BTM_Pix

Here's a preview, very early days yet but the idea is to have a wiki page for every camera that draws together all the trusted resources for that model onto one single page with a clean design, no spam, no tracking malware banners, and no clickbait.
Within each page:
A ranking system
In-depth detailed info and specs at a glance.
LUTs and downloads, such as links to firmware updates, colour profiles, etc.
A box with only "trusted" high quality YouTube reviews sourced per camera.
Links to the top 5 best quality written reviews, manually sourced by me per camera.
That will replace DPReview and Google search results for camera models, both enshitified to the point of unusable now, with so much AI and clickbait.


 

Yeah, “Unconsciously Stumbling Upon The Appropriate Lens Choice Since 1978” is definitely something I’d like to have as an epitaph.

The LX10/LX15 is a solid little camera.
The big differentiator (aside from price) over the Sony 1” cameras is the f1.4 aperture at the wide end.
That comes with a couple of caveats in that it doesn’t stay f1.4 very far into the range and shooting in 4K there is a bit of a crop.
It takes my cinelike-D hack and I also put a magnetic filter thread on mine that enables you to put ND on it and/or in my case a Sony 2x TC that you can quickly pop on and off to extend the range.
These are some grabs from mine.
The top panel is lens at it’s widest, the middle is maximum zoom and bottom is maximum zoom with the TC on.

If you want to have one with a natural long zoom range on it then their other 1” from the time the TZ100 has a 10x optical zoom.
Can also take the cinelile-d hack.

It depends on the range really.
A 24-70mm is definitely 3-4 primes for me but something like the Canon 35-350mm is a different animal.
Leica used to do these two lenses 

They are referred to as MATE (Medium Angle Tri-Elmar) and WATE (Wide Angle Tri-Elmar) and are “zoom” lenses with fixed focal length stops.
The MATE is stepped at 28-35-50mm and the WATE at 16-18-21mm which on their intended use (Rangefinders) were used with a specific ad on viewfinder that was so clunky it is known as the Frankenfinder.
They are not fast but are compact and have focal length stops that make sense so are very much a bag of primes (and very much more useful adapted on to an EVF body).
Some Panasonic fixed lens cameras (LX10 and LX100 spring to mind) emulate this by allowing you to use the zoom ring to increment to fixed focal lengths and it is a good feature especially on those with return to position on power on functionality.
I *think* some of the Sony RX100 do this as well.
 

It lets them hit attractive spec points like 3x optical zoom and 12x zoom when using the digital shenanigans.
Although the 3x optical zoom is actually 3x switch as the intermediate points are digital and if you are in D-Log2 then it’s a hard switch as there is no digital zoom.
I think 45mm equivalent would’ve been better from a practical point of view but 2.25x optical zoom and 9x total zoom doesn’t look as good in the marketing.
Even though 20-190mm equivalent is still not too shabby !
A good practical look at the challenges around shooting with it in this video.
 

The LX10/LX15 is a solid little camera.
The big differentiator (aside from price) over the Sony 1” cameras is the f1.4 aperture at the wide end.
That comes with a couple of caveats in that it doesn’t stay f1.4 very far into the range and shooting in 4K there is a bit of a crop.
It takes my cinelike-D hack and I also put a magnetic filter thread on mine that enables you to put ND on it and/or in my case a Sony 2x TC that you can quickly pop on and off to extend the range.
These are some grabs from mine.
The top panel is lens at it’s widest, the middle is maximum zoom and bottom is maximum zoom with the TC on.

If you want to have one with a natural long zoom range on it then their other 1” from the time the TZ100 has a 10x optical zoom.
Can also take the cinelile-d hack.

Well, as expected, it’s an incremental release that reflects developments of the intervening nine years.

Not listed there but included is S-Cinetone, Slog-3 and custom user LUTs.
Not much that it doesn’t have really.
More details here
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1985961-REG/sony_rx10_v_digital_camera.html
Price is £2K which in the overall scheme of things is about what I expected because previous versions weren’t particularly cheap.
Might not be for a camera for everyone but for someone it could be the everything camera.
 

