John Matthews

I have so much great footage I've taken with the gx80- the one that was used in that gx85 thread started way back when (and briefly became the most popular thread on EOSHD ever). Every camera I've used since (there have been many of all shapes and sizes) was either bigger, lacking features, or didn't have add significant improvements over it. In retrospect, I probably should have stuck with it and I would have saved a bundle and paid off my house that much quicker.
Just last night, I was live streaming via HDMI with my S9 (not recording) and the camera over-heated mid-session (about a hour in), something  my M43 cameras NEVER did. Granted, I don't think the S9 is made for what I was doing with it in a VERY hot attic (~35C), but still I wasn't even recording and I had a dummy battery. I guess the S5ii will now need to be doing that job and I'll set up my GH2 as a backup (just in case it happens again).

**Haven't been active a while but have been lurking often, just not posting.  Hoping to get back to posting much much more regularly now and actually being involved in this awesome community.  Hope everyone is doing great and making awesome art that plays in sequences of frames 😉
 
"_names_are_hard" from the magic lantern forum made a post yesterday announcing a new official development team; I am not 100% sure but seems as though this was not the case sine a1ex left a few years ago.  Obviously, awesome developments have still occurred in the mean time, such as the incredible work done to the EOS M, 5d Mark iii and more to sd overclock, implement new binning modes that provide more image detail and less moire, and enable excellent previews in modes that previously rendered almost unusable to monitor.
 
Now an official development team is back, and their aim, according to the post, is to implement features into main builds; finally we do not need to dig through forum posts anymore lol...
What is even more exciting is the announcement of great improvements towards Digic 6 and Digic 7 cameras.  The Canon 200d/SL2 has an OFFICIAL build with WORKING RAW VIDEO.  This excites me, as supposedly this camera has an entire stop better dynamic range at ISO 200 than the 5d mark iii does...and DPAF to boot.  Makes me want to get one just to play around with and rig into a poor man's interview b-cam for my Nikon Z6.  The 7d mark ii, 6d mark ii and 750d/t6i also have official builds, though more work needs to be done to implement RAW video.  Still, even this is exciting news, because it looks like a point will be reached in which the aforementioned cameras all have stable RAW video.  Man...the 6d Mark II is gonna become absolutely killer and I believe might overtake the legendary 5d mark iii as the ML king...why?  Full-frame AND Dual Pixel Autofocus.  So exciting.
 
Imagine if they progress on the EOS R and we get RAW video on that...we shall see.
 
Anyways, wanted to share as I think it is exciting that the ML community is getting active again.  Although I have never personally owned a ML camera, it has always fascinated me and I want to pick up a ML-compatible Canon body, even if it's the dirt-cheap Canon 50d that makes it possible to shoot continuous 14-bit RAW video for only $86 US on ebay haha.
 
Exciting times.  Screw modern camera releases.  My 7 year old Nikon Z6 is still alive and kicking.  And these old cameras are about to become beasts.  And to me 5d mark ii/5d mark iii/eos m crop mood stuff looks just as good as your youtube shill Sony FX2 bs anyways lol...
 
https://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=27315.0
 
Also here's the dirt cheap Canon 50d...I might buy one.   Literally the cheapest half decent ML RAW cam in existence:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/326652260011?_skw=canon+50d&epid=100134403&itmmeta=01JYD74BEKB8BK43GTP64YXEYE&hash=item4c0dfdeeab:g:zH4AAeSwaqVoO8fg&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA4FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dPuUUXNiquWqTtYdpH3VhCftZqA2312R5f5VSKqv6B737uadt8L7po3UhjQmLj7p22fLaKrov1%2FdF7%2FPis094b98Wz%2FnMbwS7WtRhqTqfyUhYZCMMmhc9OdIad%2FLodvcJXSllJYh90xsUWRTm7vGW5QqKQBbevi0jxouClCZ%2Fbk6QKRNa9LTJsvkdX56eaU7F7IwVfBdZCHZOygCtMLm6H3MlF0YovoZEHjhhYqNq10jPFnlPCjhOBrGydgfrK%2BKuCTwN1sGX5Pb3KDZ5MpxcA|tkp%3ABk9SR7i3kafzZQ

