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BTM_Pix

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  1. Like
    BTM_Pix reacted to Trek of Joy in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    This is a cool hack, kudos to BTM for the work. 
  2. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from jonpais in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So......
    A bit of an update
    I've spent the past few days redoing this from the ground up and there's been what you might call 'a bit' of progress.
    The camera functions are now controlled by a gamepad, which gives a bit more scope in terms of buttons etc.
    By separating out the part that does the actual talking to the camera, this means that that can be smaller for mounting and the choice of the input device is now far more flexible as it can support pretty much any USB device that can be attached to it.
    In this version, the gamepad itself is wireless too so not only is it a lot neater but it can also be used to extend the overall distance of wireless control (its range to the control box is added to the range from the control box to the camera).
    I can also make it support multiple devices so you could have something smaller just to do basic control (or a USB numeric keypad would be quite good for that actually) and then use a more elaborate one when needed. Or do both simultaneously if you want control of exposure and someone else to do focus etc.
    Speaking of focus, this is now controlled by an analog stick so has a bit more feel to it (ignore the transitions in the video, the debug mode makes the control much coarser) with a press in the centre of the stick activating a one shot AF.  
    If your camera has a powered zoom lens (hello LX100 etc) then this is controlled from the same stick by pushing forward and back. 
    I believe that this will also work with those MFT lenses that support power zoom but I don't have one so I can't confirm that.
    I've made a drivable AF joystick point mode which you activate by pressing in on the right hand analog stick and then using the D Pad to drive the focus point around the screen and then pressing in the stick again to action it.
    There will be more focus enhancements coming.........
    The shutter speed and aperture are now controlled by the shoulder buttons on the gamepad and the ISO is now also directly switchable on two buttons.
    I've got a few more enhancements coming over the next few days as well so I'll keep you informed.
    In the meantime, here is a video of it controlling a GX80
     

  3. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from Grimor in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So......
    A bit of an update
    I've spent the past few days redoing this from the ground up and there's been what you might call 'a bit' of progress.
    The camera functions are now controlled by a gamepad, which gives a bit more scope in terms of buttons etc.
    By separating out the part that does the actual talking to the camera, this means that that can be smaller for mounting and the choice of the input device is now far more flexible as it can support pretty much any USB device that can be attached to it.
    In this version, the gamepad itself is wireless too so not only is it a lot neater but it can also be used to extend the overall distance of wireless control (its range to the control box is added to the range from the control box to the camera).
    I can also make it support multiple devices so you could have something smaller just to do basic control (or a USB numeric keypad would be quite good for that actually) and then use a more elaborate one when needed. Or do both simultaneously if you want control of exposure and someone else to do focus etc.
    Speaking of focus, this is now controlled by an analog stick so has a bit more feel to it (ignore the transitions in the video, the debug mode makes the control much coarser) with a press in the centre of the stick activating a one shot AF.  
    If your camera has a powered zoom lens (hello LX100 etc) then this is controlled from the same stick by pushing forward and back. 
    I believe that this will also work with those MFT lenses that support power zoom but I don't have one so I can't confirm that.
    I've made a drivable AF joystick point mode which you activate by pressing in on the right hand analog stick and then using the D Pad to drive the focus point around the screen and then pressing in the stick again to action it.
    There will be more focus enhancements coming.........
    The shutter speed and aperture are now controlled by the shoulder buttons on the gamepad and the ISO is now also directly switchable on two buttons.
    I've got a few more enhancements coming over the next few days as well so I'll keep you informed.
    In the meantime, here is a video of it controlling a GX80
     

  4. Like
    BTM_Pix reacted to ntblowz in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    Definitely interested on getting one
  5. Like
    BTM_Pix reacted to buggz in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    Wow, super cool.
    When are you selling kits?  *8^)
  6. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from studiodc in Would You Perhaps Be Interested In A Different GX80/85 Colour Profile???   
    And here it is
     
