ac6000cw

2 hours ago, MrSMW said:

I could never get the power zoom to stop exactly where I wanted it though!

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...

2 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Lenses?

I’d have to go zoom for my needs and really only 2 contenders and I’d stick the Fuji 16-55 f2.8 on the XT5 and the Tamron 17-70 f2.8 on the XS20.

The Tamron has a longer reach, is slightly lighter, but is not as sharp as the Fuji which is why I’d pair them in this manner.

Real world 24-83mm FF equivalent stills and 27-105mm FF focal length video, both with no aperture changes.

F2.8 light gathering with an equivalent f4.2 DOF.

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.

4 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

A very interesting sign of the times is that it has a dedicated control setting on the dial for Vlog mode...

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?

9 hours ago, kye said:

My experience has mostly been that I'm experiencing all of them at all times!

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...

13 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

Anyone have any idea what is going on?

There was an update posted on DPReview a few days ago:

Quote

Dear readers,

We're coming up on about a month since our last update here and wanted to thank our community for continuing to support us.

We know you have questions about the status of DPReview since our last communication, and while there is nothing to share right now, we will continue to keep you informed as there are updates to share. In the meantime, we continue to publish news and features (some of my recent favorites have been a three part deep dive into understanding the science of dynamic range from May 2 and learning about the dream cameras our readers most want from May 8). Our forums also remain open and continue to be supported.

Thanks again to our faithful readers. You are what makes DPReview special.

Scott Everett
General Manager - DPReview.com

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.

On 5/6/2023 at 7:12 AM, 92F said:

Is the Canon XF 605 not the best quality / size / price compromise of the moment ...?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsbCajW5cmk

But the image quality will remain more digital than a C70 for example... which is not a problem in many reports...

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>

3 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Having said that, I had better get used to tilt only as by next month, I'm going to be running a 3x tilt only set up!

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

15 minutes ago, SRV1981 said:

but what fuji camera has great AF, compact design, and doesn't overheat for photo?

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).

50 minutes ago, SRV1981 said:

is the xt5 sensor different than xt4? Is it much worse than xh2s for video and photo? 

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):

Quote

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).

1 hour ago, kye said:

to the point now that many people trying to get the look of film may have never seen it, or wouldn't recognise it even if it showed up with the film-strip not yet cropped out.

...and also don't/can't possibly remember the sometimes scratched, fuzzy, grainy, cue-dotted n-th generation distribution prints (with mono sound and worn sprocket holes) that played in the average neighborhood cinema... while at university I sometimes projected 16mm prints for the film society and they were decidedly 'well used' at times.

I guess they think the pristine 'digitally restored' old movies they see today are what they really looked like to the average cinema customer 'back in the day' 🙂.

25 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

I have the luxury of having "better" cameras but I don't NEED better cameras. Most of us don't.

Yep!

(...still enjoy reading about the 'better' cameras though - GAS addiction? 😉🙂)

34 minutes ago, SRV1981 said:

that said, the lenses is what can make or break - the 24-105 of the a7iv was beheamoth for my tastes where a small lens on an xt4 was compact enough.

Yes, I very well know that - it's the main reason I use micro-4/3 cameras and long telephoto lenses for wildlife video and stills. Full-frame lenses of equivalent 'reach' are far to large and heavy for me to want to carry around, so I accept some picture quality compromises instead e.g. low-light performance.

If you want to keep the lenses small, then use 'cropped' sensors e.g. APS-C or micro-4/3 (or maybe use 'APS-C' lenses on full-frame sensor cameras - I think Sony and Panasonic support that at least, maybe Canon and Nikon too).

You just have to decide which set of compromises you can live with...

18 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

Honestly almost any camera released these days will have good video, especially for the kind of work you mentioned.

18 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

I mean a hacked GH2 or a GH3 both can give you lovely 1080p images and those cameras are well over 10 years old

I agree.

Whenever I look back at video I shot in the past on VHS-C, DV and HDV tape, plus a variety of small-sensor cameras (like HX9V and FZ100), and compare it to 1080p let alone 4k from my Pana G9, I'm reminded how much video consumer/prosumer quality has dramatically improved over time...(as have camera stabilisation and the displays we view it on).

1 hour ago, SRV1981 said:

I danced with the a7iv this weekend and it just was just too big and clunky for a non-pro like me looking to walk the streets of a local city, travel, family gatherins/vacations, work documentaries, etc.  I liked my XT4 but the AF was rubbish.

Have you tried using https://camerasize.com/compact/ to compare the size and weight of various camera and lens combinations?