Sharpness seems very natural to me, although I am not at the level of pixel peeing as others around!
What I can say is that the Prores feels like Prores from a cinema camera.  So the files edit like butter, the grain is well captured and not removed / crunched, etc.  I've done quite a lot of low light high-ISO testing in the last few weeks and even up to ISO 12,800 the footage cleans up in post using temporal NR, which wouldn't work if the compression killed all the noise.
Punch-in focussing is available during recording, and pops up automatically if you touch the focus ring on a native lens, and has a custom amount of zoom.  I'd assume it's the same as previous cameras where you have an option to give you a punch-in box in the middle of the monitor, or for the whole monitor to show the punched-in part.  The focus peaking was also active within and outside the punched-in part of the screen.
The in-camera digital zoom is changed from previous models, and significantly improved at that.  It's quite different now.
Let's say I have my 9mm lens fitted.  I hit the button I have mapped it to (it's called Crop Zoom "CrZ") and it activates the feature, showing me the current focal length (9mm) and there are a bunch of ways to get it to smoothly zoom in and out, displaying the current equivalent focal length as it goes (10mm, then 11mm, etc).  
The function is integrated into the zoom controls for the powered zoom lenses too, so I think you can zoom in and it will zoom the lens in as much as it can and then (if enabled) it will keep zooming in with the digital zoom.
I thought the idea was it will keep zooming in until it gets to a 1:1 sensor read-out and then won't go any further, but the manual just lists some rather arbitrary zoom amounts.  With my 9mm lens, if I shoot with the C4K mode it will go to 11mm, but on the 1080p mode it will zoom in to 24mm.
In my tests I've found that the in-camera cropped images are free from artefacts, and I'd even zoom in/out during recording using it if I felt the need to.  
I'd happily use it for S16 cropping, or any other cropping you wanted.  Perhaps the only caveat is that if you wanted to crop more than the 1.3x it will do in C4K, or 1.4x in UHD, then you have to use the 1080p mode, and that mode seems to have a slightly different look to the images, a bit more like the OG BM cameras in that it looks like a lower-resolution sensor readout.  It's got a bit of that lower-resolution more sharpening look to it, rather than a higher-res-downscaled look to it.  It's subtle, but it's there.  It's still high-quality, but just compared to the 4K modes it's noticeable.
I've been doing lots of tests for my next ballooning trip, and these include low-light testing.  I figured I'd take my 14-140mm zoom for when the light is sufficient, and I'll take my new 9mm F1.7 as my ultra-wide, but was wondering if the 9mm could be my low-light non-wide lens as well.  
I did two tests.
The first test was an ultra-low-light test.  
I tested:
- GX85 with TTartisans 17mm F1.4 manual prime at F1.4
- GX85 with TTartisans 17mm F1.4 manual prime at F2
- GH7 with 9mm F1.7 at F1.7 (shot in C4K and cropped to be 17mm FOV in-post)
- GH7 with 9mm F1.7 at F1.7 (shot in 1080p and cropped in-camera to be 17mm FOV)
- GH7 with 12-35mm F2.8 at F2.8 and 17mm
- GH7 with 14-140mm at 17mm
- GH7 with TTartisans 17mm F1.4 manual prime at F1.4
- GH7 with TTartisans 17mm F1.4 manual prime at F2.0
- GH7 with Voigtlander 17.5mm F0.95 manual prime at F0.95
- GH7 with Voigtlander 17.5mm F0.95 manual prime at F1.4
- GH7 with Voigtlander 17.5mm F0.95 manual prime at F2.0
I reviewed all of them with just a 709 conversion, with NR/sharpening, and with tonnes of NR/sharpening.
This is a test of lots of things being traded-off against each other, as the slower lenses all needed a higher ISO, and the 9mm was sharp wide-open and brighter but also pulling from a smaller sensor area, but I didn't upload to YT so it's not a full pipeline test.
The result was that the Voigtlander won, the TTartisans at F2.0 was good, the 12-35 was good, but the 9mm was still acceptable and waaaaaay better than the GX85 + TTartisans wide open (which was what I shot the previous outing with and I found to be disappointing - the combo of the TTartisans at F1.4 combined with the GX85 ISO6400 was just a killer combo).  
I also tested the 9mm F1.7 wide-open vs the 12-35mm F2.8 stopped down to F4.0 against each other in good lighting and native ISO and using the 1080p in-camera zoom to match focal lengths.
I reviewed all of them with just a 709 conversion, with NR/sharpening, and with NR/sharpening put through my FLC pipeline (which includes softening the image slightly and adding grain).  I didn't upload it to YT either, so it's not a full-pipeline test but was a good indicator of it.
I found that the 9mm zoomed to 12mm was equivalent to the 12-35mm, at 18m it was noticeably softer, and at 24mm it was really noticeable and getting into vintage territory.  
I can post some stills if you're really curious.

