_12_carbon_fiber_boom.html
Or spend a little bit more for:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/326966-REG/K_Tek_KE_110_KE_110_Avalon_Series_Aluminum.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/625156-REG/K_Tek_KE_144_KE_144_Avalon_Series_Aluminum.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1606022-REG/auray_bp_59a_5_section_aluminum_boom_pole.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1773622-REG/k_tek_kc108_essential_5_section_boompole.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1490197-REG/k_tek_kp9_klassicpro_graphite_6_section.html 
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1639167-REG/k_tek_kp10v_boom_pole_carbon_removable.html 
https://www.gothamsound.com/product/qp-slim-short-quickpole-boom-pole (my personal choice here) 

Why not use the exposed lav I can see on him? (which was the Tascam DR10L? btw, perhaps get this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1444316-REG/remote_audio_urs_furtangblk_ursa_tangle_cut.html , or even: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/885674-REG/auray_wlw_fuzzy_windbuster_for_lav.html or https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/253753-REG/Rycote_065501_Furry_Windjammer_for_Lavalier.html )
No wind protection??? 😮 
Ballsy!!! Just rocking it bare naked. 
That should be #1 on your purchase list to get next. 
Don't you still have the stock foam cover for the Samson mics? 
Something like this, you could wrap around on top of the foam windscreen to give a lot of extra wind protection:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1551649-REG/auray_wsw_vmntg_custom_windbuster_for_rode.html
Alternatively, this here should fit the Samson C02 (they're both 20mm width):
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1541174-REG/auray_wsw_vmicro_custom_windbuster_for_rode.html 
Yikes!
But maybe if your mic had been a bit closer.... 
Phew! That BTS pic looked scary far away. 
But even 50cm is rather far away. 
Thanks for the detailed info you gave in your post, much better than people normally do when asking for feedback!
I'd say your priorities should be:
1) wind protection for your Samson CO2 mics, as this is super dirt cheap
2) upgrade your boom mic(s), getting first of all a shotgun (lots of choices! Some lower budget but high quality choices are: Rode NTG5, Sanken CSM1, DPA 2017, Audio Technica BP4073, & Deity SMic3. Get one or two), with wind protection (if the mic doesn't already come with it. Such as the Rycote Softie: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/207238-REG/Rycote_033052_Standard_Hole_Softie_Windscreen.html Making sure it's the right size for your mic of course!)
3) get a blimp for it for high wind situations 
4) upgrade your boom mic(s) take two, getting now a hypercardioid microphone (or two... depending on your shooting needs/style), with wind protection for it too. 
5) upgrade your Tascam DR10L to a Sony UWP-D21 or Deity THEOS, so that you can monitor your lav audio too. (send the boom mic to your left ear, and radio mic to your right ear, while recording both in your DR60D)
6) get a MixPre or Zoom F Series recorder
You can see upgrading the recorder is the very last thing on this list. 
Just go through this plan step by step, as funds allow it. 

finally finished that reel.

How exactly are you using them and your Tascam?

But the Samson's are CHEAP, and so am I :(

From my perspective. Definitely. 
But depends on how you are using it? And what's important to you. 
Do you for instance use it under your camera? The DR60D was designed for it, but I found the stack to be a bit crazy high! The MixPre3 at least is super slim. 
You'd gain a channel, as the MixPre3 can record 5x ISOs:
https://www.sounddevices.com/product/2-plugin-for-mixpre-3/ 
(note: uses the 3.5mm input. Sooooo... if it is a Gen1 device, you've now just lost the ability to use TC if using the 4th channel)
Gen2 can hold TC by itself. 
Gen1 can't, always needs a TC box attached to it 
I think the ergonomics of the MixPres are bad compared to the F8 Series, but yeah compared to the Tascam DR60D you probably will like the more modern MixPres, with their pretty color screens and mobile app. 
Ohhh... maybe that's something to fix first! Before changing your recorder.

