MrSMW

Weird coincidence or...? I got this just now. Exactly at 64%! I just went out to try an updated AF test and same thing, - camera reads 64% charge remaining but as soon as I hit record, I get a message saying it's writing to card and then immediately shuts off. I did order 2 extra (3rd party) batteries the other day and waiting for them to arrive, but not great ahead of several big shoots coming up and probability of buying a second S1H body...

And then fine tune it even further with AF speed and sensitivity. No user should need to do this though and this has been Panasonic’s Achilles Heel. Not so much the fact the AF is contrast based, but there has been little to no instruction in regard to how to make it work best which has been left to the community to try and resolve. It’s cost them market position and countless millions in sales. Marketing and reputation is everything. The entire L Mount system; Panny, Leica and Sigma have virtually all the ingredients needed to have the best product in the marketplace bar none and it’s slightly frustrating that they do not.

Coming from an XT3... XT3 strengths = price, tilt screen. XT4 strengths = IBIS, larger battery. If I went back to Fuji and these were my options, I'd go XT4 without question, purely for the IBIS, even though I prefer the tilt screen of the XT3. Photo, video or hybrid, I'd still go XT4 and only go with the XT3 if I was going to use it on a gimbal or tripod.

R6 then? You can always try that and if it doesn't work out, sell it on. Even better if you buy used in the first place.

I thought he bought several Sony A7Siii's after reviewing one? I don't follow that closely so could be wrong...

What about a used EOS R for that 10% photography and those times you need AF? Personally, it bugs me using 2 different systems, but there isn’t any single system that ticks every box. But if the BM is your mainstay, I’d do the above and see if that fills your need as it’s a cheap option.

“I am the law. You have 10 seconds to comply”. The OSMO has had it’s Robocop upgrade. Might be interesting for those of us who don’t like gimbals...

That's what I do but in combo with IBIS, ie, I use a twin strap shoulder harness with my left side camera being my primary stills and my right side camera my primary video. I use the video unit mostly at near arms length, pushing with tension against the strap and move my body as a whole rather than move the camera. If that makes sense? Actually, you don't really need IBIS to do that, but I just leave it on because a lot of the time I am static so one less thing to think about and do.

-6db for me as a default...but then I do not confess to being an expert at sound. Or anything.

And playing devils advocate, all 3 personally own cameras from the L Mount Alliance with Leigh and Hugh owning Leica SL2's and Tech360 (I forget his name) has or had an original FP. I think I have that right, but all 3 anyway are fans of the system. I think Hugh also has an S5... Gerald is very much a Sony man these days, but nothing wrong with that or his channel, - I watch it quite a bit, respect the guy and don't feel I am ever being sold anything or channelled anywhere and don't begrudge him making a living. It's all just opinions ultimately. Now (for me) S1R or FP-L as a pure photography tool, hmmm...

Yup. I have no one to please but myself and if I please myself, then I please my clients as that is what they booked me for and what they are paying me for...even if they have not thought of it this way, it's what I am doing, ie, zero client brief other than what I normally do. It's also the reason why I mostly do weddings and less commercial. Commercial clients tend to be picky picky picky and that sucks the life out of it for me.

Raw for stills and Natural for video. I just tried log again today, back to back with the Natural profile and nah, it just confirmed that log still is not for me. Maybe in someone else’s hands maybe but my tweaked settings version of the Natural profile looked better SOOC than anything and everything I tried with the log version of ‘the same’ footage. Because 90% of my work is hybrid, I start with the stills and have created an import preset unique to me. No you can’t buy or have it, it’s mine 😘 I’m 90-100% there with most pics straight away and it’s only minor fiddling with each from that point onward, then hi res Jpeg export and I am done. For the video side of things, I made a .cube LUT or whatever it’s called, from a typical stills image and I slap that onto an adjustment layer over my entire footage at 25% intensity and as a creative LUT. I then fiddle with the clips so they look like I want them to look et voilà, finito, export a 4K version and the stills and video match as closely as they are ever going to. I enjoy ‘editing’ almost as much as I do shooting but I don’t want to spend much time on it so I always: A: shoot with intent in the first place B: try and get it as right in camera as poss C. only spend the time necessary to finish what has mostly already been achieved at the time of capture. KISS 💋

The only issue with that is that camera companies only tend to hand out demo models to established 'influencers'. At least early on. But otherwise, I agree and it would be more 'fair' if these tools reached the hands of shall we say, more real world users rather than kit reviewers. The latter does happen, but only later down the line and usually after the user has purchased for themselves but by then, a preconceived idea of the tool is already established whether it's 100% accurate or not from those early 'reviews'. Which is why I personally take all these kinds of things with a pinch of salt and make my own mind up. I've never bought a camera or piece of kit based on anyone's opinion but my own.