I have so much great footage I've taken with the gx80- the one that was used in that gx85 thread started way back when (and briefly became the most popular thread on EOSHD ever). Every camera I've used since (there have been many of all shapes and sizes) was either bigger, lacking features, or didn't have add significant improvements over it. In retrospect, I probably should have stuck with it and I would have saved a bundle and paid off my house that much quicker.
Just last night, I was live streaming via HDMI with my S9 (not recording) and the camera over-heated mid-session (about a hour in), something  my M43 cameras NEVER did. Granted, I don't think the S9 is made for what I was doing with it in a VERY hot attic (~35C), but still I wasn't even recording and I had a dummy battery. I guess the S5ii will now need to be doing that job and I'll set up my GH2 as a backup (just in case it happens again).

My second GX85 has arrived yesterday. It feels like new. I'll sell the 12-32mm, since I'm owning two of them now. Great deal for a great camera. I still got my first one, which I bought eight years ago thanks to a great thread on this forum. I should let the GM5 go, since the faux orange rubber coating is kinda too cute to stress test it when using the camera for photography. I might give it a photo tour before departing from it. Decisions.:)
That sounds great, coming from a og pocket and Bmmcc afficiando like you! @kye How is sharpness on the GH7, artificial looking or natural? What about punchin focussing during recording? Does the camera offer a 2x crop mode with good codecs and quality for some b3/4 goodness? True S16 mode or 16, 2.87 vs 3x? More questions to come.:) Thanks!😊

Well I think so 😉
I checked out the new Sigma as soon as it was announced but as soon as I saw the size & weight, it was game over vs the full frame 28-70.
As I said above though, for the APSC shooter, great and would be superb on a Fuji X or or Sony FX30!

Think about selling it and see how you feel.  If you don't have a negative reaction to the thought, and it's not a practical choice, then sell it.  
If you do have a negative reaction to the thought of selling it, then think about how much you might get for it and what you could do with that money.  Then think about swapping the camera for those other things and see which gives more excitement.
Ultimately, if you're not shooting for money, then you're doing it for enjoyment, so ignore the specs and go with what would bring you the most happiness.
Thanks!
Not sure if I said this above, but my approach for the GX85 shots was to just apply enough of the film simulation in the FLC to get rid of the "video" look in the files, which I think was only about a third.  The GX85 has a strong look to begin with, so I didn't need to add much to the colours.  
After many years working out colour grading tools and techniques across lots of cameras I've worked out how to get images to not look so digital, but now I can do whatever I want with them, I have to now work out what I want!  It's a work in progress as everything is.
Prores V-Log on the GH7 is an absolute joy.
I have been doing some low-light testing over the last week or so in anticipation of my next balloon adventure, and I compared using a 17mm lens with using my new 9mm lens to get a 17mm FOV (firstly by shooting C4K Prores 422 and cropping to 17mm FOV in post, and also by shooting 1080p Prores HQ and cropping to 17mm in-camera) and even then, at ISOs of 5000 or more, the results were still not like the normal results from cheap cameras.  In the grade it feels like footage from any cinema camera I've tried - the controls all feel great and the image responds how you want it to without colour shifts etc.  Hell, I'm in groups where there are guys dealing with FPN from their RED cameras at base ISO that is worse than this camera has at ISO3200.
Absolutely!  There is something magical about this combo.  I don't know what, but it's a joy to use and the files just seem to have something special to them.
Dual GX85 bodies is a great way to go actually, and saves time in changing lenses all the time.  Great stuff!!

Or, instead of forcing my 6k open gate camera into shooting 4k cropped, I can stick with my smaller and lighter Sigma 28-70 f2.8 🤔
Arguably, the new zoom is the equivalent of 1mm wider and 10mm longer in terms of focal range and arguably f1.8 is still f1.8 for light gathering purposes, but for DOF equivalencies, f2.7 = f2.8, but nah, zero real world gains for my needs and a HUGE downgrade from 6k open gate. 
Now if the lens was significantly smaller and lighter, maybe a small argument could be made, but nah…
For APSC users, it’s a different matter and the lens makes sense. Just not for me.

