MrSMW

Good to know. This is not going to be a ‘workhorse’ lens for me, but rather something to ‘fill in holes’ if you know what I mean and much more for photo than video and especially as a walk around one stop shop landscape lens. Yes I think it will work very well. I considered the 70-300 but decided I wasn’t really gaining anything over the 70-200 I already have except a less good lens. Also the Samyang 35-150 but I’d need (want) the battery grip for that and were back into big boy territory and no thanks. 28 and 40 are my to ‘go to’ focal lengths below 50 that I prefer to work with. They have a certain kind of look and especially with 28, it’s about as wide as you can go before any distortion begins to appear. So yes, ultimately and as soon as possible, I do want this lens because it ticks every single box I have below 50mm. Exactly why I chose it over the f2.8. Optically it’s very good and it’s actually OK in low light. And I think it’s slightly lighter even than the 28-45 Sigma?! Real world about the same but about as big and heavy as I prefer to go. I think so. Pretty confident that it will comfortably replace the A7RV and Zf, both cameras I love. The combo of glass, slightly less but I am going from 3 different mounts/brands to 1 single and that is a big deal plus 1 less body and 3 less lenses. It’s a good decision. I’ll find out next week when I am using it, but today (I’m on a job) back to the Sonykon’s!

I’ve just picked up this lens. Or at least it’s arriving Monday. There are still some big black holes for me within L Mount glass but I came to the conclusion yesterday that this lens could have a place in my kit. I have been back and forth on the 28-105 and the 28-45 and would 100% have gone for the 28-105 had it been internal zoom which for anything 1kg or over, is a 99% must have. But it isn’t and I’m not going to say never to this lens, but right now, it doesn’t suit me even though the focal range and aperture are great. The 28-45 is probably happening, but going to shoot a few weddings on the new all L Mount set up first because it could work in isolation, but really I would like to pair it with a lens that does not, )but I hope will soon) exist; the 45-90mm f1.8 internal zoom. But in the meantime, I have the 70-200mm f4 (internal zoom!) for indoor work and will now have the 28-200 for outdoor, more stills than video I think, but we’ll see… I hate the external zoom but on a lens that weighs sub 500g, I can live with it. Also, by limiting myself to these smaller primes and zooms, I can skip the battery grip which for something like the 28-105, becomes essential to me for handling purposes, but I would rather keep everything as compact and light as possible without sacrificing too much performance. 4 bodies + 3 primes + 3 zooms gives a lot of options/combinations and as things stand is not only 1 less body than I have been using to date, but 3 rather than 2 less lenses so an even bigger bonus.

The 7.2 will be my new go to over my current slightly less than 6k from the S5ii. At least I think it is… 5.9 or something? Anyway… The 8.1 limited to 24p is a bit of a bummer but hey ho. I have not done any ‘scientific’ testing, but switched to that approach 1.5 years ago for other reasons, but I felt my work looked better immediately. Also using a 1/8th mist VND I am sure is responsible for zero moire. Ever. Plus ability to bake in the LUT plus twin card recording caused 4 winning points over Nikon, but Nikon does counter with superior lens options, especially with adapter E Mount as part of the equation. Super-tight call for me but the 4 winning points narrowly beat out the glass for me. They have 2 holes in the lineup for me: An equivalent of the Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 which is MUCH smaller and lighter than the Lumix or Sigma 70-200’s and there is NOTHING in L Mount even close. An equivalent to Sony’s 50-150mm f2. Grail lens right there for me. I now do not care about the weight because is just the PERFECT lens for me but in order to have it, I’d need to build a Nikon or Sony based system around it and Sony doesn’t even have 6k (yet, but less than great 8k in the A7RV and then you have to go AII or whatever it’s called) and with Nikon, a ton of stuff I’d need to give up. For pure stills, Nikon. For pure video, Lumix. For hybrid, I could make a case either way and have done based on capabilities for my specific needs sacrificing my perfect lens to do it with Lumix.

Bingo. If you are a paid up member of the L Mount Alliance, then you use an S5ii for this specific task. Otherwise the rest of this overheating hype is just that, over-excited hype. OK I get the expectation that just because the S5ii or the FX3 can do X then the new Lumix cameras should, but actually maybe not and the S1Rii especially is a photo-centric hybrid that can do excellent video and even the S1ii is not really a ‘cinema’ camera but a hybrid. Just use the right tool for the job!

