kye

I totally understand why people are trying to buy their way to better videos, it's a much easier experience to research cameras and discuss (dream) about what cool new things you could buy, and it's brutal to admit you don't know much about a subject and start studying it (forcing your brain to work hard) and to do that for months and months.
Unfortunately, that's what it takes to actually become a better film-maker.  I posted over in the "Once in a lifetime shoot" thread about the Tokyo episode of Parts Unknown that won a bunch of awards, but long story short, the cinematography didn't include any shots that were amazing in a grandiose kind of way, but it had a huge variety of solid shots from creative angles the editing and sound design were absolutely spectacular - end result..  awards and nominations, and a great viewing experience that is far from the pedestrian nature of most professional content, let alone us mere mortals.
The innovative nature of that episode alone is enough to make you crawl into the foetal position under the blankets, but the news is actually tremendous...  most of the content in the world is so bland by comparison that to create solid professional-level edits you don't have to get to knowing 80% of what the greats know - a solid 20% will do just fine.

A friend is currently writing an AI trading bot. 
(one of zillions of such people trying to do this I am sure) 

Didn't you know headphones only exist in 2023 as a fashion statement for you to wear? 
  
I see tonnes of youtubers/tiktokkers using their phone as an interview mic, to be synced with later on. 

I'd say that's because vloggers don't want to vlog while wearing headphones, but.....

My unfeasibly patient and indulgent wife meeting me outside every 2nd hand lens shop in Tokyo next week when I use that exact same line.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I was going through my lenses and thinning the herd. Well today I have a few samples from the Zeiss ZF Classic 50mm 1.4.
I bought this lens a couple years ago for VERY little money. The body had a little wear, but the price was so good, I decided it was worth it and if I didn't like it, I could EASILY recoup my costs. When the lens arrived, it had a couple issues... the Nikon F to EF adapter that was included (a "bonus!" according to the seller) was stuck on the lens... the lever that is used to release the adapter from the mount was broken off. At the time it wasn't a huge deal because I was using it on an EF camera.
Here's a frame from it on my 5D3 with ML Raw...
So it seemed to be a good sample but when I tried to attach a VND, I quickly realized that the threads were messed up... I could screw the filter in but it definitely wasn't right. By the feel and sound of it, it seems like the lens was dropped in the dirt. Luckily, nothing was affected mechanically, or optically, so it's no huge issue. Eventually, I'll buy a step up ring but for testing purposes, a filter will screw on with enough patience.
Anyway, I bought a Sigma FP last fall and since then I have been testing different lenses with it looking for a simple little set up. So far I like the camera. It has a pretty nice image, but I'm not wowed by the IQ like I was when I first bought my 5D3... but that's a story for another time.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I built a basic set of fast Nikkor ai-s lenses and I plan on selling off everything else. I'll keep a few random lenses that I really like.
Back to the Zeiss... to test it with the FP, I needed to remove that damn bent adapter. Well it was no match for a pair of dykes and some needle nose pliers. In mere minutes I turned the "bonus!" adapter into a pile of metal shards.
So, after enlisting my actor friend, I decided to take the lens out for a test run with the FP.
Here are the results...


As I mentioned earlier, I have a hot and cold feeling toward the FP, but on that day, maybe it was the light, or the beat up, pseudo-modern Zeiss optics, I think I have one of those random keeper lens...
Now I just need to refrain from building a set of Zeiss lenses...
Easier said than done.
Thanks for reading my long, unscientific, anecdotal review.

A 3d pop effect starts to show together with defocus characteristics of a real anamorphic lens. I can see a number of 2x anamorphic  purists jumping on this and saying that there is not enough oval defocus. The scope used is a custom 1.5x compression ratio . Flares to my eyes look much more natural than those artificial over coated lens on the market such as Ulanzi, moment and the like.
 

