BTM_Pix

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I'm having enough trouble sneaking my recent Leica purchases under the radar at home. A man has to pick his battles

Is it going to be available on a UK carrier at any point or is it just going to be like buying an unlocked phone outright and throwing a sim in if you are outside the US?

I've made you a handy cut out and keep guide of the lenses you'll need for the equivalent of, for example, a Zeiss Compact Prime set **. If you are looking for a 15.55555555561mm prime then I can definitely recommend Tamron's new 15.5555555556mm f2.8. It has far more mojo than Sigma's 15.55555555561mm f1.8 in my opinion. ** Yes, yes, I know the CP.2s would be used on Super35 so there is an additional multiplier to be factored in but it was only a joke anyway.

Captivating? If you're going to spam then at least keep your opening gambit within the bounds of some sort of reality.

This fella has put a mic input on his LX100 https://***URL removed***/forums/thread/3845240 This fella has modded his GX85 for IR https://www.lifepixel.com/tutorials/infrared-diy-tutorials/life-pixel-panasonic-lumix-gx85-diy-digital-infrared-conversion-tutorial I think the mic input aspects are a case of same horse different jockey with the two cameras. If you look at where the mic input on the LX100 has been marked in this picture Then I have marked in the picture of the exposed GX85 from the other fella what is highly likely to be its equivalent So it should just be a case of following the details of the LX100 fella. I would be very surprised if the GX800 isn't the same and you might want to look at that because its cheaper, smaller and has the flip up screen so might be even more ideal for vlogging. They are usually sold with the collapsible wide zoom (which is better than you might think) and even brand new they are generally under £300 for the bundle.

Ideally, you'd say they should start a real magazine but that ship has sailed. I think the Patreon route and a generic affiliate link to a retailer (i.e. not one directly linked to specific products) is a way forward. I'd venture that the cost of sending the cameras to all the reviewers (including the depreciation cost of selling them as B stock) is way cheaper than flying them all to a venue and putting them up for the night so there's no economic argument to have the events. Giving them a two or three week window to thoroughly test it with a publishing embargo to a launch date is a better solution for the reviewers to give it a more thoughtful and considered conclusion. This is exactly how real product reviews in real magazines have worked for years so why does it have to be different now, particularly when you factor in the additional time it takes to create and upload the review piece itself ? You've only got to look at the Northup's EOS-R video from today where the poor woman is literally falling asleep by the end of it to understand why the pressure to publish an instant reaction is in no one's best interests. It could actually work in the camera manufacturer's favour too, particularly when you have outbreaks of hysteria over battery life, card slots, AF compatibility and so on that could actually be quelled or at least better contextualised with a longer time to review its performance in real world situations. The interesting contrast currently for me is between how BlackMagic are drip feeding more considered footage from the Pocket4K and the more positive impact that is having on the perceived quality of that camera's output versus what the "Here's an hour with a camera, you've got another hour after that to get it on the internet before everyone else in this room does" approach from these recent frenzied launches has had on the perception of the image quality of those cameras. BlackMagic have actually created more genuine excitement and certainty about buying a product that barely anyone has had in their hands by showing what it can do in the right hands rather than just everyone's hands.

Verily, if we are to bring forth The Bard into the discussion....

I think the salient point here, though, is that you were attending in the capacity of an employee of a bona fide media organisation. The events you were covering were a part of a job you were already being paid to do regardless and the success of the specific product in question had no direct impact on your income. Direct affiliate links to the product being "reviewed" and ad traffic generated by the hype around them is actually directly linked to the income of many - but not all -of these individuals on YouTube. If they don't go to the event, generate some heat for the product and see it sell then they don't earn from that week or that month's new product cycle. When you have that sort of direct correlation to an individual's income then its a completely different dynamic to a salaried journalist covering an event. The real problem is how blurred the lines have become between the two.

