Django

Who said anything about investing 5-8000€ ? EOS R is 2300€ and all I had with me most of the time was the 500€ RF 35mm F2 IS Macro (super versatile lens). I used my summer vacation as an example but EOS R is way more than just a travel camera. I've used it on several personal & professional projects this past year. Also I haven't "gone Sony". I've been on multiple systems before, one doesn't cancel the other. I use whatever is the best tool for the project/situation. Sometimes it's Canon, sometimes its Sony.. Or Fuji.. Leica.. RED etc. People online are way too bent on this monotheist brand agnostic sentiment imo..

I recently purchased an FS7 for work related purposes, and while I'm delighted by the specs & robustness of the high bitrate codec.. SOOC my EOS R smokes it in colour department. EOS R was also the only vacation cam I had this summer across southern Italy & Sicily. Shot mostly standard, one-handed with DPAF. Footage is just marvellous, hardly any correction needed and not a single out of focus shot including tricky high altitude bits above Etna volcano. Couldn't think of a better camera to travel with. So yeah sometimes specs aren't everything.. Now about lack of 24p, it is quite odd since Canon cameras that lack it do offer 25p in PAL modes so it seems they "cripple" NTSC region only (US/Japan)?

newsflash.. camera companies segment their products! while canon may be more obvious at doing so, all others do it as well. fuji only does IBIS on XH series, panasonic released S1 with crippled audio, Sony keeps low bitrate codecs on alpha series to protect XDCAM line. etc while removing 24p as a R&D cost saving feature is simply a ludicrous theory, some other limitations may well be hardware barriers.

Well it's an APS-C camera so there will be a 1.5x crop regardless of resolution.. just sayin'

Push Focus on EOS R with the 50mm F1.2 wide open is blazing fast (like maybe 0.4ms). AF continuous takes about a second to transition a focus pull from +2m to near distance (with the AF settings I have). It's even faster on my 6yo C100 mk1 DAF.

"Affordable" for RED means +$5K... BMD is imo the only ones truly bringing affordable RAW cameras to the market. Mattias brings up a good point though, if RED code is indeed lighter on your NLE.. you might be saving big bucks on a computer system upgrade.

SR2 only so take it with a grain of salt but this would really make sense for Sony to do as well as pave the way for A7S3: https://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr2-sony-e-mount-camcorder-rumor-fx9-with-6k-full-frame-sensor-and-dual-base-iso/ If true.. 2019 would really be the year of 6K cameras!

I have no idea about "mount licensing fees".. always assumed camera companies would encourage whoever to use their mount as that means more lens sales but who knows.. my guess is BM went EF as it's the most popular/well-known mount.

One thing RED did right to outsmart BM is use RF mount: future-proof, allows numerous adapters including canons Vari-ND adatper..etc All new Canon mount cams should go RF imo.

I just bought an FS7 and as I mentioned in the thread I started about it, the skin tones SOOC are vastly inferior to what I effortlessly get out of my Canons. Thankfully though the beefy 600mbps 10-bit 422 XAVC-I codec makes up for it and grading has never been easier. Slight temperature/tint adjustment. Throw down the Venice LUT and I'm in the zone. Still that's an extra node or two (times as many clips as you have). The FS5 mk II sole and unique "upgrade" (more like a fix) was the Venice CS. That kinda says a lot about Sony CS! To be fair though, a lot has been improved since A7S2. We're still nowhere near CaNikon/Fuji CS but things are more neutral now. Canon does have some kind of magic sauce when it comes to skin tones & red signal. It just really pops. Seem to remember it has to do with how the RGB is processed.. The original 5D for stills and 1DC / C100 / 5D3ML for video are still my favourite Canons when it comes to CS. Leica CS (pre-M10) is yet in another league imho.

..what do you think about THAT?? LOL

kinda underwhelming on the video end. specs are identical to last years entry-level A73 aside from Eye-AF.. then again yeah, R model is landscape / studio stills oriented camera line.

Not surprised. It's too late for a Mark III type body. Sony needs something fresh after all the competition FF releases, Mark IV Alpha design makes sense. Next A7S might be A7SR or some moniker like that..

official announcement in under an hour.. https://alphauniverse.com/live/

A7R IV incoming..

