Marcio Kabke Pinheiro

The same for me...but at the same time, also the opposite.
Year 01 was pretty dreadful, ie, last year, because there was no precedent, it was all new and we mostly thought it would be over before it was. It still isn't (over) but I think we're making progress?
Year 02, ie, this year has been better though because I was prepared for it. I hoped it would not be utterly shite (for business), but it has been. But because I was better prepared and been proactive rather than waiting for it to end, it has not been as bad.
I think the answer to anything like this is to take back control. Within the realms of what is possible anyway. Don't follow the herd. Don't try and conform. Be like Seth Godin's 'Purple Cow', but do it for the right reasons and without selling your soul.
One of the main benefits of any community is that whilst yes, you do get complete tossers within most groups, the majority belong for the right reasons.
 

The last 18 months have changed me completely as well.
No more traveling because the company “is remote first”, no more creative minded colleagues, it’s all about process and numbers. All Zoom meetings are to the point, no more laughing. Dealing with 9 hour time difference (USA HQ)
The 2 years before that was helping my wife with her rehabilitation after she suffered a stroke. Which was hard with a 1.5 year old and a 7 year old. We were back in the Netherlands coincidentally (we came back to NL for friends and family) when it happened, and so I decided to immigrate back not knowing whether she was going to recover and be able to speak and walk again. The immigration causes all kinds of financial challenges (taxes, insurance) which cost me close to $100K in the end.
 
These events - rehabilitation, lockdown and now isolation shook me to my core. It changed me. I feel completely burned out. Life has gotten more “bare” and I have to find myself again, find what I truly care about. Connect with people, build something new.
Add on the fact I’m 41 and probably having midlife crisis at the same time (proof: I drive a Tesla!), and the party is complete.
Sorry for the long story - what I’m trying to say is that your personal struggle resonates with me and I want you to know that many people around me including myself have severely struggled the last 2 years. Social media didn’t help either; it has created a fake lens of the world, especially the last few years. It’s like 99% of the people are acting or presenting a version of themselves, instead of being themselves. 

Things will get better, but as you said you may have to force change. Whatever you choose to do next, I wish you all the best. Never, ever give up the values you live by.
Take care.

A warning about the camera: the EVF hump is very close to the mount in the front of the camera, and some adapters / focal reducers could not have room to fit. The Viltrox EF-M2 enter tight, the Zhongyi Lens Turbo (FD to m43) did not enter at all.

Will mention just that - the Olympus XA. Have one and love it, genius touches sparkled everywhere - the clamshell mechanism (that doubles as lens cover and on/off switch), the insanely light shutter button, very good and compact lens, the size. Was more amazed by it than from my newer digtal cameras.

If OM Digital have the idea to make a digital version (once I made a post in other forum saying how it could be done), probably would sell boatloads. Never will happen, though.

https://www.fujirumors.com/teac-announces-development-of-tascam-xlr-audio-adapter-for-fujifilm-mirrorless-cameras/

Anyone was aware that some Fujifilm models had a hotshoe with a digital interface?

https://www.fujirumors.com/teac-announces-development-of-tascam-xlr-audio-adapter-for-fujifilm-mirrorless-cameras/

Anyone was aware that some Fujifilm models had a hotshoe with a digital interface?

https://www.fujirumors.com/teac-announces-development-of-tascam-xlr-audio-adapter-for-fujifilm-mirrorless-cameras/

Anyone was aware that some Fujifilm models had a hotshoe with a digital interface?

I think single focus AF could work well. I mean, they still need to know HOW to use focus. 
If they don't need to film themselves (vlogging-style), then as @Grimor mentioned, a used G85 (what they are called in the US of A, guess in Japan they are the G81), could work great. AF-S is trustworthy. 
They will need to know about lighting though, and M43 sensors do like having a lot of an appropriate amount of light. 
I see them go for about $450 to $475 used on a popular website.
The panasonic 30mm f/2.8 macro is currently selling new for $300.
If she is going to be filming herself and will be moving around in the frame, or basically needs AF-C, then a used Olympus E-M1 MK II is a good camera with reliable continuous autofocus (if it is an MSC lens) and very nice straight-out-of-camera colors. 
Hope this helps.