  7. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from mercer in D750: Anyone Using It? Loving It? Hating It?   
    I'd take a look at the Fuji X-T20 and the 10-24mm F4
    4K, can turn things round quick because of its OOC looks, light enough to mount on the Crane, A/B as a stills combo against a D800 and Nikon's 14-24 f2.8 and its not embarrassed in the slightest, you can put an ND on it without jumping through (expensive) hoops, the lens has IS, touch screen focus etc etc 
    And you can put a lens turbo on it to use all of your Nikon lenses.
    I used the 14-24mm far more than you'd imagine a sports photographer might (stadium views, low ringside at boxing,in the melees after a trophy presentation etc) and the key word there is 'used' as its been put into retirement  now by an X-T20 and 10-24mm for ALL of that stuff.
    Might not be the total answer to what you want (and by the wrestling you're having there probably isn't one) but its worthy of a look if you have a local camera store that stocks them.
    I could've saved myself a load of typing if I'd seen this first!! 
  8. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from Rikoshet in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So as I've hinted more than a few times in the other thread, the discovery of the Cinelike D and other bits and pieces for the GX80 etc was actually a bit of a happy accident while I was trying to do understand the Panasonic wifi stuff for something else.
    And here is that something else.
    Well at least a prototype of it but it is fully functioning and will just be finessed a bit more.
    Basically, its a wireless hardware remote for the G series cameras that operates over wifi and can currently control record start/stop, shutter speed as well as aperture and focus if you're using a native lens, including a single shot AF switch.
    For the non-Cinelike D cameras that can now be hacked to have Cinelike D there is also a dedicated button to toggle it on and off so you don't need to mess about with browsers and computers or smartphones anymore.
    Focus and aperture control are done on a joystick and everything else is switches.
    I'll be putting a layer switch on so that it can be toggled back and forth to a different control mode for ISO, WB and other stuff.
    As this is the prototype it is nowhere near the finished piece and it will be reduced in form factor to just be about the size of the control board. Power is by any USB source so there are billions of options.
    There is a lot more finessing and feature enhancement to go on with regard to the focus control (and yes, I know exactly what you'll all want it to do !) but the hard part is done now.
    It does support the display of the values on a screen and I'll be sorting some options out for that.
    The purpose of this gadget is primarily for use with a gimbal but it can also be really useful on a tripod bar for anyone shooting live event stuff. For cameras with inbuilt lenses I'm going to add a zoom mode on the joystick.
    A very quick very rough demo so you can see it in action.
    Any lag you might see between me operating the controller and the camera video is just a sync issue between me throwing the two recordings on very quickly  
     
     
  9. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from ntblowz in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    As soon as I've got everything on it that I want and settled on what I'm running it on I'll sort out a guide to how people can make one.
    It should be a matter of just buying a board and putting the software image on it then sorting yourself out for how to power it and getting a gamepad.
    Total cost for the bits you need to buy should be no more than about £45 even if you got for a wireless gamepad.
    There'll be a bit of a challenge sorting out an easily deployable software image that people can flash themselves but I'll sort that out over the next few weeks.
    Presuming anyone wants one that is of course.
  10. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from Cas1 in Would You Perhaps Be Interested In A Different GX80/85 Colour Profile???   
    Kind of but its actually a lot more basic than that to be honest mate and doesn't require any modification of the app.
    I've got a really simple way of testing it if anyone wants to have a go themselves?
  11. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from kidzrevil in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So as I've hinted more than a few times in the other thread, the discovery of the Cinelike D and other bits and pieces for the GX80 etc was actually a bit of a happy accident while I was trying to do understand the Panasonic wifi stuff for something else.
    And here is that something else.
    Well at least a prototype of it but it is fully functioning and will just be finessed a bit more.
    Basically, its a wireless hardware remote for the G series cameras that operates over wifi and can currently control record start/stop, shutter speed as well as aperture and focus if you're using a native lens, including a single shot AF switch.
    For the non-Cinelike D cameras that can now be hacked to have Cinelike D there is also a dedicated button to toggle it on and off so you don't need to mess about with browsers and computers or smartphones anymore.
    Focus and aperture control are done on a joystick and everything else is switches.
    I'll be putting a layer switch on so that it can be toggled back and forth to a different control mode for ISO, WB and other stuff.
    As this is the prototype it is nowhere near the finished piece and it will be reduced in form factor to just be about the size of the control board. Power is by any USB source so there are billions of options.
    There is a lot more finessing and feature enhancement to go on with regard to the focus control (and yes, I know exactly what you'll all want it to do !) but the hard part is done now.
    It does support the display of the values on a screen and I'll be sorting some options out for that.
    The purpose of this gadget is primarily for use with a gimbal but it can also be really useful on a tripod bar for anyone shooting live event stuff. For cameras with inbuilt lenses I'm going to add a zoom mode on the joystick.
    A very quick very rough demo so you can see it in action.
    Any lag you might see between me operating the controller and the camera video is just a sync issue between me throwing the two recordings on very quickly  
     
