kye

That would be the least exiting takeaway from a conversation about a thick S35 HD image from the S1H.😂 @kye

Yes, it's called "being a parent".

LOL about leeks..  I'd just go for potato and leek soup, which is quite lovely actually 🙂 
In all seriousness, I think the biggest factor in any piece of equipment is how it makes you feel, because if you're feeling good then you'll make better compositions, people will react to you differently and you'll have an easier time and the people in the images will be happier and more at ease, etc.  
I get a good feeling when shooting with the GH5, knowing how nice the files are in post, and also with the GX85 because I like how it is to shoot with in terms of the size and form-factor.  If you feel like you're fighting with the camera all the time, it won't matter what the colour science is like, the shooting and content will suffer more than the image can make up for.

LOL about leeks..  I'd just go for potato and leek soup, which is quite lovely actually 🙂 
In all seriousness, I think the biggest factor in any piece of equipment is how it makes you feel, because if you're feeling good then you'll make better compositions, people will react to you differently and you'll have an easier time and the people in the images will be happier and more at ease, etc.  
I get a good feeling when shooting with the GH5, knowing how nice the files are in post, and also with the GX85 because I like how it is to shoot with in terms of the size and form-factor.  If you feel like you're fighting with the camera all the time, it won't matter what the colour science is like, the shooting and content will suffer more than the image can make up for.

Just upscale it - people can't see the difference anyway!

I wanted something that would carry on the spirit of the original X100 I preordered before it went on sale in early 2011 and then became my dual purpose 'EDC' (though that term I don't think existed back then) plus candid work camera.
It was brilliant at that role, at that time, albeit with pretty bad battery life and sloooooow autofocus.
I don't know why I 'moved' on from that after only a couple of years, - chasing something 'better' I guess, except nothing came close and I drifted into just using my phone.
The phone though is just a device to me. Utterly convenient, but utterly without any joy in it's use or the in the results it produces.
The only other element the X100 lacked for me was the ability to change focal lengths. I love the purity of the fixed lens approach but the reality is, for the work side at least, sometimes I need wider or longer.
I tried the '28' and '50' adapters with the X100 and they were kind of OK, the 28 feeling quite natural but the 50 nose heavy and spoiled the use of that camera. Plus not quite long enough.
Oh and at just 12mp, more than enough for my personal needs but a tad low for work.
I had considered and came very close to opting for the Ricoh GRiiiX and if it had just been for personal use, would have been the one due to size and that 40mm focal length which I really like.
But I have to consider my work needs so went Nikon Zf with the 40mm f2 SE lens.
I've been flip-flopping all year long regarding going back to Nikon but the announcement of the Zf sealed the deal. I never saw it coming (wasn't really looking) but a few weeks ago when the World was alerted to it's imminent existence, I knew they had made my 'X100' for 2024>
Arrives tomorrow I think...
It won't be going back. Not the slightest question mark over its purchase. So many times I put something in my shopping basket only to remove it before hitting the buy button, or hitting that buy button and then within 24 hours, changing my mind. With the Zf, I did a preorder and then canceled and then looked at it again and re-pre-ordered. Not even a hint of a regret since doing that and that's the first time in a decade I reckon.
As to use, personal will be 100% photo and work not entirely sure yet but probably around 50:50 photo/video, - it depends on what other unit I get to replace the Lumix S5ii's I am replacing...
It's not exactly cheap, the Zf, but it's what I have been missing in spirit/ethos for both personal and work. A tad larger, but far more capable and versatile than the X100. Only real gripe is the flip out screen over a tilt, but kind of got used to flip outs with the S5ii's all this year.
If I change my mind, I'll eat it's weight in leeks (I hate leeks) live on YouTube.

