Dave Maze

On 5/27/2024 at 11:52 AM, Andrew Reid said:

I remember our time at Photokina, Dave, some of the trips are really fun, really productive. And we've both been invited by various camera companies at times to a launch or two. It's all part of the industry, but where it goes wrong is when they start barring outspoken voices and strong personalities, because to be honest free speech is what it should be all about, not marketing.

The best marketing is always truthful.

If they are going to start telling Gerald what his YouTube titles should be, that crosses a line for me.

I like to poke fun at it, but on the other hand sometimes have to throw my hands up and say I am unhappy with some of our colleagues and the hypocrisy.

If Gerald was truly transparent about why deep down he truly no longer likes Panasonic, it would not have much to do with cameras let me tell you that.

The brand in his eyes is tarnished now, and that is partly the fault of Panasonic Canada or whatever PR company handled him.

But I don't buy the video he put out. It's weird. It isn't fully honest.

In my opinion Panasonic will now be all over it trying to patch things up and bringing him back into the inner circle which is exactly what he wants!

There can't be a situation where the press and journalists are turned into a bunch of crybabies who change their opinions on a whim depending on how their VIP status is going.

I have been let down and insulted by camera companies before, most notably Blackmagic and have had the odd incidence of throwing my own toys out the pram! In some ways a normal reaction because you want the access and your survival depends quite a bit on the attention of the big players in the market.

So at end of the day I don't blame Gerald as much as I blame the world of corporate marketing.

It is the marketing people who are playing an unethical game, slicing and dicing, horse trading and using people like pawns in a broader war.

My experience with Panasonic USA hasn't been the same as his experience. I have been told explicitly that they want our honest feedback and opinions and they have never had any say or sway in the content. The only "fear" certain creators have is not getting invited to the next event, which is all in their mind. If you make a positive or negative video... just simply honest, I don't think that will ruin your chance at "going to the next event". 

IDK. I'm moving on from this. Taking a step away from the industry in general. Already have almost both my feet out the door. 

11 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

 

Curtis posted this and I think it's a much more measured view on what is at play when it comes to the current YouTube landscape and reviews. He spent the last 10 weeks making videos on only things he paid for himself and this is his thoughts on it. It was done based on his own thoughts and curiosity, not out of bitterness because he wasn't invited on a trip.

As far as YouTubers go I feel Curtis is one of the more transparent ones and is overall very thoughtful. 

 

Yeah I love this. Nailed it

1 hour ago, SRV1981 said:

 

Hopefully we remained as true as can be here. We tried to share our honest thoughts. Neither one of us would buy this camera with our own money at the moment either. It's too expensive for a fun camera for us. But for some people it may be worth it

1 hour ago, SRV1981 said:

For sure! But don’t you think people will be skeptical of the positive reviews? So many popular YT personalities give mostly positive reviews for every camera they’re given by a manufacturer. Free camera, free trips, people are going to be skeptical 

Of course! I'm stoked this conversation is happening. We need to all be aware of how it all works and the creators should always be upfront and honest about their involvement with whatever company they are talking about. Which is why I have been patient on making my personal video and we just posted a podcast sharing our thoughts. I don't think YouTubers should race to get a video out and not be thoughtful about their content. A first look video is fine and I certainly played that game for years, but now I feel finding an interesting angle or an interesting idea about a camera or piece of tech is way more creative and ultimately more authentic. 

But if a creator can truly be honest about the trips, free loaner gear etc... and is still able to be objective somehow... is that good? Is there a way you can watch a video about a camera that was given to someone as a loaner and take away any value at all? If not, then some creators should consider taking one for the team and denying the free trips and free loaners. A hard ask when the day to day life of a YouTuber is extremely grinding, late nights, ups and downs financially, and then a company says "hey you wanna go on a trip with all your friends for free?"

