Ty Harper

You're absolutely right, but the creator of the future will likely be wired differently than us. Specifically when it comes to how we perceive/capture/synthesize/translate the real world into different visual/audio mediums for the purpose of telling/expressing a story/POV. So it is understandably hard for us to fathom how AI will change things. 
But that could be the "difference" you're sensing. But that doesn't mean the core thing(s) that drive humans to create will change. But I could also be completely wrong too, so there's that, lol.

Yes, AI is a real wildcard.
I see that there are really three fundamentally different groups when it comes to generative content.
The first is professionals who create material for the general public, or various niches of the public.  This is where AI will have incredible impacts.
The second is professionals who create for their clients directly.  This is people like wedding photographers etc, where the client is the audience.  This has been debated, but I think that there will still be a market here.  If I did something and wanted a record of it, I would want the final images to be of me, not AI generated content that looks like the people I know might have looked during the thing that actually happened.
The third is people creating for themselves, where there is no client or money changing hands.  This is every amateur, every personal project from professionals, etc.  The goal is to have a final result that this person created.  Amateur photographers take photos and print and hang the best ones, not because they're the best photos ever taken, but because they were taken themselves.
Personally, I'm in the last category and I am completely resigned to the fact that my videos will never be great, will never attract a significant audience, will never be regarded as important, etc, but that's not why I do it so in that sense AI is no threat to me at all.  I do understand that people are all in different segments of the industry and have very different perspectives for very good reasons..

I could be wrong that I feel like we've arrived at a place where video quality is technically pretty solid across the board in new gen mirrorless cams. But if we're talking about R50V vs 5D MKIII ML RAW, it's less about better and more about 'different'. The 5D MKIII ML RAW definitely offers something aesthetically different than the R50V, but all things considered, I don't know that it offers better video quality, overall. 

I agree 100%, it is technically perfect for a beginner to grow into the system, both in photo and video terms. 
Now about the AI stuff I don't know. I have my reservations for it as a tool for human expression. As of this moment there is a stark difference between going out into the world and shooting with your own hands and eyes and soul vs. prompting lines into a machine.

Yes, there has always been those who gravitate to a piece of kit for other reasons than the prudent ones that revolve around basic specs and price point - but if you're a beginner looking for an affordable/pocketable cam that will let you tell stories by capturing photos/videos with reasonably solid IQ and the standard bells/whistled (like DPAF, Digital IS, exposure tools and a camera mount for vertical-friendly shooting), there is no reason to go beyond a used R50V at the moment. Especially bcuz it is being marketed to that younger YouTube generation - and there are a number of comprehensive videos on setup/settings etc by guys like Josh Sattin. Again, this is coming from someone whose career was launched thanks in no small part to ML, and will not sell my 5D MKIIIs, still has an OG 7D that my little cousin tinkers with, has two R5Cs that are my future proof workhorses - but that is still seriously eyeing the R50V+RF 16mm combo as a fantastic pocketable travel/walk around option. In fact the only thing stopping my from picking one up now is the fact that I don't actually need one, but that I'm also waiting to see if Canon will be releasing a higher end version later this year. 
But also, we're forgetting the elephant in the room - which is AI and the way it might change what it means for younger generations to capture/tell visual stories.
 

Always great to hear the ML community is still pushing along. I cut my teeth on the 5D MKII ML and still have two 5D MKIIIs with ML that I refuse to sell! All that said, the R50V is $650 brand new and once those hit the used market they'll be $500 and under vs the 5D MKIII which is still going for roughly the same price. So nostalgia aside, the R50V's price, specs - not to mention form factor and access to RF and EF lenses - really makes it hard to argue that anything ML related is the prudent way to go in 2025, imo.

I could be wrong that I feel like we've arrived at a place where video quality is technically pretty solid across the board in new gen mirrorless cams. But if we're talking about R50V vs 5D MKIII ML RAW, it's less about better and more about 'different'. The 5D MKIII ML RAW definitely offers something aesthetically different than the R50V, but all things considered, I don't know that it offers better video quality, overall. 

I always suspect that the current crop of high dr sensors tuned for high dr but sacrificed other aspects. 
Using OM1 as an example, it is very nice in 60p photo mode, especially the dr is impressive. Yet, when I use some vintage lens on 5d3 with ml raw, something just looks different, scientifically not explainable, yet it is there. Aesthetically, I really like this subtlety.  

Agreed modern Canon bodies really are not very crippled. The fact that the $649 R50V has CLOG3 10 bit is proof. But still, advancements on these older cameras is always exciting, and those old canon sensors certainly have a unique look that I think isn’t quite the same on the newer bodies. 

Always great to hear the ML community is still pushing along. I cut my teeth on the 5D MKII ML and still have two 5D MKIIIs with ML that I refuse to sell! All that said, the R50V is $650 brand new and once those hit the used market they'll be $500 and under vs the 5D MKIII which is still going for roughly the same price. So nostalgia aside, the R50V's price, specs - not to mention form factor and access to RF and EF lenses - really makes it hard to argue that anything ML related is the prudent way to go in 2025, imo.

