MrSMW

Something else I forgot to say was the difference between the S5II/S9 video and the S1RII is how clean/nicer the latter is.
Working with all 3 on the same timeline, especially with lower light stuff, it’s very clear which is which because the S5II/S9 footage whilst not muddy, seems muddy when compared with that coming from the S1RII.
This is partly why I have moved the S9 into a very limited secondary role where along with the S5II, they will be responsible for pretty much just 3 scenarios resulting in 3 pieces of footage, albeit in the case of the S5II, that means full length wedding ceremony and full length speeches.
Anyone using these cameras together will probably confirm the same difference.

That ability to flip between stills and video is great…as long as you either:
A. Don’t mind using an ND for stills. Personally I do mind.
B. Or don’t mind cranking the shutter for video. Personally I don’t mind and last 3 weddings I shot with zero ND and did not notice any difference to the quality of the video other than the image quality was better than the previous 3 jobs shot with a VND.
C. Or use a flip up or magnetic filter and I have tried both and didn’t care for either.
I think one of the beauties of shooting video with the S1RII is base 200 ISO in log (and 160 with ARRI log C but personally think Vlog looks better most of the time bit could make a better base if also baking in a LUT) meaning less requirement for using ND anyway.
I have however decided to go back to having separate bodies for stills and video because it just works better for me, with less kit, more range, near zero lens swaps.
On that basis, I currently have one of my S1RII’s dedicated to stills with the 28-70 with hybrid zoom (28-105 and still achieving 18mp stills at the long end) enabled for outdoor use, with the 35mm f1.8 as my low-light indoor option.
The second S1RII I bought used came with the Arri Log preinstalled and I have this one paired with the 17-40 crop lens (and with EIS enabled it’s giving me a FF equivalent range of approx 28-66) as my dedicated run & gun video unit, with 18mm f1.8 as my wide angle FF option, especially for indoor low light, tighter scenarios.
S9 has had a stay of execution and I have welded the 85mm f1.8 to it and mounted it on a lightweight tripod as my sniper video unit, plus is serves as a back up to any or all of my 3 main cams.
The 3rd main cam being the same S5II workhorse with the 70-200 f4 on heavy tripod for all my static and long form capture stuff. I also have the 50mm f1.8 in reserve for it for tighter, lower light, indoor scenarios, so all bases as covered as they can be.
But going back to the video/stills settings, being able to have I think 9 dedicated stills settings and 9 video at the turn of a single dial is fantastic. I only have 4 settings set up and these are; outdoor landscape, outdoor people, indoor lower light and indoor/outdoor extreme low light as in after dark, each with appropriate ISO ranges and WB etc.
It’s crazy really how good this kit now is and the S1RII might not be my favourite camera of all time, but it is easily the most capable and zero complaints other than yes, I would have preferred the more rangefinderesque body style (and hope Panny makes one or at least a Leica Q3 43 rival) and average at best battery life. And obviously, the 4” screen a la ZR would be very welcome, but I’d personally want it with the S1RII style mech and not flipped out to the side. I’d prefer just tilt even to flip out to the side!
Best video quality I have had out of a camera and it’s pretty robust with equal image quality to the best I have ever had which was Sony A7RV.
As a pure stills camera, I think the A7RV does still have the edge being honest, but it’s a narrow margin and as a hybrid, the LUMIX comfortably tops it.
Not updated the firmware yet but that was very welcome.
I hope your shoot goes as well tomorrow.

And your prediction is correct! A huge difference in responsiveness in general and so much easier to use when switching between video and photo. I felt it worked a lot better with my Godox flash as well (I’m still pretty new to flash). I feel I have way more “keepers”. The screen and evf are great. I had it on for 5 hours pretty much non stop with no problem although it was probably only about 20 degrees in the venue.
Tomorrow I have another similar event (video and photo) and on Saturday anther event with photos only. I think they are going to be a lot easier to manage than they would have been with the S5ii. I would probably have had 2 S5iis, 1for doing photo and 1 for video. Now I can do the same with one camera!

You won’t be buying tickets to my new feature, ‘Escargot!’ then will you?!
It’s a 5 hour documentary about the life of garden snails in rural France and with every ticket sold you, you get a free lettuce.
 

One of the best channels on YouTube in this industry.
Thorough, no hype and do actually make quality productions out in the field and not simply spout BS from behind a desk, holding a lav mic wearing clothing back to front.

One of the best channels on YouTube in this industry.
Thorough, no hype and do actually make quality productions out in the field and not simply spout BS from behind a desk, holding a lav mic wearing clothing back to front.

