BTM_Pix

The new 28-200 is roughly the same size and weight as the 20-60mm so it is a lot more balanced to the Fp. It has a a great range and having the OIS offers an interesting proposition of it turning the Fp into a very compact Cinecorder. However, it is very, very slow on the long end though, particularly for only 200mm. Not that ultra shallow depth of field is the be all and end all of course but f7.1 is a bit of a stretch. Of course the swing to that particular roundabout is that you don't have to worry so much about the camera not having sentient AF !

I think I droned out these exact same thoughts in the G9ii or some similar thread about MFT but I'll repeat them anyway 🙂 In terms of a new camera, I honestly think its time to give up on Panasonic producing that specced up GX85 that everybody knows they could make if they wanted to. In the absence of the "new" Olympus not doing anything to move the MFT story along either in terms of a compact then something like the A6700 is that camera now. As well as being a larger sensor, it ticks every box of what is being asked for in terms of being dual native ISO, 10bit 4:2:2 internal, IBIS, class leading AF, LOG and a very good out of the box profile in S-Cinetone. Very flexible mount in that it can even take your MFT manual focus lenses and has very good options like the Meike EF>E which will give you full AF of Canon lenses with the bonus of variable ND. In terms of native lenses, there are a lot more E mount options now compared to when, say, the GX85 launched and it is seeing more releases every month unlike MFT which is slowing now. The writing was on the wall when Sigma expanded their compact f1.4 prime lineup with the 56mm and didn't release an MFT version. Their two compact contemporary f2.8 zoom lenses are also not available in MFT of course. Size wise there isn't anything in it from the front and the GX85 is actually a fraction bigger. The A6700 is deeper but most of that is attributable to the chunky grip which, to me, is no bad thing as the GX85 is not chunky enough for me and the A6700's incorporates a dial too. Price wise, it is a lot more expensive than the GX85 was on launch but so is everything else now and it is significantly cheaper than Panasonic's latest MFT camera, the G9ii. The virtual shark jumping price of the G9ii makes me suspect that even if Panasonic did produce a new specced up GX85 that it would likely be at least as expensive as the A6700. If you want to be closer spiritually to a combo of the GX85 and OG Pocket then, if you embrace the quirks, the Sigma Fp is well worth a consideration particularly as the used prices are dropping. Personally, I'd add the EVF-11 as it is so much nicer to shoot with whilst at the same time you can remover it and leave it in your pocket if you need to go smaller. The tilt action of the EVF enables you to press the camera to your chest to offer a lot more stability when handholding. That is important because you lose IBIS of course but you gain RAW and, as with the AF of the Fp, the internal 8 bit 4K is far more serviceable than people give it credit for and if you only need HD then its 12 bit internal. As with the EVF, the modularity means that if you want more capability in terms of bit depth then you can add it easily and discreetly. The Fp has largely been forgotten/written off by an awful lot of people around the world but in Japan, in particular, there is some absolutely lovely imagery being uploaded to YouTube every week from it.

And yet here he is last month shilling a product that enables you to automatically edit your weddings using.....yep...AI. I have to say that the use of AI to isolate the voice better in the clip he is criticising is a far better use of it than this editing one.

One. Including yourself.

Its horses for courses when it comes to viability. Its a compact sealed unit so it was never going to be a camera for doing 60 minute recordings with. Recovery time and mitigation is just as important as record time for this type of camera as is usage so it needs real testing under controlled conditions. For what I'd use this camera for then even it was only what you are reporting as maximum of 10 minute takes that would actually be more than adequate for me. For you ? That's up to what YOU were going to use it for.

It isn't listed in the specs for some reason but it does have F-log and F-log2. This is from their online store.

Yeah, considering the hype and price gouging that was happening with its predecessor, I expected it to be more expensive.

Plus 10 bit 4:2:2, Reala Ace and F-Log profiles, that brilliant hybrid viewfinder, compact tuned w/a and tc adapters to mitigate the lack of ILC when you need it etc etc etc Tough crowd. I see an awful lot of posts on here where this camera could be the solution so I was surprised it hasn’t been getting discussed.

