kye

I don’t know about when you’re in Reality only needing three cameras but here in Delusionville it’s eight minimum.

They're everywhere, and are often just normal TVs rotated 90 degrees
In shopping malls


Some are pretty big

Some are pretty tall too, presumably for narrower spaces

Outdoors

Bus stops

In shop windows


etc.

I suspect that most people will have different "categories" depending on what they're doing, but I absolutely like the thinking behind this.  The more we can make sense of what we do and how we do it, the more clarity we can get and the faster we can get a kit that works and then focus on using it.
As I only shoot personal projects, I don't need a work camera, so my main category is my run-n-gun travel camera, the GH7, which is used exclusively hand-held.  
For daytime use it's the GH7 with 14-140mm zoom, which has incredible stabilisation, and the zoom lens means I can capture almost anything I can see.  It also has an integrated fan, great image quality, strong codecs, etc.
For night use I can use the GH7 with 12-35mm F2.8 and get great neutral images.
For funky night cinema I can pair it with fast primes like the Voigtlander 17.5mm F0.95 or Speedbooster with Takumar 50mm F1.4.
The second camera is (of course) my phone, which I recently upgraded to the iPhone 17 Pro from the 12 Mini.  The combination of Apple Log, internal Prores HQ, and the 0.5x / 1x / 2x / 4x / 8x cameras makes it incredible for travel.  I'm waiting for a good vND solution to come out.  Apart from the low-light, it's basically an all-in-one solution now.
Some time ago smartphones replaced my waterproof camera category which was previously GoPro / Sony X3000 action cameras.
I used to have a fourth "category" which was a backup camera and used for time-lapses, but now the iPhone is good enough in the unlikely event of something happening to the GH7 and I don't really shoot time-lapses anymore so I don't really need one, but I still have an "itch" for something else.
Random thoughts:
It could be something very retro, like something with poor video quality that was nostalgic in some way, and graded to look either digital or analog electronic or film
My OG BMPCC and BMMCC and GF3 all come to mind for this. It could be something very stylised / attitude like being super fisheye or 360 or something It could be something very niche in how you'd use it, like it could be mounted on something for a unique perspective, or could be on a pole for strange perspectives..  or even something like an action camera that you wear on your wrist and take a 10s clip every 15 minutes, or pocketable camera that you record a clip with every so often. The whole point would be a tool that would make me use it differently to how I normally use / think about shooting, and therefore be a fun and creative addition.

They're everywhere, and are often just normal TVs rotated 90 degrees
In shopping malls


Some are pretty big

Some are pretty tall too, presumably for narrower spaces

Outdoors

Bus stops

In shop windows


etc.

They're everywhere, and are often just normal TVs rotated 90 degrees
In shopping malls


Some are pretty big

Some are pretty tall too, presumably for narrower spaces

Outdoors

Bus stops

In shop windows


etc.

I’ve been thinking about camera needs lately, and I feel like, at the most basic level, everything can be broken down into three main cameras.
First is the do-it-all, high-spec work camera. This is the one you use when clients ask for serious specs like 4K/120p or even 8K, or when you just want the best possible image quality. Cameras like the EOS R5 II, Nikon Z8, Sony a1, or Panasonic S1R II fit here. They’re expensive, but they can handle almost anything.
Second is what I’d call an “art camera.” This is for personal use, travel, street photography, and just having fun. Ergonomics, size, and character matter more here, but it still needs to shoot good 4K video and work well in low light. Think Fuji X-Pro3, X100 VI, Sigma fp or fp-L, or even the Sony RX1R if video isn’t important. These are the cameras you actually want to carry around.
Third is the high-end smartphone camera. Like it or not, this one is essential now and fills a lot of gaps.
Of course, three cameras don’t really cover everything for professional work, and budget changes things a lot. You can get very capable work cameras for well under $3k, like the Fuji X-H2S. And if I added a fourth “serious” category, it would be medium format, like the Fuji GFX line or Hasselblad.
But in reality… things get out of control fast. I somehow end up with way more “categories,” like high-spec all-rounders, art cameras, retro digicams, CCD cameras, Foveon cameras, IR-modded cameras, impulse buys, cameras I bought twice, cameras bought to flip, broken cameras I’m fixing, run-and-gun small sensor bodies, weird stuff like Mavicas with CD drives, and compact CCD cameras with flash for that Polaroid look.
I’m sure I’m forgetting a few. What camera “category” am I missing?