My main changes came from my two last big trips, which were Melbourne and Korea.  Partly these changes came from shooting, partly from reviewing the footage, and partly from thinking about it since.
I realised my iPhone 12 Mini shoots 10-bit HDR footage internally, and the colour science is quite benign / neutral
Ironically, I did a test to rule out the iPhone as a real camera, but ended up proving the opposite!  
I preferred the shooting experience with the GX85 over the GH5
This is just purely down to the size and form-factor of the camera.  Not only is it easier to carry and therefore faster to shoot with because it's close-to-hand, but less people look at you while shooting, the kids were less intimidated by it when shooting them, and it was a generally nicer experience.
I preferred the speed of AF vs manual focus lenses
The AF-S on MFT cameras is practically instant and very reliable.  I don't need continuous AF as I tend to compose-focus-shoot-stop then repeat when I shoot a new composition.
I realised that a zoom lens would get me a wider range of shots
I am used to working a scene pretty heavily, seeing shots at various focal lengths, and also anticipating compositions and moving around to try and make them work (e.g. can I get a shot showing the view in the background, the church in the foreground, and framed by this flowering plant?).  Having a zoom means just quickly grabbing all the shots I can see.
I realised I don't need a fast lens
This was an interesting one.  I shot a lot with the 14mm F2.5 and it was borderline too shallow DoF wide open, because what I want is a bit of background separation, but not so thin a DoF that I get focusing issues, especially during the shot when the subject is moving around and the subject distance changes a bit.
I realised that variable aperture zoom lenses (the cheap ones!) are surprisingly constant DoF lenses
I just realised this today.  For example, let's imagine I have the 14-42mm kit lens and I'm taking a mid-shot of a person.  If I'm taking this mid on 14mm then I'd be 1.9m away, the lens would be at F3.5, and the DoF would be 2.9m.  If I take the same composition at 42mm then I'd be 6m away, the lens would be at F5.6 and the DoF would be 3.6m - very similar!  
This is actually what I want creatively - a mid shot is an environmental portrait so having a DoF of 3-4m will include what's around them but give a bit of defocus outside that range.  For the same lens, if I shoot a close-up, the DoFs range from 0.6m/24" to 0.8m/31" which is appropriate as a close-up is more about the person in isolation so a bit more separation is a nice thing to have.
 
I realised that my 12-35mm F2.8 lens on the GX85/GH5 has adequate low-light capability as a walk-around lens
This gives me enough low-light performance as a walk-around lens, and if I need better low-light then I will most likely have enough time to pull out a faster prime.  My 7.5/2, 17.5/0.95, and 50/1.2 are small and light enough to take if I know I'll be going somewhere with serious low-light.  For example, zoos at night, less-lit places at night like the beach, lookouts at night, etc.
I've also learned a TON about colour grading and how to get the most from what I have, with the most important thing being that one critical difference between over-sharpened digital, high quality digital, and film is how it renders the contrast on fine detail, and conveniently, a simple blur will fix sharpening and give digital the same rendering characteristics as film
LOL.  The name of the game is getting the images you want with the least work, so no criticism from me on how we all get there.  I also decided when I started this that I'd do things the hard way and therefore learn the most, rather than just buy my way to good colour (which is realistically just buying a Canon or recent Sony camera and Dehancer/Filmconvert).
I fear I may have over-emphasised the potential complexity of Resolve and colour grading, without putting adequate emphasis on the fact that the most mileage comes from the basics, and it's a game of diminishing returns that kicks in pretty quickly.
I've contemplated starting a thread showing what benefits can be had from only using very simple tools.  Not sure if that would be worthwhile.

So you can make NZ's own "The Creator" or "The Mandalorian"? 😉 
Keen to lend in a hand in whatever way on one of these little test shoots of that, while you figure it out, to be part of it. Mixed production interests me too. 

Hot thread. Let's keep em coming! 🙂

Yeah, I have and use one of those:

I do wonder if they'd slowed down a little, added a bit more grip / VFX manpower support , say produced it for $12M instead, if they could have then slashed down post production costs to say $40M. 
As I think the general concept of how they went about making this was a worthwhile idea to trial out, to make it with smaller nimble crews that go out and seek the most amazing locations. And then put that money saved into postproduction VFX instead. (but perhaps spending $80M on VFX was a step too far??)
 
Have a video out now about the audio recorder that I used on this shoot (as what recorder is being used is of course far more important than what camera body is being used! Let's discuss this instead, the fantastic Zaxcom Maxx, perfect for little mini shoots where you want a very lightweight configuration.... just like The Creator??):
 

I have some exciting plans for next year. During the pandemic, like many, I developed a bleak outlook for the future and wondered if I should even bother making art. Now things are still not nice in the world but at least where I am things are stable enough that I feel I can work on making art again. This year I finished a short experimental narrative. That was fun to do, messing around with the two genres of both narrative and experimental. (It does mean though that festivals are confused by it and don't know how to program it.)
This year and next I'm working on a lengthy atmospheric film about shapes, colours and patterns in the Vancouver area. It's an extension of the photography I've been doing for several years. Finding the patterns in architecture but also including nature in it.
If you want a taste of it, I took some of my footage and put together a music video for the musician I'm using. I'm pretty happy with it.
Test Card - Monochrome Dreaming Softened The Broadcast
https://youtu.be/Tk72eAvOoow?si=8Fron9g6IgVd2RE0
 
Last year I spent a fair amount of money on purchasing gear. New camera, tripod, lights, monitor, etc. Now I think I have enough gear and am just working with it. I'm fairly happy with what the purchasing decisions I made. I now have to refocus away from lusting after new gear and move towards being creative with what I have.  A couple of years ago I was very much into getting more lenses and researching aspects of the different types, now I see ads for lenses and I really don't care. This is good.

