BTM_Pix

Yeah, adding an UltraSync Blue will resolve my woes if Zoom don't update their firmware but I wouldn't rule out Atomos breaking compatibility with that either. Curious how it works with the Tascam X6/X8 though as I'd put good money on their overpriced BT adapter being one and the same product as Zoom's overpriced BT adapter. Anyhow, I'm off to test what else doesn't work on the Connect now 🙂

It is the original AtomX Sync module that has been discontinued rather than the Connect. Ironically, of course, the AtomX Sync works perfectly fine with the Zoom products 🙂 The Connect does have a lot more utility over and above the timecode stuff though so its not a dead loss and I'm hopeful that Zoom will do the required firmware update. But absent of any definite commitment from them, I'm likely seeing an UltraSync Blue having to enter the equation.

Its more Raw Patrol than Paw Patrol here.

Right, so I've unpacked it, connected it and had a go at syncing a Zoom F2-BT and a Zoom H3-VR to it. Absolutely nothing happening with either of them. Updated the firmware on my Ninja V which in turn updated the firmware on the Connect. Updated the firmware on both Zoom devices then verified that BLE works correctly on both of them with their respective Zoom Bluetooth control apps. Still nothing. Then came across this comment on Atomos's YouTube channel under a promo for the Connect. That was from 10 months ago so you'd imagine that if there was an issue that Atomos would have addressed it by now, particularly as the new firmware update that I put on the Ninja V for it was from only a week ago... I then found this absolute bombshell on Atomos FAQ section, also, you will note, from a week ago. Unbelievable. They had been pimping the fuck out of the Connect with AtomX Switcher module bundle for the whole of May and have casually forgotten to point out until last week (the deal ended at the end of May) that it doesn't work with any Zoom recorders despite it being known from that YouTube comment for ten months. That will only be the recorders that the vast majority of people (myself included) have bought this thing to work with then. This incompatibility thing is a bit fishy as well considering that the Zoom products do work with Atomos' own UltraSync Blue and AtomX Sync modules which of course themselves also work with the Connect. What the fuck is up with that company ? As I said in a previous post, there is always something with them isn't there? In this case, it looks like you have to buy an UltraSync Blue to act as a bridge if you want to use Zoom products or wait for some vague possible maybe firmware update from Zoom.

Because of ProRes RAW support, Atomos have development relationships with all of the popular camera brands (minus BM of course 🙂 ) and most of these new generation cameras have BLE so you'd think it would be something they would be pushing, particularly as there is no conflict with the manufacturers having their own solution. You could argue maybe that they aren't interested in facilitating timecode solutions to 3rd party recorders as a way of enabling better sound for their cameras when most of them are pushing their own overpriced audio add on kits (or the Tascam compatible versions in the case of Canon and Fuji). When I get round to setting up the Connect, I will, of course, be taking a great interest in analysing the connection and communication of the BLE link to the Zoom products to see if there is anything "interesting" that I might be able to use....

Sigma 16-28mm f2.8 L mount I haven't really had much time to do anything with it but these are example grabs from 4K footage with the new to me Panasonic S5ii from the first couple of days after I picked it up. Initial impressions are that it is fast focusing, sharp and although it is absolutely not distortion free (particularly on the wide end) but should definitely be considered by anyone with an E/L mount camera that needs a fast, constant aperture, very wide zoom.

My Connect and AtomX Cast bundle has shown up so I'm going to have a play with it over the next couple of days with a couple of Zoom products. It only supporting two BLE devices (via a new firmware update no less!) is a bit of a nonsense though. If they are going to move forward with it then they could definitely do with a new version of either the Blue or the One that has both BLE and LTC and I'm also hoping Atomos can persuade the likes of Panasonic to add support for the BLE timecode into their cameras as Nikon have done.

So after what can only be described as a Devon Loch moment (ask your Dad) in the absolutely nailed on not going to change my mind purchase of a Nikon Z8, I now find myself joining you as a fellow Panasonic S5ii owner. I had been struggling with the sunk cost fallacy aspect of buying the Z8 as a way of stopping my collection of pro Nikon glass collecting dust in the Peli cases but eventually bit the bullet and accepted reality. The Z8 would indeed have given them an extended life but I’m not going to be hauling big f2.8 teles and zooms around with me any more so would you have eventually have to have caved and built up a Z mount collection to go with it. Financially, that would be out of the question anyway and I couldn’t ignore the value proposition of the S5ii route. So, after a bit of judicious choice of a combination of used and new offers and bundles, I’ve managed to acquire all of the following for roughly the same price as the Z8 and one of its Cf cards. Panasonic S5ii Panasonic 20-60mm f3.5-5.6 Panasonic 35mm f1.8 Panasonic 50mm f1.8 Panasonic 85mm f1.8 Sigma MC-21 EF-L adapter Sigma 16-28mm f2.8 Sigma EVF for my Fp As I have other L mount cameras (Leica SL and Sigma Fp) this collection will benefit all of them. As I say, the value of getting not just a camera but three fast-ish primes, a very interesting kit zoom, a fast ultra wide zoom, the EF adapter and the long awaited completing part of my Fp puzzle couldn’t be ignored. And all of them are light and compact compared to what I would’ve been rocking on the Z8. Essentially, I went in for what I thought at my age might be a forever camera and walked out with my forever lens mount instead. First impressions are that I don’t know enough about it yet to have any. It’s not to say I haven’t used it but it’s on all default settings, I haven’t really read the manual and I’m here on holiday so I haven’t/won’t put in the work to have a better feel for it. I’ll also defer judgement until after the imminent firmware update. On a surface level, I’ve found the IBIS to be fairly impressive but the AF, whilst a huge leap forward over other L mount cameras that I’ve got, can be a bit of a mixed bag in lower light, particularly the face detect. Again, I’ve got everything on default so I’m sure it can be tuned to be better. What I will say as well is that the Sigma 16-28mm f2.8 is worth a look for anyone contemplating it.

