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A zeppelin would be the best solution. After this comes the dead cat. I also use a Rycote softie (just check the mic's diameter and lenght since they make different models with different diameters but with the same name). The foam screen is almost useless outdoor. I will also consider the old and now discontinued Rycote S serie, basically a cheap and detachable zeppelin. They are quite cheap on ebay but are hard to find. I am still looking for mine. You remove the foam windscreen and put the dead cat on.

I only use third party batteries from Patona, never had a problem and they have a general good reputation on the internet. They cost about a little more than the cheapest brands, but we are talking about a 4 euro difference, not so important after all.

Personally, I think the best quality in the around 2000 euro/dollars/pounds range is a match among X-T3, S1 and BMPC4K

I don't know if it comes from good lighting, good lens or good directing, but the video from S1 looks very good, with very nice colors, good shadows and highlights. To me it looks like one of the less "videoish" videos coming from a photo camera, be it a dslr or a mirrorless.

Thanks for the suggestion. I think I will then choose Cordial or Sommer. From your experience, construction quality and durability with these brands? I am looking at good quality cables, not only considering technical specifications, but also construction quality, durability. After all, I don't see much convenience in saving a few euros over a cable which can be the weak point in any video recording. I am comparing a 3 euro cable to a 30 euro one, the price difference is not so important as the quality difference, especially considering it a long term investment.

Hello, I have a question regarding audio and HDMI cables, especially directed to European members. I am searching for a high quality audio and HDMI cables and I prefer to spend well once than to buy cheap now and regret it tomorrow. There is a good store for general audio/music equipment, Thomman. In the cable section there are brands like sssnake, Sommer Cable, Kramer, Cordial, Purelink. These same brands are hard to find in other major stores like, for example, Amazon. Does anyone have any suggestion? For example: Audio https://www.thomann.de/it/sommer_cable_galileo_238_10_xlr_cable_1m.htm https://www.thomann.de/it/sommer_cable_albedo_mikrokabel_10.htm HDMI Video https://www.thomann.de/it/kramer_c_hm_hm_pro_3_cable_09m.htm https://www.thomann.de/it/purelink_pi1000_50.htm

Check this website, it allow you to calculate many things relating to the digital world. Scroll down and you find the video section https://toolstud.io/

Unfortinately I have experienced this in many occasions. Definitely a pain in the donkey (...use the other English word for the animal here) In this case, I usually pick one of those boxes and put a jacket inside with nothing in the pockets and this box goes first, then I place all the electronic gear and then a final box to close the queue with other items inside like bags, keys, etc. At leats you have a visual of where your stuff begins and ends.

Polarizer filters always give strange results with very wide angle lenses and tangent light

From an investment point of view, good manual lenses are a lot safer: there is only metal and glass, no electronic that suddenly becomes obsolete and if they perform perfectly now, they will also perform perfectly 30 years from now, there is a general opinion on them about their outcome and defects, you only have to check the flange distance and they can be adapted to almost any camera, any initial sale tax or seller’s margin has been already absorbed and so on. You could also buy used and resell used. Actually I have done this quite a few times, sometimes even making a profit. Think of this as a free long term rental from yourself, even with a possible small return. I would try to guess about your future needs and what would be of m43 system (since Panasonic went full frame with Leica and Sigma in the joint venture, will there be a gh6 in the future?). Personally I would go the vintage way and try to hunt for the best deals and models (Zeiss ZF, Leica M and R, some Nikon F). And, let’t be honest, how many lenses do you usually need? 3-4 maximum at a time. With old full frame lenses you have plenty of choices without committing yourself to a system. And if you make a mistake, you don’t pay it dearly.

If you can, try to do a survey of the room before the performance. That room could have bad acoustic.

I am also very interested in the new Fuji but will also wait for the announcment of the new Panasonic FF, especially what kind of lens mount they will adopt. Anyway, an XT3 with an official price around 1450 euro, the new Atomos Ninja V recorder for about 650. Add about 160 euro for a couple of SDD of 500 gb each one. With about 2300 euro you can record hours of 4k prores in 10 bit and 422 color sampling. And this in about a 2kg package with a professional and robust camera body. What a wounderful time!

