mercer

I read a lot of this post and here are my two cents... cool camera... too expensive... too big/ugly. I briefly used a GH6 and although it was rather utilitarian and not small... the body felt good in the hands and the dual hinged screen was amazing. The extra depth for the fan, didn't seem awkward. The only qualm I had with the camera, which was big, was noise in the midtones. I wish I had more time with the camera because I think there may have been a work around if I kept testing, but unfortunately I just didn't have the time to dissect it. I may give it another go because having internal ProRes and amazing IBIS was such a great combo for my needs... It felt like the closest thing to a Cinecorder (another term coined by @BTM_Pix ) since my time with the FZ2500. The GH6, in my opinion, is the most underrated camera to come out in the past few years. The G9ii seems cool too... when the price drops.

Interesting announcement. I'm glad BM removed the "Pocket" moniker. I'd like to believe they're working on the true successor to the only "Pocket" camera they've made... but I doubt it. As @BTM_Pix has already said... Sigma did that for them. I guess I'll be the resident contrarian and say that I don't think the Leica L mount was a smart move. They probably won't be able to fit internal NDs when they use this mount and will concoct some type of adapter with built in VND instead. I had the Fotodiox version for my FP and it was horrible. It created a gross, smudgy veil across the frame with even the slightest of ND. At first I thought it was due to me using a wide angle lens, but nope, it was there with a 50mm as well. Shame too because the version I had for M43, years ago, worked great. Obviously, I understand that the L Mount opens up a lot more lens options. If anyone has read my posts over the past 8 years, you know I have a lens addiction, so mirrorless mounts are great so I can dust off my Minolta MD, Canon FD, and with some cameras, I can even use my c-mount lenses. That said, even with EF, there are still a lot of lenses available, but more importantly, to me, when adapting lenses, the EF mount adds the flange distance needed on the body and not on the adapter... And with that said, I understand that BM is dealing with a tweener market... part of their customer base wants to adapt any lens under the sun... the Leica L mount gives them that... and another portion want to use new lenses... the EF mount doesn't offer that anymore (another reason why I thought Canon made a mistake ditching EF) but the Leica L mount does. Also the lack of ProRes is just imbecilic. And with ALL that said... I'm sure it will be a great camera and have a lovely image, and I'm sure there are other Swiss Army features that it offers that will benefit a lot of folks... I'm just not one of them... Blackmagic... if you're reading this... go back to your roots and give us a tiny S16 sensor, 4K camera with a built in monitor and acceptable battery life... your entire ethos was to bring small, affordable cinema tools to the masses. For me... I already own 2, full frame, cameras that shoot raw video and at that price point, although respectable, I'd rather pony up an extra thousand and get an R5C for Canon Raw, DPAF and a better Cinema platform... or $500 for an R5 for Canon Raw, DPAF and IBIS. Easy choice.

Anyway... Nice work, Brian. The sound of a lawn mower going over branches brings back many memories of my childhood. I liked the quality and can really see the raw look, especially in your dog's hair. Since I've exclusively shot raw video for years, I'm curious to hear how the post process is? I could see this being a great B-cam when I need to go incognito. Did you use the gyro function?

I'm confused as well... as someone who posts test shots, I understand what it's like to put yourself out there on a public forum. So I applaud anyone on this forum that is willing to share. Since you post a lot of shots from your camera(s) of the week, I'd think you may have the same reservations and extend the same courtesy. Truth is, I loved everything about Brian's post and despise almost everything about your reply... It's a shame that with all of your money, you can't seem to afford common courtesy and manners.

Sony cameras have always overheated. I think it might be considered a feature at this point But I hear Panasonic's next camera is going to have a defrost setting for raw video and a popcorn button. Jiffy Pop in beautiful 6K anamorphic.

Nice work! If you ever see an FZ300 for a good price, buy it. I think you'd like it.

I believe BRaw is only open standard for software programs, not for use inside cameras. I think, if I'm remembering correctly. But yes, at the end of the day, I'm just talking out of my ass... what do I know. I still think it was a bad idea for Canon to abandon EF when they went mirrorless. And then if they feel like they had to, I thought they should have revived the FD mount.

