newfoundmass

2 hours ago, SRV1981 said:

Makes sense!  Canon's 1 year warranty is extended to Refurbished and their new cameras so it would seem Refurbished makes sense here, I mean $200 in my pocket or toward a lens!

Indeed! 

2 hours ago, SRV1981 said:

Do you trust resellers like MBP, KEH, Adorama, BH? Or where do you go?

Yes, those are the places where I get most of my used gear. I know they'll meticulously check everything over, grade it accordingly and if I'm unhappy with it I can return it, no questions asked. To me that's worth paying a little extra than buying it from someone I don't know on eBay or Facebook. 

When it comes to cameras, it depends. My main camera I always buy new. People often tell me it's a waste of money but I always buy the extended warranty... It gives me peace of mind. I will entertain refurbished and open box deals as long as they come with a warranty. 

Every other camera though? I buy used with a focus on older cameras. My B-cam and C-cams are both used and were bought for under $400 each after I sold the lenses they came with. The G85 was about $350 and the GX85 was $250ish after doing that, and both are in excellent condition. Assuming I stay with Panasonic, the GH5 that I bought new will slide into the B-cam slot for whatever I buy new, assuming they are easy to match for by multicamera work. 

I don't see much value in buying newish cameras used unless I'm getting a good deal and know the seller, for the reasons @Mark Romero 2kind of gave. For the $200 extra I'd rather have gotten the ability to get the warranty and all the benefits you get from buying something new. That's just my preference though.

Lenses though? I've bought one new lens in my life. I tend to stick to established sellers and people I know, but if I see a real bargain I'll take the chance. I've been very fortunate in that it has worked out well for me every time. I don't care at all about getting the new model of a lens unless there's a significant difference; gimme your old lenses as long as they work! 🙂

Well used/loved gear is a great way to build up your arsenal. I highly recommend it! 

1 hour ago, John Matthews said:

It's completely un-scientific, but I've never been able to see a significant difference between 50Mbps long-GOP and 200Mbps ALL-I on the same camera. However, I do see a significant difference between downresed 4k and 1080p native (regardless the reasonable bit rate). Usually, it's unnecessary detail IMO. I'm sure you can see more of a difference when pushing the image though.

It depends on what you're filming, really. You can really see the difference when dealing with fast moving subjects. But if you're filming talking head or interviews there's not a ton of difference. Lighting also plays a part. 

8 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

Osmo Pocket and LX100.

IBIS,tilt screen and Cinelike D are big advantages of the GX80/85 but, for me, the (excellent) in built lens of the LX100 makes it more convenient to carry and use.

Panasonic broke my heart with the LX100ii. I would've bought one immediately if they'd given it a worthy update and got rid of the recording limit. 

So instead I got a used GX85 to be a c-cam/travel/stealth cam! I love it.

13 hours ago, kye said:

What connectivity options are there from the tape player you're looking at?  Probably easier to start with the player and work downstream I'd imagine, as then it's just a case of buying an appropriate interface.

Also, it might be easier to have someone else do the transfer?  Analog tape machines really benefit from being high-end devices that are regularly maintained and aligned etc, which is what a (good) media facility should be able to offer.

I have professional decks that I keep in tip top shape and I regularly need to work with older VHS and SVHS footage. 🙂

I just pre-ordered a 16 inch MacBook Pro. Question: what's the best, yet not extremely expensive, way to transfer old analog tapes to Prores on a MacBook Pro? I haven't had a Mac in 7 years and used to use a firewire device, but I no longer have it and, of course, computers don't use firewire anymore! 

2 hours ago, Django said:

For sure if you're into anamorphic lenses, Panasonic set themselves apart from the rest.. but that's a rather niche market though isn't it? 😉 

I've read about those new SIRUI FF anamorphic lenses available in all popular mounts, why are they best paired on a S1H?  I thought the S1H anamorphic mode cropped into Super35? As for the desqueeze preview, couldn't an Atomos handle that? Just curious, I have close to no experience with anamorphic but I'm interested in those new SIRUI lenses.. 