A classic episode of one of the UK's favourite comedy series is called "To Hull And Back" To be fair, I do have a fair amount of affection for the place as I've set sail from and returned there on many continental adventures over the years. On 364 days of the year its a decent place to test a camera's weather sealing as well. What the YouTube reviewing glitterati would make of the local delicacy - the Hull Pattie - is a different story.

I'll start believing these are impartial events when they start holding them in Hull instead of Hawaii.

Motion cadence is internal to the SD card but mojo is external through HDMI only.

Glad to see its finally being released, even though a lot of it looks unfinished, as was expected, in this version. That being said, I'm having trouble deciding what got more hate in the comments section today, that RED Hydrogen video or DPR's Leica M10-P Review. If this thing doesn't work fully when it gets into the hands of normal consumers, I can see Jannard having to stand at the entrance to their user forum like this.

There is understandably a lot of buzz about the upcoming cameras from all the other companies - and from Fuji itself with the X-T3 - but I've got to say that this one intrigues me more than any of them.

Do you mean switch as in just a simple A/B switch for monitoring so you don't mind a break in the signal while it re-syncs or are you talking about doing a live broadcast switch where you need it to seamlessly switch between the cameras? If its the former then there are tons of cheap units that will suffice (no external power required) on Amazon etc such as this one http://amzn.eu/d/i17hwow They are all much of a muchness at that price so just pick one that has the most positive reviews is the best rule of thumb. If its the latter though and you want to actually switch them seamlessly then you are usually looking at an entirely different solution like a BM ATEM unit but there are some simple HDMI switchers similar to the basic A/B switch (but more expensive obviously) that claim seamless transition between sources. This is an example of one http://amzn.eu/d/61pE8aU If you need the seamless transition do go that route of using the middle ground one such as the one above then see if you can find demos of the particular units on YouTube to check the transition.

The R stands for Rebel as it will be a continuation of their consumer DSLR line rather than a pro model and will also have inferior AF to other brands* so that Sony fans can sing "Rebel, Rebel..Your face detect is a mess" * Absolutely not true

Thanks Yes, I remember that. I think it might have been the other way round though where I'd bought/stolen the Leica R version of the Minolta 75-200 and was trying to justify the additional cost Its ironic really as in general I'd have said the Leica versions (as in the one I'd bought) would have been in better condition as they'd have had more cosseted lives than the Minolta ones but sounds like you got the exception to the rule ! The plummeting price of the original T (which is the only Leica body I have) is changing the game for the entry cost of ownership for Leica. https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-photo-and-video/used-digital-rangefinder-cameras/used-leica-cameras/leica-t/sku-729835/ Once you have the L/T to M and/or R adapters (3rd party ones are cheap) then you've got access to a lot of reasonably priced used lenses (and new ones in the case of the 7Artisans) and its obviously all very compact stuff as well. The only drawback to the T for me was the prospect of having to pay the same price for the EVF as I did the camera but I eventually hung out to find a (still expensive) used one. If you go for the X range then you can use the much cheaper Olympus EVF but the T series uses the new one. The drawback of course with the original T is the video which obviously isn't all that. It isn't even really any of that.

A few from the Minolta MD 35-70mm f3.5 zoom adapted to M and then T/L mount. I was going to buy this lens in its Leica R guise but it was a bit too a rough condition even for me so got this one instead for 15% of the price and 200% of the condition. I'm going to A/B it against the Contax Zeiss 35-70mm that was another one of my robbery spree finds in Japan.

I think that this is a very good point and its interesting to compare the (lack) of negative, if any, reaction from video people to the "battery grip" for the Z7 being literally just a battery pack without shutter release, AF On and navigation stick etc compared to the "WTF??!" reaction from photographers. The anger from the angry fella has a bit to do with Nikon trailing this camera like it would be something game changing when in reality its just ended up, from the photo perspective at least, as being something game joining. He is also very angry that he has found himself in full agreement with the views of some of his nemeses like Jared Polin and the Northrups

They have a patent for a mount that takes both EF and M mount lenses. Whether this is it remains to be seen as they and others obviously have tons of patents that don't end up in actual products such as Sigma's patent for foveon video and my slightly less far fetched one for an autopilot system for unicorns.

