MrSMW

Not to bring religion into it, but Jesus wept. The column highlighted is in the classic Ionic style. They need to stop teaching the classics at places such as Oxford, Cambridge or in architecture. And knock down what remains of Ancient Greece.

Got to love a bit of diffraction 🙈

It's my favourite lens for video. Easily. Has been for I think this is the third year with it? Maybe the 4th, - since it was launched anyway. It's under 500g, barely extends, fixed aperture, works like a 42-105 in crop mode, has some character and...well what is not to like really? You can keep your much larger and heavier 24-70's! The Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 is just as viable and I have that also. For stills this year and last, though if I switch to Nikon or Sony for video next year, will use that instead.

I'm doing an about face after 6 days shooting with the primes and going back to a single zoom. Well kinda... Most of the time, I have been shooting with the right lens for the situation, so the 18 when I want wide (but finding it too wide most of the time), the 50 (which can get a bit tight indoors and not quite long enough out) and the 85 (which is often far too tight outdoors). So I am switching it around and popping the Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 on the S9 as my run & gun combo with the option of the 18mm for those very few times when I need it. The 50 and 85 I have moved over to static duty on one or both of my S5ii's, especially when I don't need the big boy 70-200. The simple reality is I like the purity of zooms plus their ability to gather more light/shoot shallower, but flexibility trumps those qualities. I do however despise variable aperture zooms and anything that really extends. The Sigma has a very short telescoping effect and the 70-200 none. Meanwhile though for candid stills, the Zf with 40mm f2 is a great combo. Pity the AF is not even close to that of the A7RV. Sony AF just flat out rules, no question whereas with Nikon it's a case of overshooting because it asks, "This? This? Or this? Oh you mean this!" in fast paced scenarios. Sony meanwhile winks at you and says, "yep, I already know".

People just have ever decreasing attention spans and in a survey of one, my daughter (20) has to check reviews before even considering ‘watching’ a movie and by ‘watching’, I mean occasionally glancing up from her phone. My wife (more than 20, though may trade her in for a younger model if she gets any older) is beginning to develop the same phone disease. But also yes, everything has to be so literal and woke these days. Or it’s the complete opposite and just OTT violence with casual body counts in the dozens. It’s not that there are not some gems and maybe no less than there ever was, but they are getting drowned in a sea of shit and then lost due to attention spans of the gnats ‘watching’.

From 2023, I enjoyed The Holdovers and Poor Things. In 2024, Dune Part 2. So far from 2025, nada. From the 80’s, how long have you got? Far FAR more good series on Netflix and Apple etc than movie releases these days. Not that every series or even most series are good, but for me, series took over from movies a good few years back.

Or I could just stick with my Zf

Should have known!

I think that is quite a true statement. Of course it depends on your needs, how invested you are in a system, how many lenses etc and despite my intention (as things stand) to switch to Sony or hopefully Nikon next year, I would be doing this despite Lumix having what I think are the best current cameras for my needs. But it’s that term ‘needs’/wants that would allow me to sacrifice some outright video spec for the bigger picture which for me, having done my maths, is a body less than I currently using and whopping 4 less lenses. Less lens swapping…in fact virtually zero lens swapping, cross body alignment with batteries etc and just a lot less faff than the 3 systems I am currently using! But as to just getting the job done, for my needs, based on purely video spec and real world results, nothing else I would rather be using in 2025. 2026 though… Well that one is up to you Nikon. You know what you have to do which is not drop the ball on the ZR and deliver where your rivals in 2025 have so far fallen short… Sony with the FX2 and it’s 💩LCD and Lumix with the continuation, albeit updated S5 body style because I’d prefer something ‘FX30ish’ and I say FX30ish because that actually does have a good LCD. I’ll add to that list Nikon Z6iii for the also boring body style. Canon 🥱

Now I know! So there was the Lunar one that everyone laughed at and they sold maybe 3 and all to ex-astronauts. Or the blind. This one, the Lusso looked quite cool but just 100 units sold in Hong Kong. The best looking of these skin jobs was the Solar, but that turned out to be a hoax. It would be quite cool to see some more custom houses such as this, a bit like Zagatto in the car world, re-skinning more mainstream models to make them a little more interesting… Or just get them involved in the design stage and sack off your former cardboard box ‘design’ team. I’ve always thought there would be a market for putting the more modern gubbins into older ‘retro’ bodies also. I’d like a digital Contax G2.

The Euro deal is significantly better! €1299 is 'only' about £1100.

What is this camera?! Never seen it before…

And a high quality LCD and not the piece of shite they decided to attach to this thing 😏 I get why they added the tilt EVF, even though I have zero personal interest in it, but the LCD quality just makes no sense to me.

Really great focal range for me, but I don’t have any APSC cameras. Interesting though…especially if I do move over to Sony next year because on an FX30 body, that would be a very neat pairing for my needs…

Depends on your preferences but all of the Sigma f2/2.8 primes, all the Lumix f1.8/2.8 primes, various small zooms including the new 24-60, all very good combos. I prefer the Sigma f2’s for stills and for their build and looks, but I went with the Lumix f1.8 primes for mine with the 18, 50 and 85. I’m now questioning the 18 and might trade it for the 24 as it’s just a bit too wide for my needs and taste. The 35 is not quite wide enough and a bit close to the 50. The 50 has been my workhorse the last few jobs and the one I am currently on, but whether I stay with L Mount for video or flip to Sony (or Nikon) 99% sure I will pick up a Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 because that would suit my needs best.