It's a niche but a growing one and big enough already to be a difference maker for people. I personally have little use for it, but as more anamorphic lenses get released the bigger it will get until it's run into the ground, like shallow DOF has been. All part of chasing the "cinematic" look. 

The A7iv will do most of what people need it to do, but it's not an S1H. And that's OK. It'll sell like crazy to the YouTubers that didn't already drop all that money on the A7siii. 

1 hour ago, elgabogomez said:

newfoundmass, what doesn’t match the s1h video in the a7 iv in your estimation? They both are fullframe, they both can record 4:2:2 10bit all i or long gop, they both have log profiles and hlg profiles, full hdmi output, usb c transfer and charging… Other than no timecode option I see them as quite comparable 

One is a video focused camera, the other is a hybrid with good video specs. You can't say the A7iv matches the S1H when it can't do 6k, doesn't have as good IBIS, doesn't support anamorphic recording, doesn't have video focused features like timecode sync, doesn't have shutter angle, doesn't have nearly as nice of a EVF, has worse rolling shutter, etc. 

All the little things the S1H has that are meant for professional videographers and cinematographers add up. 

31 minutes ago, elgabogomez said:

In my opinion it matches the S1H in video at a lower price. Downsides are no raw out, no 6k and no anamorphic modes. Upsides are autofocus, a lot more lenses to pair with…

But the rolling shutter might be the achilles heel of the a7 iv.

It really doesn't match the S1H at all, nor should it be expected to at this price point.

---

It's a pretty meh release, unless you're already a Sony shooter looking to upgrade from the A7iii, A7c, or one of their APS-C cameras. I guess if you need a b-cam for the A7siii it's a good option, too, though the rolling shutter is not great.

2 hours ago, kye said:

I'm in a number of FB camera groups across a few different camera brands/models, and every one of them gets a post every week about which gimbal camera X fits on, and which lenses will balance.  FB group posts typically last about that length before they're buried, so I suspect that this conversation is continuously being had, probably for every camera, probably in every language, around the world.

For contrast, I don't think I can recall a single thread about sliders, cranes, easy-rigs, or dollys in those groups.  Gimbals, for whatever reason, are a big deal.

Yeah, I'm just not sure that there's a market for a fixed lens (I think it's fixed lens?) cinema camera. It's just a very strange camera. 

The more companies that get into the market the better. 

With that said, I'm not sure who this camera is for. 

11 hours ago, mkabi said:

Its only "silly/unfair" if you don't understand the pretext of the argument... the argument is about "quality" vs. "convenience of size" obviously you believe that the "convenience of size" overrides "quality" in the context of lavaliers. My complaint is that if you can oversee it that once.... you should be able to oversee it every other time too.

Or - put in the same wireless technology that you have in lavaliers in regular mics.

Again that's silly. "If you don't need XLR on your wireless kit then why do you need XLR at all" is not a valid argument. If you don't understand why they're made the way they are and why those reasons don't apply to every other device then nothing I write will make you understand. 

Besides, as I stated, you can output to XLR if you choose to. 

On 10/4/2021 at 12:03 PM, mkabi said:

Here is my take... I feel that XLRs are antiquated... in fact that whole mixing board environment in studios is antiquated. Its been carried forward from analog days... and I don't see the point since the advent of Avid Pro Tools (which has been around since the 90s; and as a studio if you weren't using it by the 2000s chances are..... you were out of business - this is high end audio studios).

Different story for live musical events (with instruments) - there hasn't been much innovation in this area - although wireless has become a thing.

But going back to studio set ups... if you are going from mic to mixing board to computer.... I don't know about you... but that middleware sounds problematic to me.... the only time that I see a problem without a mixing board is phantom power to condenser mics, but that should be a problem that Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, etc. should be solving.... shoot... if I plug in my iphone to my laptop... its charging and I can upload/download on it. 

If you think I'm spouting non-sense -> you don't connect your lavalier mics to XLR wiring (nowadays).... don't tell me its different... if you are going to tell me XLRs are the shit.... it has to be straight down the board.... every single audio situation.

