MrSMW

Coming from Fuji myself (XT3), not as good. For stills, no problemo…in fact there are several bonuses with stills for a camera having contrast detect. But for video, with static subjects or side to side movement, pretty OK and yes, native Panny lenses have an edge over Sigma. Reliable tracking forward or away from you. Forget it. Pretty crap. It CAN do it, but you don’t get to decide when those times are. Toss a coin up in the air and the probability of heads or tails is 50:50. That’s S5/S1 tracking as things stand for you.

How many PM's have you received asking if you can only just give them a few clues and they won't tell anybody honest/ Have you received mine?

There's a fella on YouTube who is pretty good with the ZV1 and possibly now ZV E10 and he reckons the HLG option is where it's at also and what I am currently using.

It's growing on me, I have to say... Just watched Chris Eyre-Walkers review...and I know he's somewhat biased being an Olympus ambassador and all that, but... First half, especially the picture review in the frozen North, I thought, nah. It's OK, but I wouldn't kick my full frame 47mp S1R out of bed for it. But then I watched his second project with the MTB and focus on video and really liked it. OK, it was shot with cinema primes and a crew of 7, but really really nice output. The talk is that the OM-1 is going to be the more stills orientated compared with the GH6...and the GH6 will probably have the video chops over the OM-1, but I think as things stand, I'd still be leaning more towards the OM-1 at this time for my hybrid needs.

One of my favourite ever lenses. Limited use, but superb results. There are some absolutely superb M4/3 lenses and that for me is the magic of the system, especially the longer you go.

It would be a bonus point in my eyes if the GH6 has the same/similar tilt screen as the S1H rather than a vloggers flip out. #bestLCDever

Identical to a T, except ZV1 for me. If I’d waited a year, I would have gone for your slightly bigger sibling, but as my use case is so limited, I’ll stick with it for this year.

Plus for the early adopters, your usual software hasn’t been updated 🤪🤨

Good job @jgharding I decided just a couple of days ago to bump up my ZV1 to gimbal duty for those occasions when I need reliable AF. Matching it to the S1H and S5 will be even harder I suspect, but it’s currently my best and only option so… I tried the S5 with small/light lens in the Crane M3 but it was pushing the limit really…not that I really know much (anything) about gimbals, but the ZV1 is a much better fit. And the results are always in focus which means I don’t wish to smash it to bits.

I don’t think simply fixing the AF situation alone would be enough. It would be a start, but then needs some shouting about as a brand/system. My fingers are crossed, but I’m not holding my breath. The ‘savior’ of the DFD could be computing power from what I understand…but that’s not something I know too much about. GH6 will be an indicator.

Maybe it’s a corporate level suicide pact? 🤪

I think you'll find that the new camera is the OM Systems Olympus OM-1 and the camera name you have quoted is a couple of years old, but otherwise, yes, Panasonic are probably doomed unless they sort the AF out. I'm not part of the tin foil hat brigade but the few individuals who do have their heads screwed on, don't make up enough of any market to really influence it. The simple reality is Panasonic have a fundamental marketing problem that comprises 2 parts: Part A is that their 'ambassadors' seem to be jumping ship in recent times, mostly I presume as they individually wish to move to other camera systems. Part A2 is that none of them are trendy YouTube influencers. Part A3 is that they do not allow comments on any of their official channels, ie, kill any kind of community, so all 'community' is unofficial channels such as Facebook groups and a handful of YouTubers. Part B is the AF tracking issue. It doesn't matter whether it's real or not real or it's adequate in some instances or total shit in all, it's a HUGE reputation/marketing issue directly affecting sales. And before anyone says, "how do you know it's affecting sales?" Because it's fucking obvious to anyone who has even the slightest understanding of how business works! The bottom line is it may already be too late and it's just a question on time now, but the issue isn't contrast vs phase IMO, but simply one of whether it works or not that is the issue. I don't care if the next gen is DFD, providing the AI bit does what they claim. And what they claim is slightly vague... 5x faster. 5x faster than what? I don't know if they even said 'faster' but they have stated it's 5x something along those lines and implying they have something they are confident in. I hope so anyway, because I'm also a S1H/S5 user for video (and S1R for stills) and really don't want to have to move to another system for a whole load of reasons. And am not as things stand, at least for this year, but at some point, new kit will happen because I'm a business user and what I have will not work forever. Let's see what the GH6 is first and go from there...

I've viewed a couple of these initial 'early looks' now out of curiosity and it's what I expected it to be and that is not 'wow'. I know that wasn't a label OM Systems tagged themselves, but rather one that was taken up by media in general? Looks solid enough for me as an upgrade from the previous EM1 mkiii, but otherwise nothing really that challenges (never mind surpasses) a lot of the full frame options. How many are honestly going to choose something like this over say a Sony A7iv? Unless already invested in M4/3, somewhere round about nobody I suspect is the answer. It does actually cover all my needs for video work, but not above (and in some respects, below) what I am using now, so not something I'd move to. Let's see if the GH6 can do better... I'm glad to see it exist though, especially with the OLYMPUS logo front and centre.