I suspect you've fallen foul of the "y" being adjacent to the "t" on the keyboard there.

Probably of interest in the context of a sub $1000 camera is that the ES-71 usb timecode interface that they have referenced is $325, so is more or less a third of the price of the camera itself so that 3.5mm input will be important for many. As it has integral BLE then the additional path they should likely try and take is incorporating one of the BLE Timecode protocols. In terms of supporting a broader range of recorders and other cameras then Atomos/Timecode Systems would likely be the preferred choice.

Not Panasonic but the new BMD L mount Cinema Camera 6K does too. As do the DJI 4D cameras with the option expansion board.

Obviously should point out in defence of the UltraSync system as a whole that you can use the UltraSync One with the UltraSync Blue to add the LTC component whilst still remaining wireless but at €324 per station versus the €170 per station of the Bluetooth version.

Oddly enough, Zoom make a product with LTC that is a great all rounder called the M4 MicTrack which virtually no one ever talks about. (Well they did a bit at the start as some early units had noise issues which has been resolved) It is a 4 channel recorder with stereo mic with two additional simultaneous external mic inputs, all of which are 32 bit float as is the 4 in 2 out USB interface it can act as. It is incredibly versatile but ironically I'm at a loss why it doesn't also include the BLE timecode option as when using it handheld that would be more appropriate. In addition they have also missed a trick there as it could have acted as a BLE TC to LTC converter which would make it even more useful for cameras such as BM Pockets which have the LTC in/out. So I'm not sure even they believe in it fully but then Zoom do make weird choices sometimes such as their music multitrack recorders having MIDI ports but don't support MIDI timecode which renders them a bit pointless for many potential owners.

A word of caution about the Atomos/Zoom partnership when it comes to the Connect module for the Ninja V is that it doesn’t work. I got the Connect in a bundle with the AtomX Cast so it wasn’t a massive financial hit but it’s annoying nonetheless as I was looking to it to provide sync of my Zoom recorders when recording ProRes RAW. Needless to say no firmware update has been forthcoming. Which brings me to the second note of caution about their alliance which is that the new Atomos branded UltraSync Blue does not work with my Zoom H3VR due to the same Bluetooth incompatibility with their new chipset whereas the original TimecodeSystems ones do. My F2BT and F3 with the BTA-1 module work perfectly with it but it’s a no-go for the H3VR and, again, needless to say no new firmware has been forthcoming to resolve it. It was interesting to see earlier in the week that FujiFilm are releasing a firmware update to allow the XH2 and XH2S to join the Nikon Z8/Z9 in being able to receive timecode from the UltraSync Blue and hopefully Panasonic and Sony might join in to give the option to use their generally underutilised Bluetooth ports (for video at least) for something useful too.

Don't forget that a few weeks ago even Fuji X was added to the list of lenses that can be AF adapted to Z mount too. The interesting thing about this F to MFT for me is that Viltrox obviously have the driving of the F mount lenses worked out (they also do a version of this one to let you put F on E mount) and they also have L mount cameras covered as they do EF to L mount AF adapter. So, as they have both ends of the puzzle, then it strikes me that they should be able to make an F to L mount version of this. Which would be an instant buy from me.

They have a whole website of it here : https://www.rollei.com/ Its all just the usual array of rebadged OEM accessories and tripods and camera coolers as well as adapters and lenses from Viltrox and ..... Whoah.... Hang on.... What the actual fuck is this ?!??! When did Nikon to MFT adapters with autofocus become a thing ? Has anyone got one of these ?

As a manager, its probably worth assessing how safe any brand would ultimately be in the hands of a corporation with this behaviour in its recent past anyway.

To be fair, even Olympus themselves weren't interested in keeping Olympus cameras going anymore. Better to have been bought and transitioned this way by a company that was - at least in the current term - interested in producing them rather than it being bought strictly for the name and it then be used just as a brand stamp on a succession of low end OEM stuff. There are numerous examples of this in different industries but one example from photography is Rollei where that brand has gone from meaning this : To meaning this : With Olympus, we will now at least be spared that indignity and so it can be remembered for the cameras up to this point rather than being subsequently associated with a raft of shitty products.

