MrSMW

This. Over the last decade+ especially, transitioning from being a photographer to a ‘hybrid shooter’, I have gone through periods of ‘gear creep’. Each time I reach a peak I say enough is enough and downscale it all…only to find the volume of kit creeping back up. I have just been through such a peak and had another ‘enough is enough’ moment but this time it really is enough. There is of course a fine line between being able to cover every single possibility and having just enough tools to do a job. My own experience is providing you do have sufficient tools for the task, then less is usually more. I don’t specifically shoot concerts, but events. There is nothing better than having one ‘do it all’ camera and lens combo in your hands, that you are familiar with, at all times. 24-105 for most brands or even better, Tamron 35-150 for Sony (or adapted for Nikon) would also be my pick on a single body, in this case the A7iv because it is a hybrid and the FX6 is not.

It’s OK. Just that, ie, not terrible and not superb. Other than my gimbal unit for video use, I am switching to battery grips for hybrid use and my pair of inbound S5iix’s. One in the body, one in the grip and another on charge. I think the grip one goes first so if that is the case (it usually is) then maybe one swap later in a typical 12 hour day should be good. I don’t shoot non-stop for 12 hours obviously… 🤪😉 Batteries are cheap, can go in pockets and take seconds to swap so IMO, batteries have always been a non-issue for me. Any situation where it has any chance of running out, powerbank clamped on the tripod.

‘Influencers’ received theirs the evening before last but the embargo re. commenting or reviewing is still in place. Differences re. spec are all over the net. Not being disingenuous, but it’s quicker and easier to point you there 😉

XE4 is the smart persons choice over the uber-hipster X100V. Pair it with an XS10 for light video work. Share an 18-50mm f2.8/4 with maybe one fast prime between the two et voila, a very compact and capable compact kit. I do not choose to, but could and would comfortably shoot a full wedding, Hybrid, with that set up without a second thought. Longer form video I’d want something with a fan in order to avoid overheating and shutdown, but my point is the above kit is EASILY capable of high end pro results, in a small package and at a bargain price. I shot an entire wedding season (stills only) on a single OG X100. I wouldn’t do it today, with that camera, but an X100V? Sure, easy. I just choose not to.

Got to add 200% grain to all finished productions for true authenticity! Ditto, I don’t need the file sizes of All-I as I’m quite happy with 200 mpbsbpssbps and never going to shoot raw UNLESS it’s 6k or 8k 50p, at limited times and to pull stills off of it. And the S5iix can’t do that either so not a problem! I could have got a pair of regular S5ii’s for 4000, but instead, a pair of X’s at 4750 including 2x 2TB portable Sandisk SSD that they are giving away and as I work off those things and they cost about 300 each, not really paying much to go full Batman 🦇

XH2s would be superb for both video AND stills. Save the money on that second body and instead, upgrade that 18-50mm f2.8/4 (best lens for non-IBIS bodies) and go for the Tamron 17-70mm f2.8 for a FF equivalent 27-105mm lens. Or on a budget, original XH1 which is a FABULOUS camera for stills and good for video. But as before, if size is a thing, then the XS10.

Well, can't comment on anything Canon as I have never owned one but did consider the R7 along with various other Canon offerings. Usual caveats of YMMV plus your own individual needs plus most things are 'good enough' these days so comes back to the individual needs bit in the end, but... S5ii vs S5iix is quite a simple one: S5ii = cheaper vs S5iix = pricier, better for rigging out, for fans of The Batman. I don't need to and won't be rigging out, but I am a fan of The Batman, so went that route for that reason alone. Love the look of the Leica SL2-S and the Lumix S5iix is essentially going to be my 'SL2-S', except better. And cheaper. As in I can get nearly 2 of the things for the same price. No contest when it's purely business, Lumix wins. It doesn't have any kind of tilting screen (the Leica) so a bit of a negative for me. From what I understand, the Sigma ef adapter works of course, but is not great if good AF is a priority. It's not something I'm going to be using as between Sigma and Panny, they have all the lenses I want and need. OK, hoping for a more compact I series 70-200 zoom, or better yet, an equivalent of the Tamron 35-150 but more compact, such as say 40-120, just as long as it's constant f2.8. But going off on a tangent now...