You forgot to add the fact that -> "XLR was designed from the ground up to be low noise and high quality" in the 1950s which was for Analog Audio (vinyl & tape era)... that doesn't apply to digital audio where it is transformed to Is and Os.

XLR will remain the standard for professional audio until a viable alternative is adopted by all the major companies.

I don't have a ton of experience in audio studios but I've been in enough of them to know that XLR is the predominant connection to mixers (which are still used) and digital interfaces. If anything analog is experiencing a bit of a resurgence as some artists move away from the overly digital sound that has been popular for the last 15 to 20 years. A lot of the most popular vocal mics that are used today are older because of the sound they produce. 

Using wireless systems to knock XLR is silly/unfair. It's quite obvious why they don't use XLR given their size these days. Regardless it's still very common to connect the receiver to your camera or recorder with XLR. I do since I use the Panasonic XLR adapter. 

I'll continue buying XLR mics and recorders until a viable, widely adopted alternative pops up. I like my XLR mics. 

SDI limited to 1080p is a real bummer. I don't completely understand who this is for, or why they'd want it over the S1H, unless they keep it tethered to a computer. By the time you rig it up and add a lens you will have a bigger camera but no ibis, touch screen, etc. 

2 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

Yep, it's not EOSHD that's the problem it's me! I need to get my enthusiasm back. It's been a tough time.

Thanks for the comments guys, it is helping me figure things out a lot.

While true, it's been a tough time for all of us. I deal with depression, I have my whole life, but the last couple years, especially with the pandemic, has been brutal. I think most of us, to some extent, are feeling beaten down and exhausted. My enthusiasm and creativity certainly has taken a hit. So don't feel like you're the only one. I have faith you'll get your mojo back. 

In a perfect world you'd find your passion again and create the content that brought us all here in the first place. Unfortunately this isn't a perfect world, and you can't just make yourself want to do something like that, it needs to come from the heart. 

Ultimately you should do what's best for you. You don't owe us anything. The only person you need to worry about is you and what will make you happier. 

I hope that it can all work out for you, Andrew and thank you for everything! 

It really depends. For my event work the client definitely prefers the "I prefer a look that is as high-resolution and sharp and modern as possible" option so that's what I give them. 

As far as what *I* prefer, again it depends. Resolution isn't that important to me. I still love the image out of the original BMPCC. The image is better than my GH5, even though it can't compete in resolution. It just was a pain in the ass to rig up (I refuse to buy another BMD camera until they use better batteries), and I didn't get nearly as much commercial work as I'd hoped so I went the GH5/Panasonic route that could handle everything "good enough." 

Sometimes though I do want "crispy" (I hate that term when it comes to video) footage. Sports, for example, benefit from that look. Other times I want a softer but detailed image. I like the results I can get with my GH5 and a vintage lens, or even one of the new budget lenses that has a bit of vintage character. If nothing else, it's nice to live in a time when we can pretty much get whatever look we want and relatively cheap. 

3 hours ago, Eric Calabros said:

I want to be a troll for a moment and comment RIP Sony, but I resist. 

🤣 People say this every time Canon releases a new camera and it never happens. 

Doesn't sound like it can do RAW over HDMI anyway, so I don't think many people will be using the HDMI to record anyway though I still don't get why you'd use micro HDMI on such a beefy camera (other than Canon just doing Canon things.) 

Seems like the 6k is limited to RAW only. 

This will be way too expensive for my tastes, but it does seem like a very good camera for Canon users that need a true hybrid, assuming the image quality is good and rolling shutter isn't bad (no one can show the videos or pictures they recorded.) The stacked sensor should help with that though, I think. 

21 hours ago, kye said:

If I were you, and cared about the health of the system, then I wouldn't be posting endlessly about how AF will be the death of it.

I mean, what if everyone started saying that because everyone else was saying it, and the system died because it didn't have a feature that no-one really wanted, but everyone thought everyone else wanted?

