MrSMW

So it might not be ‘sexy’ but the average salary for a train driver in the UK is approx double my salary.
And you get paid to go on strike whenever you feel like in order to petition for even more pay.
Yup, that is the world we live in.
It’s mostly been that way actually as in one where very few creatives actually make any real money and the financial benefit is usually in favour of having more regular employment.
 

Ditto.
If anything, it has more appeal than ever, especially to the younger generations.
I live the ‘Tiny Home’ ethos but can’t quite subscribe to the ‘I live in my car’ brigade because yup, perhaps you do, and maybe it’s your ‘home’, but let’s not pretend it’s your real choice!
If I was single, I’d live in my motorhome/RV full-time, zero question.
I live/work out of it 3 months a year out of 6, Apr-Sep, ie, 50% of the time as it is.
Typically 3 nights per week on site wherever I am working in a corner of the carpark and then 4 nights either in free aires (official overnight van parking areas in France) or cheap camping grounds in order to fill/empty my tanks and use their electric etc.
It’s my transport, office and tiny home on wheels with near zero set up ie, full-time bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living/office space.
Less ‘trailer parks’ in Europe or the UK though and very much looked down upon unless it’s one of the more upmarket over 55 one’s where prices tend to start at 250k£GB.
I would have zero issue living in one unless it had a bad rep. I just might not tell so many people because the old and in some cases, rightful prejudices are exist. 
Over-priced city centre apartment or semi-rural trailer park? I know which I’d choose!

The second picture I assume is the Three Wise Men.
Clearly confused as to where to find the stable block.

Ditto.
If anything, it has more appeal than ever, especially to the younger generations.
I live the ‘Tiny Home’ ethos but can’t quite subscribe to the ‘I live in my car’ brigade because yup, perhaps you do, and maybe it’s your ‘home’, but let’s not pretend it’s your real choice!
If I was single, I’d live in my motorhome/RV full-time, zero question.
I live/work out of it 3 months a year out of 6, Apr-Sep, ie, 50% of the time as it is.
Typically 3 nights per week on site wherever I am working in a corner of the carpark and then 4 nights either in free aires (official overnight van parking areas in France) or cheap camping grounds in order to fill/empty my tanks and use their electric etc.
It’s my transport, office and tiny home on wheels with near zero set up ie, full-time bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living/office space.
Less ‘trailer parks’ in Europe or the UK though and very much looked down upon unless it’s one of the more upmarket over 55 one’s where prices tend to start at 250k£GB.
I would have zero issue living in one unless it had a bad rep. I just might not tell so many people because the old and in some cases, rightful prejudices are exist. 
Over-priced city centre apartment or semi-rural trailer park? I know which I’d choose!

I considered it and am still considering it, or rather a pair of them, but for stills only as in 1x A7RV with zoom vs 2x A7CR with primes...
Based on my preferences and use case, the A7RV smashes (better ergos, EVF, LCD, card slots) the A7CR except in one single regard and that is that the A7CR has the pano crops in camera that it's slightly bigger bro does not have and probably because Sony are notoriously terrible with firmware, will never have.
The Q is, can I compromise in various other areas to have that in camera crop option...
When it comes to the FP/L and that CDNG option, would my clients care or even notice? 
Nope, but I would and that is my consideration.
Plus/but, at what point do I need to say, "STOP! Enough is enough, - use what you have and stop tinkering!"
Goes back to making custom crop mode stick on screen protector for A7RV...

Reality for me...and I guess many folks is yes, FP-L trumps it for outright image quality, but S9 beats it pretty much everywhere else from having IBIS plus tilt screen, battery life and a few other areas.
But then for me, S5II beats S9 everywhere except some features specific to S9 that may come in firmware.
Conclusion = LUMIX is for me, still the mainstream hybrid brand for pure video needs and has the least number of compromises over everyone else.
What is their compromise? Outright image quality possibly...but actually, struggling really to find one...
Another conclusion and that is LUMIX should work more closely with Sigma to create the ultimate real world hybrid!

