Phil A

2 hours ago, IronFilm said:

As film shoots get cancelled, replace them with bookings for live shoots? As those may see an increase, for "virtual meetings" / "virtual product launches" / etc

The company I work for has closed offices to all non-employees here in Germany. We had plans to produce some marketing videos and internal communication but there's a clear rule that no external people can enter any offices, and that includes film crews, so all that has been canceled/delayed to, at minimum, May.

I see this happen at other companies too, so we're not excessively careful. I'd guess it will expand to other countries soon (in multi-national companies, these rules currently are often group wide, i.e. world wide). This is clearly a time I'm happy I'm not self-employed but a 9to5 office drone.

Guess it’s a question of patience. I received it today.

Still completely happy with the purchase and tbh it’s part of the reason I’m holding onto my GH5 even though I’m doing way more photography than videos lately.

I have heard that the Panasonic S1 is supposed to be pretty good with rangefinder lenses but the camera is pretty shunned by photographers (due to the auto focus) it seems to it's hard to find many sources. The high resolution EVF would definitively be pretty good for manual focus though.

But which Sony do you have? Apparently there are big differences in results.

I'm super interested in this topic too. I am lusting for the pretty compact Voigtländer lenses for their character (35 1.4, 40 1.4) but am really wondering which camera would be ideal. I'm shooting currently with a GH5 so the crop factor is a deal breaker and I'm not sure what full frame system to upgrade to.

I heard good stuff about the Nikon Z6 because apparently the sensor stack thickness is supposed to be thinner than on the Sonys. It would also be a reasonably ok-ish camera for video.

3 minutes ago, Django said:

When Fuji shifted production from Japan to China on XT3 there were quite a couple lemon units. That wasn't nearly the case with XT2. Quality Control just isn't the same.

Anyways, are you saying XT4 country of origin is random?

That can't just be said like this. You can have the same level of quality control in any country, it's a question of cost. "Made in China" shouldn't automatically be taken as worse quality than Made in Japan, Germany or the US. If you manufacture in comparable plants to the same specification and the same quality control process, you have the same outcome.

You don't even compare the same product (X-T2 vs X-T3), so you can't expect it to be identical regarding manufacturing issues anyway.

41 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

I hear this a lot, but I have no problems with it at all - what's the beef?

 

Granted, I only do minor adjustments, but I'm not running into anything that's all that challenging. 

Maybe I should try again, didn't since X-T1 / X100s times, but the performance was horrible (16 megapixel X-Trans files loading way slower than files from a 5D III or D750)  and the manipulations behaved very differently than with regular CMOS raw files.

Besides the editing of the raw files, I really liked the cameras for stills photography (video on X-T1 was absolutely unusable obviously).

I'm so curious for the X-T4. At this point the only downside is how much I hate editing X-Trans files in Adobe Lightroom.

I find it super annoying and I see this getting people into trouble in a lot of cultures/countries.
But, this is nothing new, Bruce Gilden does the same thing PLUS firing a friggin strobe into people's face.

I don't think Fuji should have pulled the ad though.

On 1/7/2020 at 11:13 AM, IronFilm said:

What excites me the MOST about the Nikon D780 announcement is that I'm looking forward to the price crash on eBay of all the D750 bodies ? Been wanting one of those for a long time. 

 

I wonder if that really comes? The D750 has a new price of 949€ currently with the discounts available (used ~750€) and the D780 comes with a MSRP of 2499€. I don't think there's a big margin for the used prices to go that much down, especially seeing how expensive the new model is in comparison.

6 minutes ago, Mokara said:

It is not about increasing sales, it is about the increase in sales being less than what it costs to implement. Why would they spend $2 to make $1 in an era of belt tightening? That is not how business works. In this market they will be looking to trim the fat, reducing expenditures that don't generate a net return. And something like 24p is the sort of thing that is likely to be the first to go in a product like this. It costs money and is a feature that hardly anyone who buys this camera is likely to use. So why spend money to include it?

Maybe this is why so many DPs are starving artists, lol.

Did I miss something? How does 24p cost extra money for the manufacturer of a camera that will anyway have a video function? Wasn't the whole argument around video always that it's easy to do with minimal effort based on the live view function, while the photography purists were yelling that video functions have to be removed because they make cameras "way too expensive"?

Should we remove raw pictures because the soccer moms shoot JPEG?

The best thing about this camera is that maybe it makes the used market for Mark III cameras more attractive ?

22 minutes ago, kye said:

So this leads me to the question - is Rokinon 85/1.4 the same as Samyang 85/1.4?

Yes, Samyang is also sold by resellers as Rokinon, Bower and Walimex.

