Trek of Joy

Finally, after a couple of global financial crises, a pandemic, 10 seasons of Walking Dead and just 4-5 years before the first crewed mission to Mars we have a proper EOS camera with nice ergonomics that doesn’t cost a fortune. Actually it does if you buy a couple of RF lens but their new EF adapter coupled with a used 24-70 2.8 solves this as well. Netflix Certified? Why not?

Also I feel the majority of people are effectively 'married' to whichever brand they choose. They simply dont have the money, time or inclination to switch to another brand. I am a Sony user with a bunch of Sony compatible lenses, flashes and other equipment so really I only get to choose between Sony cameras. No big deal of course although it has been a little frustrating to see Sony fall behind in the video specs - particularly the move to 10 bit. Still they seemed to have made really good choices (for me) with the A7siii and I cant wait to get my hands on the camera....

congrats, same here.  I feel like I've "done the time" with past Sony 8bit color and long gop codecs.  REALLY looking forward to some colors I can push around a little and finally an Intra based codec (even if the "S" variation, I'll take it) as well as seeing 16bit RAW from a Sony.  I really won't need 16bit RAW for the gigs that pay the bills, but for my passion projects (solo wilderness adventures and a couple of Doc's I've written the scripts for), could most definitely take advantage of it. 
We'll see though. 
It is a very great time for photographers and filmmakers, as far as tools available.  Maybe now, people will focus more on "time behind the lens" and improving their skills versus GAS.  I for one really appreciated Sony's A9 and AF/Exposure speed when shooting sports.  In that example, I went from spending a good portion of my brain on exposure settings and nailing focus.  Versus with the A9 and 100-400GM, being able to concentrate most of my attention to tracking and composition.  So these tools can be a good thing, but many times people are putting too much emphasis on the gear over art and creativity.  But even my wife will tell you that I get GAS from time to time, lol

There are really no bad options among all the 10-bit FF hybrids, they all have warts, but they all are capable of producing an amazing image. Sometimes we get hung up on bickering over aspects that are dealbreakers for me but not an issue for you. I don’t have the time while I work or the eyesight for manual focus, so for me I need good AF and a few key primes. And I have no interest in a c300 size camera. Obviously others don’t have the same problem. But right now only Sony, Canon and Nikon cover the bases and despite a brief flirtation with the RF mount I’m sticking with Sony. My a7s3 is on the way, it’ll be my first camera that shoots decent 120fps and 10-bit after years of Sony’s 8-bit codec. Good times. 
cheers
chris

There are really no bad options among all the 10-bit FF hybrids, they all have warts, but they all are capable of producing an amazing image. Sometimes we get hung up on bickering over aspects that are dealbreakers for me but not an issue for you. I don’t have the time while I work or the eyesight for manual focus, so for me I need good AF and a few key primes. And I have no interest in a c300 size camera. Obviously others don’t have the same problem. But right now only Sony, Canon and Nikon cover the bases and despite a brief flirtation with the RF mount I’m sticking with Sony. My a7s3 is on the way, it’ll be my first camera that shoots decent 120fps and 10-bit after years of Sony’s 8-bit codec. Good times. 
cheers
chris

Got my email from B&H this morning and saw FedEx pick it up before lunch, I will have my A7S Mark III Friday 🙂   (of course, Friday is already taken with kids stuff, as is a good bit of this weekend, but I should be able to do something Friday and Sat just by cutting out sleep, ha; that camera can shoot in the dark anyway right, lol)...
Also, have version 10.54 firmware locked and loaded on my Ninja V.  ready to go.  I'm most interested to see the 16bit RAW linear to 12bit ProRes RAW results compared to the best internal codec.  I'm REALLY hoping that magenta cast is gone in the RAW.  I am terrible at removing magenta without affecting skin tones, so I usually can't touch it much.  Also curious to see if the SSD's I've got will handle the sustained write speed.  From my calculations it will, but we shall see.
Can't wait to see how that reduced rolling shutter looks on my motion controllers (I have Edelkrone's JibONE, SliderONE, Dual HeadONE, and SliderPLUS v5 Long).  

Rolling shutter of the A7Siii is impressively low. Image on the S5 is free of artefacts and digital oddities. I would say it is the better image. As far as lens choices go, some people do shoot with manual lenses. A7Siii would have been tempting if with the image quality of a S5, which by the way has a rolling shutter of 10ms in S35 mode. The long gop codec, if the same as in the S1, is much slimmer than it is on the A7Siii and is performing impressively well. AF is much better on the A7Siii, of course. A7siii with 4k up to 120p full frame plus astonishing AF is indeed something people will take advantage of and will enjoy. I think it's super cool, that we have this crazy camera tech and that we are relaxed about it and wish eachother enjoyment with their cams. Very well said @Trek of Joy!
 

