newfoundmass

At least they're not marketing towards photographers. LOSERS! 

I saw someone say that Sharp told them that they're trying to target bloggers with this camera and not narrative filmmakers. I thought that was really weird, because what vlogger needs (or has the ability to) edit 8K video? 

It's a modest update that adds features and improvements people wanted from the G85. It'd have been nice if they pushed the envelope a little more, but it's still a good upgrade. 

Adjustment layers ❤️

44 minutes ago, amanieux said:

what is so exciting about a FF z2 for $5k, if nikon z6 can deliver its promise of a uncrippled prores raw via ninja V then for $2900 you get FF raw video + proper monitor  with tool to expose and focus  + a FF compact still camera when you just want to take a few stills travelling light

I generally agree. Guessing higher frame rates / slow motion? 

I don't see them switching to a subscription model. I imagine they'll continue to offer the software for free, with a "full version" available for $300. I think they're much more interested in attracting more people into their ecosystem than anything, especially if it encourages people to buy their cameras and hardware. 

2 hours ago, Kisaha said:

Do you buy shoes from the "hood" then? With no receipt?

I can legally buy them from anyone selling them, whether it's off eBay or a dude off the street. As long as they're not stolen, it's legal. You might be expecting too much out of America, a country where private sales of guns is pretty much completely unregulated.

There aren't a lot of jobs in the United States that require licensing. Most would be in the medical field. I mean shit, we elected a president that's a complete racist moron. The bar is pretty low in general here, in both good and bad ways, when it comes to job qualifications. 

8 hours ago, Kisaha said:

@newfoundmass @noone

Do you pay taxes for your income as a photographer/videographer? Do you have license for it?

If not, then you are certainly illegal in your country and you can undercut my pricing because taxes here are close to 50-55%, and I have to have a physical space for my trade, which adds 300-400€ for my "shop" per month - which I never visit, but I have to have.

If I get 50 pair of shoes from ebay, went downtown and try to sell them, I will be immediately arrested, and the fines are severe.

However you see it, however it fits you, in every sense you are criminals. 

Yes, I pay taxes. You don't need a license in the United States to sell video production services (or shoes, for that matter!) I've never even heard of such a thing! 

What country do you live in?! 

?

On 4/5/2019 at 7:46 PM, kye said:

I'm surprised that people are surprised about 8K:

• Sharp has a prototype
• we have the sensors
• the data-rates are only double 4K60 and processor speed doubles every 1.5-2 years and it's been more than that since the GH5 was released
• P4K has the media solutions with sufficient data rates and is a third the price of a top-end camera
• the TVs are coming
• and the Japanese are pushing the whole thing as a world-wide technology PR stunt for the Olympics...

It's not that we're surprised 8K is coming, it's that Sony has not yet released a mirrorless camera that can do 4K60p, so the idea that the A7Siii will jump straight up to 8K doesn't make much sense. They'd need a massive technological breakthrough to achieve that in a tiny body. Who knows though? Maybe with a 1 minute recording limit?! ?

6 hours ago, Kisaha said:

The difference is that some of us are trying to make a living out of it and have invest great amount of money on education, gear and years of our life.

For every non-professional that take our jobs and income, our kids starve!

It is illegal for me to sell shoes and other products and services, why it is different for you? Because you can buy a camera kit for 500$ and can sell for 1/10th of my price?

The jobs are specific, if no-low and mid budget jobs are made by video-pirates, they squeeze all the pros at the top, but the top is only a small precent of the paid video productions, so what is happening right now is the demise of the middle class, like in all socio-economic aspects of this decade, and anyone that has read 5 lines of a history book, when you do not have a middle class, then bad things happen!

I think you're overestimating how many people are taking work away from you after buying a $500 kit. 

People that are good at their craft and keep clients happy will always have work. We all have financial obligations and desires, some larger than others. I live cheaply. I own a small home (paid off in large part thanks to my supposed "amateur" video work), I own somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000 worth of video equipment, all paid off thanks to my "amateur" video work, and I've found a way to live comfortably on $25,000 to $30,000 a year. I've done all that by the age of 34. If someone comes to me and says they can only afford $500 for a gig that others would charge three times for, and I can fit it in to my schedule, I have no hesitation taking it. Some wish to frame that as undercutting "real professionals" whereas I look at it as paying my phone, electric, internet, and grocery bills for the month with one gig. Besides, those type of clients weren't going to pay those "real professionals" what they would ask for anyway.