Always great to hear the ML community is still pushing along. I cut my teeth on the 5D MKII ML and still have two 5D MKIIIs with ML that I refuse to sell! All that said, the R50V is $650 brand new and once those hit the used market they'll be $500 and under vs the 5D MKIII which is still going for roughly the same price. So nostalgia aside, the R50V's price, specs - not to mention form factor and access to RF and EF lenses - really makes it hard to argue that anything ML related is the prudent way to go in 2025, imo.

Totally agree! Bcuz one of the R5Cs main strengths is how feature/option-rich it is. But that also means you constantly need to be making sure you have the right featues turned on/off, etc. For example, I use the S35 crop mode and/or the digital teleconverter for added reach - but if you don't manually set the cam back to full frame or take it out of TC mode, the cam won't go back to the default mode when you turn it off 🤷🏾‍♂️

Absolute game changer for me personally. I haven't had to use my V-mounts in a minute since buying the LP-E6Ps and I got the grip when I went to go longer.

Just got the LP-E6P battery and it make R5C much less stressful lol, extra 30min of recording is quite nice so don't have constantly worry about the battery life.
 

Nice!
 

Already seeing used cameras going up in prices in my neck of the woods. Specifically the R6 MKII, which has been going for around $2K CAD used for a while, is now going for $2700-$3K CAD. 

Already seeing used cameras going up in prices in my neck of the woods. Specifically the R6 MKII, which has been going for around $2K CAD used for a while, is now going for $2700-$3K CAD. 

I have a new setup and pipeline and I'm really happy with it.
GH7 shooting V-Log in C4K Prores 422 internally, at around 500Mbps 14-140mm F3.5-5.6 lens for daytime, 12-35mm F2.8 for night-time K&F True Colour 1-5 stop vND Pipeline in Resolve: CST to DWG as working colour space Plugin for basic shot adjustments Film Look Creator for overall look (and for taking the digititis out of the image) ARRI709 LUT to get to 709 output I went on a walk on Monday to test the full setup, and it was a crazy hot day (37C/99F) and direct midday sun, so seriously challenging conditions.  Here are a few grabs (be sure to click-through rather than viewing the preview files embedded in the post).










My notes and impressions - while shooting:
Setup was GH7, 14-140mm lens, vND, and a wrist-strap and that's it I used the integrated screen, showing histogram, zebras, and focus-peaking to monitor I used back-button focus to AF before hitting record, so no AF-C going on while shooting (and randomly changing its mind about what to focus on) All shots were 14-140mm at F5.6 for constant exposure The K&F 1-5 stop vND had enough range, when combined with the DR of the GH7, so I never needed to change settings, despite going in and out of shadow (and even inside, which isn't included in the above images) The vND had a much more consistent sky and colour render than my old (crappy) vND, so I'm really happy with it I did ETTR and bring images down in post, but my tests indicated that V-LOG is very linear so there are a good few stops of latitude there The "tripod mode" of IBIS, which locks the frame completely, was very effective (despite me being hot and not having eaten for hours) and I could hand-hold past 70mm without it needing to drift, and even at 140mm (280mm FF equivalent) the shots will be fine with a bit of stabilisation in post (C4K on 1080p timeline) I shot about 18mins of footage in about 1.5 hours, camera was on most of the time with screen at full brightness, and didn't get any notifications about the battery, and didn't look to see how much was left since I have a spare My notes and impressions - in post:
I chose a Film Look Creator preset and then just messed with it for maybe 10 mins, while scrolling back and forth through the footage, and I deliberately pushed the contrast to create a really strong sense of the contrast between the beating sun and the deep shadows Shots had exposure adjusted (obviously, due to ETTR) and some had contrast lowered and a few had slight WB tweaks, but that's it I never felt like I was fighting with the footage, and it didn't feel like work when creating the look..  I've shot with a lot of cheap cameras with tiny sensors and you always feel like you're trying to make gold out of lead, but playing in the FLC was more like choosing between a large range of high-quality options I used another copy of the FLC to adjust exposure etc per shot, with it set to not impart and 'look'.  The advantage of that is that in Resolve there is a mode (Shift-F) that maximises the preview image and gets rid of the GUI except for the vertical toolbar on the right-hand-side where the DCTL and OFX plugins are, so it's a way of getting almost a full-screen view but keeping the controls visible..  very useful if you don't have a control surface or a second monitor handy. I'll talk more about my thought process and how I got to this setup in a later post, and also go into some of the technical stuff (DR, high-ISO, etc) but more importantly than that, I finally feel like the tech has come of age.
What I mean by that is that I now have a setup where:
I can shoot with a conveniently sized setup that doesn't need a rig and is ergonomic to use It has the right usability features, such as histograms, zebras, focus-peaking etc internally The monitor is bright enough The GH7 plus lenses (14-140mm F3.5-5.6 and 12-35mm F2.8) are long enough and fast enough to shoot what I see, without being too large, heavy, or prohibitively expensive It has enough spec that it can deal with almost all the situations that I actually shoot in, with enough DR for the sun, enough ISO for night-time, and fans so it doesn't overheat before I do, etc It shoots internally using a colour space and codec that don't look cheap/amateurish and make me think about upgrading It doesn't fight with me in the colour grade Resolve and the Film Look Creator are able to easily give me the flexibility in post to match images and correct any weaknesses from shooting (e.g. if there's a bit of movement when shooting hand-held at 140mm) Resolve and the Film Look Creator are able to remove the 'digital/video' look and instead give me a range of options that don't look artificial and most importantly, contribute a feeling to the footage without distracting from the content of the images (this is, after all, the entire purpose of what we're doing here.....) For the first time it feels like I'm getting the results I want because of the equipment I have, rather than in spite of it.