Interview with Panasonic: https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2021/07/21/panasonic-qa-interview-with-yosuke-yamane-head-of-lumix

Interesting info about the GH5II and a little about the GH6 - but considering how much time is spent in the interview about DFD, maybe is not a good sign to a move to PDAF.

Interview with Panasonic: https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2021/07/21/panasonic-qa-interview-with-yosuke-yamane-head-of-lumix

Interesting info about the GH5II and a little about the GH6 - but considering how much time is spent in the interview about DFD, maybe is not a good sign to a move to PDAF.

Maybe because it is a use case that is not important to him (this is not a endorsment to Richard).

I'm an amateur and use my cameras as hybrids, but never used aperture priority mode in video (will try, indeed); your use case for aperture priority in video (get sudden moments that appears) is very valid, but for me (until now, this could change) is a non-issue.

Some things that are glaring faults for me probably are non-issues for others. For example, in my transition from m43 to Fuji, the thing that I'm hating most is that when you change the ISO, a full screen overlay enters (as in a lot of Fuji changing settings screens) and the only info that appears is the ISO number. You don't have EV metering and, most important, the histogram on screen to adjust the ISO until the highlights are not blown (ok, zebras appears); but why the change could not be as aperture / shutter changes, only the value change in the full info screen?

For me is a big hassle, and saw zero references of it in all Fuji reviews that I've saw.  Probably is not an issue for other people. And all reviews could have these kinds of personal bias.

I would phrase it differently.  
I know a few people who do real research before making large purchases, and I think it's more like being able to read through the reviews to see the truth.  In that sense, we practically cover everything in salt rather than just a small amount of seasoning...
Basically, you want to know the strengths and weaknesses of the product.
The approach seems to be:
If a review is emotional, either good or bad, ignore them.  They obviously either have an axe to grind, or are euphoric, in either case they're not solely focused on seeing the truth, so although they might believe what they say, they won't be seeing clearly. Look for known reference points.  If someone has reviewed something you don't like positively, then that's a warning, or vice-versa.  It might be an issue with their bias, or a lack of intelligence, lack of thoroughness, or simply a misalignment of what they value compared to what you value.  Taste comes in here.  I look for music reviewers who share common taste - if you don't like the taste of whiskey then it doesn't matter if it's the best whiskey in the world, you still won't like it. Look for meaningful criticisms.  No product is perfect (you can't please all the people all the time), look for criticisms in a review, and only accept real ones, rather than token or BS ones.  If a review is level-headed and detailed, maybe you can take the criticisms as true, otherwise, get more opinions. Look for patterns.  If lots of reviewers, who all make it through the above criteria, say similar things about the products weaknesses then they're probably true. Smell out marketing.  If you're looking for the benefits or strengths of something and you've seen a pattern of positive comments from level-headed people who also made criticisms, then look for specificity.  If the pros of something are generic then it's more likely to be marketing talking-points, but if they're specific then that's more likely to be true.  Also, look for how people say things, and if there are patterns in the phrasing, or if they seem natural.  Even unconscious positive bias (be it to the brand, product, or just an agreeable personality) will be influenced by marketing, so a manufacturer can shape the way you think about something with their PR statements and framing, so that when you get the real product you 'see' it in those terms, regardless of how objective you actually want to be. It's a tricky thing.
I think that's why people like Gerald Undone are so useful.  
He's level-headed, speaks in specific terms rather than marketing fluff, and mentions things that others don't.  Does he have huge film-making pedigree?  Probably not.  But if he says that I can't film in 10-bit 4K at more than 30p then I am inclined to believe him.
It's also why I unsubscribed to Chris and Jordan.
After watching their savage review of the XC10, which was a flawed product to be sure, I realised something - they don't understand film-making.  Sure, they mentioned the weaknesses of that camera, which I had verified with other sources and the specs, but they also ripped into aspects of the camera that weren't weaknesses at all.  When I watched their review I was completely puzzled, because I was simultaneously watching videos on how people use cine cameras, which was saying the completely opposite to what they were saying and it was then that I realised that they might understand video, but not film-making.  Reviewing a cine camera and criticising aspects that all cine cameras share is just silly.  Unsub.
Having said all that, the whole thing is fraught with peril as I have ended up on many occasions with products that were poorly reviewed and yet worked great for me for years of real use, and also with products that I did the research on and were terrible in ways that no-one mentioned at all.  
I think of a small part of my budget as R&D purely for writing off stuff that doesn't work out, or for buying things that seem ok but I can't be sure of.  Sometimes things work out and other times they don't, but thinking about it like that makes me feel better about it.  Certainty is an illusion after all.