Proof right there. That is the new ad for the FX2 with the tagline, “Would have been the camera of choice had David lived a bit longer than he did”. It will sell 10’s more as a result. (Buy 2, get a free ironing board)

I’m pretty sure his last words were, “I’m gonna buy a Sony FX2”. And if they weren’t, Sony need to put that rumor out there to help boost sales.

So basically they are all cats? The cat with the Leatherman The copy cat The Cat in the Hat The OG Catman The cat with Barbie’s mother Frocat Snapcat And other cats.

And then there was one. 🤞

I think if I was in the camera reviewing game, I wouldn't either, but therein lies the problem with that scenario, - just how do you retain any kind of personal or perceived integrity if you only ever praise every single piece of kit launched without becoming an utter shill? Fortunately I don't have to and will never have to because I don't have and never will have an 'influencer' channel! But back on the FX2, I have watched a couple of reviews now and regardless of their personal opinion, I have made my own mind up and it's "not quite". I have become used to using 6k 30p open gate as my standard for over a year now. I like both the quality of the output and the relatively low size of the log file with Lumix. The OG gives me a decent option for post production 9:16 crop without having to make an entirely new social media short from scratch. The S5ii was good for this last year and the S9 is better (despite various shortcomings) for this year. Is a move to Sony or Nikon still on the cards for next year? Ideally yes, but purely because it's the only valid option for me and my specific needs and requirements and yes, I have looked at every conceivable option and continue to do so without it becoming an obsession. FX2 though? No. It's failure for me is the LCD & EVF. I haven't used an EVF for years, stills or video, - it's just too slow and clunky a way of working for me. Add on monitors etc also do not work for me so rear LCD is a critical part of my process. So I would personally not use or want the EVF of the FX2 and at the same time, that LCD res is just really quite poor, even compared with my S9. In fact other than build/body (but not glass options), the S9 is just a preferable option for me right now. ZV-E1 is on my radar but again, suffers from the same LCD woes. It bypassed me completely but the best Sony option for me right now would probably be the FX30 which has an excellent LCD which utterly shames that of this new FX2. The FX2 could have been a contender for me if they had simply skipped the EVF protrusion and had a decent LCD instead. And that right there, was and is the dealbreaker for me. Next move is over to Nikon. Please don't fuck this up. Make an FX3/30 style body with quality rear LCD, internal Z6iii spec with ability to bake in RED luts and we're probably golden. I can then use all my e Mount glass adapted with full AF and happy days will ensue. And I can then end my career back where it started, - with Neekon.

This does seem to be the case and I am not sure exactly why… It could be they do have a really good spec and are one of the best tools (at least on the camera side of things) for the job, but then your average YouTube reviewer doesn’t need that beyond a point as very few of them seem to be full-time industry, but instead full-time YouTubers and as such, do not need half of what these cameras have. Sony have been somewhat slack recently by comparison and their cameras have been lacking in a few areas spec-wise, possibly artificially crippled to preserve the more pricey stuff. I have always thought Lumix’s marketing to be more than a bit shite, but maybe they are craftier than we thought and have been playing a longer game of getting influencers slowly but steadily to their cause over the last few releases… Until fairly recently, you had to already be in the Lumix club before being invited to a launch but now it seems that is not the case. Fair play to them, I’d like to see them do well. Every camera launch these days plus other pieces of kit such as lenses, seem to have as many detractors as they do fans and this is to be expected for various reasons. Not every piece of kit is for everybody and this FX2 is clearly a competent hybrid rather than a dedicated video or stills camera so unless ‘hybrid creation’ is your thing, this camera will be of limited interest. Same as if a 1.5kg f2 medium to long zoom is not something you need or want, it does not make it shit. I still haven’t watched a single FX2 review yet so maybe should but just based on a few spec details I think I understand who it’s for. Is it groundbreaking? Nope. Very little is these days. Could it have been better? Possibly rather than probably plus yes definitely, but then it would have cost more. Should it have internal ND? Probably not because there would be so much criticism of this ‘old’ sensor etc. I am not 100% convinced at this time but to me and for my needs, it seems a pretty decent thing…

Dr Seuss is alive an kicking!

I believe that is its primary purpose? For the solo hybrid ‘creator’. Pretty sure it would be a better ‘cinema’ camera. The guts of the S1ii in the FX3 body…but then I thought that was what the recent Lumix launch was going to be…but wasn’t. Personally, I’m going to pick around fewer bodies based on available and suitable lenses over video spec. I’d rather have both and as above, maybe that rumored Nikon might just have it all. Or be the closest so far…

Nope. About as relevant to me as rolling shutter! I’m a locked off kind of guy and I do not pan, tilt, or practice the wobbling jelly approach AKA ‘The Handheld Look’. My super lightweight freestanding monopod is one of the best and essential pieces of kit I own. If only I had not left it at a chateau 750km away a couple of weeks back 🙈 Fortunately I am back there in a few weeks and it’s slightly older, bigger and heavier sibling is pulling mono duty until then!

Oh and another Sony con and that is fit a higher res rear LCD would ya, ya cheapskates!