I say it because it will be. I'm not the person Panasonic needs to win over, it's the people who've written them off or have left because of the auto focus. I've been saying for years on here that it's not that bad and that it's not really a problem for me. What is a problem for me is a company ignoring what the majority of the market wants, which puts the system and company at risk. Little old me, the guy heavily invested in M43, isn't going to be responsible for Panasonic or the system dying because I point out of EOSHD the obvious, it's the poor marketing that will do that. 

Exactly, it's simply not good for a company when people always reference the "terrible" (its not terrible, btw) auto focus whenever your cameras are discussed. It's a stigma that has, whether valid or not, taken on a life of its own. I've literally had people use my cameras expecting them to be useless, because of the auto focus stigma that comes with them, who are then confused when they're actually great and some of the easiest cameras to use. It's silly, but it's the reality Panasonic faces and Sony/Canon style auto focus is what users want. 

On 9/4/2021 at 5:28 AM, kye said:

How do you know that it's pulling down their sales?

In the GH5 groups I'm part of there is a steady stream of people joining who are incredibly excited to have gotten a camera that is so feature-packed as the GH5.  The group is also full of lots of people going from GH5 to S5 to get "the FF look".  Sure, the odd person goes from GH5 to Sony or some other manufacturer, but it's not common.

I think people are very quick to ask their 4 friends opinions and then declare that this is how the whole world feels about something, when obviously this is not the basis for stating facts.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that the auto focus has been the deciding factor for many people on YouTube to switch from Panasonic to other systems. At this point I think Fuji is as popular, if not more popular, than Panasonic is with that market. 

As someone that's heavily invested in Panasonic and the M43 system, auto focus is a big thing for me not because I need it (the cameras I have meet my needs) but because I'm interested in the long term health of the system. A move towards AF that is on par with the competition gives me more confidence in the viability of the system and company long term. Knowing the system I'm in has a future is important to me and my business decisions. I realize that there are people who think that's crazy, I don't really care to argue over it. 

On 9/2/2021 at 10:26 AM, Video Hummus said:

Hybrid AF could mean many things.

Perhaps with faster scanning speeds and readouts from newer sensors DfD is finally able to achieve performance like PDAF. The inherent weakness of DfD is it having to pulse focus to achieve focus. This side effect is clearly hard to hide and ugly and undesirable.

I just don't think they will get over the stigma of DfD without getting rid of the pulsing (which becomes more apparent with wider and wider apertures) and then rebranding their autofocus technology. Anything branded as DfD Version 3 has already failed in its naming alone. Overcoming the interia of years of "contrast based AF is inferior to Phase Detect AF" in almost every camera review featuring a Panasonic camera will be hard without PDAF or a massive performance improvement and a rebranding of the technology—at least in the mirrorless market dominated by Sony A7 and Canon R series cameras.

Agreed. I'm cautiously optimistic that they've decided to go with something more than Dfd, but I am not going to get my hopes up too high. I really, really want to stay with Panasonic but we'll see. The next six months will be very interesting. 

https://www.43rumors.com/ft5-gh6-will-be-released-q1-2022-and-will-include-some-sort-of-hybrid-af/

"A source told us this:

GH6 will be released Q1 2022

AND will include some sort of hybrid AF

I am sure Panasonic will share more GH6 specs this autumn but with the worldwide chip shortage it’s very likely you will get the camera in your hands by early 2022 only. I guess hybrid AF means we can expect to get both: phase and contrast detection AF!"

They're usually pretty reliable... Interesting stuff. 

On 8/28/2021 at 12:28 PM, androidlad said:

With the resolution/framerate and amount of motion involved with those devices, they are in need of a codec/bitrate overhaul, or you always end up with heavily compressed blotchy mess that can't hold up in post.

Yeah, the resolutions, frame rates and stuff are nice but I'm just never happy with how the footage looks coming out of GoPros. 

I keep expecting them to come out with something that really makes you take notice but I really don't know why anyone would have purchased these last few unless they really needed to replace an old or non working one. Even then, I think the DJI Osmo Action is a much better buy and I prefer the image.