I like reviews in principle because they do provide a certain level of information that can then help you with a purchase decision. But I never ever base my decision on them and go instead with my own instinct. I don’t like to follow the crowd either, or the latest brand etc. In fact I’d rather by ‘the same’ unbranded t-shirt or whatever than pay 5x the price just because it has Superdry printed on it. I used Fuji before it became a thing and it is part of the equation why I left them for the new underdog, the L Mount Alliance. I wanted to love the original FP...and did, but not enough to buy one to use, though it has been in and out of my shopping basket a dozen times. When the L was announced recently, I confess I was originally disappointed... I didn’t want and still don’t want the side attached viewfinder. In fact I hate it and would much prefer a top mounted tilt version of it. I would dearly have loved a tilt screen. Not a flippy, just a tilt...but this can be ‘fixed’ with an aftermarket job. No grip? This is the reviewer one that makes me laugh because that is being willfully ignorant in regard to the options that only fools the extremely dumb. 61mp. I didn’t want 61mp...but now I do for that simple reason that a single smaller prime can be used like a zoom (except without increasing compression the more you crop in). So initially I dismissed it, but now I may very well buy one and I could go in any one of three directions in regard to my third (needed) camera choice. Option A: The FP-L + grip + 28-70mm f2.8 for ALL my photography (only) needs and I would probably do the aftermarket tilt screen option. Option B: a user S1R that makes more sense as a camera and as a pure photography tool, but I would not love it or enjoy it as much. Option C. Another S5 which would work, but is not as appealing as the new FP. So I agree, the industry largely has it wrong. Sony arguably get so much increasingly right, but that does not mean that others have got it wrong. And if you watch the roughly 30 minute long presentation that the boss and I think head of the family(?) does in regard to the new FP-L, it doesn’t make you want to buy the thing because you were sold the shizzle, but makes you want to buy into the whole Sigma ecosystem because they are passionate about what they do. Which is rare today, a business that appears to genuinely care about what they produce, even in the knowledge it will not have mainstream appeal. I have to wait a few months to see what happens work-wise, but if I was making the decision this week, it would be FP-L.

Just not 4k 50p 10 bit which is what I shoot, but otherwise, very capable.

Spider-Man maybe, but not Batman as there’s zero contrast and good luck with The Flash.

I’m still undecided re. my third body, (needed once I get back to work) and can make a case for another S5, an S1R, or an FP-L. Decisions decisions...but not one I need to make any time soon as all (paid) work up to the end of July, has now postponed or cancelled. Another S5 most likely because it works as the best hybrid for my needs, but the step up in megapixels (handheld) is something I could make use of at times and the S1R is insane value...just not so good for video. The FP-L ups the ante even more in the megapixel department and I love the stills I am seeing competent persons producing...but again, like the S1R, not a video camera for me. I’ll see when the time comes...

More like 99.9%

I will try this soon!

I don’t BBF so don’t know but believe you can? I tried the Sigma 56mm f1.4 and it could not autofocus to save it’s own life. I ‘assume’ the other two in that line would be similar... The new 28-70mm f2.8 is quite good. Not as good as native Panny but then define ‘good’ in this context anyway! It’s OK, good even for anything but serious tracking. I am still waiting to push the button and test the lens I am most interested and that is the Sigma 65mm f2. If that works out OK, I will probably trade the 45mm f2.8 for the 35mm f2 as it will make a better pair for my needs.

Not a lot in it really. The S1 if you 100% want to shoot video externally and create the best rig. The S5 maybe for the more hybrid shooter (like me) who shoots non-log, dislikes monitors and gimbals etc. So I use the S5 as my hybrid and S1H as the more dedicated video camera, but just as it comes out of the box. Horses for courses and all that but pretty much and and all of these options will work and it more depends on your specific needs and then getting familiar with them over an extended period of time.

Full frame, more dynamic range, better low light, better built, better ergos, IBIS for both stills and video, plus with the latest firmware, more capable as a ‘cinema’ camera if you wish to rig it up and record externally. In regard to the latter, I don’t, so it doesn’t make any difference to me. Fuji wins for me on; size (but needs at least an aftermarket bracket grip which cost peanuts and in fact I have 2 to give away for the cost of postage EU) and SOOC colour science if you do not shoot log. A better comparison is the XT4 as that has IBIS. S1 vs XT4? I would choose XT4. S5 vs XT4? S5 for me. The ‘issue’ that some struggle with is the lenses... Fuji make many, but none really float my boat. If I had to pick one, I’d go 16-55mm f2.8 ‘one and done’ giving a full-frame equivalent range of 24-83mm. Panasonic get criticized for a lack of full-frame lenses and that most are too big and heavy and to an extent this is true...but smaller primes have begun to appear and all the Sigmas and Leica’s (budget busters for most) etc. I’m happy with the pairing of Sigma’s 28-70mm f2.8 which is shorter in reach than Fuji’s equivalent but the Panasonic’s can all do APSC crop mode turning the 28-70 into a 28-105mm. To conclude, the package of S5 + Sigma 28-70mm is no bigger, actually lighter and more capable than the pairing of the Fuji XT4 + 16-55mm. Just... Couldn’t go wrong with either! I do prefer primes but that for me means more bodies as I need multiple focal lengths at the same time so use 2 bodies (need a third) and 5 lenses.

The Panny S1 is ‘probably’ the best value bit of kit available right now, just pipping the Fuji XT3, but unless size & weight is more important, S1 for the win. However, if size & weight is a factor, Pannyboy S5 over the XT3. That’s where my money would be going, Panasonic or Fuji.

I debated for a long time whether I would get one or another S5. Zero regrets, even with all the firmware updates to the S1. Mostly it was the size (false reports everywhere about how massive it is) though the cost played a part but I bought used (like new) model and in the hands it is near perfect ergo-wise and not heavy at all. And as a non-fan of flippy screens, the tilt that it has is perfect for me. 9/10 overall with just the single point removed as the AF is not on par with the likes of Fuji or Nikon, never mind Canon or Sony. It’s a proper pro piece of kit with the bonus that I can now sell my wedding videos to Netflix 🤑🤩🤔

For stills, I don't let the shutter go any slower than 1/250th unless the subject is very static. For video, 90%+ of what I do ends up being 50% reduced in speed and I see no problems shooting 10x the 180 degree shutter rule. Vlog, you just need to use an in camera viewing LUT, either a camera standard one or an imported one. I use the one from Gamut rather than Panasonic's because it's better. But then I don't shoot Vlog but a tweaked version of the Natural profile. Each to their own and all that but IMO either shoot Vlog if you wish to grade or a non-flat profile if you don't because otherwise you may as well shoot Vlog and get a better result!