Yeah its pretty exciting as a Canon shooter myself to see a new product line emerge, especially one dedicated to video. First flat top Canon design ever. I don't know about no overheating as this is an entry-level product aimed at social network content creators so usually very short form content but the video below states they worked hard to avoid it. In any case rest assured this is the first product of an entirely new V camera line dedicated to video so its pretty much a given pro FF version will come. Here is a rare glimpse into the R&D folks at Canon HQ talking about it:
R50V also has filters, custom LUTs, false color, aspect markers & 2.35:1 cine mode. Pretty cool for a $695 camera!
 
 

After being in a pretty heavy accident on Saturday that has written my car off, my new favourite art camera is the Ring Doorbell camera.
My car was hit at a 90 degree angle from the side by some clown who sped out of their driveway and across an empty bus lane flipping my car round and causing the rear tyre to blow.
The art that the Ring Doorbell camera produced was in two parts.
The first being a beautiful record of my hitherto unknown stunt car driving prowess to correct the induced swerving to avoid the trees on the pavement side and then the oncoming traffic in the other lane and bring the wreck to a controlled stop.
The second and best bit was when the homeowner of the Ring Doorbell came outside and showed the footage to myself and the other driver who had thus far ludicrously been somehow claiming it was my fault.
Upon which the other driver, faced with the reality did their own rendition of the Larry David fake fainting.
As the Ring Doorbell was still active, it caught that too 🙂 

I have my two C70s dialed in so precisely to my needs that even after ~5 years, I can't imagine replacing them. One of them is built up for handheld operation, and the other is stripped down for travel. So, I really don't need anything else at this point.
That being said, an updated version of the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 in RF mount would be a no-brainer for me. They could even use the same glass from the older version and just update the AF.

That's interesting!
 
Though at the top I did mention that I could opt for a Nikon Z6III which would allow me to use my current lens lineup and still have unlimited record time, AF + Tracking, and a few other bits
 
I think as I have two really nice DSLR's already I am not sure I want to go for another one even if it has "V" in the name....
 
We'll see as I'm in no rush for this and I want to be sure that I have researched enough in order to be satisfied that I have made the right decision at the end....

Canon R50 is a cheap option. No Clog but HDR PQ is usable and you get Zebras for exposure control.
I think it's got a 1 hour record limit and overheating is an issue - BUT if you've got some DIY spirit and are willing to add the thermal pads like this guy did you should be ok. 
I was actually gna pick one of these up for a trip but just figured I'd save some $$ and go with my stripped down R5C instead.
 

I've seen that video and for sure there are some surprises in there! 
Main IQ advantage of R5C is in 4K60p which is actually quite a big deal. 
However I've found that shooting 4K60p in SRAW gives a very sharp detailed image on R5 mk2. SRAW is really a great option, I'd probably shoot that a lot. And again its nice to have Clog2 in every mode.
I shoot mostly handheld and appreciate IBIS for locked tripod stability. I also have quite a few non IS lenses so IBIS would benefit my type of shooting. 
Other than that, R5C has the edge in a lot of video centric features and is for sure excellent value compared to R5 mk2. Still leaning towards R5 mk2 for reasons mentioned above but you make some valid points! That TC feature for punching-in is definitely ace, especially if quality doesn't take too much a hit. 

Posting in this thread bcuz I doubt it's been mentioned before and I honestly misjudged the usefulness of this new feature. Canon added the teleconverter feature to the R5C last year and while initial reviews/tests concluded that the feature was really only good to 1.5x mag with anything past that (2x, 2.5x, 3x) being deemed not as good - it has been flagged by several R5C users that those conclusions were not accurate. In fact (and I can confirm with my own tests) that the R5C's TC feature produces very good results across the entire magnification range. What matters is that you are exposing properly but also maaybe giving it a bit more light than usual. 
So now my trusty Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 EF-S has new life with a focal range of 27mm - 264mm with the 3x footage being about as great as the widest end.
Anyways, just one more reason this cam continues to be a great hybrid option.