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It plays in 4K for me, and looks pretty good! There is some optical distortions, but it looks like the normal ones from filming through glass, so not the cameras fault.

That's more like the performance I remember from previous models. Field curvature is a thing, which he doesn't test in the video, so that might be the cause of some edge softness. For example here is an article with graphs: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2019/11/practical-use-of-field-curvature-graphs-the-50mm-primes/ It is odd that such a setup would have these issues more than the lens itself, considering that I thought the setup was just the lens projecting onto ground glass that the phone focused on. Or are there additional optics inside the mechanism? If so, that's probably the cause. The focus peaking not showing up is just because the setup is very soft, this is a common problem when using vintage lenses.

The relationship between a cameras image and the emotional experience of the viewer are connected, but a compelling story will completely overwhelm the image quality. I know there is no discussion on here about what happens to images once they're captured (and much discussion is relevant to only single images) but I think that the image quality is part of the last 10% of polish on top of a finished piece. Love is still love, even if it's in SD Heartbreak is still devastating even if shot on Alexa Betrayal is still ugly even if using Canon colour science Emotions are still colourful even if filmed in B&W If you want to make a feature then go ahead and make one. You are probably already familiar with Noam Kroll and the principles of writing the film you can make, starting with what you have access to and working backwards. I think that probably everyone is capable of making a feature film of significance if they were able to look within and tell a story inspired by their own struggles. Until recently all of TV was in worse quality than every FHD camera on the planet, and millions or billions of stories were told. Don't let colour subsampling and DR distract you from the fact that the human experience is universal, and that what separates a good film from a bad one is how much the audience can relate emotionally to what they see.

The first footage I saw was in a studio, but everything looks so good in a studio now that it's not a test that really stands for much. I've also seen a couple of videos of it on FPV drones, but those were coloured badly or weren't that useful. I wasn't sure that people would even use it outside a studio at all actually, but thankfully I was wrong 🙂

One aspect of this camera I'm particularly interested in is the AF. I use AF-S with back-button on the GX85, which is very good and very fast, but if this has anything like that level of performance then it will be a very interesting thing to add to my setup. One thing that makes it super interesting is that the Dual ISO means it will have much better low-light than the single ISO GX85, so would make me quite torn between the two.

I've been chatting with @mercer about it and we think it's the same sensor as the P4K. The sensor specs that we've looked at all line up between the two cameras. So if you think of it that way, it's the small box version of the P4K that everyone was asking for. It might be larger than the M2K but it sure is smaller than the P4K!

First outside footage... looks good to me!

Yossy has weighed in: https://ymcinema.com/2024/01/11/panasonic-strengthens-its-imaging-business-will-the-cinema-lineup-be-renovated/ Lots of discussion of the EVA1, Varicam, etc in there, as well as rumours of a refreshed cine line with S35 and FF/MF options.

I started just after The School of Computing had formed and separated from the School of Engineering. In first semester they taught us to program in Pascal via the "it's like a recipe" -> pseudocode -> Pascal path. In second semester they kept going with the theory in Pascal and also taught us C and assembler too, so by 9 months in we were coding double linked-list databases in assembler. Some kids hadn't used a computer before the course.... welcome to computer science! After that I have vague memories of Java, Javascript, Perl, Fortran, Visual Basic, etc but the main language was always C.

Definitely getting better. Considering it's on a gimbal and is an enthusiasts camera, I think they could spend a bit more on the next iteration (or release a Pro model) and make next model with a collection of cameras like smartphones now do. Even if it had a 15mm equivalent, a 24mm equivalent and an 85mm equivalent that would be great. Or make them the 8K like the Insta360 Ace Pro and you could have 4K recording with the 16mm (and 32mm with crop), then 50mm (and 100mm with crop).

In my Comp Sci degree, we reached a point where we realised that after learning 3 or 4 new programming languages in first year there were no more programming units after that. Unfortunately we got a shock when we arrived in second year at the start of a unit called something like Numerical and Computational Methods and they told us we'd spend the first 8 weeks learning Fortran, then we'd be using it to program all sorts of horrific mathematics-related things, like converging and diverging algorithms, L-U matrix decomposition, path-finding, etc. The lecturer had written a small book on Fortran that was very well written and absolutely essential because the lectures weren't enough to learn it and so we had to keep the book on hand to refer to while doing assignments etc. Apparently in subsequent years they worked out that the lectures weren't enough and that students were teaching themselves from the book, so they shortened the Fortran lectures from 8 weeks to 6, and eventually to 4 weeks. After that we arrived at the start of each unit thinking "what they hell are they going to sneak into this unit that wasn't included in the unit outline". Sadly, that wasn't misplaced paranoia as subsequent units involved more additional programming languages than I can remember, and even open-ended assignments where you had to accomplish some goal in a programming language of your choosing. After all that, if I had to pick a programming language to work in, Fortran wouldn't be it!