3 cameras with some ‘extra unidentifiable mojo’ for me have been:
OG Fuji X100 circa 2011
Fuji X Pro1 circa 2012
Nikon Zf 2024
There was just something very ‘filmic’ about those OG X100 files and when they were in focus, those of the Pro1 especially paired with the 60mm f2.4.
The Zf I believe shares the same sensor with the Z6, Z6ii and Lumix S5, but not the S5ii.
Most Nikonites it seems prefer it over the newer one in the Z6iii and with a lens such as the Voigt 40mm f1.2, is reckoned to be quite special indeed.
I’m thinking about picking that one up in e Mount so I can then use it on both my Sony and Zf for low light and as a walkabout lens.

Which is pretty much why I shoot log with a burned in LUT. 
Usually needs a slight tweak but generally nothing major if I got the WB more or less in the ballpark.

So it might not be ‘sexy’ but the average salary for a train driver in the UK is approx double my salary.
And you get paid to go on strike whenever you feel like in order to petition for even more pay.
Yup, that is the world we live in.
It’s mostly been that way actually as in one where very few creatives actually make any real money and the financial benefit is usually in favour of having more regular employment.
 

Reality for me...and I guess many folks is yes, FP-L trumps it for outright image quality, but S9 beats it pretty much everywhere else from having IBIS plus tilt screen, battery life and a few other areas.
But then for me, S5II beats S9 everywhere except some features specific to S9 that may come in firmware.
Conclusion = LUMIX is for me, still the mainstream hybrid brand for pure video needs and has the least number of compromises over everyone else.
What is their compromise? Outright image quality possibly...but actually, struggling really to find one...
Another conclusion and that is LUMIX should work more closely with Sigma to create the ultimate real world hybrid!

Which is pretty much why I shoot log with a burned in LUT. 
Usually needs a slight tweak but generally nothing major if I got the WB more or less in the ballpark.

Reality for me...and I guess many folks is yes, FP-L trumps it for outright image quality, but S9 beats it pretty much everywhere else from having IBIS plus tilt screen, battery life and a few other areas.
But then for me, S5II beats S9 everywhere except some features specific to S9 that may come in firmware.
Conclusion = LUMIX is for me, still the mainstream hybrid brand for pure video needs and has the least number of compromises over everyone else.
What is their compromise? Outright image quality possibly...but actually, struggling really to find one...
Another conclusion and that is LUMIX should work more closely with Sigma to create the ultimate real world hybrid!

It's not filmmaking, he does gameshows.
Anyway, this whole thread is a pile of crap and is locked so that it sinks into the gutter where the guy belongs, bye bye.

I have actually tried using second shooters from time to time and even farmed out editing, but nah, that drives me even more insane.
At least when you do it yourself, your mistakes are your own and you can then use those to 'inspire' yourself to reduce them going forward as much as possible.
Other than say tracking a couple with a gimbal and aerial drone stuff, I'm just not a fan of non-deliberate camera movement and I just decided towards the end of this year, I was spending too much time correcting in post or having material that just bugged me.
It's really simple for me and that is I ask myself the question, "did you want to see any camera movement at all in that shot?" and if the answer is no as it is 99% of the time, I then have to ask myself why da fuck I wasn't then using at least a monopod if not a tripod.
And the answer to that is convenience/laziness.
I can't fully trust the freestanding monopod to be left unattended and 3 legged tripods with typically 3 points of extension (ie, 9 twists or clicks) are not the quickest things to use in faster paced environments.
So in addition to my freestanding monopod and because my current lightweight tripod is no longer working properly, I am getting one of these:
https://www.amazon.fr/-/en/dp/B0D93FB6VG/?coliid=I3I7882LSYHI5Y&colid=3UZ2Z0IEUEIAP&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it
I have a pair of heavyweight tripods for proper static use, but you can't realistically work with those in most scenarios other than situations where you do want to set stuff up and leave it unattended knowing it can't get knocked or blown over.
 