I record music with mainly 70's equipment.. analog gear has this timeless appeal vs digital. That said I'm also an advocate of "old" devalued high-end digital tech such as the Leica M9 I also purchased this year. 2009 Kodak CCD sensor. Shit on sensor charts. Mad mojo IRL. My C100 mk1 also long in the tooth, with a low bitrate 8-bit codec.. but also has this je ne sais quoi IQ appeal. Canon 5D mk1, my favorite out of the whole series..etc FS7 is just the latest in my gear purchasing pattern cycle. So yeah, I'm not worried one bit.. like I said I'm actually pretty thrilled ?

Product segmentation is unavoidable. Sony really isn't that bad. Unlocked FS5 with a recorder can do up to 240fps RAW 4K which is pretty wild. A7III is what imo sent A7S3 back to the drawing boards. Codec wise yeah I wouldn't dream. XDCam managers won't let an A7 line get 10-bit XAVC-I. A7S3 will have a crazy sensor that'll choke everyone, 6K/8K support and a killer new body design with a flip out screen. That is my prediction. Getting back to the FS7, thanks to those for suggesting that Venice LUT. It's an excellent starting point for SLog3:

coming from Canon Log, S-Log3 is a lot flatter and hence trickier to expose correctly (especially since you need to ETTR) and demands heavier grading. basically a lot more work getting the skin tones I effortlessly get on my Canons. On the other hand, you can push/tweak things further as the image is less baked-in. so it's kind of a toss up depending on your skills/workflow. again the XAVC-I files are a joy to grade if heavy colouring is your thing. I'm sort of a newbie to S-Log3 so still a learning curve to adjust and I'm getting a new Atomos which should greatly enhance exposure aid etc..

After much deliberation over my next big camera purchase, I finally ended up going for a used Sony FS7 mark 1. This may come as shock to some as I'm known here as being more of a Canon advocate and was torn until recently in between a C200 & C300 II. That said most of my paid work comes from a production company that uses mainly Sony gear so it kinda made sense to go this route. Also it was simply a deal I couldn't neglect: under 500 hours with a zacuto loupe and tilta v-mount support for under 4000 euros. I think the camera is still very relevant today with beefy internal XAVC-I 10-bit 4:2:2 codecs up to 4K60p, 180fps and a slew of advanced settings including LUT import and the elusive Cine EI mode. Add the XDCA module and you get internal ProRes & Raw external. It's also Netflix approved for those interested in that sort of thing. So far 10-bit 4:2:2 S-Log3 has been a joy to grade. I keep pushing and colouring and it just doesn't break! Where 8-bit XAVC-S files usually start to look cartoonish, the IQ here is solid AF. SOOC the skin tones don't hold a candle to Canon so I'll be mainly shooting in S-Log. Overall I'm pretty thrilled with the purchase, I've been staying clear from Sony for the longest time but this bad boy is on a whole different level I feel.

Heh if u can't beat em, join em!

I've been sticking with Canon mainly for two reasons: 35mm F1.4L & 50mm F1.2L. I love the 5D series, mark 1 being my favorite mojo wise for stills & 5D2/5D3 for ML Raw. 1DC/1DX2 are also DSLR beasts. The EOS R is still my favorite mirrorless, despite all its limitations. It's a baby C200. That said, for my next "big cam" I will be skipping C200 and probably going for an FS7. Just so much more bang for the buck.

@IronFilm Nice setup. Not much info online on the XDCA back. Curious about how the Raw signal gets spit out. Is that an SDI port on the bottom? Cool fact is the XDCA also unlocks internal ProRes recording on the FS7 (albeit FHD only I think?).

*yawn*

Well like I said, to me it is the closest -shooting wise- by the way I still own and shoot film on a FM2, Yashica T5 P&S but I don't develop/scan. I went on a 5-day family trip to Italy with only one 16gb card, no laptop/SD reader. Had to manage the pics carefully with no real idea if I nailed exposure/composition until after the trip (again the LCD is a joke, worthless in daylight). Leica even has digital M models with the back LCD completely removed and a film advance level. Of course it isn't real analog but in contrast to the latest gen mirrorless cams, the Leica M's are a total throwback..

I bought a Leica M9 two weeks ago. It's digital but the closest to shooting film imo. All manual control, no EVF, the LCD is worthless so you don't really know what you shot until you get home, slow buffer, low storage (16GB cards max). No AF obviously, and parallax range finder focus system. All this REALLY slows you down, in a good way of course. The best is the resulting IQ from the Kodak CCD sensor. Super filmic analog look. I am tinkering with the thought of getting an M6/M7 which are film cameras but for now the M9 is best of both worlds.