Just to add, I’m doing a small hybrid wedding today, S5 photos and S5mk2 for video. I think eventually I will buy a second hand GX80 with a 12mm for a general 4k lock off ceremony cam which is small  to carry.
I am going to invest in those flip up filter things. I have the Xuma magnetic things which work fine with one camera but now I have a harness with 2 cams the VND has been knocked off a couple of times as it hung by my side!

I used to work out of my little Mazda Bongo camper a lot back in the day.
Same logic regarding the savings and convenience particularly when I had to cover games late at night or be at pressers first thing in the morning.
Great to use it as a mobile office as well to file from too.
The biggest cost savings were covering long multi day events away such as football tournaments and particularly like here when shooting the Tour de France.
Using the camper saved me a lot and meant I could ram it full of boxes gear as well as utilise it as a mounting point for remote cameras !

Its got me quite nostalgic for covering the Tour again to be honest, although these days it would be far more lucrative shooting it as a vanlife vlog than it would as an editorial photographer. 

Yeah, like early internet filters protected people from learning about breast cancer, etc....  
What is new is stupid, like how what is old was stupid when it was new 🙂 

The cart:

 

adobe firefly wont let me type 'maine coon'. ty for protecting us

No need to flipping censor yourselves! Speak flipping freely!!

She didn't compare them with a cinema camera - how am I supposed to watch a review that doesn't do that???
What I concluded from this review (and others) is that: 1) this entire category is half-baked and camera companies are light-years away from providing a solid and slick vlogging experience, and 2) these reviews are like watching people half-way-through the process of getting Stockholm Syndrome....  they clearly don't love them, they clearly don't enjoy the process, they don't like the price, and then their conclusions are positive - like they're saying "please send me the next one to review".
Blink three times if you need help!!

She didn't compare them with a cinema camera - how am I supposed to watch a review that doesn't do that???
What I concluded from this review (and others) is that: 1) this entire category is half-baked and camera companies are light-years away from providing a solid and slick vlogging experience, and 2) these reviews are like watching people half-way-through the process of getting Stockholm Syndrome....  they clearly don't love them, they clearly don't enjoy the process, they don't like the price, and then their conclusions are positive - like they're saying "please send me the next one to review".
Blink three times if you need help!!

I've had my eye on getting that for a while.
Unfortunately, I need a bit more capacity for all the shit I've accumulated that I can't let go of so this would have to be me dragging my suitably sized cart to a gig.

Panasonic GH2, 2023 edition
Very nice.

So the ZV-1 Mark 2 has been announced today and Sony have indeed addressed the wide end being wider so it now starts off at 18mm equivalent instead of 24mm equivalent.
But it isn't optically stabilised like the original so you lose a fair amount of that 6mm by having to use the electronic stabilisation.
And the long end has been cut from 70mm to 50mm.
And it is now a lot slower (f1.8 to f4 versus f1.8 to f2.8).
And now we go over live to the Head Of Hopes & Dreams at Sony .....

5 minute limit for 4K in the specs.
This will overheat, just like the normal form-factor Powershots shooting 4K. As I experienced.

I just sold my S1 and have bought a S5mk2 with a Sigma 28-70 f2.8. They have them as a pack here in Spain for 2590€. Pretty happy with the deal. Only had time to set up the camera a check a few things. But there are 2 things that I think I'm really going to like, the ability to punch in and check focus whilst filming and the EVF, which isn't as good as the S1's but it's way better than the S5's. I'll have to learn how to use the AF but so far it look pretty good. The lens looks great, nice and compact. I can see it being my main lens. If also means my back pack will weigh less as I'll use the 24-105 less and the S5 is a lot lighter than the S1. All good so far!

I didn't say it's good...  just that it's designed for vlogging!
The Canon PowerShot V10:
Pocketable, flip-up screen, integrated stand 19mm equivalent FOV, and the EIS crop isn't that much Everything else is just like a PowerShot though.....  1" CMOS sensor, Contrast AF, low bitrate, etc

It's a sad day when simply combining an ergonomic chassis and a wide enough lens counts as innovation, but it does.  I've seen at least one camera YouTuber say that if they keep the form factor and improve the specs then this might tempt them away from the high-end S35/FF cameras they currently use.