Why is the notion of a transition period stupid exactly? A transition period enables the new company to hit the ground running not only with existing brand awareness but also with existing branded inventory which in the case of Olympus would have been extensive. It also enables the selling company to have limited exposure to its brand name being subsequently damaged by the new company's use of it on terrible or even dangerous products. This is particularly relevant in this case as Olympus is not a single division company and only sold the imaging division. "“Following the transfer of the Imaging business, Olympus will concentrate on Medical and Scientific Solutions, in our ongoing efforts to become a global medtech company which offers products and services to make people's lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling.” Yasuo Takeuchi, President and CEO of Olympus Corporation This deal to buy the imaging division of Olympus would have been far less attractive without a period in which they could sell existing inventory and a limited number of additional runs with the existing branding. This would be exactly the same if someone bought the lens part of Arri, whereby the buying company would want a period to establish themselves whilst selling the existing branded products but Arri wouldn't want the hit to the rest of their brand value if that company then started selling $30 800mm telephoto lenses for iPhones made out of a coke can and some bits of clear plastic. Its obvious that OM Systems couldn't use the name forever but that a transition period would be required to allow them to re-brand and re-tool when newer iterations were to be released such as here with the TG-6 and TG-7. So whilst I don't think it is 100% certain that there was a definitive three year transition period in place, I don't find it fanciful enough to be considered stupid either.

The final deal went through in January 2021 so it could be something to do with a 3 year grace period to still use the Olympus name on products or some such. They'll still be getting called Olympus by everyone over the age of 40 though as no one has got the time for another round of marathon/snickers.

Happened across one of his reviews when looking for a new MacBook a while ago. I was concerned when watching it that the MacBook I was interested in was producing excessive noise when it was under load but it just turned out that the annoying whining noise was his voice. Yeah, the deliberate falsification of the thumbnail in his colour comparison video and his attempt to justify it on here wasn't exactly the high watermark of credibility.

Its CCD as well by the way. Someone is currently selling an entire kit on eBay including two of the lens modules, the M mount, EVF flash etc for £1500. I'm absolutely not tempted in the slightest of course. Absolutely no way. Definitely.

Yeah, we were all cautiously optimistic about the ZX1 on here when it was announced. Interest cooled when it a) took so long to come out and b) it ended up launching at $6K . When you look at the Flickr group there are some interesting images but the weird/telling thing is that every single one of them is by the same photographer ! Makes you wonder how many they actually sold in the end. https://www.flickr.com/groups/14759325@N21/pool/with/52332163939

True story, I was in a camera shop in Berlin with @Andrew Reid early last year and they had a ZX1 in a display case and I motioned towards it and the guy behind the counter laughed and refused to let me have a look on the basis that it was a "piece of shit". Obviously didn't want to jeopardise future sales of non pieces of shit 🙂 Ricoh did something along those lines a good few years ago with their GXR system where you slid in lenses which had entirely different sensors behind them, each one tuned to the lens. They also had the option to slide in one that turned it into an m mount. To complete the modularity it also had a slide in tiltable EVF. I think its seriously missing from the mainstream manufacturers. If Sony took that Ricoh idea up then people with a dilemma between an A7Rx and A7Sx would just buy the singular body and slide the sensor in that they needed for that particular task. But of course they want you to have that dilemma so you buy both.

I have the Mark 5 version which has an f1.8-2.4 lens with a shorter zoom range, equivalent to a 24-70mm. Its getting on for six years old now (these are actually from the first day I picked it up) but its still a better pocketable option for casual shots like this for me personally over my iPhone even if I just based it on the handling and nothing else. I don't profess that these have any particular merit but I take the quality of what it can produce for what it is and if wherever I'm going is important enough for me to want to get better results then I'll take a real camera anyway so the handling still trumps the iPhone. Having said that, I am so jaded these days that I can't muster the interest to take any images for casual use so I end up taking nothing out at all anymore. Which is why I'm actually really curious about this iPhone 15 Pro Max and very keen to hear the views of those who've actually bought it and to what extent it has made them drop other cameras and in what range of circumstances.