Fivver is a good place, and also looking for local actors is an option. Many of them can do voice over work. If you're lucky you'll also maybe find a friend that's capable of competently doing it, as I have a few friends, both male and female, that have good voices and are adequate for the job. 

3 hours ago, UncleBobsPhotography said:

It's not a mentality, it's the definition of the word.

It IS a mentality, because of what definition one chooses to use when using the word. 

Merriam-Webster:

participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs 

Google:

a person competent or skilled in a particular activity.

Using your strict definition tons of people that are professionals, from bands/musicians, to actors, to athletes, etc. wouldn't be considered "professional." It's silly. 

3 hours ago, Kisaha said:

Yes.

This is such a weird mentality. The quality of work should always be what's most important. If those that have hired me and been pleased with the results consider my work to be "professional" then that's really all that matters. 

I think location is a huge factor that's overlooked. There's a lot more work, presumably for more money, in New York or Los Angeles, than there is here in Vermont. There aren't a ton of high paying gigs in the immediate area. Does that mean I'm not a professional, even though I have nearly 20 years of production experience, have produced countless live sporting broadcasts all over the country, etc? 

Most of my work over the last 20 years has been diy punk rock and independent professional wrestling. These, by nature, are low budget forms of entertainment. It's not a matter of being cheap as much as there is literally very little money to pay people. If I charge someone $500 to shoot and edit their pro wrestling event I can guarantee you that I'll produce a better finished project than someone that will charge 3x as much and has no experience shooting or producing pro wrestling. Just as those who've spent years shooting skateboard videos, some probably for free, will produce a better finished project than someone that charges $2000. It's why I scoff at the idea that quality is related to expense. 

Does that make us amateurs, even if we're capable of producing high quality work for smaller budgets? 

2 hours ago, andrgl said:

Competing on price is a terrible business. Anyone and everyone can be the cheapest. Customers that prioritize a lower price over quality aren’t worth working for.

Think about any service. The cheaper the rate, the lower the talent.

Why would a professional accept less for creating a better product?

This is a very narrow way to look at things. Price does not equal quality. Never has, never will. 

1 hour ago, IronFilm said:

This reminds me of the Kodak "Brownie" camera that was introduced in the 1920's. All of a sudden every dolt could take their own pictures. They did and a large number of "professional" photographers went out of business.

It is still a vocation but not one immune from amateurs taking a really good picture.

What truly differentiates amateurs from professionals? The ability to make a living or the quality of work? 

Just now, zerocool22 said:

Yeah as a regular job 500$ a week is not bad at all. 

I live in Vermont, so there are not a lot of freelancers or really much of a local filmmaker scene. And really, I've always looked at things compared to my friends and what they make, as opposed to others in my field. If I can make $30k a year, after taxes, working when I want to, instead of working 40+ hours a week at a job I hate, I'm fine taking a gig for $500. I've made more doing that than I did when I'd ask for what I feel like I'm worth. 

I just took a gig editing a kids basketball game. Two camera angles, it's about an hour. The Dad just wanted something "professional" for his kids best game of the season. I charged $100 for what will amount to 2 1/2 hours of work, tops. I'd get scolded or bashed for charging so little by some folks, but that's almost 2 weeks worth of groceries for me for a couple hours of time. 

I guess it just boils down to perspective. I just feel fortunate to be able pick and choose. 

I just finished my first project completely in Resolve 15 and I'm really quite happy with it. So much so that I'm done with Adobe Premiere. 

My biggest problem is Fusion. I can't get over the learning curve. I'm used to After Effects and Cinema 4D. Fusion makes me feel absolutely helpless trying to figure things out.

It's really cool but they're never gonna get me to buy into CC again. 

42 minutes ago, Laurier said:

Sony  have the tech to do it on smaller sensors , they provide the sensors for the GH5s and the XT3.

But the A7 have both autofocus and sensor stabilization, plus a larger sensor in a smaller body .
If you look at the very last sensors they publicly released ( that are not yet in used in consumer grade cameras) the approach is to get a lot of the processing directly on sensor for faster readout and pixel binning .

