MrSMW

Well I’m not one to throw the baby out with the bath water as they say, but it’s certainly looking that my time with L Mount peaked and will stop at some point with the S5ii. That point will probably be when the ability to burn a lut into N-log happens. Prior to that happening…and assuming it will, then it doesn’t stop my S5ii working. Pretty sad if it’s the end of the road for full-frame. If…

I'm going to wait for the G97.5

😚

I would happily go back to shooting film for weddings...except I worked out I would lose money on every job and my accountant says this would be a bad thing? 🤔 But seriously, tech has to progress or sales tank. That is just how shit works. 1080 becomes 4k becomes 8k becomes one day not so far away, 12k etc because it has to. It does not stop individuals buying a €50 off eBay and buying a roll of 36, but they are a tiny minority of consumers. Personally, I don't much care about the future of Camera Land as I am already at peak camera for my needs. Yes, I would like it all within one brand/system and am hoping that happens sometime soon, but do need it and am not chasing it as such. The biggest shame for me with tech is that it can overshadow craft. And that is pretty sad.

I have never really cared for Sony as a brand personally though previously owned several of their cameras, primarily the RX100V and RX10ii…though neither of these were MILC’s obviously. My 30+ year career has principally been: Nikon F film cameras, followed by Nikon digital in the early 2000’s and then around 9 years with Fuji X Mount. 2021, I moved to L Mount with the S5 followed by S1H, S1R and S5ii. I have dabbled at times with M4/3 but never really got on with it due to low light needs for video and ultimate stills quality. For my needs, larger sensors simply are better. The only major brand I have never used is Canon. My needs are hybrid. Either within a single camera, or multiple cameras designated ‘video’ or ‘stills’. And then there are lenses… Over the years, I have often found it’s ’another brand’ that has the lens I would ideally prefer, but it’s not available or does not have an equivalent for whatever is my current system. That is not so much the case anymore but only happened within the last 1-2 years so now it’s very much a case of most…or at least more camera brands can meet my needs. Or can they…?? L Mount, my current choice for video. Has the lenses, good AF, 6k 30p (would prefer 50/60p but not a dealbreaker) excellent IBIS, multiple frame markers/cropping, ie, if I want to shoot CinemaScope, I don’t need to stick tape over my screen or simply try and imagine it. Plus I can burn my LUT into it. Who else has that? Nobody as far as I am aware? Nikon has their new RED luts and I think are just getting going and the Z6iii has some of the features I would like, but also missing some and these currently are dealbreakers, namely the in camera crop markers and cannot burn in a lut. Where L Mount currently fail for me is as stills cameras. The S1R is just a bit too old but could be made to work but it’s the SL3 I want but cannot afford. The S5ii, my current video workhorse has too clunky a shutter sound and feel for my tastes. I prefer the the S1H over the S5ii for stills but then 24mp is a bit low for my needs these days. Step forward Sony. That brand I have largely avoided. Mostly because they never seemed to care about the last 10% of build quality or features or actual ability. Stuff like right up to the A7Riv which had and has excellent image quality, but lacks a decent rear screen. The A7CR looked great to me except, crappy rear screen again and single card slot. Briefly, Fuji medium format. Love the bodies, less so the lenses. I kept circling around the A7RV but in the end came to the conclusion that for my needs as least, it was and still is unbeatable as a stills platform. Compact enough to stick a small prime on it and due to it’s 61mp sensor, so much range. With a baseplate smaller to mid-sized zooms and larger/longer primes become very viable. Stick a battery grip on it and the largest of zooms etc now all work. The closest for me is the Z8 and I could make that work but the only slight reservation is the lack of mechanical shutter. But where is it all going (including this ramble 🥱?) Sony might not have the heritage of a Leica or a Hasselblad or a Nikon, but arguably offer the most today. Nikon I reckon a close second because of the mount and ability to adapt E Mount lenses…but with a slight reservation in that regard and that is native on camera adjustments do not happen so you don’t always get quite the same result as you do with using a Sony body. Canon falls short with their lack of middle ground lenses and seem to me a bit over-priced compared with their peers. Fuji APSC almost does it for me except it’s APSC and their is a difference between that and full-frame and their has been AF issues. A good lens line up though. And then there is the curio that is L Mount… Leica, the aspirational brand where 50% of what you are paying for is a red dot 🔴 OK, supposedly a great interface and build and mythical/perhaps real, image quality, but so many niggles also… Sigma: Promising cameras with the FP and FP-L but no sign of anything to follow and these were and are so compromised as much as I want to love them. So close but just one generation away from being great. And LUMIX…full-frame LUMIX. IMO, one generation away from being great. The S5ii is arguably the greatest video tool of it’s type and price but lacks a bit in a few areas and I would class as: Video = great Hybrid = good Stills = OK The S1R flips the above in reverse. The S1H scores 3x good for me but trumps them all in build and feel etc. What LUMIX need, is a next gen S1H/S1R spec in an S5ii sized body with the polish of the S1H. In summary, for me right now, Sony and Nikon offer me the best stills options and potential hybrid options, but currently do not regarding the latter and so I remain with L Mount until either they do or LUMIX bring out a next gen S line. Whereas I once believed it inevitable that they would, ie, a LUMIX badged Leica SL3, I am now on the fence whether that will happen, or anything at all. Meanwhile, all Nikon really need to do (for me), is allow me to burn in a lut and add frame markers and happy days, I will end my career back with the brand I started it all with. Z8 for ‘pro’ stills (could flip to this right now) Zf for hybrid (have it already) Z6iii for video, but currently falls short based on the 2 factors above. The bottom line for me is all the tools are available, but it’s slightly frustrating I need to mix and not always match, a variety of brands to make things work for my needs.

