Michael Scrip

Darn. Oh well... I guess we'll have to wait for reviews. There wasn't enough time to test everything at the Canon events. Dan Watson said that the cropped 4K mode actually looked better in his short time with the camera. So I wonder what's the difference between "full-ish" 4K and "cropped" 4K on the 90D.

This sentence contains the only mention of the 90D in this article... but we were told both the M6mkII and 90D share the same sensor. So does the 90D do these pixel-shenanigans too? Upscaled 3K or whatever?

The biggest problem is that most young people aren't into computers. And without computers... there's nowhere to put the files that are on an SD card. Hell... most average consumers of any age don't have a good grasp on the idea of files and folders anyway. And that's a big part of dealing with files that a traditional camera generates. Young people are all about the smartphone, SnapChat, Instagram, etc. That's what photography is to them. And it's actually pretty remarkable that the same device you take pictures with (the smartphone) is also the device that stores them, shares them online, and backs them up to the cloud. They don't need to move photos from one device to another. A person who has only ever taken pictures with a smartphone won't like to deal with SD cards and computers for general consumer photography. It's almost like a person who grew up with digital cameras never wanting to deal with film. But like Tony said... there will always be enthusiasts and professional who rely on "real" digital cameras. For the average consumer though... it's done (or it never was) Personally... I'll still lug my DSLR around to take pictures at dance competitions. And shoot RAW and edit in Lightroom. But I rarely see parents with DSLRs or even point-n-shoots anymore. It's a smartphone world for kids and parents. Below is an example at an outdoor dance competition under a tent with terrible lighting. My photo is on the left shot with a DSLR and external flash... and someone's smartphone photo is on the right: I know which one I prefer... but the average consumer doesn't know or care. It's easier for them to just snap a pic with their smartphone than to deal with a separate camera, memory cards, a computer, software, etc.

Oh sure... the G7 has clean HDMI-out that can send video to an external monitor and can be recorded by an external recorder. But as soon as you try to record internally... the HDMI is disabled. Boooooo The BlackMagic Video Assist is nice... but it doesn't record 4K. I'd have to spend at least $1000 for an Atomos recorder in order to record 4K and monitor externally with a G7. Or... I'll just wait for the GH5... Panasonic doesn't disable the HDMI port during internal recording on the GH-series.

Same here. The G7 is almost an impulse buy at only $600 right now at B&H... except I really want (need) to monitor via HDMI while shooting video. Shooting 4K internally is great... but checking focus on a 3" screen isn't. A question to all... has anyone tried using a G7 with Panasonic's iPad app? I wonder if the image is good enough for monitoring.

Thanks for the info! Yeah the reviews say it's got some color and contrast issues. I would be using it just for framing and focus. My camcorder is a JVC HM150 with a pitiful 2.8" low-res screen. I usually drag around a 20" computer monitor when I shoot... but a 7" field monitor would be much easier! :D The Neway CT710HO that was posted earlier looks good too.

I was interested in something like this to turn a relatively cheap Android tablet into a field monitor. Decent field monitors tend to be very expensive. And then I heard about the Aputure VS-2 FineHD. Article and video review. Under $300 and it's an ACTUAL field monitor at 1080p with focus peaking, zebras, histogram and all sorts of other things that real field monitors have. Sounds great. Sure it's got a big Sony battery sticking out the back... but in the places I would use a field monitor I'd be plugging it in anyway. And not moving around. The Aputure monitor is definitely on my wishlist. I dunno about this device though. It's $400 by itself and I'm guessing its compatibility with Android tablets might be sketchy. How many tablets have USB 3.0 input? And it still won't have all those features of real field monitors. This device might be better served as a capture device into a computer. That's the way it's decribed on its website. This article is only suggesting it might work to allow an Android tablet to be a field monitor. But I have my doubts.

I don't know why you keep going on and on about "Youtube celebs" and "lemmings" There are dozens of Youtube channels that do camera reviews. They present the information and end up with some sort of conclusion. Isn't that the point of a review? Not many of us can spend a month with multiple cameras to do rigorous comparisons between them. Fortunately... Youtube reviewers can do that for us. If they were presenting wrong information... then I'd be wary of taking their advice. That's not usually the case though. They list facts, pros/cons, etc after spending a considerable amount of time with the product. Yes... you should do as much research as you can before you drop $2000 on a camera. But it doesn't make someone a "lemming" if they end up following the advice of Youtube reviews. Here is a list of the "Youtube celebs" or channels I personally use to learn about cameras and other new products: AbelCine, ArtoftheImage, B&H, Basic Filmmaker, Blunty, CameraRec Toby, Chad Soriano, Chase Jarvis, Curtis Judd, Dave Dugdale, DigitalRev TV, DSLR Video Shooter, Fenchel & Janisch, Frederick Van Johnson, Griffin Hammond, imagingresource, Jared Polin, LearningCameras.com, Lon Seidman, Philip Bloom, Philip Johnston, TheCameraStoreTV, Tony Northrup How many opinions should be taken into consideration before you buy something?

It's a huge undertaking to switch platforms. Maybe "shocked" was the wrong word. How about "intrigued" The reason Dave is switching is because he feels Canon isn't taking video as seriously as Panasonic in their smaller, more consumer cameras. He talked to Panasonic at NAB and they seemed very excited about about moving forward and adding features in video in the GH4. Canon was not so receptive when asked the same questions with regards to their smaller cameras. You're right... I don't know Dave personally... and I certainly know it's "not about the gear" But the drumbeat for Panasonic is getting louder. Dave isn't the only person singing the GH4's praises. I follow dozens of video people online... and they all have good things to say about Panasonic.

Yeah... the GH4 seems to be rocking the boat quite a bit. A7 series too. Panasonic and Sony have been in professional video for quite some time... VariCam, CineAlta, etc. It's nice that they are bringing their talents to their consumer products. I was shocked to hear that Dave Dugdale is leaving Canon. Then again... Canon doesn't seem to be interested in putting the same kinds of video features in their DSLRs that Panasonic offers in the GH4. You might be right... over time those kinds of decisions might hurt the old guard. I was looking at a GH4... but I settled on a Canon 70D instead. I liked the GH4 but it would have cost a lot more to get into the m43 platform.

What's weird is... Panasonic is also a Japanese company. But they seem to have no problem embracing video.

I think we're at the point now where we expect all cameras to take great still pictures. There's not too much that needs to be said. Video seems to be the next technological frontier. I remember a similar situation with printers... when "photo quality" was a key feature. But when most printers finally rose to the "photo quality" level... they stopped promoting that as a feature. Now it's just a printer. (of course I'm oversimplifying it... but you get the idea) I expect a $3,300 DSLR to take great still pictures... no one needs to tell me. :)