Yep @Marcio Kabke Pinheiro some folks do get their knickers in a right old twist if you mention the slightest possibly deficiency in their tool of choice. Me, I couldn’t care less what badge it’s wearing, but rather it’s what works best, or has the lowest number of compromises. I don’t much care for Sony (though have and have had some of their cameras) but if it made business sense to me to switch, I would quite easily. Ditto Canon, despite their mighty cripple hammer. Not really a fan of the brand or some of their moves, but I could overlook anything like that if the business case was made above some other option. Right now, I’m a mostly happy L Mount user and will remain so until such a time as something justifiably better for me needs comes along. Hopefully it will be S2H flavored, but if wears a different badge, it wears a different badge!

Nope, sorry, can't get it to work on my S1H Vlog. I only have limited footage to work with and all +2 stops over-exposed...and it needs pulling back too far to get anything remotely like a decent exposure...but then it's not designed to work on the S1 is it? Ah well I tried and it's not your 'fault'. Back to my Nitrate games. Nearly there...

They won’t ‘win’ whichever route they have chosen! The ‘specialists’ will crit if it’s not specialised and the ‘all-rounders’ will crit if it’s niche… I am more inclined to go down the specialised path myself these days. If a hybrid covers my needs great, but if not, specific tools are fine. No hybrid currently meets my needs 100% so I have specific video tools and specific stills tools. None of which has to do with ‘The Aesthetic’ but hey ho 😜

OM-1 is better than OMD E=MC2 EMiii etc Just make the next camera OM-2…if they survive and the leaked pics do indeed show the use of the OLYMPUS brand name with the company name, bottom right. I hope it’s a decent bit of kit as the industry needs success stories not more criticism of yet another new camera that doesn’t hit the spot for the majority. Z9 and A7iv other than a few niggles seem to have been well received recently, some others less so.

Not so sure about that Kye… I just need AF tracking to work for anything where someone is walking towards me. On a wedding day, the total time this happens for us about 2 minutes out of 9-15 hours coverage. Those 2 minutes are critical stuff though; entrance of the bride/bridal party, exit of the couple, confetti aisles, sparkler aisles and maybe some exclusive couple stuff. This is where DFD is totally unreliable. Sometimes it will work near faultlessly. Other times not at all. Mostly it’s somewhere between. I have come close so many times to just biting the bullet and trading it all for something more reliable just because of this specific issue. Ultimately though, I have decided against and instead found a workaround as the rest of the package is too good to junk. The workaround is on camera, hotshoe mounted action cam as backup. OK the footage won’t be the same quality and some (hopefully most!) of the time, I will be able to extract a 3 second in focus clip from the 5-10 sequences per wedding where I need to use AF tracking. But if not, I’ll just have to cut in some action cam footage creatively so it doesn’t look out of place. After all, I have been cutting in the same size sensor drone footage for 3 years so why not? The rest of the time, DFD is pretty decent/no issues. However, I am going back to manual focus for anything that isn’t the 2 minutes of every job that needs AF tracking in order to eliminate 100% any potential for even slightly OOF shots. I’m also ditching IBIS for 90% of the day and going back to freestanding monopod as that eliminates that weird sideways jump glitch that IBIS sometimes throws up! It will almost be like working like a proper pro… Even a Canon R5c would make sense to me now 😬

I’ll have another play later, but deliberately chose a tricky bit of footage! I like Nitrate, but their Portra 400 is not even slightly close to film with S1H v log. Neither is the Velvia which is a vibrant film stock. The Nitrate version is very flat and yellowy/green. It could be they are all miles off with the S1H camera pack… On the other hand, the way you can adjust the log footage is reckoned to be better than the equivalent Lumetri controls and my (limited) experience is that is true. I will play with both later, your @hyalinejim LUT and Nitrate in general…

OK, had a play with your LUT plus a couple of FilmConvert alternatives: Premiere, S1H log footage The order is: 1 = The Portra Lut as provided, no tweaks 2 = The Portra Lut tweaked...albeit, I brought the highlights down too far 🤪 3 = Nitrate's version of Portra based on S1H log settings no tweaks. Err, a bit purple innit?! I wouldn't call that very 'Portra'! 4 = Nitrate Astia no tweaks 5 = Nitrate Astia tweaked 6 = Nitrate Velvia tweaked 7 = Nitrate Astia best I could get it 'globally' ie, without any masking skin type tweaks etc + with S 35mm grain 8 = As 7, but + FF 35mm grain (7 = the closest I have got to obtaining the look I am after for my own work...but is still a work in progress)