New firmware dropped today, apparently S2 cameras no longer catch fire and several 8k open gate tests have been shown to outlast battery life.
No mention of the latter being improved and maybe they sneaked something in there in that regard as it’s less than I am used to and my only real criticism of the camera.
New Sigma 17-40mm f1.8 landed for me personally also.
So far, so good.
Internal zoom, hurrah.
Not big nor heavy, hurrah.
Bright f1.8 constant aperture, hurrah.
Hybrid zoom works with 4k 50p and there is a 422 all-intra mode, albeit at 800mbps, another lower one at 600mbps and a long gop 420 at just 200mbps and most likely going with that with the new Cinelike A2 profile that is not as flat as the D2 or as punchy as the V2.
With the hybrid zoom enabled plus the standard level (ie there is a higher level with more punch in) EIS engaged, gives a good FF equivalent range of 28-66mm which is perfect for my needs.
I think we’re going to get along beautifully and should do exactly what I needed which was to reduce kit (bodies, lenses, lens swaps etc) down to a more compact level.
The proof of course will be out in the field but it’s a mild evolution than any kind of revolution after 5 years now with LUMIX, so not expecting any surprises…

One of the best channels on YouTube in this industry.
Thorough, no hype and do actually make quality productions out in the field and not simply spout BS from behind a desk, holding a lav mic wearing clothing back to front.

One of the best channels on YouTube in this industry.
Thorough, no hype and do actually make quality productions out in the field and not simply spout BS from behind a desk, holding a lav mic wearing clothing back to front.

And a lot of small improvements too

Why not Leica as a good fit for Arri ?
They can keep it in Germany, use it as a platform to sell more of their cine glass and God knows they can be trusted to keep out the riff-raff from buying them!
Interestingly, though, both companies have a relationship with Panasonic so could be good news for the riff raff with a trickle down.
 

Thanks John for the app suggestion.
I use PhotoMechanic for pics and have done for probably at least a decade and it’s my culling software.
I do think it was having identical named files 🫣 in both S1RII’s that was causing me the issues because at first I thought it was the latest stoopid Premiere update, but seems the stoopid one was the user…

My Takumar 50mm F1.4 arrived and I took it out to compare it with the Voigt 42.5mm F0.95 with Sirui 1.25x adapter setup.
The Voigt+Sirui is equivalent to 68mm F1.5 and the Takumar+Speedbooster is equivalent to 71mm F2.0, so a bit longer and a bit slower.
In order to avoid changing lenses all the time, I did a little lap with the Voigt+Sirui, then did another lap with the Takumar and re-created the compositions from the first lap (as well as grabbing other shots too).  These images have had a film-emulation applied, and have had exposures matched, but no other changes, so things like contrast and WB etc should be the same.












My impressions:
Voigtlander is softer at F0.95 than the Takumar at F1.4
I haven't compared them with the Voigt stopped down, but I'd probably rather get a bit more subject separation than sharper images.  The extra sharpness of the Takumar makes the focus peaking a lot easier to use when using the screen (using the EVF you can see what is in focus but the monitor you need peaking on) The focus ring on the Takumar is a lot looser (not that damped but not too loose either), but of course it's backwards The extra width of the Voigt is apparent.  It makes me wonder if the Speedbooster is a little less boosting than I claimed. The Sirui has a lot of coma on the edges (stretching light sources horizontally) so the bokeh seems more horizontal than vertical on lights, whereas the Tak seems to have a zoom-blur sort of effect which is a bit odd The Tak has slightly lower contrast (hard to see but I noticed it when trying to match exposures) In addition to those, I also grabbed these with the Takumar:

Swirly bokeh! and it's not a Helios!!


It has a nice halation/glow but the ghosts from the light sources are real.  This is something I am thinking a lot about because I find them to be very distracting.




Seems sharp at the edges at closest focus.  The bokeh is confusing - sometimes with bubbles and sometimes not.
I actually find that the response to light sources in this lens is very complicated - sometimes it stretches along the spokes of a wheel and other times along the rim of the wheel. 
Also something I noticed but isn't really visible in stills is that light sources pointed straight at the camera have a flare that's like a loop, like this, which can look pretty distracting too.

My conclusions are:
The focus being lighter and peaking being more obvious makes it a bit easier and faster to use, so much so that I changed my process to where I'd adjust the vND, then hit record and then focus in the 2s it takes the GH7 to begin recording The size and weight difference is significant and I found I was able to shoot people from a lot closer with it than the Sirui The small size and weight mean it's a no-brainer to pack on trips where I'm reluctant to pack the Voig/Sirui combo Next is to test it with an oval insert to get some stretched bokeh.  As a proof of concept it certainly looks promising.