That's next level teasing that.

Yes, I agree, some of those ones are far more interesting than the NYC ones.

Absolutely they're not 100% ideal either and you make a very valid point but at least those images are approaching somewhere where you would be interested enough in them to then look closer for defects. There is a night and day difference between the overall aesthetic of those Sony images and those from the Z7 launch. The vast majority of the output I've seen from the Z7 hasn't been worth the click and the zoom as far as I'm concerned. Does it mean that I think the output from the camera is or will be shit in general terms? After four decades of using Nikon cameras (which is a confession rather than a boast by the way ) I'm inclined to believe it probably won't be shit. If I came to this from never having used their gear or was looking to change though then I'd have looked at the stuff from the launch and had serious doubts about what the fuss was all about. If you take DPReview as a yardstick of this then look at the reaction to the sample gallery of the Z7. Even factoring in the usual hysteria on there, it is overwhelmingly scathing and in this case I have absolutely no issue with that because how else are people supposed to react to such underwhelming output from a £3.5K camera? The blame for that I'm afraid and the potential consequences of it are Nikon's because they controlled the parameters of those launches and are responsible for what has ended up out there. Including the banding by the way that Polin's video exhibits. I'm conscious of the fact that I have not had too much positive to say about these new cameras but I want to stress again that I had/have as much if not more vested interest in Nikon getting things right and establishing themselves in mirrorless as most people, even if I knew ahead of time that these ones would likely not be the most appropriate for me. So I want Nikon to do well with these cameras and any negativity that I have been raising is genuinely coming from a place of concern rather than one of hate. Basically, even from a purely selfish point of view, I want them to do well enough with them that they are still in the game when it comes round to them making versions of it that I would actually want to buy and that means they need to sell these ones to everyone else. I haven't seen much to fill me with the confidence that they have made the best of the platform they had to impress, let alone slay, the wider world outside of a core "You had me at Nikon" audience. Worse than that, there really hasn't been much in the way of an outpouring of love from some of the quarters that I would have expected either. That doesn't mean they are absolutely slating it but I do get the feeling that there is a slight amount of this going on with them I suppose my general point here is that there are undeniably some issues that have irked people about the system as a whole (price, lens lineup, single card slot, ergonomics etc) that are gaining even greater traction because they aren't being mitigated by anyone being able to convincingly say "Yeah but forget all that, just look at the images coming off this thing". I think that Nikon shot themselves in the foot by not offering an environment where that kind of counter point could be generated. None of that means Nikon have created a bad camera system but I do think it amounts to them having created a bad impression. That can change when they start delivering the cameras and people start doing real reviews of course so it will probably be a blessing that there is a short time between the launch event and actual delivery.

You say that but I bet you somewhere out there there is a knitting forum where people are lambasting each other over their choice of needle, getting into seething rages about people not using the same wool as they do and referencing influencer YouTube channels like Mo Knows Mohair.

Amongst all the debate about what Nikon has got right or wrong about this camera, I think one thing that everyone must surely agree on is just how badly wrong they got it with the demo setups at the launch events. It wasn't just that it was bad in its own right - although it was - but it was also how much worse it was comparatively to what Sony gets up to at their versions of these events. In Jared Polin's video above he illustrates this huge gulf and you just have to wonder how anyone from Nikon thought that what they laid on was even adequate let alone comparable. Of course Sony has a much bigger budget for this stuff than Nikon but its not like we are talking about them launching a new speedlite or a consumer compact, this is about a crucial new line for them. I'm not sure how anyone is gleaning anything particularly useful about these cameras based on the output we've seen from these events as everyone who has posted their content is, quite understandably, couching everything they say in relation to how mediocre at best the shooting conditions were. Sony makes it very easy for everyone who attends and reports on those events to get decent images whereas Nikon seemed to have approached it like some sort of challenge to them to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Weird.