By 'pro work', I mean more full-time content creator or wedding vid etc, ie gigs where the camera/kit is either unseen or no one cares.
But yes, turn up to shoot an ad or something when the norm is an Arri or a Venice etc, yup, might be a tough sell! 
You also have hit on one of the beauties of small cheap cameras and that is you can have a set of them, each with a prime or different function rather than lens swapping.
I did it myself for a few months after shooting an entire season of weddings on the OG X100 with the following year having a pair and shooting one with the wide convertor and the other with the tele so approx 28 and 50 in FF terms as opposed to just 35 the year prior.
Actually, it was a year or so later as I did that thinking about it with the S or T model which were quite a bit snappier.
For stills work, I would comfortably do the same today with this new Fuji.
I choose not to, but I could and that tiny camera approach does have a lot of appeal...just not more than my current Goldilocks approach of 61mp 28-75 and 26mp 42-112 at a turn of a dial.
The Sigma 16mm and 56mm f1.4 spring to mind... These lenses are available under 300 used and a pairing such as this at 24 and 85mm f2.1 DOF equivalent, would be excellent and paired with something like the XE4 or X-S20, would easily be my pick over the X100VI. 
The only thing they don't really have is the leaf shutter and ND, but IMO, swap that for range.
There's so many options these days, we're spoiled really!

Agreed. L Mount is pretty good now especially this year with the Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 and Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 becoming available and probable purchases for me in 2025.
Pretty sure I am going to go for the 28-45 as I need something faster than f2.8 for low light work and though not as fast as the 50mm f1.2, has more practical real world use for me.
The 28-105 I am still on the fence over and depends on whether an S2R appears.
If it does, as a LUMIX version of the Leica SL3, then it’s a done deal and I will trade my Sony A7RV and 3x zoom lenses for that combo as it will cover 95% of my needs as a ‘one and done’ and that last 5%, at the extreme ends, will be my compromise.
But if there is no S2R, then there will also be no 28-105 for me either because although it is available in Sony E Mount, I would rather have my smaller trio of Tamron zoom lenses for that compact Sony body.
All pieces of the greater puzzle.

Cool thanks, I will watch shortly.
I think for video, this is such a great bit of kit...but the S5II is and would be even better if it received the firmware from the S9.
For stills though, I'd still have to hand it to the S5II just for the mech shutter but then I don't much care for the mech shutter on the S5II so please LUMIX, make me an S2R!!
Feature-wise, this little bastard has quite a few things I'd like to see in a more pro body.

Yes. That and the lack of IBIS.
Makes zero sense against a used 100S and say the 45mm f2.8 + 80mm f1.7 (or 110 I think it is?)

OK, just looked it up on Fuji Rumors and because no IBIS and estimated cost, TBH, a used 100S with a pair of primes makes more sense at the likely price!
So maybe not...
 

You can use three frame markers at the same time. Richard Wong says att 2.25 that it works in both photo and video modes. And he shows how you can customize the frame markers.
 

Agreed. L Mount is pretty good now especially this year with the Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 and Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 becoming available and probable purchases for me in 2025.
Pretty sure I am going to go for the 28-45 as I need something faster than f2.8 for low light work and though not as fast as the 50mm f1.2, has more practical real world use for me.
The 28-105 I am still on the fence over and depends on whether an S2R appears.
If it does, as a LUMIX version of the Leica SL3, then it’s a done deal and I will trade my Sony A7RV and 3x zoom lenses for that combo as it will cover 95% of my needs as a ‘one and done’ and that last 5%, at the extreme ends, will be my compromise.
But if there is no S2R, then there will also be no 28-105 for me either because although it is available in Sony E Mount, I would rather have my smaller trio of Tamron zoom lenses for that compact Sony body.
All pieces of the greater puzzle.

Actually, it would be worth me crossing the channel on the Eurostar to pick one up!
What/where is that 25% off deal?!

Actually, it would be worth me crossing the channel on the Eurostar to pick one up!
What/where is that 25% off deal?!

Yes please. 
My 3 current zoom trio is their f2.8; 20-40, 28-75 and 70-180 and that was partly what sent me to Sony for my stills needs because they are just as real world good as their 24-70 and 70-200 counterparts, but much smaller and lighter.
I really like the latest Sigma 70-200, but it's facking huge and heavy compared with the Tamron 70-180 and as above, real world, there's nothing in it image-wise.
Samyang of course make their 35-150 equivalent in L Mount but it's too big for my tastes. If it was internal zoom, I could possibly make a case for it but anything over 1kg as a lens these days, is a hard no for me.
I was always put off the f1.8's from Lumix though because they just look so dull and for the few primes I have had in L Mount, went with the f2's from Sigma with their metal build and aperture rings.