MrSMW

And that is the sum of it for me. I would like to stay as brand loyal as I can, but more because I just do not like change, but at the end of the day you are a working pro and something is not quite working as well as it might…and there is a better option, then moving to that option makes sense. If it’s financially viable to do so. Lumix/L Mount came good for me for video and I thought they would for stills, but it has not happened and I have zero idea if they will now. For me it really is a 50:50 whether I believe they are going to follow up on the S1R especially. And it’s not too late, but I started 2024 approx 50% invested in Sony and Nikon, plus 50% L Mount. My 2025 season almost certainly starts 33% Sony, 33% Nikon and 33% L. I’d rather not be using 3 brands, but as above, right tools for the job take precedence and in my particular set up, the fact that I’m using 3 different lens platforms and sets of batteries etc, actually is not that big a deal. But it will be just 2 brands for 2026 as a maximum and ideally just 1, but I need to see how it plays out now. Zero necessity now for me, - that is now covered, but instead, simply a case of want.

I think so. I have bought and sold 3 gimbals, each time determined to make it work and each time it failed. Not so much the actual units failed, though they did for me in certain regards, but in the end the conclusion that I needed the ability for maybe 5% of any job and it was not worth either dedicating a camera to this, or the set up if not. Over the years, I have tried various action cams but none of them really worked in the role I needed them to. I had the OG Pocket and it was OK but a few limitations so sold it and tried a full sized gimbal for the third time. The latest one addresses my issues with that and the name says it all, pocket. That is exactly what I need; something I can whip out of my pocket (or bag), switch on, shoot, put it away again.

I’m beginning to think that like, or at least WTF are they doing? Or not doing. Maybe the bean counters have said it’s not economically viable to produce the next gen S1 line, but I personally think that less than stellar sales have not been because of the kit, but despite the kit, ie, their marketing department has been asleep whilst the other brands have been eating Lumix’s lunch. Panny Lumix seem to have a lot of respect within the industry as in if you know, you know, but to the average consumer out on the street it’s Nikon vs Canon for decades with more recently, Sony and Fuji entering the mix. Leica and Hassie are different beasts altogether and I don’t include them. The bottom line for me is they have one more year to come good. Lumix. For 2025, I’m using 3 different brands of camera. Sony (A7RV) for high end stills. Lumix (S5ii) for primary video. Nikon (Zf) for candid stills and secondary video. At the end of 2025, if Lumix (or Sigma even) have come out with a second gen S line which for me would need to be an S2H and an S2R, I could be back all in with L Mount now that their lens line meets my needs. If they don’t, then an all Sony line up is unlikely with an all Nikon or 2 Nikon + 1 Sony mash up being preferable, the beauty of Nikon being with the Z Mount, it offers the most options. I do want Lumix to come good and they have been notoriously slow on some new models but if no sign by Spring next year, then I think they are done.

And gimbals. Another PITA. I’ve had mixed results using the latest IBIS in my S5ii so almost certainly picking up an OSMO Pocket 3 next Spring.

I despise (using) an external monitor. For commercial use I get it, but for more run & gun event shooters, never mind hybrid shooters, using rigged out set ups is a PITA.

I must have lower standards because my immediate impression of the OM-1 that I had was of a very robust design and construction. Possibly the single best camera all factors considered; size, weight, ergos, feel of materials used, buttons, dials etc…that I have ever handled. If I didn’t have the specific needs I have, without question it would be my camera of choice. And when I say ‘specific needs’ I mean can it shoot stills at the level my A7RV can? Nope. Video like my S5ii? Nope. Be the all-rounder like my Zf? Nope. But it’s still a very special and underrated camera IMO.

Tell me about it!

So around €4000 We get fleeced in Europe...but still not as much as some other parts of the World... It makes a lot of financial sense to book a trip to somewhere like the US or Japan, buy a modest amount of kit you need, use it and return home. Buying just a single used A1 in the US, for the same money I can buy one in Europe, would give me €1000-1300 to spend on tickets, hotels and all the burgers I can eat. Which are also bigger than the ones we get. And cheaper.