Fuji have a huge history of making film. Nikon do not. They make cameras. Clever people at Fuji have taken that knowledge of making positive and negative film and crafted digital versions of that history. Perhaps not identical digital replicas, but at least emulations that evoke something along the same lines. The most recent ones such as ‘Classic Negative’ are not based on any particular film stock, but instead an era. Or a collective representation of an era. The bottom line is sensor aside which ‘may’ have an impact on the result, it is more a case of their ‘intent’ and effort to produce these things that sets them apart. With most other brands, the result tends to be more a case of that is what that sensor produces with a few digital tweaks. The ‘same’ profiles in Photoshop applied to the Fuji raw files are not the same as those that come SOOC with Fuji Jpegs. The results SOOC from the ‘medium format’ Fuji digital cameras are just bonkers beautiful and probably the closest thing to ‘digital film-like’ files. If I did not shoot 50:50 stills and video on every job, I would without question be shooting a pair of GFX100S’s with a pair of primes. Or the Hassie X2D which is also crazy good for stills. Which is fortunate as it can’t shoot video. My rule of thumb would be: Ultimate SOOC or raw/edited stills, either of the two above cameras. ’Film like’ stills SOOC either on their own or combined with shooting video, AKA hybrid, then any Fuji camera. Possibly the most ‘film like’ of all, OG X100. Properly vintage user experience compared with any more recent Fuji camera is an added ‘bonus’ 😂

Try a used Fuji XS10 with the 18-55mm f2.8/4

Brain fade 🤪 Yes, exactly that. I've actually been setting up the S5ii ready to receive it's new brothers into the cult and it's looking good. OK, I will have to endure/get used to FLIP OUT SIDE SCREENS, but it's not like I haven't had them on a number of cameras for years, - I just prefer tilts.

This forum needs a section called 'Ask Kye'. Again, I'm just messing and do enjoy your posts 😘

Do DR next @kye as in when the manufacturer quotes 97 stops of DR, but it’s actually 11 when all the planets align. I’m just messing 😉

Yep, the only time I prefer them over a tilt. Having said that, I had better get used to tilt only as by next month, I'm going to be running a 3x tilt only set up!

So 4 then.

Agreed I struggled to get Flog where I wanted it to be so always stuck with shooting Eterna. 1/8th mist VND with sharpening dialed down fixed that for me. All in all, one of the nicest SOOC looks around IMO. Filmic/cinematic etc are different definitions for different folks. I personally go with ‘do I like the look?’ and with Fuji I do. But yes, always struggled a bit with the lenses and that is ultimately what made me leave Fuji. There are more lens options now however with some new stuff (Tamron 17-70, Sigma 18-50 for zooms) plus updated primes. I could easily go back to Fuji.

I agree. My only comment re. OM-1 video is I did not like it as much as full frame Panasonic, otherwise it was and is very good. I don’t remember his name, but Chris Something is an OM Systems ambassador and shoots some amazing stuff on the system so it is 100% doable.

Their Eterna profile SOOC is pretty good and can take a light grade.

Well if you don't like the size of the A7iv which is I believe the smallest and lightest of that type of FF hybrid, then an OM Systems camera is probably what you are looking for. Something like the OM-1? I had one in to test and thought it was a fantastic thing, but just wasn't blown away with the video quality compared with FF Lumix, but otherwise, great camera, if a tad over-priced.

One shoots slightly higher res stills and the other shoots ‘arguably’ nicer video. Real world, not that much difference. Folks tend to prefer one brand over another for any number of reasons. Personal needs and choice in the end. I have looked at; Olympus, Fuji, Sony and Nikon at one time or another (usually too many times!) in the last few years, but the combo of Panasonic bodies and Sigma lenses works best for me, all factors considered and the S5iix is going to be my workhorse for the foreseeable future, for photo and video.

