The IBIS isn't as locked off as the R5 or Fuji systems, doesn't act like a tripod, but it looks a bit more natural for handheld shooting. It has more free movement going on.
The AF is superb.
The image seems to lack a bit of mojo for me, the files look thin, S-LOG 3 is as difficult to get the best out of as ever.
It really is a case of pick your poison with these cameras. Do you risk reliability problems with the R5, or go for Sony's more digital look to the files (even in 10bit)?
Personally if you're really good at grading and tweaking the Sony color profiles in-camera, I'd go with the Sony.
It is a real pity Panasonic do not yet have superb AF in video mode as otherwise I could recommend the S1H which has the best image of the lot.
Speaking purely from a personal perspective why I don't use an external recorder (either Ninja, or anything else):
- A second complex interface to operate, on top of the one already on the camera distracts me from the shoot
- The bulky ergonomics makes handheld shooting a chore at double the weight, unless you go all the way and turn it into a shoulder mounted ENG camera
- No weather sealing on the recorder, and big brick of a battery on the back rather than it being internal and discrete
- I absolutely can't stand HDMI as an interface. It's so flakey and unreliable. Easy to damage too
- I like packing away a single unit, I don't like having to dismantle something between takes on-location. If you're only shooting studio work then ok, then external recorder is better suited
- Having to babysit not one but two batteries - one in the camera, one in the recorder.
- What is the point anyway when image quality is so good with internal codecs these days? Even 8bit. You don't really always need to shoot 10bit and if 8bit is easier to edit then that's ok with me. One of my favourite cinematic images of all times is 8bit (Canon 1D C).
- Placement on the rig is never quite ok - I don't like a big screen hanging off the hotshoe, it is unbalanced. I don't really like it hanging off a bit arm from a cage either.
- What is the point of a small mirrorless camera if it isn't small any more? May as well get a C200 or something.
For years Atomos and the manufacturers haven't addressed any of the above.
I like them from a technology standpoint. They have some very talented engineers.
Their UI is well designed, albeit somewhere I don't want to have to go when I'm trying to get some fleeting moment run & gun style.
I think if you're concerned about Canon's issues, you've every right to be.
The dilemma at the moment is that everything on the market has some sort of drawback so it is time to choose your poison.
- Canon. Do you go with a company that seems to be unable to stop lying to its own customers, in my view - ethically a concern, but one that makes cameras that often nail color and skin tones, with the best LOG profile and obviously they are market leading for a reason but I haven't quite been able to understand why
- Sony. Do you go with the best autofocus, best sensors, but still quite humdrum boring to use bodies that don't inspire you to pick them up and whose results are often a bit wonky to say the least in the overall look department?
- Fuji. Do you pick APS-C or really up the ante and go full on in at £6000 with 4K medium format? Their APS-C cameras are the best on the market but they are still crop sensor. Also the X-H2 seems to have gone down a toilet somewhere never to reappear, so there's that. The X-T4 is no S1H.
- Panasonic. Do you forgo autofocus?
- Olympus. Do you forgo the entire existence of the company?
Pick your poison!
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