If I understand correctly what you mean, I think so... I have used stills previously, but not 'matching' stills. What I am proposing going forward is ensuring my video and stills match perfectly in the grade and if frame grabs intended to be used as stills, identical to that exact frame in the video. The primary intention and purpose is to cut back drastically on stills photo capture in the first place and therefore also editing time and move towards a more cohesive and less time intensive approach. So currently I'll do a full capture, cull and edit etc on both photo and video. Going forward, I'd like to capture even more video and reduce the stills capture back to just certain elements, mainly details and family groups. Pics will be captured in raw + Jpeg 3:2 ratio with my LUT baked into the Jpegs (which is the same LUT I bake into my video footage in camera). I normally bin the Jpegs and use the raws, but I am proposing using the Jpegs and simply keeping the raws as backup just in case. Edit the video timeline to the point where it's still in 3:2 open gate format and then pull the frame grabs for use specifically as stills, rather than to insert back into the video. I can then go back into the timeline and put my more 'cinematic' 17:9, or 2:1 or whatever crop on it, and add all the twiddly bits that are video specific such as any text, transitions etc. Et voila, a finished wedding film plus a set of stills that look like frames from a movie. As intended, ie, when someone says, "your photos look like frames from a movie", it will be because most of them are. Anyway, I am going to give it a go as all last year, this year so far and the next 2 jobs, I've been shooting stills on the A7RV and Nikon Zf with 90% of the footage for my wedding films coming from the S9. After these next 2 jobs are in the bag, the A7RV and Zf get replaced with a single S1Rii shooting 7.2k 30p clips and the S9 which was shooting video exclusively at 6k 30p, will be shooting a mix of some stills and some secondary video. Pretty sure it will be a good set up based on the kit I have and some of the trials I have attempted, but as with all these things, it's only when you climb out of the trench and charge the enemy, with bullets flying, you truly know. Or you step on a landmine and it all goes tits up.

I just start a new timeline with the finished production as a single entity. Or rather that is what I have been doing to date with the few attempts I have made. I think what I will do now, for the rest of this year at least, is introduce a new chapter as it were in my process which is after culling, importing, colour grading, while the clips are all still 6k 30p on a 6k 30p timeline, but prior to any speed changes, transitions, graphics, text etc, is export a 3:2 6k copy and then pull the stills from that. These will then match my same baked in LUT stills also in 3:2. I can then import the results from both into Lightroom as a single set for any final grading and reexport as JPEGs. The only thing I hoped to do other than this was have AI find, select and export 350-500 frames from clips for me…amd maybe that software exists and if it doesn’t it should as that will be one of those things worthy of the title ‘game changer’. Kills or at least severely limits the photographer in me, but hey, choices…

I’m not sure how much of this ARRI log C3 is over-hyped… Having looked at some of the footage shot side by side with standard log, very little difference and with some samples, I prefer the standard log. And anyway, the Phantom LUTS by Joel F are designed to ‘mimic’ various versions of ARRI. I’m more than happy with those and think they look better than the standard log…which itself to me looks better in most cases than this new cost option download. None of these things will turn your $3000 mirrorless into an actual ARRI camera, but then how many can afford, never mind need an ARRI 35? Not a fan of subs either. Pretty sure it’s not for me.

Very logical, for my specific needs anyway. I had even considered going back to the S1R and never wanted to part with my S1H, but both would have been a compromise in my current and future workflow. And yes, for the kind of work we do in the conditions we do, the S5ii (or X) is a better option. Well straight out of the box anyway as there are some workarounds such as dummy batteries, recording to SSD and in some folks cases, simply having the right fan settings on in the camera in the first place! Or even do what I do and that is if I am going to have my static’s outdoors in direct sunlight for any length of time, prior to switching them on, I chuck a white handkerchief over each with an elastic band. Makes a HUGE difference. Costs literally nothing except the thought process in the first place. It does seem though very much a case of the user error stuff aside, having these mega sensors, writing to CF Express (which tend to get hotter than SD) in a body that has not increased in size, has resulted in a big chunk of post-release negativity which has the diehard Sony Boys laughing and pointing. 99.9% sure that it won’t affect me due to my intended use, but I guess I’ll find out over the rest of this Summer eh? Also, the launch price put me off. That coupled with the fact they did not take the body as far as I hoped they would, but I picked up an open box unit for £2700 which is not far off what I have been offered for the A7RV, so even with my next 2 lens purchases, with my 2 body plus 4 lens sales, depreciation aside (I’ve had my fair working use out of my kit), this whole deal is not really costing me anything. And the icing on the cake for me is that I get to keep and use the S9 alongside it as a sidekick. I shall call them Batman & Robin.

I am going to try Andrew’s free version and see if that works in any way for me. I need to take a look at Lumix’s LUT stacking feature as I need to burn it in due to the way I work, ie, bake in both the conversion and a creative LUT. Not down that before so will need to investigate… I also need to be able to do it for my stills from the same camera as everything needs to match perfectly going forward.

I looked at the R5C and the C80, - I looked at EVERYTHING, before pinning my colours to the Lumix mast, but nothing else either made the cut or was financially realistic. The closest based on availability today, would be a Z8 + Zf + pair of Z6iii’s and it was very very close… The Z8 probably just pips the S1Rii for me and for stills, the Zf easily beats the S9, but I still prefer the S5ii over the Z6iii for video…and overall, anything Lumix for video over anything Nikon. That might change in the future with the tie up with RED, but right now, it’s just 4 LUTs and Nikon video is lacking for me in 3 areas: no second card write back up, no bake in LUT and doesn’t have the multiple frame markers (I don’t think?) of Lumix. Canon had elements of my needs, but as an entire system was/is just too compromised and the cost to change was massive. I am pretty sure that before this time next year the game will have moved on, but I’ve got the opportunity to do something right now that suits me and will still have been a good move regardless of the future, so I’m more than happy with that.