That price is very high. It's even higher than avarage leica M lenses. At that price you can buy 4-5 of Zeiss ZF/ZE lenses. That 28-70 is a simple normal zoom, like a 24-70, just 1 stop faster than what is usually found. Nothing to get crazy about. And this lens can only be mounted on the new R mount. Basically 3000 $ lens, 2300 $ body, a 5300$ package just to have a single body and lens. Personally, no way I am going to buy it.

Voigtlander makes lenses that fast with those focal lenghts for m4/3. Considering the "light gathering" topic, just consider the sensor size as simply the total number of photosites included on that silicon matrix, nothing more. The size of the silicon matrix is what we call medium format, full frame, apsc, m4/3, 1 inch sensors, etc. Then each photosite, regardless of how many of them are on the sensor, sends its own signal to the camera processor. The bigger the photosite, the lower the light needed to send that signal, keeping other things like time and aperture equals. You don't need more photosites to gather more light.

Micro 4/3 cameras struggle with low light not because they have a smaller sensor that gathers less light, but because in that smaller sensor they have the same number of photosites (= megapixels) other camera have in bigger sensor, so each photosite is smaller. Its the size of the photosite that matters, not the total number of them on the sensor. Each photosite send its electrical signal to the processor regardless of how many other photosites are around it.

Good to see the shutter button has the thread for a simple mechanical release cable, a nice option when you have gloves and outside it's windy and -20C

I don't know your travel plans, but if you are traveling a lot and you are considering renting lenses as an option, I don't think it's a economically wise decision. Just consider the amount of time/travel it will take you to find a rental supplier each time you reach a new and unknown town (if the thing you need is available at all). If you budget a rough estimate of 50 euro between 1 day more of hotel and travel to/from the rental place, you do this 4-5 times and you easily reach the cost of a new lens, a new lens you could have from the beginning and keep it as yours and use it as long as you want. If you have budget considerations and don't want to drop large amounts of money in some kind of gear, you can also considering buying 2nd hand stuff, use it as long as you want and then resell it. I have done it several times, bought and sold lenses and other gear after a few months of use for more or less the same amount I paid. Just consider this trade as a "free rental" from yourself. It works well with mechanical stuff (manual lenses, general stuff), a little less with electronic stuff (the latest brand new camera for example). Another consideration. I don't know where you are from but if you are traveling a lot, especially in foreign countries, keep in mind that some things cannot be find easily in some places. Have a backup plan for those little things that look like a nuisance but can turn into a real problem when things go wrong: hdmi cables, battery chargers (with different plugs and AC voltage), the proper sd cards, etc. I agree. If you use some database software (like Adobe Bridge), you can analyze your images and easily see what focal lenghts you prefer. Anyway, a simple rule of thumb for focal lenght coverage says that you are covered well if you double the focal lenght of your primes: 25, 50, 100, ecc. If you have to go light, you can triple it: 15, 50, 150, ecc.

@DevonChris Yes, I thought about Nikon bodies. But with a camera like a D500, I would need to buy more AF lenses from Nikon, as with such a camera manual focusing will be quite hard, especially on long lenses and without a proper focusing screen for manual lenses. @Kisaha I think you are right about color rendition of GH5/GH5s. I have seen some reviews like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo_YQgBgtL8 which I found really interesting @Luke Mason Thanks for the clarification. I think I will have motion to record, but nothing too fast. @Mokara Thanks for the explanations. I was thinking the main processor was the “brain” behind everything. If you say the hdmi can pull more than what the main processor could record internally, then probably the XH1 will be a good choice as, from specs, it records colors in the wider space rec2020 than the 709. @Django Thanks for the link. I think you are right, considering body construction, Fuji and Panasonic would be better. I remember some old blogs/forum discussions from people using the GH4 in some tough places without issues. The GH5 would be the same I think. And XH1 vs XT2, I think the bigger grip and the top lcd are some nice features to have for fieldwork. I was just taking for granted the intervallometer in the A7III. I know (now) about the latest firmware for the XT2. When I was writing this tread, I was not aware yet of the new firmware.