Hey use whatever works for you, if its the S5 that's great. The lenses and AF don't work for me, everyone's needs are different. Enjoy your camera.
Cheers
Chris

@Dave Maze agree with your conclusion, now that higher quality 10-bit is the norm there are lots of great options in the budget/hybrid space. B&H started shipping according to some posts on FB. Looks like we'll start seeing more unboxing videos tomorrow.
Cheers
Chris

A good look at the a7s3 with some ISO tests using various PP's. I'm personally still a fan of the Cine profiles since ETTR is my preferred way of working instead of playing the over exposure game. But looking forward to working with Slog3 too.
Cheers
Chris
 

go ahead... tell me how stupid i look in this thumbnail. 
 

A good look at the a7s3 with some ISO tests using various PP's. I'm personally still a fan of the Cine profiles since ETTR is my preferred way of working instead of playing the over exposure game. But looking forward to working with Slog3 too.
Cheers
Chris
 

Tinkering with the raw files, no LUT, just basic exposure adjustments and balancing the RGB parade on the first, the second has a little more saturation. I'm a novice with grading and working on my skills. I've been told by others here I can't see good color because I like what's coming out of the a7s3, so if its shit, it is what it is, but I'm still buying the camera. Plenty of detail on the guy's face despite not being oversampled like the a73. Looking forward to my copy shipping.
Cheers.
Chris
EDIT: colors pop more in my FCPx window than looking at this page on chrome. 

Tinkering with the raw files, no LUT, just basic exposure adjustments and balancing the RGB parade on the first, the second has a little more saturation. I'm a novice with grading and working on my skills. I've been told by others here I can't see good color because I like what's coming out of the a7s3, so if its shit, it is what it is, but I'm still buying the camera. Plenty of detail on the guy's face despite not being oversampled like the a73. Looking forward to my copy shipping.
Cheers.
Chris
EDIT: colors pop more in my FCPx window than looking at this page on chrome. 

Tinkering with the raw files, no LUT, just basic exposure adjustments and balancing the RGB parade on the first, the second has a little more saturation. I'm a novice with grading and working on my skills. I've been told by others here I can't see good color because I like what's coming out of the a7s3, so if its shit, it is what it is, but I'm still buying the camera. Plenty of detail on the guy's face despite not being oversampled like the a73. Looking forward to my copy shipping.
Cheers.
Chris
EDIT: colors pop more in my FCPx window than looking at this page on chrome. 

The a7c line has no impact on the future of the a6000 series. Its just another gateway to get people invested into the E-mount and buying FE lenses. There's nothing low cost or entry level about FF with the cheapest current body at $1798, and there isn't much by the way of small/cheap lenses which is where the low margin/high volume a6000 market sits. The marginal improvements made to the APS-c line in the last few years likely make it very profitable since they're the volume sellers. Many casual shooters have no interest in anything beyond the cheap 2-zoom-lens kits, and they're not going to spend $3000 for a FF equivalent when that a6000 kit is like $600.
The a7c simply a parts bin camera - much like the a7III was/is - and they're testing the market for a small body in response to competitors like the RP and Z5. If its a success - and despite its shortcomings its going to sell well IMO - we'll probably see other variants pretty soon. Quite frankly its no different than Panasonic's S5 - which uses the same sensor as their others non-R bodies in a cheaper body. They're trying to recoup investment in the hardware/software development by amortizing the costs over multiple variants to hit sales volume needed to keep imaging afloat. That's also the business model entire Fuji X and Olympus (RIP) m43 line BTW.
While this one doesn't interest me, drop the 42mp a7r3 leftovers into this with the new AF, processor, menus, touchscreen and such and they'd have me.
Cheers
Chris