Yeah, familiar with that one. When I was into hifi I once paid almost $100 for a pair of resistors. They were custom made high-precision ones made from exotic materials, so were expensive at USD$10 each, but it was the USD$60 shipping fee (which at the time was the minimum cost for whatever courier they used exclusively for shipping their products). Combined with import duties, we call it the Australia Tax. It's also one of the reasons I don't tend to sell things I'm done with it.

The variable aperture zoom lenses aren't fixed DoF, but they're certainly close.. ...and I think you're talking about Mina Rhodes who did a bunch of Urban Symphony style videos like this one?

If you shoot a test shot of the X-Rite then you should be able to just pull it into Resolve and have a bunch of guesses on CST settings and just watch the vector scope and waveform to see which are closest. Just remember to shoot the chart with high CRI lights and expose it well. I don't know the exact theoretical way to shoot them, but I shoot my chart by just exposing normally and it comes out fine in the charts with the right CST. Even if you only find a combination that is close, it's like I said before "if it looks good, it is good" and unless you're doing scientific work or commercial shoots then the colours don't have to be exact, and if you're doing narrative work then the colours are best when being true to the emotion of the scene, rather than the specific objects that were filmed in the scene.

My P2K and M2K are both ready to shoot!

The word in the OG FB groups is Kingston SD cards work, with a number of accounts suggesting the file format used matters (the Mac one is better apparently - I think they mean ExFat) and some people suggest the green ones aren't so good and to get the blue or red ones. I can't confirm though.

I'm also curious to hear from @BTM_Pix on why this doesn't move the needle for him, however I can imagine a number of situations why it wouldn't be a revelation for folks. For me it's a revolution in phone footage, but it's not a revolution in how I shoot. Here's an outline of my thoughts: The iPhone 15 main camera creates a nice image, but is an 8K sensor with a fixed 3mm F1.78 lens, which with the crop factor of 8.0 is equivalent to a 24mm F14.2 lens. This lens can employ a 2x crop and still be 4K, but beyond that is upsampling. The iPhone 15 other cameras have shown that unless provided enough light (basically they need direct daylight) they exhibit significant noise An RX100 has a 9-72mm F2.8-4.5 lens (with a crop factor of 2.667 is 24-192mm), which means there is no cropping below 4k when zooming beyond 48mm equivalent, and compared to the iPhones tele camera (5x 120mm f2.8) will keep its 4k resolution when zoomed beyond the 120mm iPhone camera Other fixed-zoom cameras like the LX100 will be similar to the RX100 For me, when comparing the iPhone to the GX85, there is no competition.. The iPhone 15 has real log, is small, has PDAF and can instantly change between various focal lengths however.. The GX85 can be fit with F0.95 primes for low-light ..has a tilt screen for overhead and low-angle shots ..can use super-zooms like the 14-140mm ..can be used with extreme telephotos like my Tamron 400mm F5.6 prime etc However, let's do something radical and assume we want to make a film, and assess things from the perspective of that end goal. The iPhone allows you to shoot very fast, and provides good image quality at one or two focal lengths, and good image quality in a couple of others in direct daylight conditions. The main camera has zero background defocus when focusing further than 7ft away. The iPhone 5x tele is equivalent to a 120mm F22 lens with a DoF of 1.76ft at a 10ft focus distance, but the RX100 has a DoF of 0.38ft at 10ft focus distance when it's at 192mm full zoom, and the iPhone 5x camera will be cropped to 2.4K from its 4K sensor at that focal length. The iPhone lacks the ability to optically zoom to the right composition without cropping past 4K to lower resolutions. The iPhone is a great camera if you want small size, to work fast, and have a "I get what I get" type of shooting style, but not many films would start with the final product in mind and work backwards to arrive at the conclusion that the iPhone, and all it's limitations, is the perfect tool for the job with the least compromises compared to other options. My current setup that I will trial for my next holiday is this: iPhone 12 Mini for very low-key shots and for use when moving fast like going through airports etc where I need to think about other things but want to grab a shot here or there GX85 with 12-35mm F2.8 zoom (and iPhone wide camera for ultra-wides) for times when a small camera is ok and I need to shoot very quickly to get spontaneous moments GX85 with 7.5/2 + 17.5/0.95 + 50/1.2 primes for low-light times, such as sightseeing at night, going into caves / mines / etc P2K or M2K with 12-35mm F2.8 zoom for times when I can work slowly to expose and focus manually / slowly, there is good light, etc If I bought an iPhone 15 Pro my iPhone shots would be improved, but it's not replacing the GX85 because it can't zoom or operate in low-light, and doesn't come close to the IQ of the P2K or M2K cameras which are closer to the IQ of an Alexa than the iPhone.