Hypercrapoid.
To be fair it does have external input too.
 

I'd say that's because vloggers don't want to vlog while wearing headphones, but.....

Indeed!

It might even align with @Emanuels philosophy because when it's being held normally it's in widescreen and when you turn it then it becomes the "wrong" alignment of vertical video.  So it's oriented around landscape by default, but for those doing vertical it easily supports it.
That's quite cool, and the styling is one flavour of "what the future looked like in the past" which are always interesting - this one is quite 'Casio digital watch meets dictaphone' 🙂
One thing I've found fascinating, and sort of prompted my comments about this being an innovation, is that the biggest attempts to sell cameras for "vlogging" were of cameras that were so clearly not suited for vlogging, and yet, there have been many cameras in the past that are much more suited but weren't marketed nearly as much under the 'vlogging' banner.
Something like a GoPro is actually a killer vlogging form-factor.  It's very small and combined with a handle is still smaller and far less noticeable in public than even a small mirrorless or P&S.  The lens is easily wide enough, and when combined with their killer EIS is still really wide, is fixed focus so has no AF issues at all unless you want to focus on something closer than its minimum distance, etc.  The DJI Osmo Action is a solid choice too, for all the same reasons, and the Osmo Pocket literally has an integrated gimbal, and is a 20mm lens which doesn't need any cropping to get perfect stabilisation.
Actually, it has a tripod thread on the bottom too, so that's covered.

In terms of video quality, it seems pretty lacklustre unfortunately, unless it's given really good lighting and conditions.  Here's one of the reviews I watched that shows lots of sample footage, I've linked to a section that shows it in less-than-ideal lighting and its got lots of ISO noise + NR + macro-blocking:
I thought that the bitrate was low, but actually it's 120Mbps in 4K, so that's not too bad actually.
There are a few vloggers that I follow that have Canon G7X cameras and unfortunately I know that because the quality of their images is noticeably lower when they go handheld and it's super shaky or when they go indoors and it's grainy.  I'm not sure how much of that is simply the small sensor, or if it's older tech or what, but as long as it's priced appropriately then I think that's fine.
Absolutely, especially compared to something like the Sony ZV1, which according to Sony "Watch the announcement of vlog camera ZV-1. A new compact camera from Sony designed for content creators and vloggers."
The review in Forbes put it quite plainly:
"That flaw? The 20-megapixel Zeiss lens has a 24-70mm lens, so the widest it can get is 24mm, which after accounting for the crop factor of it not being a full-frame camera, plus more cropping from EIS (electronic image stabilization), it's essentially a 30mm lens."
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bensin/2020/06/14/sony-zv-1-review-baffling-decision-almost-ruins-made-for-vlogging-premise/?sh=7a741bff5715
How hilarious - Sony made a vlogging camera with a 30mm FOV!
This one has a 19mm lens and the EIS didn't look like it was that much at all - Kai shows a side by side in his video.

We're not talking about communism here. We're talking about a product that was designed and manufactured for a specific usage. Most of Canon's products are designed that way. They always were.
I'd imagine in the 70s when most manufacturers/consumers were heavily invested in SLRs, the Canonet line of cameras probably seemed pretty pedestrian, but that didn't stop Canon from putting a pretty spectacular lens on it and marketing it to a specific consumer at a reasonable price point. Even the Canonet line had different entry levels.
As far as this camera goes, the biggest omission is a tripod thread. Otherwise, for sit down, YouTube Vlogs... what more do you need? Only a thoughtful eye can tell the difference between a $500 camera, a $3000 camera or even a phone in YouTube videos.
I mean, they're not marketing it for indie filmmakers.
But... since it shoots 24p, an interesting film could be made with it if someone could see past the limitations and see the possibilities.