Just now, SRV1981 said:

Why do YT reviewers say that they’re the pipeline between camera companies and us users? Why can’t they just borrow a unit from a local shop to make a review and garner views that way? 
 

it seems to me that they’re just finding a niche to make a living by making ads for companies. Nothing wrong with that but the veneer that you guys do this for anything but compensation is the issue. 
 

“I wasn’t paid for this review” but was flown out and had a trip paid for? Didn’t Gerald say you guys use this as a chance to make videos for sponsors to get paid? 
 

nothing wrong with making a living but in a field where comments drive views and revenue it would seem being honest and not doing gymnastics to skirt the reality would help? 

great questions!

let me ask you this hypothetical, if you got an email that said "we'd like to fly you out to Japan all expenses paid and let you play with a new unreleased camera with a bunch of your friends for a week" would you accept? i even told LUMIX i am not in the niche like i used to be when i did Kinotika and Indy Mogul and they still wanted me there!

As for making money off views, I actually made a video that got more views than most the other people who were at the S5 II release last year. I made $100. I didn't make the video to even make money. I made it for fun. Because I thought it was an interesting story to tell about Panasonic finally adding phase detect to their cameras. 

9 minutes ago, fuzzynormal said:

What's better for you in general?  Playing with gear or actually making motion picture stories with gear?

Personally, I don't fault either.  I'm more the former if I'm being honest.  If you're tech head and like get excited about that, go for it.  If you're a true creative and that's your priority, that's fine too.

I have my biases about online freelance marketers, but a few of them seem to have eventually evolved into trying to be real filmmakers and left the influencer game behind.  Curious about your perspective.

i love being a youtuber. which is why i left Indy Mogul. i have no desire to make movies. i love YouTube and have a passion for cameras and tech

I went to Japan and have the loaner S9 from Panasonic. I told them I am not in the camera review space like I used to be, and they still were kind enough to invite me. I plan on making a few videos with it, but haven't posted anything since the embargo because I am so unsure what to say. It seems everyone has already made a "First Look" video and many others have tried to apologize for accepting the free trip and camera. I don't feel bad for accepting the trip as I'm sure anyone else here would do also. I think all the conversation around this is generally healthy for our industry and why I personally took a step back from it all over the last two years after quitting Indy Mogul. 

Feel free to ask me anything you want. I promise to be honest. 

2 hours ago, FHDcrew said:

I like it!  Love the opening sequence, well done on the lighting. Good, balanced review. Keep it up!

Thanks man!

1 hour ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

Seconding the praise for the opening sequence!

Appreciate it!

I must say... I do really love this camera. Disclaimer being Panasonic is loaning me the camera and lenses and paid for an entire Tokyo trip. 

I'm trying to be as objective as possible, but the AF performance has been surprisingly good. I love the IBIS and the color science is great. It doesn't feel as premium as my OM-1 or even an R5... but this isn't in that price bracket. The fact that this camera is this good, all while being under $2k is actually a big deal. 

Makes me excited for an S2H... or other flagships. I still love micro 4/3 and think the 10-25 panny/leica is one of the best lenses ever. I can't wait for a GH version of this camera with phase detect!

10 hours ago, Thpriest said:

Hi Dave, if you have Sigma lenses more AF tests with them. How good if AF locking onto one person in a group or scene with various people. How good is magnify to check focus while filming? (only Jordan from DP review has mentioned that I think). Let us know what firmware you are on! I think Panasonic should have made every reviewer stat exactly which firmware they are on as there seems to be some confusion there.

Ok great question. I'll check on that. I'm on the current firmware!

Hey guys! Still finishing up my full review. Do you guys have any questions about it? 

Interesting... Ya i have sold every hybrid camera recently and am rocking just the OM-1 for photos and C70 for video. Pretty happy with the setup... but it hurts my brain sometimes having two completely different setups. I just don't like any of the canon hybrid cameras right now and the lenses are freakin huge. 

Been pretty pleased overall with the image quality coming off of the OM1 taking pictures of my kids and stuff. Autofocus finally works a treat. Color science is good too... it's the low light that kills me though. Even when shooting with decent light and good exposures, you can't really go past ISO 400 or you're going to get noise. 