The lenses I have are Voigtlander M 15mm, Zeiss ZF 28 and 85, Leica 50 (ZM), 90 and 135, Nikon 105 and 300 ais. For ergonomics, I guess the XH1 would be the best choice. Except a few aspects, I like also the body of my XT2 and I think the XH1 has improved a few things I don't particularly like about my XT2. So, for ergonomics I would tend to prefer Foji bodies over the others, even if the battery life is not that great. Never tried sony bodies but always heard bad opinions about them. I know the Gh5s can record internally up to 400mbs, 10 bit and that it has so many video tools usually available only oon higher end products or external devices. So for video would be the best choice without a doubt, but don't like it very much as a body for still images, too low mp and m43 sensor.

Ergonomic will definitely be a main factor. My first camera was a Nikon D700 and for ergonomics it was a really nice and well designed products. I have used it in the Arctic and several other cold places and it always felt good in my hands. I like also the bodies from Fuji. And I think the new XH1 improves the older XT2 in 3 aspects, with the top lcd, the better viewfinder and the bigger grip, really nice to have when wearing gloves. I never tried sony cameras, but always heard bad opinions about their ergonomics, construction and internal menu. Considering internal vs external codecs, maybe I am a little confused. I know better codecs like prores or avidhd can be had only externally and that these codecs are a lot more robust than internal ones. I also understand that recording internally you will have a few compromises like 420 sampling, lower quality codecs, etc. What I have not understood very well is if the max bitrate from the camera applies also to the external recording device. I mean, the max bitrate comes from the camera internal processors, even to the external recorder via hdmi, right? If the camera can record up to 100/200 mbs/s, the external recorder will have to follow that data stream also?

Hello, Sorry if this post is similar to several others, but I am kind stuck as I need a camera for video. I am starting out with video. I am currently using a Fuji X T2 for my still images but I have a couple of upcoming projects this summer and I am looking for another body to use for video or to be my only photo/video body in case I want to go really light. I will be filming in the mountains (cold, rain, I have to carry everything on my back, etc.) and not in a studio, so there are also fieldwork considerations I take into account. The materials will be for documentary and stock videos, nothing too complicated like green screen or graphical effects. The subjects will be a mix of landscape and wildlife shots, timelapses and human activities like local shepherds in their daily work, alpinists trekkings and hiking, etc. For future proofing , especially for the stock videos, I want a body able to shoot in 4k. I will be using Leica, Voigtlander and Nikon lenses, so the camera brand is not that important as I can always get an adapter. I know it’s like a Frankenstein kit but some were second hand bargains on the bay and some were “stolen-borrowed” from my father’s locker. Quite likely I will also get an external recorder, like the Atomos flame or inferno, to have access to better codecs and video tools like false colors, zebra, vectorscopes, etc. Audio will be recorded separately with a MKH60 and a Tascam recorder. I have come down to these choices: Fuji X H1, Sony A7III or GH5s. Now my problem is, which one? For video, they have each one some strong and weak points Fuji XH1: 200mb bit rate, good colors, good ergonomics, Eterna simulation, poor battery life, only 8 bit Sony A7 III: 100mb bitrate, better low light, longer battery life, bad menus Gh5s: it has more of everything but I don’t like that much the m43 and I don’t see it as a good option for still images (probably it’s an obsession of mine as I have shot for long with Nikon cameras). My question is: what would you choose between a camera that takes 8 bit videos at 200mb/s and another one that takes 10 bit video taken at 100mb/s? Having to choose, I suppose the mb/s is the more important issue and acts like a bottleneck, as it dictates how much data you can have to play with. Probably this is also the reason why when you increase fps but not the mb/s, you start to get artifacts and lower quality.

If you don't need AF, I would suggest you to use an old lens and adapt it. If you search around you can find a cheap and good copy. Alternatives like an old Nikon 400mm ais 3.5 or 5.6 version, an old Nikon 300mm 2.8. Or a Leica R 350mm. If you are really really on a budget, you can also consider the Nikon 300mm 4.5 ais ED, it can be found for 200-300 euros.