Don't forget the Pocket/BMCC6K cameras all have gyro data that result in solid stabilisation capabilities when used in tandem with Davinci. I've been pretty impressed with that "surprise" feature launched about a year ago. And now with FF 6K open gate, the crop applied shouldn't even be that noticeable. 
All the footage so far is test footage from early access users so it makes sense it is all shot & delivered in full sensor highest resolution 3:2 open gate. Its kind of the stand out feature of this new camera too so not surprised one bit they are putting that forward. I know I'd pretty much be shooting 3:2 open gate exclusively with such a camera for all the reframing capabilities it allows.

I also liked the HD mode of the GH5 very much like you have been a supporter of. @kye Would love to see some HD glory from you with your color grading approach and passion for the thick image. I have used it in its 200mbit All Intra mode and it looked thick. Grading was a pure joy. Textures, colour transitions, motion just felt right. Just, people I did the cinematography for never wanted HD, when filming with the GH5, but always 4K, so I will give my newly acquired S1H a good run in the supposely perfect S35 HD mode.

Physically... the 200Mbps is just about right for bitrates 🙂 

But not it's size!!

This is a fun story to think about... "I have that camera and a real Hollywood film was shot with it..."
Unfortunately, that's where the fun ends for their story. If they were allowed to have a 3 person crew, then they could have dropped their budget even more... or if they used Blender or Unreal instead of ILM to do their post...
At the end of the day, their budget was lopsided and the movie bombed, so saving thousands of dollars in camera costs wouldn't have made a difference.
That said... for someone else, that isn't glued to that silly system of making films, they could be inspired by this camera choice. 

That's what I'm saying! The FX3 and FX6 are shockingly similar in terms of weight. This whole debate is a bit silly.
Indeed. "Hate" is a strong word but I bet that's exactly how some ACs feel about the FX3. People in this thread underestimate how crippling the design of these more consumer orientated cameras are.
 
Agreed. Especially as they mostly shot at night time.
Exactly what I was suggesting, FX6 for the main cameras and the FX3 in a few supplementary roles such as drone camera.
 
Exactly, the amount of time and weight savings with the FX6 is huge 

Ha! I jinxed myself, a couple of days later I found myself working on a short film being shot with a P4K:

Was a micro sized crew, myself plus two others (although, quite a lot of actors!). Was quite a chill day today, very enjoyable.
 

I suspect that basically everyone can do significantly better than that colour grade if they follow a couple of simple suggestions when they're colour grading.  
The first is to find a reference image, or set of images, that they like, and to refer to them throughout the colour grading process.  It's easy to adapt to what you're seeing and to make tiny little changes until you've gone far astray.
The second is to apply small changes that each make the image a small amount better.  Obviously you will need to convert LOG footage to 709 and that step will be a big improvement, but apart from that just make small improvements.  When you make each change, you should be able to compare the before/after of that change and each one should make the image better.
If you applied the above and just played with each control, even not knowing what they did, you'd find the occasional one here and there that made the image nicer in your eyes, and by keeping each one that is an improvement you'd gradually be making the image nicer, and I genuinely think you'd do far better than that grade.

This was my initial gut instinct when watching. I’m a naive user of NLE software and would be happy with that color grade. When I get the 15 I’ll be sure to check some tutorial videos and give it a go.  The simplest process and workflow will probably be what I go with, whether it’s LUT and Dehancer etc. 
to me, the point is you can now create 80-90% of the quality a mirrorless does in most lighting conditions without the cost of equipment and burden of the size of equipment.  Low light and DOF yes that will need some workarounds or acceptance of “good enough” and since I’m personally not being paid and the quality bump of a mirrorless with the cost of size and price - I’ll take the good enough phone at this point. 
 
someone in this forum made that point about 3-6 years ago and I, in my head, rolled my eyes at their words.   Now I’m eating those words but won’t tell you if those words are carnivore or vegan 😉 