Not especially no, but then maybe that’s because I am a hybrid wedding shooter and not a serious filmmaker? I mean it is/was on the list, but in no way would I switch to a camera purely just because it has marginally better highlight roll off when it isn’t so great in other areas, or completely misses the mark. My criteria as I stated was I am replacing both a 61mp and a 24mp cameras for a 44mp one. For stills which are 50% of my work, absolutely no way would I be considering a 12mp camera as a viable alternative. Does the A7Siii meet my requirements for ‘all in one system’? Sure as does the A7iv, the A7RV and well…any/all A7 and FX bodies, but do any of them meet my requirement to shoot 6k open gate video? Nope, not a single one. As I outlined in my reasoning, I have a minimum set of requirements in order to make any change and one of those was not better highlight roll off. I don’t think you are necessarily being ‘that guy’, but you completely ignored my requirements and instead posed a question based on what I guess would be your main priority. And that’s cool. But regarding highlight roll off specifically, have I considered it? No, not really. I’ve used full-frame Lumix now for 4.5 years and at no time have I considered it an issue and looking at the footage from the S1Rii that I have seen, haven’t noticed anything untoward. I haven’t looked at or even aware of any comparisons in this specific area either. So back to my best Scooby Doo voice, “Idunnoknow” 🤷‍♂️

🤷‍♂️ 🥱 😘 all in my best Scooby Doo impersonation

Decision made, I am sticking with LUMIX regardless of what Nikon or Sony do next. S1Rii inbound... Here's my reasoning and intentions for those that are interested in such things! Currently I am using: S9 + 2x S5ii for my video work, plus a Sony A7RV and a Nikon Zf for stills. That's 5 camera bodies plus 9 lenses spread over 3 systems with 3 different menus, batteries, handling/haptics etc. In summary, it works, but not without issues. I am switching to 4 camera bodies plus 7 lenses over 1 system. I have 3 principal aims: A: Reduce the amount of kit I have to work with and B: Have it all within one single cross-compatible system. C. Ability to pull 6k stills from video footage on a consistent basis. Nikon is or was an option with Z8 + 2x Z6iii + Zf and all my Tamron e:Mount lenses would work just fine, but the negatives for me are mainly; no write to second card back up, Vlog is easier/better to grade and looks better to my eye (marginal but looks that way to me) and costs a few thousand more than an all LUMIX line up. Sony has the best lens lineup options for me and I prefer the FX style bodies by a large margin, but no 6k camera (at least for now) kills it for me. Nikon may come out with this rumoured ZR for 2026 and it may answer some of my current Nikon criticisms...but it may not and if it does, c'est la vie, 'sideways' rather than anything I actually need. Ditto Sony. It's the lens lineup mainly that is the draw and if there was a 6k camera available now, I would probably have gone in that direction and in FX style bodies, it would have sealed the deal, but again, even if that comes into being by the end of this year, too late for me and I'm not a brand hopper for the sake of the latest new thing just because it's the latest new thing, ie, this current crop of ex-Sony Shillsters to now LUMIX Shillsters are all going to be hopping back in the direction of Sony within the next 6 months for sure. Nope, I can't and won't do that. If I have a Porsche, I might look at Ferrari or Aston and think, "yep, they're nice, but I already have a Porsche and it's fantastic". (I don't, - I have a used 150,000 miler Skoda Octavia Scout 😜 ) I'm 2 weddings in to a 17 wedding season and the new boy won't arrive in time for the next 2 which I leave for on Monday, but at least the 13 jobs after that will all be with the new system which will now comprise the following: S1Rii with Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 until I have sold all the stuff I need to sell and then will be picking up the Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 for indoor use and use my existing LUMIX 70-200mm f4 for outdoor use. I hate lenses that extend with zooming and neither of these do! Hybrid use, - mainly stills but I will also shoot video with this. S9 with 18/50/85mm f1.8 on freestanding monopod which is my current and going forward will now share duties with the S1Rii as my 'run & gun' units. Pair of S5ii's remain as my 2x statics with any 2 of the above 6 lenses that are not in use on the S1Rii or S9 at any given time, but at some point, I am going to add the Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 into the mix, ie, still 1 less body and 2 less lenses than I have currently been using this year and last, but the 28-105 will give me a bit more flexibility that my current L Mount lens lineup lacks. The only thing that put me off doing this sooner really was the body design... It's not that exciting and I was hoping for something more S1H or even Sony FX style but upon reflection, it's a better body than the S5ii being slightly chunkier, a MUCH better rear LCD and a few knobs and whistles that improve the overall use. Dream camera? Probably not, but a very very solid move (for me) I think. The bottom line is once you have pushed that button, how do you feel about it and will I miss the A7RV and Zf? I feel good about it actually because the positives outweigh any negatives and the Sony + Nikon pairing has been stellar, but there is simply a better (for me) option now. 7.2k 30p Open Gate Vlog here we come...

I’ll take a look at QuickTime, - I didn’t know that.

Just to be clear, I can already do this manually and incredibly tediously in my current editing software *cough* Premiere, but I am looking for something AI so I can skip losing a day of my life with each job. Cheers.