     
  12. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from iamoui in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So......
    A bit of an update
    I've spent the past few days redoing this from the ground up and there's been what you might call 'a bit' of progress.
    The camera functions are now controlled by a gamepad, which gives a bit more scope in terms of buttons etc.
    By separating out the part that does the actual talking to the camera, this means that that can be smaller for mounting and the choice of the input device is now far more flexible as it can support pretty much any USB device that can be attached to it.
    In this version, the gamepad itself is wireless too so not only is it a lot neater but it can also be used to extend the overall distance of wireless control (its range to the control box is added to the range from the control box to the camera).
    I can also make it support multiple devices so you could have something smaller just to do basic control (or a USB numeric keypad would be quite good for that actually) and then use a more elaborate one when needed. Or do both simultaneously if you want control of exposure and someone else to do focus etc.
    Speaking of focus, this is now controlled by an analog stick so has a bit more feel to it (ignore the transitions in the video, the debug mode makes the control much coarser) with a press in the centre of the stick activating a one shot AF.  
    If your camera has a powered zoom lens (hello LX100 etc) then this is controlled from the same stick by pushing forward and back. 
    I believe that this will also work with those MFT lenses that support power zoom but I don't have one so I can't confirm that.
    I've made a drivable AF joystick point mode which you activate by pressing in on the right hand analog stick and then using the D Pad to drive the focus point around the screen and then pressing in the stick again to action it.
    There will be more focus enhancements coming.........
    The shutter speed and aperture are now controlled by the shoulder buttons on the gamepad and the ISO is now also directly switchable on two buttons.
    I've got a few more enhancements coming over the next few days as well so I'll keep you informed.
    In the meantime, here is a video of it controlling a GX80
     

  13. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from Alborat in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So as I've hinted more than a few times in the other thread, the discovery of the Cinelike D and other bits and pieces for the GX80 etc was actually a bit of a happy accident while I was trying to do understand the Panasonic wifi stuff for something else.
    And here is that something else.
    Well at least a prototype of it but it is fully functioning and will just be finessed a bit more.
    Basically, its a wireless hardware remote for the G series cameras that operates over wifi and can currently control record start/stop, shutter speed as well as aperture and focus if you're using a native lens, including a single shot AF switch.
    For the non-Cinelike D cameras that can now be hacked to have Cinelike D there is also a dedicated button to toggle it on and off so you don't need to mess about with browsers and computers or smartphones anymore.
    Focus and aperture control are done on a joystick and everything else is switches.
    I'll be putting a layer switch on so that it can be toggled back and forth to a different control mode for ISO, WB and other stuff.
    As this is the prototype it is nowhere near the finished piece and it will be reduced in form factor to just be about the size of the control board. Power is by any USB source so there are billions of options.
    There is a lot more finessing and feature enhancement to go on with regard to the focus control (and yes, I know exactly what you'll all want it to do !) but the hard part is done now.
    It does support the display of the values on a screen and I'll be sorting some options out for that.
    The purpose of this gadget is primarily for use with a gimbal but it can also be really useful on a tripod bar for anyone shooting live event stuff. For cameras with inbuilt lenses I'm going to add a zoom mode on the joystick.
    A very quick very rough demo so you can see it in action.
    Any lag you might see between me operating the controller and the camera video is just a sync issue between me throwing the two recordings on very quickly  
     
     
  14. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from buggz in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So......
    A bit of an update
    I've spent the past few days redoing this from the ground up and there's been what you might call 'a bit' of progress.
    The camera functions are now controlled by a gamepad, which gives a bit more scope in terms of buttons etc.
    By separating out the part that does the actual talking to the camera, this means that that can be smaller for mounting and the choice of the input device is now far more flexible as it can support pretty much any USB device that can be attached to it.
    In this version, the gamepad itself is wireless too so not only is it a lot neater but it can also be used to extend the overall distance of wireless control (its range to the control box is added to the range from the control box to the camera).
    I can also make it support multiple devices so you could have something smaller just to do basic control (or a USB numeric keypad would be quite good for that actually) and then use a more elaborate one when needed. Or do both simultaneously if you want control of exposure and someone else to do focus etc.
    Speaking of focus, this is now controlled by an analog stick so has a bit more feel to it (ignore the transitions in the video, the debug mode makes the control much coarser) with a press in the centre of the stick activating a one shot AF.  
    If your camera has a powered zoom lens (hello LX100 etc) then this is controlled from the same stick by pushing forward and back. 
    I believe that this will also work with those MFT lenses that support power zoom but I don't have one so I can't confirm that.
    I've made a drivable AF joystick point mode which you activate by pressing in on the right hand analog stick and then using the D Pad to drive the focus point around the screen and then pressing in the stick again to action it.
    There will be more focus enhancements coming.........
    The shutter speed and aperture are now controlled by the shoulder buttons on the gamepad and the ISO is now also directly switchable on two buttons.
    I've got a few more enhancements coming over the next few days as well so I'll keep you informed.
    In the meantime, here is a video of it controlling a GX80
     