The a7c line has no impact on the future of the a6000 series. Its just another gateway to get people invested into the E-mount and buying FE lenses. There's nothing low cost or entry level about FF with the cheapest current body at $1798, and there isn't much by the way of small/cheap lenses which is where the low margin/high volume a6000 market sits. The marginal improvements made to the APS-c line in the last few years likely make it very profitable since they're the volume sellers. Many casual shooters have no interest in anything beyond the cheap 2-zoom-lens kits, and they're not going to spend $3000 for a FF equivalent when that a6000 kit is like $600.
The a7c simply a parts bin camera - much like the a7III was/is - and they're testing the market for a small body in response to competitors like the RP and Z5. If its a success - and despite its shortcomings its going to sell well IMO - we'll probably see other variants pretty soon. Quite frankly its no different than Panasonic's S5 - which uses the same sensor as their others non-R bodies in a cheaper body. They're trying to recoup investment in the hardware/software development by amortizing the costs over multiple variants to hit sales volume needed to keep imaging afloat. That's also the business model entire Fuji X and Olympus (RIP) m43 line BTW.
While this one doesn't interest me, drop the 42mp a7r3 leftovers into this with the new AF, processor, menus, touchscreen and such and they'd have me.
Cheers
Chris

My bet is "video" will be trying to make inroads on volume/growth opportunities like surveillance cameras and the automotive world. Supposedly the auto industry was on track for about 150 million cameras for automotive use this year before COVID, which is double the volume from just a couple years ago.
I doubt they're buying Olympus to make a significant investment in an entirely new product segment for a small slice of a rapidly declining market, while also pledging to make a profit. They're going to leave high end video cameras to the likes of Canon, Sony and Panasonic. Just like Nikon and Fuji. 
Just my opinion.
Chris

@kye yes, for sure! I totally appreciate that asking for 'just' solid AF in low-light is a huge ask, in reality.
Maybe the best, most cost-effective option is to stick with the Coolpix A and introduce sedatives into my kid's diet! 😅
I'll see if I can find anywhere with a good returns policy to try them out. The X100F is totally the one I love in terms of stills IQ, how I expect it to handle, and the look of the thing. Been trying to convince myself it's the one, but looking at the dimensions, it's likely juuuuust too big for what I'd really like.
Damn, when will manufacturer's wake up to my needs and make a credit card sized full-frame fixed lens f1.8 camera with lightning fast AF?!? 😤

@Trek of Joy @kye - thanks guys. You both make good points about whether or not the smaller, pocketable gear is 'good enough'.
 
It was actually @Mattias Burling's videos on youtube that turned me on to the idea of tiny cameras. One of his vids compelled me to pick up a Nikon Coolpix A. The size is great, really small, despite it having an APS-C sensor. I'd be happy with it, but the autofocus and video are really bad. (The high ISO isn't the best either, but given the cost and age of the thing, that's nit-picking) After coming back from a family holiday, the pictures selected to share were determined by the (relatively few) ones in focus.
 
Regarding focal length, really anything around the 28-35mm range if a prime / fixed lens camera is the way to go.
 
'Thankfully' it's pretty cold were I live 😉 - so I'll be wearing a jacket with decent-sized pockets for the next few months!

I've gone back and forth on a RX100 or a X100 for something more compact and I always wind up just carrying my a7's with a single lens - usually a 24mm or 35mm, but sometimes a small zoom. I had one of the x100's and the a7III with a small prime was much better so I got rid of it. If you have the XT3, maybe something like the tiny xa7 with a pancake? Though I don't carry anything including my phone in my pocket since its too warm where I live to wear a jacket most of the year, and I don't find "pocketable" cameras comfortable to carry in pants/shorts pockets. So I always have at least a small sling or shoulder bag or I just walk around with the camera around my neck. I've tinkered with the RX100's dozens of times over the years in Best Buy but can't seem to actually get one because of the IQ compromises and the fact for me - they won't live in a pocket. But that's just me.
Chris

Very much my thoughts too.
The low key point and shoot design holds a lot of attraction to me. 
BUT just because it looks like a point and shoot doesnt mean I want it to have the controls of a point and shoot. The lack of front dial is a deal breaker for me...
Also an 'R' sensor would be great so you can zoom with a small fast prime.
All in all though, I like the concept and can see buying one (for me or the GF) in the future...

100%. No way a 12mgpxl sensor can cover my photographic needs, and I was shooting film (and S8) for years and years before even the Mavica (so I am not "digitally" spoiled).
I have decided that 24mgpxls are ok, and I am trying to decide if the R6 is enough..42mp are too much for my needs though, I am not specializing that much.
Maybe A7iv will be the answear to our prayers, 7Siii brings so many vital improvements to the A ecosystem, but still is not a true 50 - 50 hybrid, is a video orientated one that can take pictures, if 12 is your magic number, then some of you are going to be very happy very soon. I am not!

The way I do tests is to throw it in the deep end on a paid shoot straight away. Also have the Ninja V to pair it with. 

Jealous. A few in Europe are reporting the same thing. Looking forward to it being in the hands of real owners. Please update with any tests.
Chris