Yes I agree. The 'problem' with judging colour science with screen grabs or photography, especially in side by side comparisons, is that your brain doesn't have time to adjust. If it's an entire movie or short film and has a specific colour, tone or whatever, we accept it much more easily, even if the colours are actually way off in regard to reality. This is especially evident in sci fi stuff like; The Martian, Mad Max, Dune etc where none of the colour in the entire move it exactly 'real'...but it becomes 'real' to us very quickly. I've looked at a few wedding films of a couple of folks I really rate and watching those, everything looks Captain Amazeballs. But when I have done some screen grabs and looked at those as individual pictures, I like it a lot less. We need to look at these things in isolation IMO, ie, the entire film needs to gel, same as a set of images needs to do the same. That's what I am working on myself, - a film grading style that is not too heavy handed, but is mine and ditto a photography grade that is similar with both complimenting each other.

Just ordered one and it will be here next week... I've never had much success with this type of thing, but am hoping that on my 4th attempt... Started with a GoPro 5 Silver. Didn't last long. Tried the DJI Go, two of them in fact. Didn't last long either. DJI Action? Best to date, but sold it as I wasn't using it how I'd intended, though it had some potential. But, as above in my original response to this thread, I've decided to get one for a limited, but very specific purpose and that is as a voice activated, hot shoe mounted, back up for AF tracking sequences to my S1H. My typical wedding day coverage is between 9-15 hours. The ONLY times I need any form of AF tracking is; entrances, exits/confetti, waiting staff bringing out plates and the couple walking towards the camera, so about 2 minutes of 9-15 hours. I have been using C-AF for everything and it's mostly been reliable, but not 100%. As we all know, AF and especially tracking is the Achilles heel of L Mount video. Well I have decided to remove it from the equation and take all uncertainty out of the equation with the following steps: 1: I'm moving my S1H back into a mostly freestanding monopod role and eliminating both IBIS and AF out of the equation as I'm going fully manual AF...other than those few moments each job where I need tracking and then I will re-engage C-AF and instruct the Action 2 mounted on the hotshoe to back it up. I'll still use the S1H sometimes handheld, but if I can, it will remain on the monopod. The use of C-AF (S1H) and the Action 2 (hotshoe mounted) will be limited to only entrances/exits/confetti. 2: Ditched trying to make the S5 work on the gimbal. It's my third attempt with a gimbal and to be honest, I still hate it but think I can make it work. I almost sent it back 2 days ago...but I have stuck my Sony ZV1 on it, which makes for a much lighter package also and I'll only have to mix in a few seconds of footage here or there, so reckon I can live with that. The use of this combo will be limited to tracking waiting staff, BTS other suppliers at work and a bit of stuff with the couple only. I'm also going to use the Action 2 mounted in or on the car to add some additional material to the drone coverage of venues and local area etc. That worked really well with my first GoPro travelling around the Faroe Islands. I think this time, the use of 'non-pro' cameras can be made to work for my purposes, mainly because they will now have a very specific and limited role to play. But we'll see...

I am also currently down the rabbit hole of trying to find a consistent end result to log that I like. This level of science is way beyond anything I have tried which has ended up as being FilmConvert Nitrate. It’s giving me the look I was hoping for. Still playing with fine-tuning a baseline that I can apply to all my work because yes, I do want a consistent look across all my work. With your examples, the comparisons of the girl, as with most of these side by sides, my pick is always, “somewhere between the two”. The Panny one is a touch magenta and yours a touch yellow/green/washed out. As above, somewhere in the middle would work best for me. And this is one of the things I like about Nitrate and that is you could just use the ‘film stocks’ just as they are, but you are encouraged to play. The problem I always find is ALWAYS skin tones. Without resorting to tweaking the skin tones of every single clip, there isn’t much with an ‘aesthetic’ that keeps them as you’d want without skewing everything else. That again is why something ‘in between’ can work well, a happy compromise. Or just tweak the skin tones in every damn clip… Well done with the effort made and even if it does not end up producing the end result you are looking for, you will have learnt so much from the process.

Must be a reason surely why they have chosen to throw away the heritage of over 80 years of the brand name OLYMPUS. I’d hope so otherwise it’s not the wisest move… Say someone bought Ferrari and then had the bright spark idea to change the name to ‘FR-Cars’. Err, wot? Unless the new company does not have the rights to use the brand name?

I’m not sure why they changed the established brand name in the first place. I had a pair of EM5mkii’s with f1.2 and f1.8 primes for my video work around 6 years ago. In fact, must have been 6 years ago because when I moved to France they were what I was using. Liked them at the time, though I was less serious about video than I am now. Seriously considered the EM1mkiii for video work and it was only the lack of 4K 50p that killed it for me. Otherwise in the fence right now in regard to any/all future camera systems and I think Panny would have to bring out my ‘ideal spec’ S2H for me to consider anything this year. I’m interested to see what both the OM-1 and GH6 are capable of, beyond any initial media hype (good or bad).