S1/R/H also resisted and I wish they really had with the Fuji XH2 and Lumix S5. Not deal-breakers on it's own, but just swung me away from Fuji when I was looking at returning to them over the Winter.

Well I do hope they do ship quite early because the lack of availability of Z9's at launch and since must have pissed off a lot of people. Me being one of them! I think for me though, the window opened briefly, but by the time I can exploit it again, Lumix will (hopefully) have announced an S2H and an S2R. If I had jumped, I wouldn't have looked back (or sideways) with anything but mild interest because I'm not looking to flip flop to whatever is this quarters darling, but what I need to do my job without it being a ball ache. Z8 looking very good though!

Is he selling one? The actual deal-breaker every single time I have tried to buy one is availability... Tried from approx Oct last year until Feb this year and then gave up or I WOULD have switched. Then quite a few came up for sale in March circa 5k euros or under. Could have jumped then, but was back committed to L Mount. Had a small window again last few days...and now NONE are available, anyway (except sketchy imports etc) but with a 3 week window to order any/all new kit and get up to speed with it, availability once again blew it. Perhaps for the best... Stuck in my 5iix pre-order and got 5% off plus the free 2TB Sandisk HD they are giving away. Company I am buying from reckons 21st May availability. I am travelling 25th for a 2 gig back to back job(s) so ideally need it sorted prior to then, because for that and after, fairly busy time again. I'm not selling any of my current gear though just in case the new stuff does not arrive for whatever reason in which case I just carry on as is until it does pitch up. I am though pretty frustrated juggling 4 cameras and 6 lenses so looking forward to going 3x identical one's (OK, one will be a standard ii and not a iix but otherwise the same) and just 4 lenses. 2 Nikon bodies + 3 lenses would have been even better, but that set of planets just will not align for me.

Close call, but not happening for me. 3 reasons. Reason 1 = in order to edit 8k 50p raw, have to use Davinci. I am a Premiere user and mid season, learning new software is not an option. I am however VERY interested in at some point in the future, having the ability to shoot at least 6k, if not 8k as a viable ‘third option’ alongside regular 4K video and stills in order to extract hi res stills. I reckon I could even go 2 camera if I had this ability, hence the interest in the Z9. Reason 2 = mid season brand change is not ideal so if I can avoid, great. It’s not a deal-breaker as such, but I know where I am with Panny re. handling, shooting, editing, quirks etc. Reason 3 = I am sure Panny will release a successor to the S1 line that will answer my need. Reason 4 (bonus reason!) = not a single legit one for sale in the whole of the EU that is not from some slightly dubious importer of over-inflated used price. Can’t even create an alert on MPB for this model anymore! Pity because a pairing of Z9 and Z8 with 3 lenses would answer all my needs, but at this point in time, circumstances say it is not happening. Instead, pre-ordering a pair of S5iix’s and ‘trading’ these for my pair of S1R’s and single S1H taking me from my current 4 body set up to a 3. Flip out screens but grrr, have to make a compromise somewhere…

Fairly close behind you and I could even go 2 body instead of my target 3 from my current 4. It would still require some investment but…possibly ‘fuck it’ time here also 🙈

I would have bought one a while back but there just were none available new or used without paying up to +2k more. Then later, when available, they lost me because I went cool on the idea. But I keep coming back to two lenses; that Tamron 35-150 and their 20-40. And it’s Sony or adapted Nikon… I really do not like switching around lenses mid job and 24/28-70/75’s are too short, 70-200’s too long, 16-28’s don’t really need that extreme width but not quite long enough. I dislike the 24-105 because it’s too slow in low light and the AF is sluggish. Tamron have absolutely nailed it for me…but I can’t adapt them to L Mount. At least not without losing AF. Prove me wrong! Z9 makes most sense because I would only use the adapted 20-40 first 10% of any job, then switch to 35-150 for the next 80% (and that lens needs a grip IMO) and then back to the 20-40 for the last 10%. I’m talking stills only, but v. interested in pulling stills from 8k video so it could fulfill a true hybrid role for me. Just had yet another job wrestling with too many bodies and too many lenses… I have a month until the next job so… Looking very hard at it…