Yes, the voice memo has been a standard feature on pro bodies for many years. Operated as per the Z9 here by a dedicated button on the back panel. Yes you could do that and there will be dedicated photo editors on the other end of your LAN cable who will do that for you even without the voice prompt (which you would mainly use for player identification for the caption anyway). Not everyone has the luxury of an editing team though and not every match is covered that way either. In those instances when you are on your own then having it in camera is the best solution and by best I mean fast because it’s all about getting the image onto the photo desk of the newspaper as quickly as possible. The bigger the file (as the unedited version would be) has speed implications all along the way from ingest into the laptop, editing and export and most importantly out of the stadium when you won’t always have the luxury of wired internet and will often be having to even tether off your phone. Another less obvious advantage is in terms of navigating the image on the back of the camera for player identification and focus checking. If you’re using your 400mm as a 600mm because the opposite goal is so far away then you have one less button press to get it to the right size on playback on the camera. I know that sounds trivial but it isn’t (particularly in gloves in the pudding down rain) and every second counts when you might be having to quickly analyse a 30 shot burst to find the best one. What a pity the Z8/Z9 only do it in video mode then, at least in the current firmware.

My point was to the exposure, field of view, AF consistency and optical degradation. If I am using my 400mm at f2.8/ISO6400 and 1/1250th and either crop in post to get to an 800mm FOV or use the Hi-Res Zoom then the exposure won’t change, the AF won’t change and the optical quality won’t change. If I attach my TC-2.0x then my exposure WILL change (by two stops), the AF will degrade and as good (relatively) as the Nikon TC is then it does take a hit. So the lenses will always be f2.8 and my exposure remains unchanged (which is hugely important when even category A stadiums for night matches are very tight when balancing high shutter speeds and ISO) and my FOV needs are met in a more dynamic way. A 70-200mm becomes a whole lot more useful when an extra 100mm can be activated without having to commit to having it on all the time. Will they be “real” f2.8 in terms of absolute equivalence ALL the way throughly the range once they’ve got beyond their base focal length ? Nope. But the compromise in those areas when using a clear image zoom type of function compared to using TCs when you need extra reach on tap are absolutely minimal compared to losing two stops of light and AF performance as and when you need it. HOWEVER….. Having said ALL of that, I’ve just discovered to my researching shame that unlike the Sony (and JVC) options the Hi-Res Zoom feature is ONLY available in video mode not stills! So disregard everything I’ve said on the subject from a sports photography point of view as it is moot 🙂

Vertical video in this instance is delivery rather than capture and is a fact of life now even for national broadcasters pushing content through their social media feeds. I’ve just walked past three grown men here dancing a routine for TiKTok (presumably) in front of a smartphone on a tripod. This may not be the camera for them. Yet. Although such is the way of the race to the bottom with the fees for editorial images they it’s entirely possible that they will be making more money with that content than the intended users of the Z8/Z9 will be. I’m pretty sure wedding/event videographers are seeing increased demand (quite literally) from clients for vertical format delivery at least in part.

When it comes to the specific case of the Z8/Z9, the answer to the question of “who the hell needs all that resolution?”, the answer, quite simply, is the target market for them do. These are cameras intended for photojournalists/sports photographers/wildlife photographers. In the case of the latter two in particular, with f2.8 long lenses costing £20-30 per millimetre of focal length, the variable 2x digital zoom functionality pays for the camera itself. If you are shooting a match then from your fixed position at one end of the field you will generally not have enough reach with a 400mm. Depending on the stadium you might actually be so far behind the goal line that even 600mm will struggle. As the distance is variable you end up having to bring 1.4x, 1.7x and 2x TCs whereas with the Z8/Z9 you can dial it in and not have to worry about losing stops of light, IQ and AF performance. Cropping using the digital zoom on these much higher resolution Z8/Z9 sensors, even at 2x is still giving you the D5 resolution and giving you impossible lenses such as 70-400mm f2.8 and 400-800mm f2.8 for free. Just that one aspect - which is standard operating procedure for the intended market rather than a niche outlier- is absolutely massive and justifies the bump in resolution. When it comes to the video side - again for its intended market - the 8K video is also a big deal in terms of practical rather than spec wanking purposes. Not only does it give sufficient resolution to enable the reframing to cut, say, a two person interview into a convincing multi-cam look without it falling apart (see the MEVO camera for almost getting this right) but it also addresses the issue of repurposing content for (whisper it quietly) vertical video at good resolution. We may not like vertical video but it is now a fact of life for mobile journalists having to provide vertical versions and regular versions of content for online consumption and these two cameras are ideal for it. It is also a growing fact of life for event filmers too and with the AI “revolution” seemingly coming for an awful lot of roles in the next few years, covering live events might be the last bastion for many people wanting to stay in the game. I say all this of course as someone who ended up not buying either of them ! However, If I was still doing the work I used to then I wouldn’t have blinked as it is absolutely fantastic for that role as it is intended to be, for the reasons above and more. But I don’t, so I didn’t. A rare case of objectivity that is completely out of character and which I am blaming on the jet lag.