It's a great tool for quick visual size comparisons of the top, front and back views (and hovering the mouse pointer over a camera or lens picture will pop up dimensions and weight info).

For example, this is a comparison of A7c, FX30, A7 IV, R8 and X-T4 - https://camerasize.com/compact/#858,895,883,903,841,ha,b

15 hours ago, kye said:

However if you are looking for a smaller solution with good performance, I suspect that some sort of hybrid with multiple layers of different materials might be a good solution

An inner foam layer with a 'furry' that fits over it works quite well e.g. below is what Boya supply with the BY-PVM50:

(In that case you have to put the foam inside the furry first, then slide the whole thing over the mic barrel - it's really hard to pull the furry over the foam when it's already on the barrel !)

2 hours ago, hyalinejim said:

And does this do the trick? I have an old dead cat from my Zoom H4n (5D Mark II days!) that worked well on that recorder and I can also squeeze it over the Rode VideoMic and it works fine.

Yes - this is an 'exploded' view of it all (the foam is a trimmed-down cheap vocal mic pop shield):

...and it all fitted on the TM-2x:

I've bought a few windmuffs from 'windcutuk' on Ebay over the years- they seem decently well made and work OK, and they do one for the TM-2x - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165305982845?hash=item267d011f7d:g:7wIAAOSwks5ghLpY

This is their windmuff on my Tascam DR-05 recorder:

3 hours ago, hyalinejim said:

How do you find the wind noise with the included dead cat? From a few YT videos it seems to do an OK-but-not-great job.

Yes, it's 'OK-but-not-great'.

I use an old Rycote fur 'windjammer' (which I owned before I bought the TM-2x) over a foam windshield. The windjammer is large enough to cover most of the mic plus foam, not just the capsule part like the Tascam one does.

If you want to keep it small and it's not too windy, try using just a reasonably thick foam windshield (from memory, the included foam one is a bit thin).

4 hours ago, hyalinejim said:

Thanks! At the moment I'm ripping the soundtracks from YT comparison vids featuring the Tm-2X versus higher end mics and field recorders and seeing if I can EQ it a bit. It looks like it needs quite a big boost in the lower frequencies.

I've sent you a PM with a link to a video file of mine (just trimmed, no EQ or other processing and with plenty of bass) using a TM-2x, in case it might help. (I'm afraid it's 50 FPS though, as I'm firmly on that side of the FPS divide....😉 🙂)

3 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

I could most definitely set up a better system overall with all the gear I have, but I'm just one man, so I just do the best I can without driving myself too crazy!

I'm only an amateur, but I fully agree.

I my case I just don't want to carry lots of (or large) gear around and I mostly shoot handheld, so the mics I mentioned are (for me) a sensible compromise between sound quality and size.

58 minutes ago, hyalinejim said:

Thanks for this! The Tascam looks to be no higher than the Boya omni capsule.

See below - from the left, BY-MM3 (without muff), TM-2x (side and front views) and BY-PVM50

58 minutes ago, hyalinejim said:

Do you have any comments on the sound quality of the Tascam?

Echoing what @newfoundmass said upthread, I think it sounds pretty decent (for a relatively low-cost, compact, stereo mic) and the camera viewfinder is still usable because it doesn't extend back much from the hotshoe. I think the capsules are the same as Tascam use on their low/mid-end handheld recorders. The bass end isn't subterranean, but it's fine with a bit of EQ, and I think it's generally smooth sounding but not super-detailed.

I can't compare it to a Rode Stereo Video Mic Pro (which I think is what is pictured in your first post?) as I've never owned one (it's too large for me to consider using on relatively small mirrorless cameras).

1 hour ago, IronFilm said:

The Zoom H1 has the mounting point in the middle of it though, which makes it awkward to mount onto a camera hot shoe. 

Also the small/cheap recorders in general (I own several) don't make much attempt at isolating the mic capsules from the recorder body, so are terrible for handling noise (and pick up wind noise via body vibration, so you almost have to completely enclose them in a wind muff).

For a height comparison, these are the three relatively small stereo mics I use, mounted on my Pana G9 (which is around the same size as an S5).

Tascam TM-2x (cardioid capsule X-Y stereo, plug-in power). Overall the most flexible, with a switchable low-cut filter, two sensitivity settings and a shock mount that works.

Boya BY-PVM50 (cardioid capsule X-Y stereo, uses LR44 battery). The 3.5mm jack is at the rear centre of the barrel, and the mic can be moved forward and back in the shock mount.

Boya BY-MM3 (omni capsule stereo, plug-in power). This is overall the smallest/lightest/least obtrusive, but as it's non-directional it's only really suitable for 'ambient sound' recording.