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Having owned a mk ii then a mk iii (both bought used), I think the better AF for video and adjustable-strength video IBIS on the iii are worth the extra money. There is also better separation of settings between stills and video on the iii. Video quality is the same in both, as far as I can tell. And Olympus/OMDS certainly seem to know how to design and build pro-grade lenses and cameras - my (used) 12-40mm F2.8 Pro has paint worn away in places plus a damaged (but usable) filter thread, but works fine and has the smoothest zoom and focus rings I've ever used. I'm getting a bit tempted by the 12-100mm F4 Pro as a consequence...

I'd agree with all of that, having gone from being a decade-long Panasonic user to now most often picking up an E-M1 iii when I take a camera out 🙂. The video quality on the E-M1 iii isn't top-notch (although the 24p DCI 4k at nominally 237Mbs is pretty good), but as an all-round rugged 'outdoors' package it's great (as is the battery life). I normally use the 'Natural' profile with the sharpness set to minimum, contrast reduced and the shadows lifted/highlights reduced a little using the 'shadows & highlights' adjustment curves. The problem with the Flat and OM-Log400 profiles is that you lose the sharpness adjustment and I find the default sharpening too high for my taste. (There seems to be plenty of used E-M1 iii and lenses like the 12-40 F2.8 around at good prices, if the budget is tight)

For video, 'Continuous AF' Mode 2 with the default 'Set 1' AF settings (sensitivity 0, area switching 0, object prediction +1) and a slightly smaller custom version of the diamond-shaped 'central pattern' focus area for most situations. For wildlife I often use the animal subject detect with a smaller focus area. I rarely film people so I almost never use human/eye subject detection. I don't use tracking AF either - I'm normally a 'keep the subject in the centre of the frame' person. From the manual:

I had a play recently (inside a camera shop) with an S5ii, X-T5 and OM-1. On the S5ii shooting FHD at 50p, in full-frame mode it does not use PDAF (it uses DFD instead) but it does use it in APS-C mode. The difference in C-AF responsiveness and focus speed was very noticeable - it was pretty snappy in PDAF, much slower in DFD. I was pointing the camera alternately at something in the far end of the shop and at something quite close using a simple mid-size focus area (no subject detect). I would say the AF was pretty confident and smooth in both cases though. The X-T5 AF was very 'snappy' (with the 16-80 lens on it), the OM-1 similar to the S5 ii in PDAF (with the 12-40 mk2 lens) - but both have adjustable AF speed and sensitivity (as does the S5ii) so that doesn't necessarily mean much. At the current offer prices in the UK, an S5ii kit with 20-60mm plus 50mm lenses is quite tempting at £2099, but as I normally shoot in 50p it's basically an APS-C video plus full-frame stills camera for me. The X-T5 is smaller and lighter (the X-S20 even more so), but for video the Fuji lenses seem to be a mixed bag in terms of AF speed and smoothness (and the IBIS isn't yet at the Pana/Oly/OMDS level). Personally I find the DFD on my G9 works perfectly well for the use cases I have - confident with smooth focus transitions and no/minimal 'pulsing'.

The X-S20 User Manual is available now - https://fujifilm-dsc.com/en/manual/x-s20/x-s20_manual_en_s_f.pdf One thing I have noticed is that none of the current Fuji cameras (including the X-S20) support plug-in power on the mic sockets, which is very annoying for me as I have several mics that need it... aargh!

Optyczne.pl have their 'film mode' review out - https://www.optyczne.pl/77.1-Inne_testy-Fujifilm_X-S20_-_test_trybu_filmowego_Wstęp.html (as well as words, there are resolution, noise reduction and sharpening tests plus downloadable general sample videos). They generally really like it, but comment that the non-subject detect/non-tracking video AF is prone to 'pumping' on static scenes: Quote from the 'summary' section (using Google translate):

In what way was the 1080p worse on the X-H2S versus say the X-T4? I'm interested to know since 1080 at 25p & 50p is important to me. I don't care about the high-fps modes used for slow-mo mo.

Decide for yourself - from the Polish https://www.optyczne.pl/ 'film mode' reviews, a few FHD test chart videos: This is their FHD test chart video for the X-H2S: (There are also some downloadable X-H2S FHD sample videos here - https://www.optyczne.pl/63.5-Inne_testy-Fujifilm_X-H2S_-_test_trybu_filmowego_Podsumowanie_i_filmy_przykładowe.html ). For comparison, their FHD test chart video for the X-T4: ...and just to show how video down-scaling to FHD should be done, this is the test chart video for the GH6 (their comment was "As long as we do not exceed 100 fps in the mode using the entire width of the sensor, the image quality is simply great" - I have to agree!).