NOT = Neither Nikon nor Sony I made the decision to go with the S5ii for very dull and practical reasons that I’ll elaborate on in a new thread.

The BLE Timecode protocols are also not compatible between the Atomos (ie what you need for the F3) and the Tentacle systems. Infuriatingly.

I’ll find out soon ! Judging by the release notes for the latest firmware there are still a few known issues. One known issue they solved in this release is that you can now have two rather than one BLE timecode equipped device synced to it. That there was any limitation to one was unknown to me and increasing it to two is a bit of a limitation. I’m guessing they still want people to buy an UltraSync Blue to act as a hub to increase capability up to seven (one direct and six using the UltraSync Blue as a hub for the other six) There is always some niggle with Atomos products. https://f002.backblazeb2.com/file/atomos-uploads/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/02174154/AtomOS_10.92.00_NINJAV_Release_Notes.html

Live update from the counter of the shop as I’m making the purchase. It has very much NOT gone as expected. More news to follow

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As you already have the Ninja then it may be worth looking at the Atomos Connect which does a few different things (shoot to cloud, stream on set, adds SDI to the Ninja etc) but can act as the central timecode hub. It will embed the timecode into whatever you are recording on the Ninja V (which would also take care of your footage handoff scenario) whilst also acting as the master wireless timecode source for the Atomos/TimecodeSytems family of products. So you could attach an UltraSync One to anything that has a timecode input (such as your F4 or other cameras) and they would sync wirelessly and you could also do the same with your F3 (with the BTA-1 dongle) or anything else that supports their Bluetooth timecode protocol. As the Atomos Connect provides the timecode over Bluetooth then you wouldn’t need the additional UltraSync Blue unit that is usually required to sync things like the F3. So in that regard you can knock £180 off the price of the Atomos Connect due to that saving. You’d then be also able to painlessly integrate other products such as the F2-BT lav recorder or even Tascam X8 or Nikon Z8/9. I’m picking my Atomos Connect up the week after next (they had it in a heavily discounted bundle with the AtomX Cast which turns the Ninja V into a 4 camera switcher) so I’ll report back if it works as advertised!

If you absolutely promise that you won’t want to pan/tilt while recording then a geared head might well be the solution for you. The venerable Manfrotto 410 will support up to around 5kg and won’t break the bank.

The recording to SSD and ProRes of the S5iiX (with a minor mention of the connect to phone for streaming) are big differences that might persuade me if I was looking to buy an S5ii. Not that I am of course as I'm completely adamant that I'm not interested as I am dead set on a Z9/Z8/A1/X-H2S purchase next week. Absolutely nailed on. Not going to waver in the slightest. Honestly.

No, I have the 28-85mm f3.3/4 and the 35-70mm f3.4 but have no experience of the 28-70mm f3.5/4.5. If I see one cheap enough next week then maybe I should get it as, of course, as we all know, if I don’t like it, I could, erm, EASILY recoup my costs 😉

This is an interesting comparison between this lens and a modern equivalent.

That FP is just fooling with your emotions at this point 😉 Alternative viewpoint to those excellent images though is that it might just have something to do with the person taking them.

My unfeasibly patient and indulgent wife meeting me outside every 2nd hand lens shop in Tokyo next week when I use that exact same line.

I used to use a very not folding one for the Tour when I couldn't park close enough to the position I wanted to set up in. This is my 2012 setup during which I managed to inadvertently find myself actually on the course itself Mr Bean style when I was getting into the village to get into position. After covering his "interesting" acceleration up Alpe d'Huez the following year, I like to think my efforts convinced Chris Froome on his choice of bike. That was the year of the failed RED EPIC-X hybrid experiment so with the amount of weight in those bags (not to mention the rider) its amazing the thing moved at all. I can confirm from personal experience that if you are doing final checks of your gear and find you've left your Apple ethernet adapter at the previous match then, electrically assisted and shouting "fuck, fuck, fuck" as kick off approaches, you can get to FNAC in about 8 minutes from that site, so should be about 15 into the city centre.