  15. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from Justin Bacle in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So......
    A bit of an update
    I've spent the past few days redoing this from the ground up and there's been what you might call 'a bit' of progress.
    The camera functions are now controlled by a gamepad, which gives a bit more scope in terms of buttons etc.
    By separating out the part that does the actual talking to the camera, this means that that can be smaller for mounting and the choice of the input device is now far more flexible as it can support pretty much any USB device that can be attached to it.
    In this version, the gamepad itself is wireless too so not only is it a lot neater but it can also be used to extend the overall distance of wireless control (its range to the control box is added to the range from the control box to the camera).
    I can also make it support multiple devices so you could have something smaller just to do basic control (or a USB numeric keypad would be quite good for that actually) and then use a more elaborate one when needed. Or do both simultaneously if you want control of exposure and someone else to do focus etc.
    Speaking of focus, this is now controlled by an analog stick so has a bit more feel to it (ignore the transitions in the video, the debug mode makes the control much coarser) with a press in the centre of the stick activating a one shot AF.  
    If your camera has a powered zoom lens (hello LX100 etc) then this is controlled from the same stick by pushing forward and back. 
    I believe that this will also work with those MFT lenses that support power zoom but I don't have one so I can't confirm that.
    I've made a drivable AF joystick point mode which you activate by pressing in on the right hand analog stick and then using the D Pad to drive the focus point around the screen and then pressing in the stick again to action it.
    There will be more focus enhancements coming.........
    The shutter speed and aperture are now controlled by the shoulder buttons on the gamepad and the ISO is now also directly switchable on two buttons.
    I've got a few more enhancements coming over the next few days as well so I'll keep you informed.
    In the meantime, here is a video of it controlling a GX80
     

  16. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from Chris Oh in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So......
    A bit of an update
    I've spent the past few days redoing this from the ground up and there's been what you might call 'a bit' of progress.
    The camera functions are now controlled by a gamepad, which gives a bit more scope in terms of buttons etc.
    By separating out the part that does the actual talking to the camera, this means that that can be smaller for mounting and the choice of the input device is now far more flexible as it can support pretty much any USB device that can be attached to it.
    In this version, the gamepad itself is wireless too so not only is it a lot neater but it can also be used to extend the overall distance of wireless control (its range to the control box is added to the range from the control box to the camera).
    I can also make it support multiple devices so you could have something smaller just to do basic control (or a USB numeric keypad would be quite good for that actually) and then use a more elaborate one when needed. Or do both simultaneously if you want control of exposure and someone else to do focus etc.
    Speaking of focus, this is now controlled by an analog stick so has a bit more feel to it (ignore the transitions in the video, the debug mode makes the control much coarser) with a press in the centre of the stick activating a one shot AF.  
    If your camera has a powered zoom lens (hello LX100 etc) then this is controlled from the same stick by pushing forward and back. 
    I believe that this will also work with those MFT lenses that support power zoom but I don't have one so I can't confirm that.
    I've made a drivable AF joystick point mode which you activate by pressing in on the right hand analog stick and then using the D Pad to drive the focus point around the screen and then pressing in the stick again to action it.
    There will be more focus enhancements coming.........
    The shutter speed and aperture are now controlled by the shoulder buttons on the gamepad and the ISO is now also directly switchable on two buttons.
    I've got a few more enhancements coming over the next few days as well so I'll keep you informed.
    In the meantime, here is a video of it controlling a GX80
     

