mercer

So, I was perusing eBay last weekend and found a copy of my favorite lens of all time... the Minolta MC 35mm 1.8 that was converted to EF mount. I was floored. I had sold that lens a while back because I didn't have a camera to use it on, but I really missed my Minolta lenses... especially that one. So I bid on the lens and won the auction. The seller has a very good rating and his communication was excellent but when the lens arrived this morning, it was not as described. The body was clean and the glass looked good but the aperture didn't work at all... which I was surprised by but okay with since I would rarely shoot this lens closed down... this is why you shoot with these old Minolta lenses. But then I quickly realized, that although smooth, the lens ring didn't turn to infinity and I was only able to get 4-5 feet out of her... Ugh... To make a long story short, I was horribly disappointed but the seller was great and we came to a mutual agreement and I kept the lens for a partial refund. I did have a couple minutes to go outside and take some shots. I did a quick Rec709 conversion and a couple exposure adjustments... So, my question is... does anyone know a good Minolta lens technician? And does anybody have any eBay war stories?

Yeah @mat33 really nice work. I just watched some of your DB videos and they look great. Was your B&W Video shot on that as well?

Iron, may I call you Iron, it seems like you are creating unrealistic scenarios to defend your position. I read your DOF argument the first time and it’s just... unrealistic... if you’re shooting in extremely low light, you will do what you have to do to get the exposure... faster lens and then step back to get the focus you want. It wouldn’t be ideal but that is the circumstance you are in... otherwise you would bring in lights and then the a7s would still have a two stop advantage.

I’m really not, I’ve been laughing this entire discussion. People get angry and protective about their cameras. And it makes me laugh.

Like @webrunner5 has already said, how often are you going to shoot in crazy lowlight for a scene without either bringing in lights, or using good available light? So for the sake of this discussion, deep DOF is kind of irrelevant... because if you were forced to shoot in very low light, you would shoot with the fastest lens you could find and step further back to get the focus. Honestly though, I didn’t want to get into this discussion, the GH5s is great with low light, but I don’t think it’s better than the a7s in low light... I’m sure there will be plenty of comparisons in the coming weeks to prove me wrong.

I thought we were talking a7s, why bring an almost 10 year old camera into the discussion? Of course, sensor technology and processing will be better 10 years later. Listen, I think what Panasonic has done with the GH5s is amazing. It looks really good in lowlight but let’s not get hyperbolic here. What the a7s can do with a single candle is near miraculous. @IronFilm

Except it isn’t, no matter how you justify it, FF has a two stop advantage over Micro 4/3. So in sLog on the a7s, native ISO is 3200 on the GH5s native ISO is 2500... with the 2 stop advantage of FF, that puts the GH5s at an equivalent ISO of 10,000... right out the gate. Plus any fast lens is also negated by the 2 stop advantage. Is there something I’m missing here, because I’m not following you?

No, I’m pretty sure his name is Mr. Fuzzynormal.

Haha, just keeping it lighthearted. The truth is this... every shooter has different needs or wants in a camera... sometimes it’s professional and sometimes it’s personal. I think Fuzzynormal, amongst others, have said it dozens of times... basically any camera is good enough nowadays. So whatever feature gets you up in the morning dying to shoot with that camera, then good on you and shoot with that camera.

It’s okay though... I added a winky face. @Emanuel I agree, no IBIS should have equated to yes internal NDs. That would have been an acceptable trade off.

Okay, fair enough... I’m... sorry you feel that way? But to be more fair... I could argue that you use people’s proper names in an attempt at some sort of paradoxical condescension...