2 hours ago, Geoff_L said:

Great ! Switzerland prices are even wilder ! Did you see my previous link ? Z6 + 24-70 the same price as the Fuji xt3 +18-55 ! Crazy...

But if you're ordering them into the EU, you'll pay VAT and the end price is more or less the same.

I'm having my eyes on how the TechArt adapter story develops, especially the stacking of the Z-to-E + E-to-M mount adapters. 

34 minutes ago, mercer said:

Thanks for the input on the 30mm 1.4!

As far as M lenses... why not just get an S1? I know they’re not as small as the A7 series or the Z6 but what Panny is doing with Leica and Sigma, especially after today’s Sigma announcement, seems to be a great system to buy into for the future.

Because I want a camera that’s ideally smaller/lighter than my GH5 for every day carry when I commute. The S1 is the one camera that’s actually even bigger and heavier (Plus it’s currently 1000 $ more expensive than a Z6 here) ?

Seeing how y'all are shooting a lot of manual focus lenses, how do the different camera systems with 135/FF sensor compare when it comes to their EVF for manual focusing M-mount lenses?

I'm considering Sony A7, A7R, A7 II, A7R II, Nikon Z6 or - very slim maybe - A7 III, looking for a camera that is as small+light (and ideally cheap, as it's not my main system) as possible to shoot M mount lenses, purely for photography (35/40/50/75mm lenses for portraits, etc., looking for feel&look, not technical perfection).

I read that the A7R has some aliasing in the EVF that coincidentally actually helps see when stuff is in focus (comparable to the over-sharpening focus help in the SmallHD field monitors).

EDIT: Unrelated, I can absolutely second the discussed Sigma 30mm DC HSM Art lens. With a focal reducer it's the perfect normal lens on m43 sensors and I love the rendering it gives. Pity there are so few APS-H cameras left besides the odd Sigma and some old EOS 1D.

21 minutes ago, DBounce said:

 

Also @Andrew Reid what does “Cinemagraph” mean in the second slide? I’d like to see a demonstration of that.

It's a video/gif where only a very small part of the image moves and the rest is perfectly static. It's popular for social media.

Here are some examples: http://cinemagraphs.com/

EDIT: Also, here's a link to the press release as PDF
https://www.sigma-foto.de/fileadmin/relaunch/Pressetexte/SIGMA_fp/SIGMA_PR_EN_fp_1907.pdf

13 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

Battery life has never been Sigma's strong point with their other cameras but the Foveon processing was a big drain so this should be different.

However, having to play the video at 0.25x on YouTube to get these (  ) but it does look like it can be USB powered which makes things a bit easier.

And talking of USB.......

Unless that 2TB drive is there for show then it appears it might well record directly out of it as well.

 

I read somewhere that powering via USB is not possible, you can only charge via USB when the FP is turned off. But it's obvious there will be dummy batteries available. I like that Sigma say they are communicating the information about the camera to 3rd parties to make accessories, etc.
Recording via USB3 was mentioned too and the video shows it. Would be not too impractical to directly photograph to a Samsung T5 if the camera allows setting specific target folders, that way you can skip SD card handling.

This has the potential to be the spiritual successor to the BMMCC if the price is right, might sell a lot more numbers than the Z-Cam E2.

9 minutes ago, Geoff_L said:

Is it just me or the video really emphasize on the video side (with the rig) ?

Yes, it was shown quite a bit and the fact that it doesn't have a mechanical shutter means it's probably not so great for some types of photography.

Now that I stopped hyperventilating, I'm curious what sensor it uses.
How fast will the read out be? How much rolling shutter? How good the auto focus?

Here some more sources for information:

https://***URL not allowed***/sigma-fp-full-frame-pocketsized-camera-dedicated-cine-mode/

https://www.newsshooter.com/2019/07/11/sigma-fp-a-pocketable-full-frame-cine-stills-hybrid/

I hope Sigma will release more information soon.

4 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

I wish it had an EVF add on option like the Leica T/TL though.

I thought the same. But you can always use a screen loupe like shown in their concept video.

I'm very intrigued. I want this. Now! Take.My.Money.

6 hours ago, Video Hummus said:

As Towd said, the autofocus improvements in the S1 are a combination of new algorithms, dedicated AF chip, and new lens motor designs in the L series lenses. They are working together to try to eliminate or at least dampen the pulsing effect (its seems to be way less noticeable in firmware v1.2) in Panasonics DfD.

I'm in the same boat. I prefer lighter and smaller kit with good features. I think they need to nail a few key areas for the GH6 to be a hit.

1. Improve upon the IBIS; 7.5 stops minimum with an OIS lens.

2. Improve high ISO performance.

3. More megapixels for stills photography.

4. 14 stops minimum for dynamic range

5. A L-mount to MFT adapter with a built in ND of some sort, electronic or otherwise to increase the synergy with their L-Mount.

