newfoundmass

I understand, but it doesn't change the point.

The L-mount's weakness, re: lenses, is on the telephoto side. Panasonic lenses tend to be significantly bigger than their Sony counterparts. Panny lenses also tend to be a bit on the more expensive side, BUT they are very well made. HOWEVER, those 1.8 primes are real nice and I very much like how they are all pretty much the same size and weight. I just wish they were either cheaper, or faster. While their build quality isn't as nice, one thing I like about Canon is how affordable their 1.8 primes are. Their 50mm 1.8 is only $149.99 while Panny's 50mm 1.8 at $374.99 (Sony's is $248 FWIW.) I think in the next year the lens gap will close. Right now they're where Sony was 5 or 6 years ago, when lens selection was a big negative for Sony.

Again, I won't post the video cause I know Andrew isn't fond of him, but Kai W. also did tests with the Sigma adapter and Canon EF lenses and the results were excellent. It's at about the 22 minute mark in his video. Quite impressive.

He openly admits he has no clue what he's doing. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Did you watch the Tony Northrup video? He used the Canon 24-70 f2.8 with the Sigma adapter, and it worked really well I thought. He moved back and forth, did the "put the object in front of the camera to focus" deal all these people love (that I hate), and had it wide open because he's all about da TONEH!

Maybe we watched different videos, because I didn't notice much, if any pulsing at all. There was focus breathing, which was more obvious than when he was using native lenses, but that has more to do with the Canon lens and the fact that Tony insists on shooting wide open due to his love of toneh. He's funny when he's not being an anti-vax/conspiracy weirdo. I've actually learned a bit watching him use cameras that he doesn't completely know how to use, as it has helped show limitations other channels overlook, among other things.

It looks like you will be able to upgrade the S5II to get some (but not all) of the features of the S5II X. Also Geeky Nerdy Tech is in Australia, where it's summer, and says there's no overheating issues, which is nice.

I won't post the video because I know Andrew really, really doesn't like him, but Tony Northrup tested the S5II's autofocus with the Sigma EF to L adapter and it worked really well.

Has Panny boy ever implemented anything that wasn't at a top level though? Obviously it has gotten significantly better, but when you look at their implementation of IBIS, for example, it was always class leading. Even autofocus, before everyone switched to phase detect, was better than or at least on par with the competition (minus Canon and their PDAF, which beat everyone.) At this point I pretty much expect Panny boy to deliver on whatever new tech or improvements they make.

Me after watching all the S5ii coverage... "Panny boy... you did it!"

Yeah, I never bothered trying out my c-mount lenses for that reason and have debated selling them. You'd think it would be pretty easy to implement crop modes like BM has done, but I'm guessing they just don't see the demand or appeal.

So I just completed a trade with MPB and I actually am quite satisfied. What really impressed me is that they actually paid me MORE than the original quote, because they judged that my equipment was in better shape than I did! So in addition to getting a S5 I actually ended up getting about $200 more! I made a bit less than if I would've sold it on eBay or myself, but it was so easy and convenient that it was worth it to me. Just thought I'd share.

😉

You're comparing lenses that don't exist to ones that do. A f2.8 is a f2.8 regardless of whether the lens is M43, APS-C or Full Frame. You can add all the qualifiers you want, it doesn't change the fact that the full frame equivalent to most M43 lenses are substantially heavier AND more expensive. Let me know when you find a 24-70 with a constant f2.8 that is even remotely close to the 12-35 f2.8 in weight. Ditto the 35-100, or the 100-300mm f/4-5.6. It's easy to get shallow DOF with M43 except when shooting ultrawide unless the lens has a close focusing distance. It is insane that people discredit an entire system in part because it isn't easy to get enough toneh.

A lot of us don't like Sony cameras, and there are no comparably small full frame versions of the 12-35 and 35-100. For the 12-30 it's 305 g vs. 835 g for full frame equivalent. The 35-100 is 357 g vs. 1480 g for the full frame equivalent. Once you get into telephoto primes you're dealing with a significant size difference again compared to their M43 counterparts. It's always weird when people insist there's no size advantage when I'm both a M43 and full frame shooter. There is such a huge difference, not in the bodies, but the lenses.