To quantify, I mean ALL my needs within a single brand, ie, they cover my needs between them, but I’d rather have it all within one system.

Leica exist in their own bubble. They are an odd one in that along with Hasselblad, they are priced above most ordinary folks means. Or you have to be otherwise extremely keen. But they also put their name to cheap rebranded lower end stuff. I think they are one of those companies like Porsche that are better off not trying to compete at the mid or lower levels and instead, remain in their niche. Lumix I am adamant though has mostly been a case of poor marketing. They seem to be one of those companies who score hits from time to time and then never capitalise on it. When the GH4 came out, my brother was the video side of my business and we were all over that marvel, but then years until the GH5 and it’s minor updates. S5 came out and other than the lack of PDAF, a great bit of kit, but no real fanfare. The S1 trilogy were and still are, great bits of kit, but to most, they went a bit too large on the bodies, but to have zero official sign from them of any follow up is IMO, just insane. If something is coming. If not, probably understandable and their goose is cooked. This next announcement really is the final straw for me with them… If there is no official announcement of something relatively substantial such as a new S camera, then they are not a company I can have any further faith or investment in. I run a business. I have business needs. I have zero interest in partnering with lame ducks. The bottom line for me is other than the S5ii, they do not have the tools I want and need for 2025 and going forward. Loved my S1H and for its time, it was great, but was always a compromise for my needs. Even more so now to the point where I would deliberately be making a conscious choice of compromise if I chose to work with it today. S1R delivered great results for stills and is borderline arguable something I could still make work. And they are stupidly cheap now. But I would like a system that can do it all and the reality is no one quite does for my specific needs. It’s between Sony, Nikon and Lumix for different reasons but not a single one of them meets my needs. Very happy with the tools I have, but those tools are 1x Sony, 1x Nikon and 1x Lumix and whoever gets their first with the system that does it all within one brand, will get my loyalty and therefore, my $£€.

Less people give a toss rather than nobody and I think this keeps coming back to the same old chestnut and that is Lumix just are not in it in the marketing department. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do if your marketing sucks. The raw tech/capability does not sell. Cool people doing cool shit sells.

🥶

I think the only thing they really fluffed at the launch was that lens. Had they launched with the 18-40, it would have been a different matter. Many folks by their nature focus on the negative, even if that negative is a tiny part of the whole or even something that would not affect them. That lens was one of those situations and yes, there may be some people (less than 10 on the planet) who actually wanted an f8 lens, but to most, it was a negative that stood out and people like to point and laugh.

This is where I think it shines. As a hybrid, for occasional use in a stills role, maybe, but not my first choice. For pure stills, nah. But as a compact S1/S5ii alternative? Absolutely. I keep reading and hearing about the S5ii and S9 having a more 'digital' image than the S1/S5, never mind the S1H, but as someone who has a 1/8th mist glued on to my S5ii lenses, I can't say I have ever really noticed anything in the 2 years I have been using them. I DO notice a difference on one single lens however, the 70-200mm f4, but funnily enough, it's the ONLY lens I have that does not have a 1/8th mist on it. And as for moire, ditto, never seen it. So maybe these later cameras do have a more digital look and probably it's my use of the 1/8th mists that is 'reversing' that.

I get that and respect that. I'd very much like to try a Leica (a proper one, had a cropped sensor one) and a Hasselblad. If I had the finances, I would love to own and shoot stills with an X2D, but the cost is WAAAAAY beyond anything I could justify. Slightly more real world and would fit very well into my specific needs, a pairing of an SL3 (with something wide and something long I could bounce between) matched with a Q3-43 for everything in-between. But again, cashidos. Why? The build, the prestige etc, - more for me personally than rather what any kudos I might get from others. I have come very close on the SL2 several times, but what swung it for me with the S1R, was tilt screen. Plus it did not have the list of niggles that the Leica seemed to come with. I even had a crazy plan recently to combine an SL3 with an SL2-S and a Q3-43 and think this would probably be my current ultimate working scenario for my hybrid needs...but cost kills it!! And Mrs SMW would kill me.