I agree - the colour grading looks to be with one of the film emulation suites, and is very very heavy handed.
However, I think that this video shows a number of things...
The shots included a wide range of difficult situations and held up.
There were high-DR scenes, including the sun.  There were low-light scenes, including a fire which wasn't clipped to hell.  There was slow-motion, etc.  None of it looked like there were any issues at all - sure it wasn't an Alexa 65 amount of DR but the images didn't really suffer either.
The footage didn't break-up under an extreme grade.
This is quite an accomplishment and anyone who knows what it's like to grade images from very small sensor size cameras know that when you push the image, especially to include huge amounts of saturation like this one has, the image very quickly shows its digital thin-ness and brittleness, but this didn't not happen.  There were lots of skin tones pushed severely and no-one looked pallid-yellow or lobster-red.  
It's very difficult to push that amount of saturation without lips becoming glowing-red or there being yellowish areas (or both), and then when you try and compress the hues by pushing both sides towards the middle hues, it's hard to keep the right colour contrast - so many tools make people look like their whole face is covered in foundation by making the whole face the same hue.
This is a real-world test by a real-world person.
In the same way that the SlashCam test is valuable because it has been shot competently and hasn't been messed with in post, this is a valuable test because the person who made it obviously isn't a professional cinematographer or colourist, it wasn't shot in controlled conditions with pristine lighting catering to the exact weaknesses of the sensor and including models who had perfect skin even before they spent an hour in make-up.  Any camera can look glorious if you do that.  This sort of test indicates what anyone who gets the phone, waves it around, then colour grades it with Dehancer/FilmConvert/Filmbox/etc can expect to get.
It's not a beautiful film, but it's a useful test of the camera.

and
this.
Assuming quality is of a sufficiently high enough level, it’s repeatable consistency with the least faff in both capture and post, that appeals to me most.
Log I find is great outdoors, but indoors is where it gets less so. For me. 
I’m going to do some proper ‘scientific’ trials over the Winter shooting and editing the exact same scenes as; a profile, log and raw, and then decide which one I will take forward into 2024 as my go to.
I’m expecting the profile approach to ‘win’, but will do the process for confirmation.
Photography is MUCH easier to the point where I sometimes wish I’d never gone down the video/hybrid route, but no viable alternative now.
Love photo + like video. I don’t think I will ever turn the video side into love no matter how much I try…
And that I suspect is part of the key to it going forward, - try less hard and spend less time on the side of things I like the least…

In 2024, I will be releasing five new products.
Two for live production, one for virtual production and two for music production.
In 2025, I will be having a series of long naps and returning to capturing images.

Now that my 2023 season (weddings mainly) is drawing to a close; all shoots in the bag, just 4-5 jobs still to edit and finish up, I am thinking about next year.
I’m always thinking about ‘next year’ actually because one eye on the future and all that, but as is so often the case, thoughts and plans over the course of a season begin to stack up, the season ends and I’m exhausted/run out of enthusiasm to see all of those plans through.
Year on year.
But 2024 is going to be different…
First of all, I am not carrying the fatigue off 33 jobs as I was at the end of last year with a more controlled 21 from this and a strict cap of 15-20 going forward.
The two Covid years of ‘20/‘21 caused another kind of fatigue, a weariness due to lack of development, due to lack of work and funds; just 6 from what should have been 60 jobs over that period.
So after 4 very inconsistent years job-wise; 1+5+33+21 and some kit and work practices that I am less than enthused about, I am not only making, but will be sticking to some fairly fundamental changes that I will be putting in place over the Winter.
The first of these is volume of workload with 15 jobs as my minimum and perhaps ‘fully booked’ target but with the capacity to go as high as 20 depending on my level of interest. That is the point I have already hit actually…
The second is tightening up what or rather who, I take on. Most of my clients and jobs are exactly what I was looking for but could still be tighter, so turning up the screws in that dept. 
Third, revising my approach to capture, ie, kit. My lighting is nailed down as is my audio but cameras and lenses less so and I have been frustrated with all the combos I have been using since…well since forever actually. The hybrid nature of my work requires not only a specific skill set, but a specific set of tools. Fortunately, those do now exist with various brands so it has become a question of who and what rather than hoping the next gen will deliver. All of the current main players deliver, it’s just which will suit me best. (It’s a Nikon/Lumix mash up for me BTW going forward).
Fourth, workflow/edit. From the photo side of things, not unhappy and my only plans there are to refine a specific look over this Winter based on what will now be Nikon rather than Lumix files. On the video side, less than happy. Not unhappy, just not quite where I want things to be and whilst I could do an @kye and ‘learn colour grading you fool!’, it does not interest me enough beyond a point. I’m not even sure I’ll stick with log and may go back to shooting a profile because whilst it might not have the ultimate scope, there’s a lot more consistency (*for me*) with that approach. I love editing pics, but hate grading video! Possibly if I shot raw video, I’d enjoy it more and that is an option I am at least going to explore…
So in a nutshell:
1. Take on less work.
2. Tighten up who I work with.
3. Brand switch including more compact set up/less tools.
4. Revise/refine output.
5. (Bonus Ball) All of the above combined = greater enjoyment = greater job satisfaction = greater output = leads to more of the same.
How about you? What plans do you have? Any direction changes you might be making?