  17. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from Georgios in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So......
    A bit of an update
    I've spent the past few days redoing this from the ground up and there's been what you might call 'a bit' of progress.
    The camera functions are now controlled by a gamepad, which gives a bit more scope in terms of buttons etc.
    By separating out the part that does the actual talking to the camera, this means that that can be smaller for mounting and the choice of the input device is now far more flexible as it can support pretty much any USB device that can be attached to it.
    In this version, the gamepad itself is wireless too so not only is it a lot neater but it can also be used to extend the overall distance of wireless control (its range to the control box is added to the range from the control box to the camera).
    I can also make it support multiple devices so you could have something smaller just to do basic control (or a USB numeric keypad would be quite good for that actually) and then use a more elaborate one when needed. Or do both simultaneously if you want control of exposure and someone else to do focus etc.
    Speaking of focus, this is now controlled by an analog stick so has a bit more feel to it (ignore the transitions in the video, the debug mode makes the control much coarser) with a press in the centre of the stick activating a one shot AF.  
    If your camera has a powered zoom lens (hello LX100 etc) then this is controlled from the same stick by pushing forward and back. 
    I believe that this will also work with those MFT lenses that support power zoom but I don't have one so I can't confirm that.
    I've made a drivable AF joystick point mode which you activate by pressing in on the right hand analog stick and then using the D Pad to drive the focus point around the screen and then pressing in the stick again to action it.
    There will be more focus enhancements coming.........
    The shutter speed and aperture are now controlled by the shoulder buttons on the gamepad and the ISO is now also directly switchable on two buttons.
    I've got a few more enhancements coming over the next few days as well so I'll keep you informed.
    In the meantime, here is a video of it controlling a GX80
     

  18. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from ntblowz in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So as I've hinted more than a few times in the other thread, the discovery of the Cinelike D and other bits and pieces for the GX80 etc was actually a bit of a happy accident while I was trying to do understand the Panasonic wifi stuff for something else.
    And here is that something else.
    Well at least a prototype of it but it is fully functioning and will just be finessed a bit more.
    Basically, its a wireless hardware remote for the G series cameras that operates over wifi and can currently control record start/stop, shutter speed as well as aperture and focus if you're using a native lens, including a single shot AF switch.
    For the non-Cinelike D cameras that can now be hacked to have Cinelike D there is also a dedicated button to toggle it on and off so you don't need to mess about with browsers and computers or smartphones anymore.
    Focus and aperture control are done on a joystick and everything else is switches.
    I'll be putting a layer switch on so that it can be toggled back and forth to a different control mode for ISO, WB and other stuff.
    As this is the prototype it is nowhere near the finished piece and it will be reduced in form factor to just be about the size of the control board. Power is by any USB source so there are billions of options.
    There is a lot more finessing and feature enhancement to go on with regard to the focus control (and yes, I know exactly what you'll all want it to do !) but the hard part is done now.
    It does support the display of the values on a screen and I'll be sorting some options out for that.
    The purpose of this gadget is primarily for use with a gimbal but it can also be really useful on a tripod bar for anyone shooting live event stuff. For cameras with inbuilt lenses I'm going to add a zoom mode on the joystick.
    A very quick very rough demo so you can see it in action.
    Any lag you might see between me operating the controller and the camera video is just a sync issue between me throwing the two recordings on very quickly  
     
     
  19. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from buggz in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So as I've hinted more than a few times in the other thread, the discovery of the Cinelike D and other bits and pieces for the GX80 etc was actually a bit of a happy accident while I was trying to do understand the Panasonic wifi stuff for something else.
    And here is that something else.
    Well at least a prototype of it but it is fully functioning and will just be finessed a bit more.
    Basically, its a wireless hardware remote for the G series cameras that operates over wifi and can currently control record start/stop, shutter speed as well as aperture and focus if you're using a native lens, including a single shot AF switch.
    For the non-Cinelike D cameras that can now be hacked to have Cinelike D there is also a dedicated button to toggle it on and off so you don't need to mess about with browsers and computers or smartphones anymore.
    Focus and aperture control are done on a joystick and everything else is switches.
    I'll be putting a layer switch on so that it can be toggled back and forth to a different control mode for ISO, WB and other stuff.
    As this is the prototype it is nowhere near the finished piece and it will be reduced in form factor to just be about the size of the control board. Power is by any USB source so there are billions of options.
    There is a lot more finessing and feature enhancement to go on with regard to the focus control (and yes, I know exactly what you'll all want it to do !) but the hard part is done now.
    It does support the display of the values on a screen and I'll be sorting some options out for that.
    The purpose of this gadget is primarily for use with a gimbal but it can also be really useful on a tripod bar for anyone shooting live event stuff. For cameras with inbuilt lenses I'm going to add a zoom mode on the joystick.
    A very quick very rough demo so you can see it in action.
    Any lag you might see between me operating the controller and the camera video is just a sync issue between me throwing the two recordings on very quickly  
     