I really liked the mark II, but felt the camera jumped the shark with every subsequent release. And this one is no different. Although I appreciate the bump to 10bit video, I kinda hoped they would bring back internal NDs and the constant zoom. I would love a cine-bridge camera, and for a while, about 10 years ago, it seemed like a strong possibility with the RX10, FZ2500 and XC10, but they were all quickly abandoned... I suppose the market didn't agree with me.
The really offensive aspect of this release is the price... $2300... I recently purchased a refurbished Canon V1 that has a larger sensor, and internal ND for $650. So far, it's been one of my favorite camera purchases to date.
It's a shame, I really liked the image and form factor of the RX10 II and have been looking for a reason to try Cinetone. Right now, it seems like the ZV-E10ii is the cheapest way in.

Well, as expected, it’s an incremental release that reflects developments of the intervening nine years.

Not listed there but included is S-Cinetone, Slog-3 and custom user LUTs.
Not much that it doesn’t have really.
More details here
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1985961-REG/sony_rx10_v_digital_camera.html
Price is £2K which in the overall scheme of things is about what I expected because previous versions weren’t particularly cheap.
Might not be for a camera for everyone but for someone it could be the everything camera.
 

Well it’s been a while but, as they say in their trailer for the launch, the wait for a refreshed RX10 is almost over.
A lot has changed in the nine years since the last version so it should have a significant bump in features but, equally, it will likely get a significant bump in price (from an already pricey base point) that we’ve seen everywhere else in that intervening period.
It certainly has the potential to be more than enough camera for more than enough people otherwise they wouldn’t bother bringing a new version out but equally it could also just be a grab for them.
The internal ND of the Panasonic FZ2000/2500 gave it the edge for me over the RX10 so that’s one area where Sony might have come back at it but, then again, Panasonic show little sign of refreshing the FZ2000/2500 so there may be no need.
All in all it might be something interesting or a head scratcher.
 

Well it’s been a while but, as they say in their trailer for the launch, the wait for a refreshed RX10 is almost over.
A lot has changed in the nine years since the last version so it should have a significant bump in features but, equally, it will likely get a significant bump in price (from an already pricey base point) that we’ve seen everywhere else in that intervening period.
It certainly has the potential to be more than enough camera for more than enough people otherwise they wouldn’t bother bringing a new version out but equally it could also just be a grab for them.
The internal ND of the Panasonic FZ2000/2500 gave it the edge for me over the RX10 so that’s one area where Sony might have come back at it but, then again, Panasonic show little sign of refreshing the FZ2000/2500 so there may be no need.
All in all it might be something interesting or a head scratcher.
 

The Guerilla Film Makers series of guides is getting on a bit but offers some solid insights into zero budget that are still very relevant.
https://guerillafilm.com/books/

It allows you to operate the camera fully remotely so it is fundamentally the same thing.
To be honest, if I was going to use such a thing then having a compact palmable remote is more appealing than walking around looking like I’m holding a crucifix like the Luna option.
But it’s one more thing to carry so there is that.
The head tracker is very smart and for people doing instructional videos it is excellent - even if it does look like you are carrying ET in a papoose when you are out and about.
I guess the drawback is that it is excellent for seeing what you are seeing but falls down as a concept when doing the other 50-75% of what vloggers do which is getting their own face in reacting to what they are seeing.
One issue might be trying to be discreet as you have to look at someone and ET sat there swivelling to do the same does draw more attention and gives off a mobile surveillance unit vibe.
It such an eye catching feature though that I would expect DJI to be emulating it soon.
 
 

It allows you to operate the camera fully remotely so it is fundamentally the same thing.
To be honest, if I was going to use such a thing then having a compact palmable remote is more appealing than walking around looking like I’m holding a crucifix like the Luna option.
But it’s one more thing to carry so there is that.
The head tracker is very smart and for people doing instructional videos it is excellent - even if it does look like you are carrying ET in a papoose when you are out and about.
I guess the drawback is that it is excellent for seeing what you are seeing but falls down as a concept when doing the other 50-75% of what vloggers do which is getting their own face in reacting to what they are seeing.
One issue might be trying to be discreet as you have to look at someone and ET sat there swivelling to do the same does draw more attention and gives off a mobile surveillance unit vibe.
It such an eye catching feature though that I would expect DJI to be emulating it soon.
 