10 for sale on MPB.eu right now ranging from a single unit in 'good' condition at €4.5k with the rest between €5-5.3k for 'excellent' or 'like new'. A bit beyond my needs then this year or next with used Z6iii's becoming available in the new year from around €2k. I'll wait.

Mmmm, a used A1 in a year or so could be a good viable option for me then... Still on the fence between ditching my remaining S5ii and 2x lenses and going all in on a Sony/Nikon lineup and I probably could not spring for an A1 at this time or next year, but maybe in 2026... The single decision at this time, or for early 2025 would be Nikon Z6iii vs Sony A1, because in every other department, including lenses, I am covered, so a pretty simple decision, mostly determined by Cost A vs Cost B. Goes off to look at used A1 prices...

Truth!

For no other reason than Viltrox possibly has the better rep/been in the game a little longer?

Well yes, possibly as I have also read the new XM5 is supposed to be a lot better. To be fair, when I did use the system, I thought it was OK. A bit shit in the early X years, but I had no gripes from the X Pro2 / XT3 onwards for my needs. It doesn't seem to have developed much since then? Until maybe now. Otherwise, I think both the APSC and the medium format system are great and I wouldn't hesitate to use any as they exist today.

I agree and that is why I have the A7RV as my workhorse and previously a S1R. I have been a full-time pro photographer for over 1/4 of a century but cannot put my finger on exactly what it is, but there is definitely a ‘something’ the larger the sensor and the higher the pixel count. ”It all looks the same on social media”. Does it? I’m not sure whether I subscribe to that one. In fact, I don’t and it may just be marginal, but I can see that certain ‘something’ in my own work. But it also exists between brands. Take the results I get from my Zf and compare them with those from the S5ii and there is something I cannot define but just ‘is’. Possibly there is an element of lens ju ju going on, but I am not one of those who simply believes in hype or others opinions, but rather based on my own experience. This year, two facts exist for me and that is because of, or despite my use of, but probably the former, I have produced my best ever work and not simply because I have moved my own game on in any other way. Or maybe I have and that is a factor, but it’s not the only factor, ie, I am adamant there is a tech element. The second fact is I have experienced the same thing with the Nikon Zf which is why I have made this pairing of cameras my workhorses for stills. I confident that if I brought one of the 100mp medium format cameras into the mix, I’d see another ‘step up’, but for a variety of reasons, mainly cost, I can’t see me going there any time soon. If ever. Summary = great tools do not an artist make, but I do firmly believe that using the best tools that you have access to, does allow you to create an better end result than working with lesser tools.

Sony does ‘seem’ to have gone off the boil a little in recent times… Low res LCD’s, a variety of video features ‘missing’ and pretty piss-poor firmware updates are the main gripes. But then all brands have pros and cons… Personally, I think it’s Nikon who have the most traction right now, at least when it comes to hybrids. Canon fairly similar in some ways but far less lens options and higher prices. Lumix on hold. Fuji need to get their AF up to snuff. Leica and Hasselblad inhabit their own universes so I don’t count and nor do I M4/3. I certainly would not pay what Sony are asking for their mildly updated camera when the other options that exist are available. The lens though… Still pondering that one but still think the Sigma pairing of the 28-45 f1.8 and 28-105 f2.8 are a more compelling option for essentially the same outlay.

There are wants. There are needs. And there is reality. I try and find a balance between the 3. With the least amount of dancing as possible.

I’m not sure whether the supply issues with these things is a good or a bad thing… For me, it is a negative and I would not wait endless months for something. Not that I am impatient, but with the X100V it pushed prices to silly levels and it almost (or is) a case of folks becoming desperate to buy a thing at any price, just because it’s popular.

But I’d rather have the Hassie 😉 I ogled one in a camera shop window the other day, but dared not enter and actually handle it. Or risk divorce papers being served.

It always does. I currently hope they do not make a successor to the FP because my dancing skills are shit. But until then, the GFX100S for me. I have almost pressed that button so many times, but in the end, came down in favour of the A7RV.

Z8, Z6iii, Zf? Perfect trio for me… Z8 stills workhorse with Zf more for candid and walkabout plus Z6iii as the primary video donkey, but all 3 could pull that role as required. I was wandering around old London Town yesterday late afternoon/early evening, heading for HMS Belfast as I had not been in years, but it changed into finding and having the missus’ phone fixed instead as it stopped working. But just during that period and yesterday in York, reminded and cemented for me, how great the Zf is to own (again) and use. Build, feel, clicks, shutter, EVF and rear LCD quality. So much nicer than any Fuji I owned. I think Nikon has moved for me back into pole position as my favourite camera brand. Just not for lenses. But then all of e Mount can be adapted so the options are the biggest with any current lens mount; Z, F, adapted M and E. And M can be adapted with the AF they do not have! But every day walkabout, Zf with a 40mm is that chefs kiss thing they talk about.

Just made use of it with a bottle of Boss Bottled Absolu for £57. Bargain.

25% off men’s colognes, Boots, UK 👍

I didn’t try it but looked at one in a camera shop window yesterday and indeed, pretty tiny!

Nope, but… Well I am interested in it and was aware it was coming and for me, it is another lens that I am VERY interested in except for one fact, it’s a bit expensive 🤔 Until 2024 came along, for my needs, lenses have always been the Achilles Heel for me and I have both wanted and needed fast do it all lenses. At the end of 2023, the ‘best’ option I had in L Mount was the Leica 24-90 f2.8-4 which was; big, heavy, variable aperture and not especially fast for indoor / low-light work. Since then, all under 1kg/2lbs, we have had; Sigma 28-45mm f1.8, Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 and now this new Sony. My system has been L Mount for photo & video for 2 years with Sony coming in this year for stills. Nikon is coming back for 2025 for me as a hybrid option, as in can shoot stills alongside my main Sony (A7RV) cam, plus video alongside my Lumix. But, as I am down to just 1 camera and 1 lens for L Mount and STILL no sign of any S2H or S2R, I have decided to throw my lot in with Sony & Nikon for 2025 and onwards. Why? Lenses. More specifically because I can lens share across both Sony and Nikon bodies with any e Mount lenses including if I fancied it, putting this new 28-70 f2 on any Nikon Z body. Except I won’t because for one single fact and that is whilst any e Mount lens can be adapted with near native AF and IBIS on any Nikon Z body, you do not get the in camera corrections that you get with using native lenses on Sony bodies, so I am somewhat wary of using e Mount lenses on Nikon bodies. More for stills than video, but a couple of tests required on that department before fully committing… But back to this lens specifically… Faced with a choice of Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 for indoor and low-light work plus Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 for outdoor, for the SAME cost as this new 28-70, this new 28-70 does not make financial sense to me. It’s a stunning lens in isolation and if you do not need longer than 70mm, possibly great, but as above, I can’t see how it could work for me with this pairing of Sigma lenses which cover FAR more bases for the same total cost. The camera doesn’t interest me. The S5ii does all I need and the Z6iii, most likely my main video unit for 2025, arguably even more and providing it can work with the Tamron 28-75 f2.8 which I am going to test on my Zf, will almost certainly be my video A cam. Actually, I have tested that combo for stills over several weddings earlier this year and for stills, worked very well other than the odd vertical distortion that was a bit of a PITA to fix in post, but for video should be OK. Mostly I am happy to see these new fast zooms which were but a dream only one year ago.

Picking up my re-purchased Zf today (only the second time in my 20+ year career I have ever done this!) and having had a look at various use cases of the 4 LUTS, it’s the only one that looks interesting to me. The B&W looks very flat, the offset or whatever it’s called, overcooked and bleach bypass, err, no thanks. Going to shoot some crap over the next few days in Northern UK and London and then have a play, but the Film Bias looks at least promising…