A bit of googling found this - I would imagine this answers your questions?

I see a delay in the audio from my GX85, and where it matters I just re-align them manually. If it matters to you, just include an event at the beginning of each clip that allows you to align it in post. This is why the clapperboard is used in making movies - it allows the picture and sound to be aligned. If it matters then you should also ensure that the timing is stable over time, so there are no drifts over long takes.

Stealth can be one motivator, that's definitely true. The MagSafe quick-attached ND / filter holders would be suitable for such a thing, if you wanted a 180 shutter and manual experience. The fact the back of the phone doesn't look like a phone might even help to disguise the filming activity. If you're pointing the camera at someone the other strategy is to pose, like you're taking selfies instead of using the rear-cameras to shoot other people. That's probably the mobile phone equivalent of Wingrand constantly fumbling with his SLR so people think he's an incompetent old man who doesn't know how to hold a camera, rather than someone taking photos. I stand corrected on the BeastGrip adapter - the MK3 DOF adapter seems to look just fine, unlike the previous ones which had the optical performance of a lens from the 1800's. Still, it's not a good option if you also want to be stealthy!

Do you mean they're not that usable without having a cage for the Shogun Flame? Why is that? Surely it's ok if you just mount it to the rig you have? I must admit I have an attraction/repulsion reaction to external monitors. Attraction because of their potential brightness, size, and resolution, but repulsion about the extra size, weight, need for a rig, extra batteries (and additional chargers etc), etc. I keep having the following: I should use the P2K P2K screen doesn't articulate and isn't visible outdoors I could use an external monitor for it What a PITA - I may as well use the M2K (BMMCC) M2K has rubbish buttons and having a rig is too big / cumbersome If only there was a way to get that image without a rig I should use the P2K. (Go to step 1, loop...... forever!)

This was always the problem I had with using a phone on manual settings - you are forced to choose one of the following: Buy the latest phone and use it as a phone and camera, and use a rig for the camera use Crap option because you now don't have good access to your phone, plus you risk interruptions from calls / notifications or have to use aeroplane mode and miss potentially important things Buy the latest phone and use it as a phone and camera, with some sort of rig that easily removed for the camera use Almost any clip-on/off rig (even just an ND) is normally incompatible with proper cases that protect the phone, either requiring you use their protective case (which is invariably a POS), or you take the proper case on and off (which is hard to do and damages them quickly), or you have to use the phone without much drop/scratch protection Buy the latest phone as camera and use your old phone as phone If I just paid a bunch of money for a phone that is only a camera, why didn't I just buy a proper camera? Buy two of the latest phones, one for phone, one for camera Same as above. Buy an older phone as camera Same as above, with the possible exception of buying an android phone that can shoot RAW I also did a deep-dive on the setups that use ground glass and a real lens and the image had huge problems - if any camera looked like that then it would be laughed off the internet. One potential exception is that newer designs seem to use the MagSafe attachment to hold a filter / ND, which might actually be an acceptable solution for filters, but not likely strong enough for lenses.

Our host isn't the biggest fan of that particular person and has requested previously that his content not be shared.

Wow, that's a misleading use of a test chart!

Just thinking further about this, I think that the competition is so hot right now, but for things that have been over-delivered. Upping the resolution from 6K wouldn't be a game changer because it's already more than most people need. RAW can't be improved on. But, do we think that cameras are perfect now? Hell no! So, I think there's tonnes of room for them to make it a huge release, simply by focusing on the things that the entire industry (apart from perhaps ARRI) seem to have put in the too-hard basket. I've been watching Twin Peaks (shot in 4:3 35mm film) on Paramount+ which seems to be streaming in 480p or something, but it just looks incredible regardless. If motion picture film from 1990 being streamed in 480p can look better than a $10K 8K RAW shooting FF camera, then I'd say there's lots of stuff left that can be improved.