...and I guess this is one of the Chinese knock-offs of it - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UURIG-R-77-77mm-Rapid-Filter-System-Lens-Filter-Metal-I2Z8/285223741334

We've certainly come a long way in performance terms in 13 years - 6.2K/30p (& 4K/60p) 4:2:2 10-bit internal recording, with IBIS & APS-C sensor, in a body as small as a GH2!

Good find - I hadn't scrolled down that page far enough to see the main 'Movie Specification' table (see below). It's interesting that it offers DCI2K (2048 x 1080) as well as DCI4K. Also the 4k 50/60p crop is apparently lower with DIS ON than with DIS OFF (1.1x vs. 1.18x).

From the Fuji website: 6240 x 4160 = 26Mp, which is the full sensor area and the same size as the largest still image - "[L]〈3:2〉6240 x 4160". So I can't confirm it for sure, but it looks like 'no crop' to me. AFAIK the 50/60p DCI and UHD modes are cropped - 1.18 I think, same as on the X-T4 (which has the same sensor).

I know what you mean - I've got two M4/3 PZ lenses that behave like that...

Popped into my local dealer (Wex), had a quick play with an X-S10 to remind myself of what it's like to hold etc. then pre-ordered an X-S20 - my first ever Fuji camera and the first time I've pre-ordered a camera... Thanks - deciding on lenses is going to be the next thing. I've ordered the camera with the 15-45mm PZ lens - was only £100 more as a kit - just so I've got something to test it with.

Yes, I thought that too... The APS-C video sector is certainly getting very interesting & competitive, with the recent Canon RF-S launches and (I suspect) Sony perhaps soon refreshing the high-end of their APS-C hybrid line with the sensor and processing from the FX30 maybe?

See https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm-x-s20-initial-review and https://petapixel.com/2023/05/24/the-new-fujifilm-x-s20-camera-is-faster-and-more-powerful-for-1299/ From DPReview: As I'm very interested in this (mostly because it has 4k60p in a relatively small & light body with IBIS) but never used Fuji before, which are the best Fuji lenses for video i.e. with smooth focus transitions and smooth exposure changes?

You're certainly not the only one - isn't that what makes it an interesting challenge? 🙂 But on the other side on the coin, it's everyone's different choice of compromises that gives their productions a personal 'look' - the world of the 'moving image' would be a very boring place if everyone used the same 'look' and style...

There was an update posted on DPReview a few days ago: This part - "while there is nothing to share right now, we will continue to keep you informed as there are updates to share" - suggests to me that discussions are happening behind the scenes about possibly keeping it going in some form.

But that's only a 1" sensor, weighs 2Kg, measures 168 x 173 x 333 mm and costs more than £4000 in the UK. Probably just the thing for some people (it's well loaded with potentially useful pro features, like SDI output), but it's not hard to see why higher-end camcorders have become a niche product especially if you're a video + stills person. I'm only an amateur, but what drove me to switch from camcorders to 'stills cameras with video' was the manufacturers removing viewfinders from all but the higher-end consumer camcorders, and them getting almost too small and lightweight to hold in both hands (for stability) - I find the traditional camera shape much better to hold two-handed.

I'll try again with the video as I can't edit the previous post:

A video that tries to compare the XT3, XT4, XT5, XH2 and XH2s for stills and video: https://youtu.be/4JPoTzoXrNw http://<iframe width="1244" height="700" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4JPoTzoXrNw" title="Which Fujifilm Camera To Get (XT3, XT4, XT5, XH2 or XH2s)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I thought you were moving to 3 x S5ii/S5iix - all flip-out/swivel screens?

I don't know if Fuji offers it in your country, but in the UK it runs a free loan scheme (currently for X-H2, X-H2s and X-T5 plus various lenses) so you could try an X-T5 for 48 hours - you just pay a refundable deposit. You keep saying that Fuji AF is bad - maybe if you said what you need the AF to do, someone might be able to suggest which cameras work best in that situation? (e.g. for me, I almost never film people as main subjects, so human face tracking etc. is almost irrelevant to me, but bird and train subject detection and tracking is really useful as that covers probably 90% of what I film and photograph).

To add to what Django has said, there is a fair amount of comment about the X-T5 video capabilities versus the competition and other Fuji cameras in the dpreview review - https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm-x-t5-in-depth-review Also, you should listen carefully to Jordan Drake's comments on video rolling shutter, crop factors and SD card stability (for video) in the video review (skip to 6:19 for the video section) - https://youtu.be/y0YSjBiKb0A?t=379

Aren't most Sony APS-C cameras (including the ZV-E10, but not the FX30) well known for having high levels of rolling shutter distortion in 4k? A quote from dpreview's review of the ZV-E10 (which is still online at the moment): Not a problem if you shoot video content which doesn't show it up (or stills with mechanical shutter), but it's certainly one of the main reasons their APS-C cameras have never been on my shopping list (as I often shoot content which really is badly affected by it).