The new sensor on the OM-1 is nice though. Pleased with the dynamic range and the new EVF alone is worth the upgrade. 

Been having some really weird flickering in the EVF though with certain lighting. Never seen that much flicker before with any other camera. Just depends on the lighting but it's annoying for sure. 

I owned the R7 for about two months and used it with my C70. Was a nice b roll camera but on a gimbal in the 7k to 4k downres the rolling shutter was too much for me. Looked like jello everywhere. Also, the footage didn't have that wow factor I've gotten used to with the C70. It was a joy to use, but not worth keeping in my opinion. Honestly, I am hoping for a proper C200 upgrade with the DGO sensor in it... prefer that more traditional Canon cine body and miss not having an EVF. May just shoot all my YouTube videos on C70's from now on though. They do look truly great when exposed properly in Clog 2

@Andrew Reid did you return your OM-1? Just keeping the EM1X?

Still love the old 1DC

APS-C is still alive? Hopeful for some "pro" RF-S lenses in the future to pair with the C70. For now.. we a 7k oversampled 4k image on the R7 with uncrossed 4k at 60fps. Clog3 and no time limit. Wonder if the IBIS is less "wobbly" with the smaller sensor... 

Based on what I'm seeing with GH6, it seems OM-1 will still have better autofocus for video. All of this complaining would be over if Panasonic just ate dirt and put phase detect on their cameras. So annoying they won't be humble and just admit that DFD is not good enough for video hybrid shooters. That being said, I still love my Olympus bodies and there is something about it that I can't escape. I love the feel of the camera, I enjoy their color science, and the micro 4/3 lens ecosystem is just a wonderful thing. It's not necessarily smaller than full-frame now with the compact lenses for E-mount...but the overall balance of the whole package on micro 4/3 is something I truly enjoy. Planning on selling my EM1 mkii and mkiii and buying the OM-1 when it goes on sale in 6 months. 

I'd go with the new ZV-E10! Compact size. Fair price. Amazing autofocus and a clean image. 

On 7/4/2021 at 1:54 PM, Mark Romero 2 said:

You, good sir, are solely responsible for me picking up a used E-M1 MK II about two weeks ago (despite the fact that I already have an S1, and S5, a Sony a6500, a6000, a5100 and a deceased a6300).

As for an upgrade, I just wish there was more flexibility in their video options in terms of having their wonderful C4K at 23.976fps (my understanding is it is at true 24fps, and not at 23.976fps), and C4K at 29.97fps. Not sure why the C4K is so much better than the UHD 4K either. 

 

That's awesome man! They are great cameras but they aren't for everyone. You have to work with its limitations for sure. I really love using it for casual shooting and pictures of the kids... but when I was at Indy Mogul, we used it as the A cam for many of the shoots I was a part of!

couldn't agree more about the EM1X. I still use my EM1 mkii and mkiii every week. Don't see myself switching to anything anytime soon either. I really hope Olympus will have something great again soon to upgrade this. 

I freaking love that lens and it's a gorgeous pair with the EM1 as well! Used it as my primary lens for a while on the Olympus bodies. Just a bit big for everyday carry (which is all i need these days). Been using my 15mm f1.7 pancake on the EM1 mkiii for all my photography of the kids these days. 

Your article made me miss shooting on my 1DC! LOL. I do have the C70 now and find it to be pretty solid. Need to dust off my 1DC and send it in to canon to fix it. Battery fried something in it a while ago. 

Bringing life back to this thread. I use my mkiii daily. It’s my primary camera. Love it for hybrid shooting with those f1.2 primes. Still haven’t tried the new prores raw feature. Really incredible they added that. 
 

im just a bit scared for the future of the company. I really hope to see a new camera with updated specs like better EVF and newer sensor this year. We’ll see if the new owners handle it well. 

Anyone have experience with the metabones speed booster for c70? Work good enough?