 

That’ll have been Arsenal fans thinking they were going to win the Champions League.
There was a similar book in the early 80s by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd called “The Meaning Of Liff” which used the names of places and assigned them with a definition of a new word.
AITH (n.) The single bristle that sticks out sideways on a cheap paintbrush.
BANFF Pertaining to, or descriptive of, that kind of facial expression which is impossible to achieve except when having a passport photograph taken.
ELY (n.) The first, tiniest inkling you get that something, somewhere, has gone teribly wrong.
 
etc.
I have just got a new passport which has a terrible Banff that I will now have to endure for ten years.

Agreed..  You've likely heard of the term "anemoia" which is from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows which aims to come up with new words for emotions that currently lack words, and it means "Nostalgia for a time or a place one has never known".
It's gaining popularity too, with that blip being April 2024...

I think a lot of people feel the world was a brighter and more optimistic place in the 90s and 2000s so it’s a way of putting their current selves back into that time.
Easy to write that off simply as nostalgia but I think at this present time it’s actually a deeper thing as a coping mechanism.
 
 

I’d have urged caution in buying the Luna before DJI released the Pro version of the Pocket 4 anyway but now the P4P has been officially released in China then I would definitely hold out for some comparisons.
One of the major USPs of the Luna is the excellent removeable remote screen but it seems DJI have an interesting solution with a small external remote for the P4P.
Its a bit of a swings and roundabout in that it is more convenient with the Luna but it’s equally true that if you drop the remote then it’s game over until you can locate a new one.
Insta threw everyone a curveball (shills included) by releasing the Luna far earlier than expected and it’s worth considering that this was in part motivated by them discovering their major USP was about to be countered with the P4P solution.
Oh and the 17 stops of dynamic range of the P4P is interesting too.
 

Looks like someone has made the ultimate A/B tool for your matching experiments.

https://www.cineluxcinematools.com/sixteen

Dammit, v7 had a mistake in it, so re-exported and uploaded it.
 

Well it looks like they really need these new models to be a hit.

Full story here…
https://www.redsharknews.com/gopro-8k-going-concern-warning

Your mileage may vary for your particular speed booster but if you look at the options for MFT on MetaBones versions they are transparent about which lenses may have restrictions with their products.
For Nikon lenses, for example, there are limitations for their modern E range lenses (as distinct from their older lenses for their E Series cameras).
This is a typical set of available options for the manual only lenses.
Fungus optional.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/bn_16098984
For completeness, here is a rated list of fast Nikon AF lenses.
https://phillipreeve.net/blog/the-rated-list-of-the-fast-nikon-af-s-f-1-4-f-1-8-f-2-0-f-mount-primes/
The EF Art ones are excellent but are chunky fuckers.
 

As you aren’t bothered about the AF aspect then Nikon F mount lenses adapt easily to EF so you could open up that path.
The issue is that with the f1.4 requirement you’re looking at fairly pricey options in both vintage and more modern versions.
Similarly, M42 and C/Y to EF adapters open up other paths for you.
To be honest though, in my view, the path of least resistance to get fast manual focus glass on to MFT cameras economically probably lies in native MFT lenses from 7Artisans and TTArtisans.
More size appropriate for what you have in mind for them too.

There are actually good answers to the 10x question for each FF mount.
Sigma 20-200mm is an answer for E mount and L mount.
Sony has their own 24-240mm too.
Nikon have a 10x near miss with their 24-200mm and an over the top 14.2x 28-400mm.
Canon has their 24-240mm too and if you don’t mind mimicking trombone playing while zooming then their old 35-350mm EF is a great bargain.
I actually have one of the latter and the range is great. 

 

There are actually good answers to the 10x question for each FF mount.
Sigma 20-200mm is an answer for E mount and L mount.
Sony has their own 24-240mm too.
Nikon have a 10x near miss with their 24-200mm and an over the top 14.2x 28-400mm.
Canon has their 24-240mm too and if you don’t mind mimicking trombone playing while zooming then their old 35-350mm EF is a great bargain.
I actually have one of the latter and the range is great.