I never said the GH5s is a bad camera, I’ve said I think it was a mistake not to have IBIS and that maybe it should be priced lower than the GH5... with all features considered. And unless I start doing some kind of paid videography, I will not be getting a GH5... really good camera... just not for me. And now that I think of it... even if I did do paid work, I’d probably go with a C100 Mark II because I’d find DPAF to be a far more important feature than 4K 60p or anamorphic for event work. JMO

Ha, sorry no fanboy here. I’ve tried almost every single brand of camera over the past 3-4 years... Hell I even had a Pentax. And yeah, Speedboosters are cool but honestly, I am sooo tired of adapters. I have two boxes full of adapters in my closet, so anything over an 1/8” thick... I’m uninterested. So as far as native systems go, Canon lenses are the best, dollar for dollar, plus the plethora of third party lenses available in the EF Mount. I was a little bummed not owning a camera for my Minolta lenses, but sure enough, I just found and bought my favorite lens of all time... the Minolta MC 35mm 1.8 that was converted to EF Mount. In a few months, I’ll add the 58mm 1.2 that is a breeze to convert with a Leitax adapter. Lowlight is a marketing buzz word. I can get clean 1600 ISO on an f/2 lens with my 5D3 and acceptable 3200 with a 1.4... nothing a little Neat Video won’t clean up... I don’t really need any more than that and if I do, I’ll flip a switch. Honestly, since this is primarily a hobby for me, I will mostly shoot Raw going forward and how can you beat 4K Raw up to 60p with DPAF? Btw, the C200 is pretty good in lowlight. Sorry, it should have read... Are we really discussing wide depth of field to argue that the GH5s is as good in lowlight as FF, especially the a7s?

Again, this is an unfair comparison, full V-Log has zero in camera noise reduction or sharpening. I was pretty hard on the EVA1 but after seeing some recent videos, specifically Bloom’s review sample, I am pretty much blown away by the colors. If I had that kind of dough, I’d still choose the C200, but I get why that Varicam LT sensor is held in such high regard.

@seku I’m sure there will be plenty of comparison videos popping up with all things being unequal to prove some irrelevant point while getting plenty of YouTube views. Hmm, pretty interesting... didn’t realize the highlight/shadow adjustment would have any affect on the knee of V-Log L but yes... no extra DR but it does soften that “blown out” window pretty nicely. One of the reasons I went 5D3 instead of GH5 (I had both in my cart for days) was the horrendous roll off of the GH5... amongst other things. But this is a pretty nifty setting to trick the knee. I’m still sticking with the 5D3 though. Lol. Also, I imagine the highlight adjustment could be a timesaver for post when creating window masks?

Also, the higher DR on the GH5s could be a tweak of the V-Log L curve so more stops are delineated to the shadows, or to the highlights right where the Knee is. Are there any comparisons between the knee and slope of the GH5 and the GH5s V-Log L?

The key comment is lowlight... the GH5 doesn’t have 12 stops at ISO 6400. So at 6400, the GH5s may have 11 stops... never underestimate the word play of a marketer/salesman. @webrunner5

So, are we really discussing lowlight and wide depth of field to try and argue that the GH5s is as good as FF... especially the a7s?

But with an equal aperture, the a7s only needs to be at 12,000 ISO?

Idk, with this new tech, I think Panasonic should start producing some micro 4/3 mount lenses that cover S35mm sensors. They’re really starting to push the price boundary for a micro 4/3 sensor camera, IMO.

Idk @webrunner5 Panasonic is charging $500 more for less features... just kidding. I just watched that Slovenia video... the footage looks pretty good.

Is it known around the GH5 world that HLG is better than V-Log? From what I’ve seen, as a whole, V-Log looks better... but I’ve always liked CineLikeD... so what do I know. Also what ever happened with that Like709 profile that was all the rage when the GH5 came out? I don’t hear anybody talking about that anymore. Well no matter how you look at it, FF has a 2 stop advantage. It blows my mind the shallow depth of field I can get with an f/4 lens.

@Emanuel nah I’m still going strong with my 5D3, but if I had more money that Terra 4K looks pretty damn nice. And I really enjoyed Bloom’s EVA1 footage. But who am I kidding, if I had that kind of money, I would still choose the C200 over the rest.

That’s true and it would only be wasted on me... I’d be the only person in the world that would shoot all-i 1080p in CineLikeD and then complain it doesn’t look like my ML footage... ? Good point, they shouldn’t have named it GH5 at all... they are definitely two different cameras. I almost think the GH5s should be cheaper.

Wait, I think I was the first to predict Dual ISO... so @Neumann Films when should I expect one of your old GH5 cameras in the mail as my prize?