One downside is I think that you will be spending $700 on a modification for a camera that you would be lucky to re-sell for about US $800. (I got a trade-in quote from MPB for like $535 or something like that. Gonna pass on that. Thanks.)
I don't think getting the OLPF mod would help with resale value (might even hurt) as anyone shooting photos would probably balk at the idea of buying a camera with a third-party OLPF installed.
Of course, not a problem if you plan on holding on to the S1 long term. But with the second-gen S1 / S1H / S1R "likely" to come out this year, it might not be a great idea.
All this is just my long and convuluted way of saying that the 1/8th Black Pro Mist filter doesn't seem like that bad of a solution.

Have you tried using a 1/8th mist?
That has been my go to throughout ‘23 on the S5ii and no issues.
The S1H does just have a (slightly) nicer image but the 1/8th evens it up a little and seems to fix most if not all moire issues.
I might just get a battery grip for the S5ii and sell the S1H battery grip and then I can flip around their use ie make the S1H my run & gun workhorse and the S5ii can do static and gimbal.
That should fix my use case dilemma of having them currently in my non-preferred roles…

Yeah I get what you're saying on all counts.
I do what you describe there right now, and generally the S1H is the A-cam, mainly due to the S5 ii's lack of OLPF and moiré issues in interviews.
I'll take the S5 ii around for cutaways and so on as it's way lighter and you can do touchscreen focus pulls.
The hope is that an S1H ii would add the AF, with some improvements, and hopefully not add any bugs LOL

 
 

Do you mean technical parts like the chips etc?  If so, maybe they're out of stock and no longer being manufactured, so would be practically infinite in cost, rather than cheap.

From Newsshooter.com 
(https://www.newsshooter.com/2024/02/02/octopus16-pocket-sized-super-16-cinema-camera-for-under-1000-usd/)
"According to Octopus Cinema, with the increasing competition in the cinema camera market, the primary goal of the OCTOPUS CAMERA is to fill a gap in the market where users require a specific product for a specific application. These specific features include native monochrome sensor imaging and a fully open SDK to extend and embed custom behaviour in the camera.
The camera is not being targeted as a competitor against most other digital cinema cameras that are already on the market."
 
It sound Strange. It almost sounds like they do not want to make a 16mm cinema camera. 

Maybe the AJA Cion? (or the Blackmagic equivalents) So long as you light it carefully. 
 

Which is no timecode support at all 😞
What's the flash syc port connector that you use? Looking that part up on Aliexpress might find a cheap cable for you for a just a few bucks 

Since your background is (basically) visual storytelling, how about marketing? (or social media marketing or buzzword-du-jour marketing???)
The other questions is, what does your heart WANT to do?

Well it took nearly a month to arrive, so I haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet. On first impressions it's very bright and not to noisy. Metal shell, which is good. Surprisingly light weight. I'll be giving it some more extensive testing in around 10 days time so I'll report back, but I'm already considering getting a second, while they're so cheap! I see that they also do a very affordable light mat.
 

We did collaborate on some films, and submitted a few of them into the festival circuit, which is quite active here in Australia.  That was mostly an exercise in frustration as it was all a game of who-do-you-know instead of the merits of the actual film, but it gave her experience in directing and, because of the performances she was able to get, contributed to many actors showreels.
It was amazing the trouble we went to considering the camera of the day was the mighty PD150!

Just in terms of TC. About other differences I have been writing in this thread pretty extensively myself. 😂
F.i. did you know the S1H has a true S35 mode besides the Apsc one, whereas the S1 has only the latter? 🙂

Maybe not....

 

They're simply better. 
True diversity + more features + slimmer bodypacks. 
But anyway, I quickly upgraded to Lectrosonics. 
Ahhh... I remember the Samsons C02, it was awful, yet I did all of my first feature film with it for anything indoors. 
Get a better shock mount?? The boom pole can't be that bad???
Nice, it's better than nothing!!
nah, it will make you look high end  😉
Also a good option! I worked on an overseas Reality TV show where they used that a lot.
Get the older secondhand generation of it?

It's been rumored I've been clean shaven once or twice before in my life. 
I think back when was born, but I'd have to ask mum to confirm this.