Yeah I hope canon, sony or panasonic would just buy up ARRI just for its patents. Like Nikon did with RED (the nikon ZR looks amazing). If somebody would buy up ARRI and trickle down their patents in a 2K body they would own the filmmaker space and these camera's would fly off the shelves. (Event video etc might be a different game, where fast AF is more important, but heck these big 3 companies already have decent enough AF today as is). 

But sadly also a sign that the old ways of working is done for. AI will eat lunches, social media has killed traditional video jobs (artfull and skillfull). watching TV has declined, watching slop filmed with an iphone with crazy transitions and bad lighting has become the norm. (as it feels more real to the consumers, and I get that, but also sad to see jobs, careers and also art plummet). Even the actual movies that are being release over the last 15 yeras have been disneyfied. (cute animal, jokes, woke characters, ...) Not sure if anyone watched the new predator movie. The beginning of the film was great, and the ending was great, but man the middle part with bud, woke synthetics and the friendship arc just sucked. 

If you had my eyesight and shoot exclusively off the rear LCD in both bright sunlight and super low light…

Just one dealbreaker for me with both the A7iv and the FX2, - the rear LCD.
I would rather it was fully articulated like the A7RV, S1H, S1II etc, but it’s not. Not a dealbreaker on it’s own.
But just 1 million dot? That’s a more than a bit shit, especially re. the FX2 as it’s APSC cousin, the FX30 has a 2.3 million dot LCD.
If I was going to go in a Sony direction for my needs, it would be back to an A7RV for stills and a pair of FX30’s for video. And my old trio of Tamron zooms I dearly miss…

New advanced Venus processor apparently. Dunno how that translates to write speeds etc

I would absolutely use it and as above, it would be my first choice, clean sheet.
The ZR/Nikon probably doesn't quite have the AF of Sony and it might not quite have the IBIS of LUMIX, but we are really beginning to split hairs these days when it comes to spec and performance.
It's compact, has possibly THE best lens selection (IMO, there is no 'possibly' about it, - it just does including near native adaptation of Sony E glass via Megadap) and it's e Shutter only approach on the ZR and Z8 would not be an issue for me as it is with LUMIX where in certain lighting conditions, it's shit (for stills).
Give me a pair of ZR's, a single Z8 and 3 lenses of my choice, 1x monopod and 1x tripod and weddings/events would be a breeze.
No better than my current LUMIX set up, just a sideways one and one I would not hesitate to use.
I could make the same argument for Sony and Canon. It just comes down to personal choice.

Summary = the sky is not falling in after all.
We still wait to see however if the S1H ever gets replaced.
I haven’t watched the hour and 20 minute video as I’m not that interested but I would guess that kind of thing would neither be confirmed nor denied and a vague, “things to come/watch this space” at best?

There’s also another camera in the LUMIX lineup that barely anyone talks about and that is the S1IIE.
I overlooked it myself when it was announced as I already had S5II’s and the S1II and especially S1RII looked a whole lot more interesting…and arguably are, unless…
Price + you prefer the updated body and a few other specs over the S5II and in the UK, a couple of places such as WEX and Park are doing them at £500 off, ie, £1800 none grey import.
Compared with my S9 which I have now decided to replace (it isn’t robust enough and I’ve had too many niggly issues with it trying to use it as a pro tool) and the S1IIE seems to make the most sense to me.
LCD is in line with the body and not sticking out of the side. Hurrah.
MUCH better built than the S9 but hardly a chonker.
6k 50/60p in 2:4-1 CinemaScope and before you spit your dummy out, drop that on a 16:9 timeline, it’s about a 1.3x crop and on a 2:1 timeline, only about a 1.1x crop compared with the S5II/X with it’s 1.5x crop. 
And you can do that log gop 420 300mpbs or 422 all intra 800mpbs which is not tooooo large.
No it’s not open gate and I was all for open gate until a few weeks ago and the end of another season when I came to 2 conclusions:
1: Divorce stills from video in the same unit and go back to dedicated stills or video units.
2: Use something else for the fast turn around social stuff such as a Pocket 3.
Not pushed the button yet and things may change, but I think an S5IIE could become my run & gun unit with S5II on sticks and either a single or pair of S1RII’s for stills, dependent on a set of primes or a single all in one 28-105mm f2.8.
I really can’t be arsed with any large scale brand flips, but swapping a body and a couple of lenses is pretty straightforward and low cost.
 