Although I think it's unlikely, Panasonic might want to purchase Blackmagic's camera division just for BRaw. Just as Red has patents on internal, compressed raw, I'm sure Canon and Blackmagic have patented their versions as well. I assume there are only so many ways you can compress an internal, raw image, and there may not be too much room left for Panasonic to develop their version. And since Panasonic's cinema division is in a dire need of an upgrade, purchasing Blackmagic's "pocket" ecosystem could make sense... But again, I think it's unlikely. I'm gonna bet this is just a rumor. The link to the L-Mount Rumor website even looks suspect... or should I say the lack of info in the linked article. I mean, why would Blackmagic want to share internal BRaw, their biggest, and only, feature with Panasonic, Sigma and Leica just for a lens mount? This isn't 2013-2018 when Blackmagic had zero competition in the low end cinema camera market. A full frame camera will put them in direct competition with the R5, FX3, Z8, R3, Z9, FX6, and still have to worry about Red Komodo, Canon C70 and C300. With that said, I assume BM wouldn't release a FF Pocket, more than likely it would be an updated Ursa, so that puts them in a different price bracket than any of Panasonic's current products.

But there isn't a lot of glass from original and third parties. That's the problem. And since it's a mirrorless mount with a shorter flange distance than EF, the ability to implement internal NDs will be a bit more difficult. I suppose BM can get into the lens adapter business and produce adapters that have some kind of internal ND system.

Yeah, this makes no sense whatsoever. In a lot of ways, Blackmagic and Panasonic are each other's biggest competitor, so why would they want to share a lens mount? It's not like there are a plethora of lenses in the L-Mount catalog to benefit BM and why would Panasonic want to give their L-Mount customers a reason to easily buy into BM cameras? Unless Panasonic is purchasing BM's camera department.

As someone who loves shooting raw video, on FF, I don't think I could give up anything I currently have, but my dream camera would be an uncompressed raw 2K/4K camera with IBIS.

If your hobby is travel videos, or walking around cities and taking test shots of people, and you want to add some movement to those videos, then it works for the random shot for a couple of feet. There's definitely some correction occurring here, but it's almost smoothed out by the 60p. It probably looks better slowed down on a 24p timeline, though.

@Geoffrey there's also the idea that you upgrade to keep your investment at a certain level. When a new camera comes out, the old model's value goes down quick. If you don't need the upgrades and don't plan on needing anything more for a few years, then yes... you might as well keep it. Who cares if the used value drops in half over the next year. But in some instances small upgrades can eventually allow you to afford a higher price bracket of cameras. So if you sell the S5 now, you may get $1000 for it and you'd only need to shell out $800 for the new camera. If you wait a year, you may have to shell out more. If you skip a generation entirely, you may have to shell out a fortune more. With that said, I've been shooting with the same camera for almost 6 years, so every case is different. Good luck.

That was an interesting comparison. It's amazing that with more technical advances in lens making, how boring the image has become. To briefly change the subject and keep me from doing a deep dive... do you know anything about the 28-70mm 3.5-4.5 lens? It used to get so-so reviews compared to the "older" Zeiss C/Y zooms with some people speculating that it isn't even a true Zeiss lens. I read that it was released in '98, do you know if that was still a Yashica manufactured lens, or did Cosina take over production by then? If so, it could be a stand in at f/5.6 when I NEED a 28mm or 70mm FOV to go with my ZF lens.

I really think it is... one day I'll take it out and I'll be damned if I can get something I like from it, the next day, I'm floored by the images. So that leads me to believe it's user error... or the lens and camera's fault... I prefer the latter. I'm reminded of a line from a sitcom episode I saw a while ago... "I have 2 or 3 moves in the bedroom and if they don't work, she must've had a lot on her mind." That explains my skills with cinematography and color grading... if one of my moves don't work... the camera was in a mood.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I was going through my lenses and thinning the herd. Well today I have a few samples from the Zeiss ZF Classic 50mm 1.4. I bought this lens a couple years ago for VERY little money. The body had a little wear, but the price was so good, I decided it was worth it and if I didn't like it, I could EASILY recoup my costs. When the lens arrived, it had a couple issues... the Nikon F to EF adapter that was included (a "bonus!" according to the seller) was stuck on the lens... the lever that is used to release the adapter from the mount was broken off. At the time it wasn't a huge deal because I was using it on an EF camera. Here's a frame from it on my 5D3 with ML Raw... So it seemed to be a good sample but when I tried to attach a VND, I quickly realized that the threads were messed up... I could screw the filter in but it definitely wasn't right. By the feel and sound of it, it seems like the lens was dropped in the dirt. Luckily, nothing was affected mechanically, or optically, so it's no huge issue. Eventually, I'll buy a step up ring but for testing purposes, a filter will screw on with enough patience. Anyway, I bought a Sigma FP last fall and since then I have been testing different lenses with it looking for a simple little set up. So far I like the camera. It has a pretty nice image, but I'm not wowed by the IQ like I was when I first bought my 5D3... but that's a story for another time. As I mentioned in my previous post, I built a basic set of fast Nikkor ai-s lenses and I plan on selling off everything else. I'll keep a few random lenses that I really like. Back to the Zeiss... to test it with the FP, I needed to remove that damn bent adapter. Well it was no match for a pair of dykes and some needle nose pliers. In mere minutes I turned the "bonus!" adapter into a pile of metal shards. So, after enlisting my actor friend, I decided to take the lens out for a test run with the FP. Here are the results... As I mentioned earlier, I have a hot and cold feeling toward the FP, but on that day, maybe it was the light, or the beat up, pseudo-modern Zeiss optics, I think I have one of those random keeper lens... Now I just need to refrain from building a set of Zeiss lenses... Easier said than done. Thanks for reading my long, unscientific, anecdotal review.