In my point of view, I don't know why the AF discussion have to be so binary. Never use AF x always use AF.

Manual focus with a good focus puller will always be preferred in professional cinema. It is a well trained skill from the professional focus pullers, it is cheaper to pay a focus puller (considering all the other costs involved) that have to reshoot constantly because of an unexpected AF behaviour, and it offers somre focus creative choices that you could not have (or that would be difficult to reproduce) with an AF system.

AF is very useful in solo shots, low budget productions, solo vlogging, or when you don't have or can't pay a focus puller. Or when your production don't have very critical focus nailing needs.

Both are more or less adequate depending on your budget / needs. Hence Alexas don't have AF; and hence solo / action /vlogger shooters wants good AF.

Different situations, different needs. But with hybrid cameras, that generally are used in lower budget scenarios, AF tends to cover more use cases. And if you have good AF, you can still use MF - the reverse, not.

That why Panasonic needs a good and reliablish AF system. Arri not.

The reason Panasonic needs reliable auto focus is more for marketing purposes than anything. The market has spoken, and it expects Canon or Sony level auto focus and if you don't deliver it most people won't even give it a chance. 
For me personally I don't need it, but I recognize it's important if the system is going to stick around. 

Yes, I mean Sony already has IBIS in their APS-C’s, but it’s unusable.
I’m not here to defend this camera, there’s a lot left to be desired, but don’t hate it because it’s beautiful and plastic (like my hometown of LA here).

The rear LCD is fucked so be my guest and I'll claim it on the insurance !
Being a purist, not being able to chimp with it doesn't bother me and just adds to the retro experience. If I was a completist, I'd probably send the SD card off to someone and wait a week for them to send it me back before I could look at the images 😉
 

I think the camera is REALLY beautiful - in fact, the most attractive digital camera just after the Oly Pen-F.

I like these "classic looking" models (Oly's OM, most of the Fuji's, Panasonic GXs) because most of the people think that you are using an old camera. More receptive in street shots, security don't bother with it in concerts. I was hoping that the X-E4 would have IBIS (and rear dial / focus mode switch), it would be the perfect camera for me.

But Nikon don't have (and I bet that never will have) a strong APS-C lens lineup. And using FF Z lenses defeats all the purpose of this camera. 

The X-S10 trounces this camera in every regard, except for the looks.

Will sell ok, I guess - with lifestyle and japanese people. But not much for everyone else.

In my point of view, I don't know why the AF discussion have to be so binary. Never use AF x always use AF.

Manual focus with a good focus puller will always be preferred in professional cinema. It is a well trained skill from the professional focus pullers, it is cheaper to pay a focus puller (considering all the other costs involved) that have to reshoot constantly because of an unexpected AF behaviour, and it offers somre focus creative choices that you could not have (or that would be difficult to reproduce) with an AF system.

AF is very useful in solo shots, low budget productions, solo vlogging, or when you don't have or can't pay a focus puller. Or when your production don't have very critical focus nailing needs.

Both are more or less adequate depending on your budget / needs. Hence Alexas don't have AF; and hence solo / action /vlogger shooters wants good AF.

Different situations, different needs. But with hybrid cameras, that generally are used in lower budget scenarios, AF tends to cover more use cases. And if you have good AF, you can still use MF - the reverse, not.

That why Panasonic needs a good and reliablish AF system. Arri not.

In my point of view, I don't know why the AF discussion have to be so binary. Never use AF x always use AF.

Manual focus with a good focus puller will always be preferred in professional cinema. It is a well trained skill from the professional focus pullers, it is cheaper to pay a focus puller (considering all the other costs involved) that have to reshoot constantly because of an unexpected AF behaviour, and it offers somre focus creative choices that you could not have (or that would be difficult to reproduce) with an AF system.