Lightly sand the front element and smear a bit of Vaseline around the edge et voila, instant character!
I know what you mean though Phil. They are optically quite clinical and the most boring things to look at for sure.
For video AF, they are the best option though.
For a margin more character, the f2 Sigmas have it at the expense of a tiny bit of AF.
Then there is the rest of the stuff where it’s trading or losing AF for character gain.
I personally prefer to have the better starting point and add character in post but then some character is inherent in the lens so…
There’s always a trade off!
That new 40mm f2 might just be the sweet spot…

I forgot the Sigma 28-105mm f2.8…
Combine that with the S1RII in hybrid zoom mode and there are two very useable crops the first being 147mm which if memory serves is around 18mp the second being 210mm at around 12mp so both very useable for stills use.
The Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 also makes for a very compact lens and with the same crop factor, 98mm and 140mm.
Shoot Jpeg + raw, the crop only applies to the Jpeg…I think but with video, it’s a proper punched in crop.
4k only though. Doesn’t work in 6k or 8k modes.
As things currently stand…but anything could happen within the next 6 months 😉 my plan is to pick up the 28-105 as an outdoor lens to complement the 28-70 as my indoor lens (mainly stills but some hybrid use each) and the new LUMIX 24-60mm f2.8 purely for video on my other S1RII.
That latter lens will be more like a 29-73 with the combo of settings I am using (5.9k 50p + standard electronic IBIS).
Perfect focal range for my run & gun needs 👌

Agree ^ mostly...
The only area really lacking for me is the space between 100-200mm where there's a bit of a gap.
Between Sigma & Panasonic themselves, they have it covered with primes ie, for most peoples needs, most of the time, those f1.8's.
Sigma offer their f2's which have a bit more 'character'.
Sigma also do the f1.2/1.4's and Leica do their stupidly priced offerings.
The zooms are all very good. In fact I can't really think of a bad L Mount lens other than that stoopid f8 thing they launched with the S9.
The only thing missing for me is a either a longer sibling to the Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 (such as a 45-90mm f1.8) and/or a rival to the Sony 50-150mm f2. A 50-135mm f1.8 with internal zoom would be appreciated and if Sony can do the slightly longer 50-150 with f2, then Sigma could probably pull off an f1.8.
I know the Samyang 35-150mm exists but it's not got the greatest rep and has been hit with the ugly stick. Or is the ugly stick.
As things stand, I am probably going to trade my 35mm and 50mm for the Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 because although it's obviously bigger and heavier than either, it doesn't require a choice of lens but a twist of the wrist and optically is just as good based on my experience.
I don't really like the 18mm though. It has a great rep but for me it's too wide. I don't really like anything wider than 28 but it has its uses in certain situations, so I need to keep it.
It's just above 50 I have the issue... I
I don't want or need a 70-200 but something within that 50-150 would be so much better (as long as it's not the Samyang and preferably does not extend when zooming) but I'd settle for even 90mm as above.

It's not that bad in L-mount. We now have a small 40mm F/2 from TTartisan, but it could be better. Most of the lenses from Panasonic make a lot of sense- a full set of clinical 18, 24, 35, 50, 85, 100mm lenses at f/1.8 (except for the 100mm). They're the same size, rendering, in-camera corrections, usage and everything you'd expect. No other camera maker has that. The zooms are also great. Sure, no Tamron, but should that be the deal-breaker?
Personally, I'm no longer going for "clinical and sharp". Give me anything with character- that's what I want; set yourself apart a little. Clinical = boring in my book. Still, I have many of the primes, but I almost always take out the vintage stuff when shooting for myself (not a pro).
Also, mark my words, L mount will win in the end with lens selection.
What lenses are you after?

But seriously, a less than 1 minute calculation says 13k investment vs probably about a 6-7k sale price on my current gear = not happening.
Even if I just went the stills side it would be around 6.5k - 4k, so a 2.5k flip and…actually that might be doable in early 2026 😂
I don’t really want to go back to mixed brand systems but at the start of this year I was using Sony + Nikon for stills and LUMIX for video and I could easily carry on with LUMIX for video as I think it’s still probably my best option for that, but swapping a single S1RII plus 4x primes for a single Z8 plus 2x zooms could work…and it would give me the longer lens option that doesn’t really work for me within L Mount.
For me, the only real weakness in L Mount for me is not having something like the Sony 50-150mm f2 internal zoom as that is pretty much ultimate event lens right there. In fact, unless physics can be defied, I can’t see anything more compact and as fast, being possible, but if Sigma could kindly take up that challenge…