Beside you have the specs on paper, and what you get out of the camera, from my grading experience, the  image out of a A7s (2014) externally in 8 bits is still more solid that a 10 bits images from a GH5/GH5s(2018) and that from a much older sensor. ( but the rolling shutter is still bad ...)

 

The sensor is just one part. Those other companies have built technology that uses Sony sensors, and allows them to achieve things that Sony itself hasn't been able to achieve, even in their smaller sensor cameras.

Panasonic released a camera that could do 4K/60p in a hybrid camera TWO YEARS AGO. Fuji came along and did the same, and they've shown they're very much taking video seriously. Even in full frame mirrorless everyone has largely caught up, or eclipsed, Sony. That's wild for a company that was so ahead of everyone, for so long. 

4 minutes ago, Mokara said:

If the A7SIII can shoot 8K then it will enough pixels to be a competent stills camera in almost every application.

People really believe the A7Siii will shoot in 8K? ?

4 hours ago, zerocool22 said:

As a freelancer? Maybe taxes are different in the US then in the EU. We only keep around 1/3 of our gross income the rest goes to taxes. 

No, just in jobs in general. 

4 minutes ago, zerocool22 said:

Do you live in India? you cant live on 500$ gross per week in most of the rest of the world. I would not go freelance unless I am sure I at least make 350$ gross per day.   

After taxes/insurance, etc. get taken out, $500 a week is pretty standard for millennials in the US. The median household income in the US is only $56,000 or so. I have friends that make $40,000 or so a year, but I'd say that accounts for maybe half, give or take? 

I love the concept and the pricing. The battery life would be my main concern with these though. 7 hours isn't terrible, but I think I'd have been OK with them adding a little extra size to try and get it closer to 12. 7 hours is cutting it close for a lot of shoots I'd use these on, whereas 12, or even 10, would guarantee that I don't have any issue. I'm using the Azden PRO-XD wireless system, which I got on sale from B&H for $149 and they've exceeded my expectations and have good battery life. Though I don't have any real complaints about them I'd probably have sold them for this if the battery life was just a smidge better. 

I hate to say it but this is the direction things are moving in for "regular" clients. It's not to be unexpected, really. The key is evolving, and adapting to the way things are going and making it work for you. 

I'll get guff for saying it, but if someone offers me $500 for a 4 hour shoot and a 2-3 minute edit, and I'm available, I'm taking it. Why? Because I see friends, many with degrees, barely making that a week in their jobs. I don't feel it's devaluing myself, I don't personally put that much ego into my work, as much as looking at it from a business aspect and doing what needs to be done to make sure the bills are paid and I'm doing okay. And often times those gigs lead to bigger/better gigs. 

To me the motto I'd encourage is simple: stay humble and stay hungry. Be grateful that they see enough value in your work to have you do it instead of their nephew and his iPhone, which, if you look at a lot of small companies on YouTube, is pretty typical. 

13 hours ago, KnightsFan said:

"It's easy to add 4k60"

Clearly it's very easy, since Panasonic beat you to it....

I think the delay in the A7Siii is obvious: the expectations/market has moved in a direction that outpaced Sony's tech and they're playing catch up. Last year was a huge year. Panasonic was still riding that GH5 wave for most of the year, until they announced their full frame camera. The full frame mirrorless announcements from Nikon and Canon. Nikon and Fuji made HUGE steps in their video capabilities. At the beginning of the year the A7III looked like a real impressive camera (and it still is despite its flaws) but by the end of 2018, not so much. Heck, the GH5s, and all of the new full frame mirrorless cameras even made their low light performance look less impressive: maybe not as good, but definitely in the ballpark. 

In a sense, they're probably not lying by saying that it's simple to add 4K/60p but to DO 4k/60p with their current mirrorless tech probably isn't so simple without overheating. The longer they wait though the bigger the expectations are going to be. It's not an enviable position to be in. At this point they're going to need to release something ground breaking because they've got a lot of companies gunning for them, and they're all very capable foes. 

On 4/2/2019 at 3:34 PM, androidlad said:

No they won't.

A7S III is still primarily a stills camera, with cutting edge video features.

No one bought the A7Sii for its stills capabilities, and the same is likely to be true for the A7Siii. It's OK for web publishing, at best.