AF is very useful in solo shots, low budget productions, solo vlogging, or when you don't have or can't pay a focus puller. Or when your production don't have very critical focus nailing needs.

Both are more or less adequate depending on your budget / needs. Hence Alexas don't have AF; and hence solo / action /vlogger shooters wants good AF.

Different situations, different needs. But with hybrid cameras, that generally are used in lower budget scenarios, AF tends to cover more use cases. And if you have good AF, you can still use MF - the reverse, not.

That why Panasonic needs a good and reliablish AF system. Arri not.

Viltrox constantly releases firmware updates, with big improvements. Be sure to check in their site.

That was my experience, the f2’s were not great in CAF with the 35mm being the worst offender.

XF.

@MrSMW, what is the issue with the 35mm f/2? (got it - since I like the 50mm eq. focal lenght - but did not tested it too much; living in a Covid ravaged place does not let too much testing time).

Well, Sigma France very kindly in the common parlance, 'reached out to me' and asked me if I'd like to test the FP-L and any lenses.
So for the last couple of weeks, I have been doing just that. And it's not for me.
It has several positives, but far more negatives FOR ME AND MY NEEDS.
First of all, I need a camera to either be a pure stills unit, pure video, or hybrid.
It doesn't really tick any of these boxes for me and I hoped it would tick at least one.
The video specs don't really suit my needs and from a photography perspective, I got banding in low light due to the electronic only shutter.
I'm getting ahead of myself however and straight out of the box, it was both bigger and heavier than I imagined.
Everyone goes on about how Panasonic's S line FF cameras are HUGE, but I don't find them so and have the biggest of the lot, the S1H.
And everyone says how tiny Sigma's FP line is and for me, it was bigger than expected and not much smaller or lighter than the Panasonic S5 with the same lens attached.
From that point onward, it really began to fall apart...
Handling. Awful. It needs a grip and yes, I am aware there are both native and aftermarket options and I could not imagine using it without one.
Lack of tilt screen = fail in my book. I am no fan of fully articulating screens but if I had an FP/L I would at the very least need to look at that aftermarket option in this regard.
The side attached EVF. If it was in the centre, in line with the lens, I'd be a fan. Attached to the side, not so and it makes the camera wider and bigger feeling than my S5.
The menu. Like any menu system, you would get used to it after a while, but I found it rather infuriating and I did not have this problem when I first picked up a Sony (often criticised for their menus as are sometimes Fuji and Panny but the latter 2 are easily much more intuitive).
Stills image quality for outdoor photography. Absolutely stellar, but not enough to win me over.
I said the same thing in feedback to Sigma France and that is I wanted to like the camera.
Ideally, I'd like to want it enough, or even just find a reason to buy one, but I can't, - it's just too compromised for my needs.
FPL-2 for me would need:
A mech shutter for stills.
Tilt screen.
4k 60p.
Centrally mounted EVF.
I'd like to see a better menu system, but that would not be a deal-breaker and neither is the lack of a grip, - that is the point of modular in both these regards (grip and EVF).
And that's my 'review' of the FP-L.
I also had the 65mm f2 in for test and loved it.
I used it for both stills and video with my S1H and it produced great results.
AF, especially in tracking, was not as good as native Panny, but not utter garbage, in fact, quite useable a lot of the time.
But I sit on the fence with whether I will buy one or not as I'm probably going to stick with Panny and their expanding range of f1.8 primes, mainly for the greater range of all f1.8; 24, 35, 50 and 85mm vs Sigma's f3.5 24mm (nope) and 35mm & 65mm f2 pairing (yep).
I also have as a side note Sigma's 28-70mm f2.8 and it is excellent for both photo and video although I am going to have to send it in at some point as it's an early serial number and has the ghosting issue in certain light.
Final note and that is I like Sigma. A lot. I think they are a great company and offer some really great products, at least in their lens lineup. The FP is probably another generation away for me, but there's always hope...
Merci à Renaud de m'avoir donné l'opportunité de tester ces articles !

Very, very sad. Liked a lot his reviews.