     
  20. Like
    BTM_Pix reacted to Andrew Reid in Sony A99 II so far, likes and dislikes   
    This camera is better in almost every way than the A7R II and A7S II.
    Lenses... I'll get onto those in a minute but A mount is nothing to be afraid of. Will be selling a lot of Canon glass after this and will end up actually saving money at the same time as increasing quality and decreasing weight.
    The AF is definitely better than the A7R II and kicks the A7S II into the dust. At F3.5 it tracks like a hawk. I can now see why Sony did this because at F1.4 on a softer lens it doesn't work nearly as well as Dual Pixel AF on the 1D X Mark II. But to have this bonus feature on the 24-70mm F2.8, losing just half a stop, but gaining amazing run & gun AF for video.
    The 1080/24p and 1080/120p are the SAME QUALITY. This makes the 1080/120p the best on the full frame camera market. The nicest ever. There's no crop, it's full frame. A7R II was 720p only and A7S II was a big 2x crop!
    What's more it is not just an S&Q mode but a fully continuous normal video mode with 5 axis IBIS and AF tracking, at 100Mbit. The S&Q mode is only 16Mbit.
    The 4K full frame quality is also very good but Super 35 does still have advantage in low light and to eliminate moire.
    Nice to have a top LCD for shooting info. A7 series lacks this of course.
    Buttons are better arranged than A7R II and A7S II. It is not laid out like a RX10 III. It is its own beast in terms of ergonomics.
    You can now assign Super 35mm mode to a button, which you can't on the mirrorless cams. The new menus are in there and do group stuff together better but they're not a big enough overhaul to make me really appreciate them. I try to go into the menus as little as possible. Unfortunately you can't assign 4K/1080p to a func. button or the func. menu, you have to dig into the menus when switching between 4K 24p and 1080/120fps.
    You can assign video recording to the exp. comp button next to shutter release, really handy. Default video button is better placed than A7 series but on the rear not the top.
    Exposure compensation can be assigned instead to rear or front dial when in A-priority mode, then it automatically reverts to shutter speed / aperture control in manual mode.... again super handy.
    The LCD can face forward for VLOGs and stuff, cannot do that with the A7 series or A9. It can also sit on top of the hotshoe almost (reminds me of Sony R1), or flips away to the base. More articulation options than the A7S II.
    AF for photos.... hmmm lovely. Super quick and reliable.
    The A lenses...TOP stuff. Particularly Zeiss 135mm F1.8, 50mm F1.4 and 24mm F2.0.
    The 85mm F1.4 is a bit noisy and slow for AF but great in MF. Super optically. The Zeiss 24-70mm F2.8 is like the G-Master lens, and just as big unfortunately.
    I prefer wherever possible the SSM lenses (24,50,24-70 but not 135 and 85) if using AF for video - much quieter internal focussing.
    I love the green indicator boxes in manual focus mode for video. Way less intrusive than peaking. It stops you from diving into the punch-in zoom mode or racking the focus ring back and forth a little bit to be sure. As soon as you get that green dot you can just stop and relax knowing that area is in focus. LOVE IT
    Have dialed EOSHD Pro Color into PP1. Looks WAY better than the default. Not tried S-LOG 3 to see if the banding is improved since A7S II yet. S-LOG 2 and S.Gamut Cine 3 with view assist all present like A7S II and an improvement over A7R II.
    42MP stills and 18MP Super 35 mode. This for photography is significantly more in resolutions terms than the 1D X Mark II and allows you to effectively get two high quality prime lens focal lengths in one.
    The camera is more responsive than A7R II / A7S II. Starting / stopping video has zero lag. Start-up time very good. Writing the 42MP RAW+JPEG files - MUCH smoother. Max write speed is 60MB/s to UHS 1 cards. Dual card slots. Not Compact Flash speeds (80MB/s plus) on the card controller but much better than A7R II 30-40MB/s.
    This isn't a DSLR. EVF quality is very good, translucent mirror doesn't flip. It's instant-on like mirrorless camera.
    Body size and weight is similar to the GH5. So far far less than 1D X Mark II.
    Has a DC-IN port, but doesn't seem to take charge from USB. Battery is probably too big for 5v 2-amp charging.
    There's a very smooth and nice front dial near the lens release which is assignable to things like ISO... It can be clickless or clicking.
    Now the bad stuff...
    The LCD dims in movie mode when you're shooting 4K or 120fps 1080p. It's either a power management thing or a heat thing. Makes exposure look totally different and 2 stops darker than same settings in stills mode. Very silly Sony!!! It seems all unnecessary on this camera because of the bigger battery than A7 series. Although the screen does get very slightly warm at full brightness outdoors, to think this would contribute to overheating problems is unlikely and it can be flipped completely away from the back of the camera where the hot main board and chipsets back directly onto the rear casing with no proper heat sink (I've seen the tear-down photos).
    Sadly my camera came with a small faulty part... a sticky joystick in the 'right' direction. Apparently it 'wears-in' over time but I don't think mine is proper...why would it only need wearing-in to click right responsively and not also up/down/left? We'll see if my next unit does the same weirdness. On this point, I think Sony still have work to do to convince us they can make buttons. Can you imagine this on a pro body like a Canon 1D X Mark II? Journalists would be rabid, foaming at the mouth.
    That's it for now, can't actually use it much more as it has to go back to DigitalRev but plan to do the review soon.
    I think this is a real rival to the GH5... No 10bit but you gain full frame, better slow-mo, 42MP stills and maintain pretty much all the other features.