The G9 ii is much larger and over 50% heavier than an OM-5:

The obvious M43 alternative (larger and heavier, but not as bad as the G9 ii) is a used OM-1 - almost a steal at it's current sub-£1000 used prices in the UK for what you get in a rugged, weather-sealed, reasonably compact body.
And of course as MrSMW said, there's the S9 at sub-£1000 new, but that's not weather-sealed nor has an EVF.
It's the lack of a compact M43 body with PDAF, 4k50/4k60 and excellent video IBIS that drove me to buy an S9 - my first ever non-M43 MILC (after 13 years of buying M43 cameras and owning a sizeable lens M43 collection).
That said, the E-M5iii/OM-5/OM-5ii series aren't really aimed at the video-user market - they are primarily lightweight, small, weather-sealed stills-orientated cameras with a bit of retro style (which is an OM-System self-confessed niche, really).

I've had the E-M5ii and E-M5iii. I've also had the E-M1ii, E-P7 and E-PL9. All of them had decent images in 4k. The E-M5iii and E-M1ii were definitely a step up when you turned on its picture mode (I forget the exact term). Shooting in 4k in the other normal modes wasn't bad, but a little "soft" for extreme detail. The major problem I had with the E-M5ii was absolutely horrendous moiré issues. For AF, both the E-P7 and E-PL9 did way better continuous AF in video than Panasonic contrast detect.
The OM5 series could be so good if they could just put a little better processing in it and 10-bit.
The beige looks like puke. Maybe it would be stealthy for a safari or desert situation. Also, OM System is thinking they can way more for this camera, but they will soon realise the contrary. It costs 1299 euros and 200 cheaper in dollars. I get the feeling OM System is asking the europeans to pay those effing tariffs for the Americans rather than asking the Americans to pay. The price gap is too much, especially since the dollar has been in a rather large decline since January 2025.

My S9 sits smugly looking on.
At sub 1k prices, its video spec is in another league.

I've had the E-M5ii and E-M5iii. I've also had the E-M1ii, E-P7 and E-PL9. All of them had decent images in 4k. The E-M5iii and E-M1ii were definitely a step up when you turned on its picture mode (I forget the exact term). Shooting in 4k in the other normal modes wasn't bad, but a little "soft" for extreme detail. The major problem I had with the E-M5ii was absolutely horrendous moiré issues. For AF, both the E-P7 and E-PL9 did way better continuous AF in video than Panasonic contrast detect.
The OM5 series could be so good if they could just put a little better processing in it and 10-bit.
The beige looks like puke. Maybe it would be stealthy for a safari or desert situation. Also, OM System is thinking they can way more for this camera, but they will soon realise the contrary. It costs 1299 euros and 200 cheaper in dollars. I get the feeling OM System is asking the europeans to pay those effing tariffs for the Americans rather than asking the Americans to pay. The price gap is too much, especially since the dollar has been in a rather large decline since January 2025.

And remembering that this camera (and predecessors) only have 8-bit color.

The problem with Olymṕus is their codecs - they have high bitrates but are much softer than other companies, since the E-M5 MK II days. If you like the look (I had a concert video form the E-M5 MK II that you clearly see that is far from perfect, but it looked fantastic), could be a compelling option, but it probably falls apart very quickly with grading.

The thing that amazes me (and the only explanation is that it have a VERY good patent) is that no other company implemented Live Bulb - it makes long exposures a breeze, you see the image "developing" on screen, you just pause when I think it is good. It the feature that I miss the most from my Olympus days (and the IBIS perfectly tuned for video).

That cheap and tacky finish might work in your favour, if your into a less obtrusive style of street photography or videography. It wouldn't be my first choice but  I think i'd take it, over a fire engine red one, any day of the week. However i happy enough with the em-1iii so its all kinda irrelevant to me.

That or the G9 II - it seems to be not much bigger (a little taller and the hand grip + EVF protrude just a little more) and it barely costs more used.
This one seems to be another example of OM system taking an existing camera, upgrading the processor, and adding computational photography features.  The CP features are pretty neat, but it'd be so much better to see OM systems invest in something more interesting/revolutionary.
Also, at least in pictures, the limited edition "sand" finish looks cheap and tacky.