Unless you MUST have log and prize the badge high enough, IMO, nope. The question is why is the S1R not worth as much as the SL2?!

I’m regretting selling mine now. Quite fancy one again with the Voigt 40mm f1.2… Only thing is, lack of AF which I would need and would rather not be changing lenses to have so probably would need to be Sigma 35 or 50mm f2… BUT NO, AAAAARGH, not happening! Well, maybe if an S2R appears and then my entire apple cart might get upset…

I've kept my Smallrig cage just in case...

I watch just one review and apparently the lens is completely dumb ad does not talk to the camera in any way? Yes, I'd go for a Voigtlander over this.

Also look at any Z6II material. It's the same sensor etc. It's just a better camera for AF etc...

If it's another kit lens or another rehashed old camera, I'm going to shrivel up and die. I liked my S1R's when I had them, but did not love them. I loved my S1H, but it's AF and lack of ability to burn in a LUT to log footage did for it for me over the S5II. I strong like my S5II for video, but wish it had a better rear screen and full-frame 6k 60p without removing anything to have that. I dislike it for stills however. Last chance saloon for me if it's not an S2R, S2H or S5R, but even then, it's going to come down to spec and real world performance... I'm not holding my breath but can only hope this is not another lame announcement. Any big YouTubers in Japan at the moment en masse?

It's like they have some kind of gentleman's agreement to each be shit somewhere.

Unless you have zero shame. Or it's a dare. Anyway, I already knew Hollywood had gone bonkers when I made the mistake of going to see Gladiator II, the near identical remake of the OG. Connie Nelson didn't need to learn any lines (or bother with any acting) and Derek Jacobi had "please kill me" written into his script.

I don't know and maybe I am wrong and you can't? I was looking at a pair of A7CR's instead of my sole A7RV and I could forgive the single card slot, but the rear screen, nah. It's a ploy to make you buy more drinks. Or maybe that is Wetherspoons...

I hope so as it's one of the current blockers to me going back fully to Nikon. Lenses that I am or was interested in such as: Canon RF 28-105mm f2.8 vs Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 = 1330g vs 995g plus the Sigma costing approx 50% less. Canon RF 28-70mm f2 vs Sony 28-70mm f2 = 1430g vs 918g, though the Canon can be had for slightly less cost than the new Sony. Latest Sigma 24-70 f2.8 approx 150g lighter than the Canon RF equivalent and 50% of the price. R3 though is considerably less than the Z9 in weight, but that is because it only has half the megapixels and those things are heavy 😉 Sure is and is exactly why I went with them for stills. But Nikon are almost back for me and if they can get a couple more things right, I'm pretty sure I will be back with them for everything (at least bodies anyway with Z8, Z6III and Zf) some time soon...

If they are serving dry cakes, they deserve it!

I think the bottom line is we still do not have a single brand that can deliver in full and instead, pros and cons to every set up. Well for my needs anyway... For video, I can't see past the S5II. There isn't anything it does not do that I need or want. I would rather it had a better quality/higher res rear screen as I think they skimped there and as someone who does not use an external monitor or the EVF, rear LCD quality is important to me. Closest alternative = Nikon Z6III...except it only writes to one card slot for video, so no backup, which itself/on it's own, is not the deal-breaker, but the fact that you cannot burn a LUT into the footage is. If I could burn in the RED Film Bias LUT, job done and done deal, the Z6III would become my primary video unit. For stills, Sony A7RV. Medium format cameras, with their lenses, are just a leetle bit too big for my tastes. Z8 comes closest, but it does not have the lenses without adapting and with that, comes issues. If Nikon was open to Sigma lenses, it would be a done deal there also and I'd be at peak camera for my needs with that combo. Secondary stills plus hybrid = Zf. If I had the brass, it would be Leica Q3 43mm, despite their shit customer service, lack of chairs and dry cake. It ticks every box for me in that regard except one and that is purchase price. Even at €3k, I'd struggle, but it's twice that, so my Zf is my 'Poor Man's Leica Q3'. And I have looked at every bit of kit out there, at least on paper and in reviews and there just isn't a single brand that ticks every box and I just find that odd. Why can we only burn a LUT into Lumix (and I think Fuji)? Why are your rear LCD's so shit Sony, unless A7RV and above? Why can we only write video to a single card slot Nikon. Why Canon is everything so big, heavy and expensive...except your R3 which is very light for what it is? Why are your cakes so dry Leica you fucktards?

This is the straw that broke the camels back for me. Japan it is then.