 

Anyway, the S1 seems to becoming a compelling camera. Hope its not too late...

The adapter is not going to happen unless you can fit it into 0.75mm of space because that's the difference in flange distance for L to mFT mount. So it will probably still be more attractive to go with native lenses or a focal reducer and a DSLR lens. An EF focal reducer with electrical contacts (for AF, aperture, IS, EXIF, etc.) and integrated ND, now that would probably be a product that's equal to printing money if it could be optically done.

I have a iPad Pro 9.7" and had completely forgotten one fact: it only has USB 2. So the new OS is borderline useless because it's still a nightmare to get the files onto the iPad from a SD card.

Ugh! And the trade-in value if I give it back to Apple and buy a new one is a whopping 180 € max. So I guess we stay with using it for internet surfing, etc

5 hours ago, Thomas Hill said:

What country is this store in and do they have a website? That beats B&H by $400.

Digitec.ch in Switzerland but the sale is limited to 35 bundles. 

That adapter really makes me consider the Z6 even more, saw some great tests on YouTube.

A store close by has a sale for Z6 + 24-70 f4 lens + Nikon F adapter + 64 GB XQD card for 1949$ and that’s silly cheap. I‘d sell my GH5 + Oly 12–40 for it and seeing how I lately do 90% pictures and 10% videos, I guess that would be a good deal.

I only downloaded it yesterday night so I didn't really get to play yet but I'm already happy that the app icons got smaller and more of them fit into the dock. iOS on the iPad always seemed really clunky because it didn't make any use of the bigger screen.

I hope that now with the new iPad OS we also finally get some upgraded/overhauled iOS apps for stuff that was bad like Instagram, etc.

I love shooting film, it's just the whole part between shooting it and having the result that annoys me.

Personally, I would only advice someone to shoot film if he actually develops himself or is willing to go to a small, good (usually expensive) lab.

I have permanently changing assortments of analog cameras because I enjoy shooting film. I am/was shooting Canon EOS 3, Mamya 645 1000s, Rolleiflex 3.5f and Kodak Retina IIC. I like how film looks and I wish there was an easy way to have digital pictures look exactly as smooth and organic without tinkering 1h in Photoshop to get 90% there. But it has mainly to do with the lens and what film stock you use. 

When I shoot the EOS 3 (I have 2 of them so I can shoot different films in parallel, e.g. B/W+Color or ASA100 + ASA800) it has nothing to do with "slowing down, getting into the details" and what people like to use as a mantra for analog photography. It's just like shooting a EOS 5D but without chimping, especially when shooting e.g. Kodak Portra 400.
With the Rolleiflex/Mamiya everything is slow and deliberate but it's also sometimes annoying because when you didn't shoot with a waist level finder for a while your brain will forget that what you see is mirrored so composing the picture takes forever. In general I like both types of analog shooting.

What I hate, hate, hate about film photography comes now after shooting. I don't develop myself so where do you give the film?
If I give it to the drugstore for C41 development it's cheap but the quality is hit or miss. They've scratched multiple films before, one got completely lost and once I had fingerprints on the negatives. At our local drugstore it's mandatory to either get a CD with scans (oversharpened, oversatured, 1 Megapixel) or prints (so you take the cheapest and throw them away) but that may have changed. So that's what I typically do.
Alternatively I can give it to a specialist lab here for enthusiast hobbyists but they will charge enthusiast prices (10$ per roll 135/120 film for standard C41 development).

And what do you do then with the negatives? I digitalize by photographing them with a macro lens and a DSLR/mirrorless camera. As was mentioned before, a good scanner is super expensive and a lot of tinkering to get perfect results with. Ideally you get it done professionally, but the good lab mentioned before will charge between 5 and 15 $ for a single scanned frame in high resolution with basic scratch/dust removal, depending on the format (1-5$ low res). So buying + developing a roll 120 Tri-X for example shot through a 6x6 camera plus the cheaper scans will cost you for the 12 pictures a total of 85 $. That's not worth it to me to be honest because either I get good quality and it's expensive or I have to do everything myself which is just time I can't always spare in parallel to my career and other hobbies. So for me usually back to digital it is after shooting 1 or 2 rolls a year (chances are you'd anyway want to post-process the scanned negatives).

To echo some others, I would absolutely not sink Hasselblad/Leica kind of money into an analog camera before not evaluating for 6 to 12 months how much someone likes shooting analog with all that belongs to it. I feel like it gets romanticized way too much nowadays. A lot of people how grew up or lived shooting analog are more than happy to leave it in the past.

/rant over