I did a bunch of testing some time ago comparing them, and they were less different than I thought they would be, and the CineD and Natural seemed to have the same latitude.  I'm not sure if somewhere along the line I got confused between Natural and Standard though, so that might be something to test.
Years on, the conclusion I've come to about colour profiles is that if you're going to colour grade in post with any kind of sophistication (and now with the Film Look Creator tool and Resolve colour management we have incredibly sophisticated tools) then it probably doesn't matter which profile you use.
If I was limited to basic tools then I might just use CineD and be done with it.
It's just preference really.
The vND I'm using is the "K&F Concept 58mm True Color Variable ND2-32 (1-5 Stops) ND Lens Filter".  They offer one with a larger range, but it isn't the True Colour one so I suspect it has more colour shifts.  I've been really happy with it and my tests didn't show any colour shifts.  I asked some professional cinematographers for advice and they said this was the cheapest one they'd recommend, so I suspect this is entry level.  The NiSi ones were also recommended, but they're significantly more expensive.
As always, do your own research, but if you're curious I might have my tests somewhere.  

Hehe, I got lucky paying 250 for mine with the 12-32 and a Lumix bag. These bags are highly fashionable in certain groups of clumsy professor photographers.:) The combo usually goes for 350 with the lens. I got my first one eight years ago and paid around 430 for the body. It's still going strong, even without the backwheel which quit on me a few years ago. My favorite lens with it for photo is the 14mm pancake. I also liked using my Oly 45. But it's silver and kinda shiny for street. Planning on getting the Panny 42.5 F1.7. I also got a G3, a cute and small but solid plastic fantastic Dslm style camera. It's the dslrish sister to the GX1. The latter also going for higher prices than a few years ago. GX85 is the best of them all imo for a variety of reasons. 4K video is still great for being 8bit and Rec709. But you know that of course. @John Matthews I just had to get my second one for that nice price and I am looking forward to do a photo tour with two cameras and lenses.

Out of curiosity, how much is that combo going for where you live? I'm always looking for it, but it often seems a bit pricy for me. In France, it can be found for about 350 euros.

I bought myself a second GX85. It will hopefully arrive this week. Comes with the 12-32, which I already own and enjoyed using for some test clips with the og pocket. I think I should let go my GM5, as it was more an object of desire than being a practical artists tool for me.
What do you guys think? Prices are pretty nice and high for these at the moment. Mine is orange and in a very good shape. Much usage would rub the faux leather off I think.
I love the subtle color grade @kye Great results with your GX85 cinema beast.:) Btw I really love the colors of the GX' raw files when taking photos . This camera is perfect for street and to carry along. Anyway, how is Prores on the GH7?:) Any nasty artefacts? Awesome to hear and read about your findings with this exciting camera, Kye!

I had that camera for about 1 month and then sent it back to Amazon because the GX80 came out at the same time. Still, I recorded some great moments on it. One of the videos is so precious that I have it on my desktop at all times.

Citing a few isolated incidents does not provide evidence of city-wide riots.
Beyond that, get your head out of your idiot ass and stop getting your news from bullshit alt-right news sources.

I think you misunderstand a few isolated incidents for riots. Anyone that lives in Los Angeles will tell you things are fine, yet someone from London posts on the internet about how crazy things are there and that people are rioting. Who is right, the people there on the ground or the people who wish to use a few isolated incidents to try and taint a legitimate protest and the people who buy the narrative without any critical thinking?

You should be able to change it with the touch screen.

In general, when shooting video you don't really want SS, fstop, and ISO changing.  Best if they stay where they're at.  The ideal way to control exposure, as others have said, is to work with ND filters.
I absolutely hate the look of fast shutter speed video.  In fact, if I'm shooting, say, 30p, I'll even slow the shutter to 30 as well.  It's just a look I like.  180 rule?  No thanks, not for me.
OTOH, if that high speed shutter judder doesn't bother you, then you can always allow that to be the variable that changes your exposure.  It's the default variable for phones shooting vid so it's kind of a 'thing' now anyway.

Something that's worth noting/remembering is that the 'Flkr Decrease' setting can be used to fix the shutter speed to 1/50, 1/60, 1/100 or 1/120 (180 degree shutter for 24/25, 30, 50 or 60 fps video) when you press the video record button in stills/photo mode (which forces the camera into 'P' mode, irrespective of what the stills/photo setting is). This workaround gives you shutter priority video with auto aperture and, if you want, auto-iso - it's 'photo' P mode with fixed shutter speed, basically.
I find this really useful for 'instant hybrid' shooting - press the shutter button to take stills (in whatever mode you have set) or press the video record button to shoot shutter-priority video - no need to move the mode dial.
From the manual: