MrSMW

I take all reviews with a pinch of salt. All launch reviews with a very big one because of course they can say whatever they like, as long as it is mostly positive. Then there are the reviews that happen later by 'smaller' channels normally that have bought or loaned the gear. These I take with a smaller pinch of salt. Smaller because I'll still make my own mind up thanks.

You would have to ask Netflix 😜

As long as you don’t expect it to be a replacement for a gimbal, it’s superb. The IBIS on my S5 is good. I like to shoot subjects pretty statically ie, rarely track, pan, zoom or anything but allow my subject to provide any and all movement. On the S1H, it’s fantastic. If I use an OIS lens, it’s not far off a tripod and unless you cock it up, you just don’t notice any movement. In fact you don’t even without an OIS lens. I was previously an XT3 and freestanding monopod user. I am now handheld (other than long static stuff that needs a tripod obviously) and I am so much faster and have so much more flexibility to just shoot and not faff trying to get the height and the angle and the level or even to get the thing standing up by itself on an uneven surface. Gamechanger is an overused term. For me, in this instance, it isn’t. It is 100% a gamechanger.

Digressing very slightly, I rewatched The Talented Mr Ripley last night. Other than a skinny pre-Bourne Matt Damon, it hasn’t really dated other than in 2 areas. The first is the titles etc. They were/are very much of their time. The second thing was whilst it will have been shot with a cine lens, the quality of the grain/film stock was really noticeable and the night scenes almost laughable in how much they struggled to get any kind of useable light. I’m just thinking along the lines of old camera with modern lens vs new camera with older lens. I would take new camera with older lens every time and there are some really great modern, affordable (relatively) cine lenses with character. Sigma, Meike, Irix, Fuji et al. I just think we are at that point now where there is still no single ‘perfect’ camera as there is at least one compromise with all of them, but what utterly fantastic photography and filmmaking tools do we have access to, in small packages, accessible and not at outrageous expense! I couldn’t make use of a Cooke if you gifted it to me! (I’d sell it and buy an entire real world kit and go on holiday when such things are allowed again).

Well there is your problem right there. This does not exist with native Panasonic lenses or Sigma glass. Sigma is not quite as fast or accurate but it’s very little difference. And the thing about CDAF is it is a little slower by it’s nature than phase, but more accurate. For stills, there just does not need to be any issues. For général video use, not really either as long as you use the system properly and just take that little bit of extra time. It’s the fast paced stuff where it can fall down. Stills I don’t know (I wouldn’t use anything adapted personally) but for anything video, I’d only trust manual focus for adapted lenses. in short, you are asking it to fight a battle it cannot win.

I for one wouldn’t disagree with you. Stupid stupid stupid contrived business decisions that really do not deserve rewarding…but at the same time, for most users real world needs, I couldn’t disagree with you and it would be in a race…which it would likely win, with the XT4, for being my choice if the S1H didn’t exist. The win would be mostly down to the glass options.

My current pairing of S1H and S5 for hybrid use with mostly Sigma Contemporary lenses are not under-appreciated by me! I haven’t had a wedding for 11 months now (and that was the first after 9 months without one…and as someone who normally shoots 25-30 a year) but I have been shooting a number of small commercial projects plus 6 ‘styled wedding’ shoots in the last few weeks and the quality of both the stills and the video blows me away every time. I still haven’t quite nailed down my exact in camera settings or exact combo of lenses etc, but very close now… The one thing I do know is that there is no other system I’d rather be using right now. The FP I wanted to love but wasn’t for me, but their lenses are. I like the idea of Leica but the reality is I’d rather have my S1H over both the SL2 and the SL2-S. No tilt screen is the main deal-breaker for me. The future… I’d like to see an S5H, ie a ‘pro’ level spec S5. The level of tactility, the screen (the way it articulates and the resolution) the build quality; the way things click and turn, the shutter sound, the EVF…the S1H is easily the best camera I have ever owned. Easily, it is just on another level. Except for tracking AF where it’s on another level. A level below other camera brands. But fortunately, although I do use AF, tracking forward motion (where it’s least reliable) is less than 5% of my needs so that is my compromise. If Panny would just build an H version of the S5 it would be perfect for me. But is it (S5/1) under-appreciated or are others just over-rated? I suspect less of the former and more of the latter.

Well if they can somehow improve DFD to something close to PDAF, then in one sense, that will be good. But...and it's a big BUT, the problem Panny have is the whole lack of PDAF thing is just one massive negative for them. It doesn't matter that in the real world, the CDAF works just as well as any PDAF for stills and is actually more than pretty decent for video use in anything but consistent tracking. The reputation for 'crappy AF' already exists and probably the only way they can truly squash that is by going PDAF if only for marketing purposes. But as has been discussed before, whether they can actually implement PDAF is another matter, but the fact that L Mount partner Sigma has just done that with the FP-L, suggest to me it's not an insurmountable obstacle. We shall find out at some point fairly soon I imagine...

I think it’s more likely than not likely on the basis that the photography community is literally screaming at them to do so and also because the GH6 cannot be a GH5iii. I would still rather have an S5H though!

Hmmm, OK, not much appeal to the pro photographer or serious filmmaker, but maybe the other 99% of the market actually like and want this kind of thing? I dunno... It wouldn't be for me but if it sells by the bucket load and makes millions whilst at the same time, some so-called 'pro camera' sells like a dumpster fire, which is the 'better' camera? I'd take a Fuji every single day. IMO, Fuji are the undisputed king of APSC. Yes, Sony and Canon have a foot in that camp as does Nikon, but it's really only Fuji who are competing with FF cameras on a similar level. I would have zero issues going back to APSC if it was with Fuji. And they had the glass I would want. But they don't at this time, so it ends there. FC? Fight Club? Nikon Fc picks a fight with a Fuji XT4. Fuji XT4 knocks out the Nikon with it's first punch. Nikon does not get up off the canvas.

I wouldn’t call it terrible either, merely ‘OK’.

I heard a rumor that Panasonic have been in discussion with the Jedi Council (after The Dark Side, Sony, told them to, “go do one”…the evil bastards) in regard to potentially using The Force in order to improve their autofocus. Above is a pic sourced by @kye that supports this. Never mind PDAF, it’s TFDAF we want.

@zerocool22 I don’t think you will have much, if any chance, trying this with a non-native lens and even then… Certainly not in face tracking mode, the key to which is tapping the yellow box once it has found a face, ie, that yellow box needs to be activated to track. So many people are unaware of this and Panasonic hardly help their cause as they should really do a bit of shouting about this fact! The ONLY mention I have ever come across is on the YouTube channel of Luca Bona. Photo Joseph…who seems like some kind of Panny spokesperson maybe (?) may have mentioned it but not seen this point stressed by anyone but Luca. Will it work with an adapted lens? Maybe…I don’t know, I only have L Mount lenses, but if you can’t tap that yellow box, it’s not going to track! You could however try the oval box AF which might work? The non-face tracking won’t work either as you need to again set it and tell it by tapping in order to instruct it what to track. I think PDAF is coming however. The FP-L has it but it’s a bit crap as things stand. I suspect firmware will improve it. I think the GH6 will have PDAF and if so, then I think it will be a sign that at least all future Panny and Sigma cameras will have PDAF and I think Leica will have to jump on that ship, because if they don’t, all 3 are going to sink faster than the ill-fated passenger liner of 1912. “Iceberg, dead ahead!”

It seems that the camera to make videos about other cameras is the Sony A7Siii! S1, S5 and S1H all made an appearance each as did one or two random others, but otherwise that was a Sony clean sweep.

When are you doing an episode on him? I'm mostly looking forward to the Peter McCanon one though. I reckon you have a pretty long list... 😬

Talk about getting your point across, why did that post 3 times?! 🤪

I don't click on it in sheer point of principal. Unless it's a very nice looking lady with limited clothing in which case I overrule myself. But if it's one of the camera reviewer crowd or anything else I might be interested in, making a mock shocked face with a caption, "you won't believe this shit!", I don't even bother to click on it and thumb you down. You just don't exist to me other than as another clickbait cretin on the internet. And even if you don't have a clickbait thumbnail, but every single frigging time it starts with you riding around on a one wheel or walking aimlessly about staring off into the distance... well look forward to getting past puberty. I'm off to make a video now about me making coffee.

I don't click on it in sheer point of principal. Unless it's a very nice looking lady with limited clothing in which case I overrule myself. But if it's one of the camera reviewer crowd or anything else I might be interested in, making a mock shocked face with a caption, "you won't believe this shit!", I don't even bother to click on it and thumb you down. You just don't exist to me other than as another clickbait cretin on the internet. And even if you don't have a clickbait thumbnail, but every single frigging time it starts with you riding around on a one wheel or walking aimlessly about staring off into the distance... well look forward to getting past puberty. I'm off to make a video now about me making coffee.

I don't click on it in sheer point of principal. Unless it's a very nice looking lady with limited clothing in which case I overrule myself. But if it's one of the camera reviewer crowd or anything else I might be interested in, making a mock shocked face with a caption, "you won't believe this shit!", I don't even bother to click on it and thumb you down. You just don't exist to me other than as another clickbait cretin on the internet. And even if you don't have a clickbait thumbnail, but every single frigging time it starts with you riding around on a one wheel or walking aimlessly about staring off into the distance... well look forward to getting past puberty. I'm off to make a video now about me making coffee.

You don’t hear about them so much, but didn’t Tokina also release a set of primes for X Mount? I remember the chatter late last year was that they were probably going to be just rehoused Viltrox and whether that is true or not I have no idea. I was hoping around that time there would be solid info on an XH2 and these lenses might just be the answer to my Fuji video conundrum. But no, it was not to be.

Ah but Andrew, this is why YOU buy camera gear and I buy camera gear and many others buy camera gear, but I suspect we are actually a minority in this market. There are far more who are “gonna” but never actually do other than with their intentions. Nothing wrong with that and they are just harmless and if anything, help keep the camera industry alive for us pros and serious amateurs who do actually use our kit. I have no idea what the actual numbers would be but the percentage of kit sold to folks who actually really make use of it, for financial return or not, has to be single figures surely? Personally I find Gerald pretty harmless and a seeming straight up guy. I don’t think he is pretending to be anything but what he is which is a YouTube reviewer of gear who focuses on the technical side of things. He didn’t love the FP-L but then I didn’t either when Sigma sent me one for test. I wanted to. In fact I had hoped that having one hands on might allow me to find some reason to justify purchasing one, but the reality was it did just the opposite and confirmed it has multiple insurmountable flaws for my needs. But I did buy the 65mm f2 (that they also sent me) off the back of that test and it arrived yesterday! I shall now not make a YouTube video about it but it becomes my primary video workhorse welded to my S1H for the foreseeable future 😬

OK, I’ll play… Nikon Z7ii for stills and a Z6ii for video with Atomos recorder. Or sell the lot and go for a Panasonic S1H based system 😍

Interesting… Prior to Fuji XH1 shooting 1080 50p, I had no idea what I was doing. I probably still don’t but used the default. Moving to the XT3 and 4K, I went -3. Panny S5 and S1H, I think I am at -4 but am away right now on vacation so can’t check. Zero sharpening in post but used to use unsharp masking for 1080 as I found it a little soft. Might have a play when I get back myself but otherwise pretty much there with my ‘look’ based on the combo of; tweaked Natural profile, specific Sigma lenses and focal lengths, 1/8th mist filter, zero grade as such in post other than some basic stuff and then a single ‘like analogue film’ finish I had Aditya Varma make for me as a one off. Sharpening and skin tones are the only areas where I could maybe improve even further. Anyway, interested to see what you do @kye

Genuine Coca Cola is what, about £4 for ‘the same’ thing? Just imagine what they could sell it for if they did a Peter McCanon autographed special edition… Why not try for a piece of that action with ‘Tesco Cola’ Andrew? Have your name on it?! Just imagine, it could bring the price down even lower to maybe less than 10p a can? I would be happy to pay less for endorsed product. Always.

Ah, I see… Not being an external recorder user, I wasn’t much interested in the last update. Still not. But that’s fine, everyone’s needs are as individual as they are. Maybe we’ll get an AF tweak thrown in for the rest of us. Here’s hoping…