    That's it with the Zeiss 50mm F1.4
    The Sony 35mm F1.4 G is also a nice one... forgot to mention that. It's much smaller and lighter than the Sigma ART 35mm.
    Size comparison with the GH5
    Although lens mount makes the A99 II look much larger, the tops of the bodies are practically level (look at hot shoe and mode dials)

    The grip is a bit deeper on the A99 II and card door a lot wider... dual card slots on both.

  21. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from funkyou86 in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So as I've hinted more than a few times in the other thread, the discovery of the Cinelike D and other bits and pieces for the GX80 etc was actually a bit of a happy accident while I was trying to do understand the Panasonic wifi stuff for something else.
    And here is that something else.
    Well at least a prototype of it but it is fully functioning and will just be finessed a bit more.
    Basically, its a wireless hardware remote for the G series cameras that operates over wifi and can currently control record start/stop, shutter speed as well as aperture and focus if you're using a native lens, including a single shot AF switch.
    For the non-Cinelike D cameras that can now be hacked to have Cinelike D there is also a dedicated button to toggle it on and off so you don't need to mess about with browsers and computers or smartphones anymore.
    Focus and aperture control are done on a joystick and everything else is switches.
    I'll be putting a layer switch on so that it can be toggled back and forth to a different control mode for ISO, WB and other stuff.
    As this is the prototype it is nowhere near the finished piece and it will be reduced in form factor to just be about the size of the control board. Power is by any USB source so there are billions of options.
    There is a lot more finessing and feature enhancement to go on with regard to the focus control (and yes, I know exactly what you'll all want it to do !) but the hard part is done now.
    It does support the display of the values on a screen and I'll be sorting some options out for that.
    The purpose of this gadget is primarily for use with a gimbal but it can also be really useful on a tripod bar for anyone shooting live event stuff. For cameras with inbuilt lenses I'm going to add a zoom mode on the joystick.
    A very quick very rough demo so you can see it in action.
    Any lag you might see between me operating the controller and the camera video is just a sync issue between me throwing the two recordings on very quickly  
     
     
  22. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from Samin in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So as I've hinted more than a few times in the other thread, the discovery of the Cinelike D and other bits and pieces for the GX80 etc was actually a bit of a happy accident while I was trying to do understand the Panasonic wifi stuff for something else.
    And here is that something else.
    Well at least a prototype of it but it is fully functioning and will just be finessed a bit more.
    Basically, its a wireless hardware remote for the G series cameras that operates over wifi and can currently control record start/stop, shutter speed as well as aperture and focus if you're using a native lens, including a single shot AF switch.
    For the non-Cinelike D cameras that can now be hacked to have Cinelike D there is also a dedicated button to toggle it on and off so you don't need to mess about with browsers and computers or smartphones anymore.
    Focus and aperture control are done on a joystick and everything else is switches.
    I'll be putting a layer switch on so that it can be toggled back and forth to a different control mode for ISO, WB and other stuff.
    As this is the prototype it is nowhere near the finished piece and it will be reduced in form factor to just be about the size of the control board. Power is by any USB source so there are billions of options.
    There is a lot more finessing and feature enhancement to go on with regard to the focus control (and yes, I know exactly what you'll all want it to do !) but the hard part is done now.
    It does support the display of the values on a screen and I'll be sorting some options out for that.
    The purpose of this gadget is primarily for use with a gimbal but it can also be really useful on a tripod bar for anyone shooting live event stuff. For cameras with inbuilt lenses I'm going to add a zoom mode on the joystick.
    A very quick very rough demo so you can see it in action.
    Any lag you might see between me operating the controller and the camera video is just a sync issue between me throwing the two recordings on very quickly  
     