I haven't given up hope on M43, and I still believe in the promise of it, but Panasonic needs to push the boundaries of size/specs. To me a camera the size of the GX85 with the abilities and performance of an upgraded GH5 II would be very tempting. The performance gap has narrowed between M43 and full frame, with IBIS being the main advantage at this point. But the added weight of lenses that I've had to deal with, I can't say that I enjoy that one bit. It's why I kept a GH5 and some lenses for my 3 camera kit. I didn't truly appreciate how tiny the 12-35 and 35-100 were until handling L-mount lenses, let alone the tiny lightweight primes! The ball really is in Panasonic's (and OMD, I suppose) court. If they offer a compelling option I think it can be successful, but I think it requires a compete re-evaluation of what they think M43 can be.

I think the FX30 does pretty well in low light. But I think you'd be fine with the A7IV. I'm biased towards the S5 though. 🙂

What kind of video are you doing? Will you be filming long takes? Do you live in a warmer climate? The A7IV does have some overheating issues. However, if you aren't shooting long takes (say longer than 30-45 minutes at a time) or aren't in a hot climate, you'll probably be fine. The FX30 eliminates overheating issues like that, which is why you'd want to go that direction if you're primarily a video shooter. It's a video ("cinema" 😏) camera, so it's meant to be a reliable video camera.

Yeah, at this point in camera development I think resolution is less an issue you'll have and really just shooting at an appropriate shutter speed and hitting focus is what you'll need to worry about. Especially for social media use. The examples above aren't amazing by any stretch, especially given the lighting, but the performers will often geek out over the shots and use them on their social media accounts too. No one seems to notice, or really care, that they are stills taken from a video file. Most people at our level in pro-wrestling are using pictures taken on phones, and I'd argue our stills from videos look better than most pictures taken on a phone because they still have the characteristics of a larger sensor image.

I would say, if you're not a pixel peeper, then absolutely. Motion though might be a problem, depending on your shutter speed. Here are some stills I took from a pro-wrestling event I filmed on the 3rd that I used for promotional purposes on social media. These are from 8-bit 4K 30p video files using a 180 degree shutter angle shot on the S5 with zero editing outside of the watermark. We don't have a professional photographer taking photos (a lot of pro-wrestling events of this size don't since it's not in the budget) so we use stills like this instead. Obviously they aren't perfect, but for social media they are more than adequate, and depending on the shot a 4x6 print would be fine. Static subjects will of course work even better! It should also be noted that 4K & 6K photo modes on Panasonic cameras are essentially just video files that allow you to pick a frame.

The most challenging part is just getting used to manual focusing. It can be intimidating at first, but it's really not that difficult. It's pretty easy with focus peaking and with cameras that allow you to set the focus to linear so that you can repeat focusing consistently (a very underrated feature of the S5 after years of using the GH5.) Manual focusing is such a rewarding experience, at least it is for me. I like that feeling of control.

This is speculation, but I'm guessing the primes do better than the zooms? I really debated picking up two 28-70 f2.8 but I ended up getting two of the 24-105 f4 Panny lenses because of the ability of having dual IS.

I think a lot of folks would go with the FX30 over the A7IV because it's more video focused and won't overheat. It's a very compelling option if you're not obsessed with full frame.

If the X-T4 had better IBIS and didn't have the recording limits I probably would've switched as I was in decent position to do so when it came out. Then COVID dragged on and killed my year, so I am glad I didn't! But I am quite fond of those Fuji colors straight out of the camera, though I am pretty pleased with the S5's colors. I'm glad that I ended up with the S5.

The X-T4 has IBIS, but it's not very good. If you decide to go that route I'd honestly probably just get the X-T3 since there wasn't much different between the two outside of that. I'm biased, but I'd go with the S5. I prefer the look of the video out of the three, and it takes very good photos too.