At least it doesn't have vertical audio.

As far as being a fanboy... I don't really care about brands. But I must say that I have always gotten along better with Canon cameras than any other brand. In fact, I am tired of using other brands and being disappointed. I'm probably going to go all in with Canon from this point forward. If that makes me a fanboy... of Gawd... I'm too old to care.

Canon only exists to make a profit. That is their, and every other company's, sole purpose. They make a profit by providing products that the market wants/needs. It's really quite simple. As far as 'going against nature' or science, I can only assume you're referring to vertical video... based on your previous statement. I agree with you... I despise it. Luckily, in its natural form, this PowerShot camera shoots 16:9 video but you can turn it if you want vertical video. That seems fairly acceptable to me. As much as I hate it, I understand that, due to smartphones' inability to make 16:9 shooting simpler and peoples' inherent laziness, there is a desire for vertical video and since Canon isn't in the smartphone business, they need to offer that possibility. But out of box, this vlogging camera shoots 16:9 in its natural form factor.

We're not talking about communism here. We're talking about a product that was designed and manufactured for a specific usage. Most of Canon's products are designed that way. They always were. I'd imagine in the 70s when most manufacturers/consumers were heavily invested in SLRs, the Canonet line of cameras probably seemed pretty pedestrian, but that didn't stop Canon from putting a pretty spectacular lens on it and marketing it to a specific consumer at a reasonable price point. Even the Canonet line had different entry levels. As far as this camera goes, the biggest omission is a tripod thread. Otherwise, for sit down, YouTube Vlogs... what more do you need? Only a thoughtful eye can tell the difference between a $500 camera, a $3000 camera or even a phone in YouTube videos. I mean, they're not marketing it for indie filmmakers. But... since it shoots 24p, an interesting film could be made with it if someone could see past the limitations and see the possibilities.

Good points except I think it is good... if I am to assume that the frame of the woman is a sample from the camera? I don't mean this next statement for anyone in particular and especially not you, but the shooters that think in terms of gear first, never understood Canon, so it's easy for them to criticize Canon and this is the perfect example. Canon makes products for specific groups of people based on their needs.

Or an Arri 65 https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11858890/technical/

I just picked up a newer ai-s 50mm 1.2, for a steal, and it's one of the best 50s I've ever used. Even wide open it's fairly sharp and dreamy at the same time. The ai/ai-s 1.4 were okay, but I love the non-ai S.C. 1.4... probably the best $40 I ever spent.

The problem I have always had with zooms is that I was either compromising the shot for the luxury of not moving my setup, or I kept moving to get the sweet spot (pop) of the specific focal length I was zoomed in/out to... so the old saying about primes... Zoom with your feet... was still necessary to hit the sweet spot. Of course, time was still saved because I didn't have to change lenses, but I also found that I was mostly using a small portion of the zoom range... usually between 40-65mm. At that point it's easier to split the difference and swap out the heavier zoom for a 50mm, and use my feet to zoom. But then I was losing IS, so I needed a monopod or I wasn't able to hit that lens' sweet spot, so I started going a little wider, but then I'm compromising my specific style for the mechanics of the shot... Point being... there are always compromises with run and gun.

I know you're in school, but is it your end goal to be a videographer or a filmmaker? Camera choice aside, if your end goal is to make films... either as a cinematographer or a director, or both, you may want to consider building a collection of manual focus/aperture lenses. The Nikon F mount is a great option with a long history of amazing lenses. I recommend trying to get the fastest lenses you can. They're a bit more money, but in the end, when you've decided you need them, you'll be happy you didn't waste any time with the slower lenses. To start out, the 28mm f/2 and 50mm f/2 are great lenses that can be found pretty cheap if you go with the non-ai or ai versions. If you decide not to stick with Nikon cameras, Nikkor lenses will adapt to any camera you may upgrade to. With that said, if you are considering filmmaking (narrative or other) you may want to look for an inexpensive camera that you can experiment with for short films, music videos, docs, etc... perhaps an OG BMPCC or even a P4K as it seems the prices for them are coming down on the used market. Good luck with your choice.