They're everywhere, and are often just normal TVs rotated 90 degrees
In shopping malls


Some are pretty big

Some are pretty tall too, presumably for narrower spaces

Outdoors

Bus stops

In shop windows


etc.

When using 16:9 to create vertical videos, the loss of resolution is less of the issue (at least for me) and more the POV, especially as it pertains to action. You lose so much information cropping a 16:9 video into a 9:16 timeline. Open gate allows you to crop off less from the left and right, giving you more perspective.
Here is an example, though it's not exactly a perfect one, since one shot is made from a cropped 16:9 frame and the other is from a cell phone that was filming in 9:16, since we were doing quick on site turnaround working with the college that hired us' social media team, but you'd get the same effect using open gate like we usually do. (Sorry this was just the easiest/most recent example I could make.)

This is made from a 16:9 frame. Notice how the celebrating wrestler takes up the entire frame, so you can't see many of the attendees?

Here is a shot straight from the vertical video. You'd get the same view if you were cropping an open gate image.
The second image is preferable, especially when it comes to marketing ourselves to other colleges who might be interested in hiring us, as they can better see the reaction everything is getting from the students in attendance. Plus, it just offers a broader image that better illustrates the vibe and excitement of the audience.

I think the goal is to record once and have a frame that can be cropped to work with both landscape and portrait edits.

Fair point. 

Don't forget that there is a silent army of people who are making work for clients.
I am in a number of private groups with professionals (shooting corporate, advertising/PR, etc) and things like open gate are absolutely critical for those amongst them doing commercial work.  I thought that Cams video on open gate was actually really good and explained it well.
Basically every camera argument is people saying "I definitely need the things I use, and no-one needs the things I don't use".

Don't forget that there is a silent army of people who are making work for clients.
I am in a number of private groups with professionals (shooting corporate, advertising/PR, etc) and things like open gate are absolutely critical for those amongst them doing commercial work.  I thought that Cams video on open gate was actually really good and explained it well.
Basically every camera argument is people saying "I definitely need the things I use, and no-one needs the things I don't use".

Absolutely.
I am a huge proponent of doing tests.
Pick a lens and go out and shoot with it for a day, edit, grade, and export it, then watch it over and over again for a week or so and see how it makes you feel.  Do it again.  Do it with a different camera.  Do it with a different technique.
Pick a sequence of 5 shots and then shoot that sequence with several lenses, edit the sequences together and then compare them.
Shoot a latitude test (the same shot but with each at a different exposure) and then work out how to grade them in post to match the shots.  This will check if you have your colour management setup correctly, and will also show you the limits of your camera.
Take a series of shots and lower the saturation on all of them, and duplicate the shots many times in a timeline.  Then test every method you can find to raise the saturation again, label and export them.  Over a week or so look at them, compare them, see how each makes the footage feel, makes you feel.
Take the same series of shots as above, but try every LUT, try every method to add contrast, every way to apply a tint, every way to change WB, every way to add a split tone, every way to sharpen, every way to soften, every way to grade.  Test every look..  film emulation, VHS emulation, etc.  Test every resolution.  Every way to add grain.  Every way to reduce noise.  Every aspect ratio.
The goal is to learn how to see.

Don't forget that there is a silent army of people who are making work for clients.
I am in a number of private groups with professionals (shooting corporate, advertising/PR, etc) and things like open gate are absolutely critical for those amongst them doing commercial work.  I thought that Cams video on open gate was actually really good and explained it well.
Basically every camera argument is people saying "I definitely need the things I use, and no-one needs the things I don't use".