     
  23. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from ibd in Would You Perhaps Be Interested In A Different GX80/85 Colour Profile???   
    I've had a bit more of a dig about this because I was pretty sure that I remembered that the viewfinder app was upscaling to fill the phone screen. 
    I had remembered correctly as it turns out the live stream resolution is only 640 x 480 so that would immediately rule it out.
  24. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from Mikey R in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So as I've hinted more than a few times in the other thread, the discovery of the Cinelike D and other bits and pieces for the GX80 etc was actually a bit of a happy accident while I was trying to do understand the Panasonic wifi stuff for something else.
    And here is that something else.
    Well at least a prototype of it but it is fully functioning and will just be finessed a bit more.
    Basically, its a wireless hardware remote for the G series cameras that operates over wifi and can currently control record start/stop, shutter speed as well as aperture and focus if you're using a native lens, including a single shot AF switch.
    For the non-Cinelike D cameras that can now be hacked to have Cinelike D there is also a dedicated button to toggle it on and off so you don't need to mess about with browsers and computers or smartphones anymore.
    Focus and aperture control are done on a joystick and everything else is switches.
    I'll be putting a layer switch on so that it can be toggled back and forth to a different control mode for ISO, WB and other stuff.
    As this is the prototype it is nowhere near the finished piece and it will be reduced in form factor to just be about the size of the control board. Power is by any USB source so there are billions of options.
    There is a lot more finessing and feature enhancement to go on with regard to the focus control (and yes, I know exactly what you'll all want it to do !) but the hard part is done now.
    It does support the display of the values on a screen and I'll be sorting some options out for that.
    The purpose of this gadget is primarily for use with a gimbal but it can also be really useful on a tripod bar for anyone shooting live event stuff. For cameras with inbuilt lenses I'm going to add a zoom mode on the joystick.
    A very quick very rough demo so you can see it in action.
    Any lag you might see between me operating the controller and the camera video is just a sync issue between me throwing the two recordings on very quickly  
     
     
  25. Like
    BTM_Pix got a reaction from gatopardo in And For My Next Trick....... (aka Why I was hacking the GX80 in the first place)   
    So as I've hinted more than a few times in the other thread, the discovery of the Cinelike D and other bits and pieces for the GX80 etc was actually a bit of a happy accident while I was trying to do understand the Panasonic wifi stuff for something else.
    And here is that something else.
    Well at least a prototype of it but it is fully functioning and will just be finessed a bit more.
    Basically, its a wireless hardware remote for the G series cameras that operates over wifi and can currently control record start/stop, shutter speed as well as aperture and focus if you're using a native lens, including a single shot AF switch.
    For the non-Cinelike D cameras that can now be hacked to have Cinelike D there is also a dedicated button to toggle it on and off so you don't need to mess about with browsers and computers or smartphones anymore.
    Focus and aperture control are done on a joystick and everything else is switches.
    I'll be putting a layer switch on so that it can be toggled back and forth to a different control mode for ISO, WB and other stuff.
    As this is the prototype it is nowhere near the finished piece and it will be reduced in form factor to just be about the size of the control board. Power is by any USB source so there are billions of options.
    There is a lot more finessing and feature enhancement to go on with regard to the focus control (and yes, I know exactly what you'll all want it to do !) but the hard part is done now.
    It does support the display of the values on a screen and I'll be sorting some options out for that.
    The purpose of this gadget is primarily for use with a gimbal but it can also be really useful on a tripod bar for anyone shooting live event stuff. For cameras with inbuilt lenses I'm going to add a zoom mode on the joystick.
    A very quick very rough demo so you can see it in action.
    Any lag you might see between me operating the controller and the camera video is just a sync issue between me throwing the two recordings on very quickly  
     
     
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