Don't forget that there is a silent army of people who are making work for clients.
I am in a number of private groups with professionals (shooting corporate, advertising/PR, etc) and things like open gate are absolutely critical for those amongst them doing commercial work.  I thought that Cams video on open gate was actually really good and explained it well.
Basically every camera argument is people saying "I definitely need the things I use, and no-one needs the things I don't use".

This is a good idea. One thing that art school students get are assignments. This provides them with opportunities to explore things and learn from them. If someone isn't in art school (or film school or whatever) they can still give themselves assignments. Set parameters that they have to get creative within, do a series on a theme, etc.

This is one of the 485 reasons why I look at all the latest FF cameras and just shrug then go back to my MFT cameras.  
Life without camera GAS is a very different experience..

This is one of the 485 reasons why I look at all the latest FF cameras and just shrug then go back to my MFT cameras.  
Life without camera GAS is a very different experience..

This is one of the 485 reasons why I look at all the latest FF cameras and just shrug then go back to my MFT cameras.  
Life without camera GAS is a very different experience..

I have the same vague impression, but I'm not sure.  I never really went looking for it.  But as you said, if there's some polarization, it stays consistent as the ND is dialed up or down.
Definitely, it's one of the dangers of vND.  Also with wide angle lenses during the day, the sky can end up looking funky and not just different.

Looks like you can just change the URL of the map camera link to get previous months..
https://news.mapcamera.com/maptimes/2025年10月-新品・中古デジタルカメラ人気ランキング/
https://news.mapcamera.com/maptimes/2025年9月-新品・中古デジタルカメラ人気ランキング/
etc.

I had the vague impression that LCD panels had some element of polarisation to them, but maybe that's not true.
However, even if it was true, the fact you haven't noticed any probably means the polarisation isn't changing direction as the strength varies.
I do a lot of tests where I match different shots in post, things like latitude tests etc, and if I use a vND to control exposure then I'll end up with two shots where the subject is the same WB/exp but the sky or the level of reflections in water/glass will be completely different, which ends up being the polarisation from the rotating element of the vND being a different angle between the two shots.

Looks cool. I'm still a little confused about how it attaches to the lens, and if it's compatible with other matte boxes and filtration, or whether it integrates into a proprietary matte box system. I'd like to see something similar that fits into a 4x4 or 4x5.65 slot, like the prototype that LC-Tec made a while ago https://www.newsshooter.com/2025/09/14/kippertie-lc-tec-electronic-variable-nd-electronic-diffusion-solutions-at-ibc-2025/ (From the interviews with LC-Tec earlier this year, it sounds like they manufacture the LCDs for many companies, including metabones and kippertie, and I wouldn't be surprised if they also manufacture for this Benro product although I have no source on that)
No polarization, but not necessarily better color accuracy or anything. Quality can vary.
Yeah I've thought about the same thing, and with that sort of tool you could have arbitrary shapes instead of a straight split. I imagine the cost goes up considerably when it gets fancy.

e-ND filters (at least the ones I've seen) are LCD panels with what is effectively a single very large pixel, so yes, it won't have some of the drawbacks of a vND, especially including no X when dialed up.  I've never noticed any polarization with mine which is the inline filter for the EF mount on Z Cam.  They are also effectively infinitely variable (if someone wants to nitpick that, feel free) so they also make it less important to have a clickless aperture, if you're one of the people who needs stepless exposure pulls on a regular basis.
As for color accuracy, that'd depend on the quality of the LCD panel used, I imagine - but at the very least, I would expect it to stay consistent throughout its range.
I'd also be curious in the future if someone will come out with an electronic ND that allows for gradations or split filtering, etc.  Landscape photographers would be all over it.

Finally someone has done it
https://www.benro.com/en/prelaunch/NE1-nd-filter.html
It has a nifty bluetooth controller with auto-AE as well.
Curious to see how nice it is to use, but no word on pricing yet.