Mirrorless Cameras (MILC) and Lenses

[LunarMist]

Photo AI is on sale for $249 from a normally $299. It's a ripoff. I don't know what they were smoking.

 

[Mercutio]

From what I've read, it at least performs better than Luminar.

As far as a generic wishlist photo editing tool, my biggest current need is basically something that could magically apply fixes to hair. Flyaways, frizz etc. I suspect every portrait and wedding photographer in the world would love to see something like that.

 

[LunarMist]

That's what stylists are for.

From what I hear lately most weddings don't pay what they used to, adjusted for inflation. The whole profession has been devalued since digital. I'm so glad I opted out early enough and stayed with a tech career.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm not going near a wedding again. The expectation of gear, lack of cooperation from subjects and inability to understand why a photographer is present in the first place are all reason enough for that.

Let the people who have all the gear and years of putting up with bridezilla handle it.

Hair, though? Wind is an enemy to everyone.

 

[LunarMist]

I've only been at one wedding ever - and it was not as a photographer.

 

[Mercutio]

I've only been at one wedding ever - and it was not as a photographer.

In 2019 and through 2021, several of my close friends had some kind of commitment ceremony. I wound up standing up for the bride (Bridesmaid? Bridesman?) at each service. I've only attended one wedding as a guest since my cousins have all done the two minutes at the courthouse thing, done one as a photographer, but I've been a brideswhatever in four ceremonies.

This is what happens when all one's friends are women in their mid-20s.

 

[jtr1962]

I've only been at one wedding ever - and it was not as a photographer.

I've been to a bunch of them-all family members. My sister, most of my first cousins, some of my second cousins, etc. My only thought at each of them was I'm glad it's not me. Not necessarily because I put off the idea of marrying entirely, but rather because the bride was far removed from what I might have considered marrying.

Also, in my opinion most of these people got married far too young. Most were mid-20s. I sure as heck wouldn't have wanted to commit to anyone at that age. Not old enough to really see what's out there, plus I wanted time to discover who I really was before partnering with anyone. I'd say the earliest I'd have considered marriage was mid 30s. Plenty of time to get financially secure. I figure if me and my potential partner both stayed with our parents before marrying, banked most of what we made, we could get married, buy a house with cash. Once you own a home free and clear, living is relatively cheap. With two good salaries we probably could have banked over $100K a year. Maybe 5 to 10 years down the road we retire, enjoy the rest of our lives. Maybe we would be somewhere in our 40s by then.

I don't like the idea of getting married young, without a pot to piss in, then struggling for the next 30 years.

 

[LunarMist]

But you were not using a camera, I take it? It's not a good idea to do wedding shoots for family or friends.
I'm not sure how many times you have been married (and divorced), but that seems like weird advice for Americans anyways.

 

[jtr1962]

No, I never bought a camera to any of those weddings. I was never married, so obviously never divorced. If want to know the entire truth, I had my heart broken when I was 19 and just gave up on girls after that. But anyway, had I gotten married I wanted to start off without all the usual financial problems many young couples experience. That was the ruination of my parents marriage, among many others. So I had two options. One was to do as I described. The other was to marry a girl with rich parents who could bankroll a house and other stuff, in which case I could skip the living with parents to save money part. Maybe even skip the working part also. I wouldn't marry just for money though. I'd have to like the person regardless.

 

[LunarMist]

The Z8 is rumoured for Tuesday, but I'm not so sure. We should know more by now if it is true. Combined with the impending major R5 FW update implying that there will not be an R5 II this spring, it may be that we are SCREWED out of good new bodies yet again.

 

[jtr1962]

Random question-is film even relevant any more, even for some pros?

 

[LunarMist]

In the small and medium formats it's mostly for artistic purposes. There are a few uses for 8x10. None are very or at all relevant to pros, because clients don't care for IQ the vast majority of the time.

 

[Mercutio]

My roommate is on the other side of your position, jtr, which is also why I say "roommate" or "quasi-SO" rather than some term of greater endearment. She wants to remain independent in her life after learning the lesson that people take advantage if someone can provide, and that's something I've encouraged for her, since I've been a person who has helped several people step away from that trap over years.

It's too bad we live in a world where it is increasingly difficult for even a reasonably well compensated single person to live a fully independent life.

Combined with the impending major R5 FW update implying that there will not be an R5 II this spring, it may be that we are SCREWED out of good new bodies yet again.

I do think it's weird that there was a replacement for the R6 after only 18 months but nothing for the R5. Even throwing a better heat sink and adding some of the tricks from the R7 (auto level for video, digital hot shoe) would make for a nice refresh of the original model.

Random question-is film even relevant any more, even for some pros?

There are people doing it for art, or as a learning exercise. Only having a few shots completely changes the mentality of taking a photo. "Medium Format" in digital does exist in expensive Fuji and Hasselblad cameras but it's actually pretty easy to find inexpensive film bodies now. It's also one of those weird things that hipster kids are doing, like deliberately choosing to write using a typewriter.

A few companies are also selling digital instant cameras. Fuji makes the Instax, for example, and a company called Nons makes an upgraded version that prints to Instax media but accepts Canon EF-mount lenses. Instant Digital cameras are really fun, inexpensive and popular. Instax pictures are about the size of a credit card and develop like an old-fashioned Polaroid.

Also, some movies are still shot on film.

 

[LunarMist]

Firmware will not change the slow scan ES (rolling shutters) of the R5 nor the 12-bit A/D in ES. It won't fix the spot AF either.
I expect that Canon will make the FW of the R5 more similar to the others for the AF controls, videos, etc. but that won't help me much.

 

[Mercutio]

Rolling shutter is the bane of my concert shooting as well,

 

[LunarMist]

What kind of concert has people or objects moving too fast for the R5?

 

[Mercutio]

It's not from the objects moving too fast, but the lighting.

 

[LunarMist]

Isn't there a setting to sync with the AC lights? The 1DX II had that years ago.

 

[Mercutio]

Stage lighting these days is usually but not always LED-based, but I'm finding that not all lights are ACTUALLY constant, even when the production people tell me they're using such and such LEDs that are 1KHz or 2KHz or whatever, and you have to remember that stage lights are often also moving lights. Banding on the electronic shutter is real, but it's also the way to go if I might want to shoot a burst. I have zero control over lighting anywhere that there's a stage, so there's a real compromise.

I haven't found the anti-flicker option on the R6 to do a single damned thing for any lighting condition.

 

[LunarMist]

Slow down the shutter speed. Can you use mechanical at a rehearsal? Are you there in an official capacity where they can help you out?

 

[Mercutio]

1/250 is pretty normal if I'm trying to freeze motion in bad light, which is usually the goal for a burst shot. I'm trying to get a stage dive in mid-air, glitter off the top of a snare drum, long hair flying around etc. Even 1/200 will probably result in a blurry mess for some of that stuff.

 

[jtr1962]

This is why I never like PWM dimming of LEDs. I much prefer constant current dimming so the light is always continuous. Or if you must use PWM, pulse at something like 10 or 20 kHz. That would be faster than most shutter speeds.

 

[LunarMist]

It's probably cheap lighting. But to be clear, is this issue with both ES and MS? Some cameras have really slow scan times and that cannot help. When people first started using 35mm seriously there were a lot of complaints about the focal plane shutter (about 1/60th-1/80th at the time) compared to the superior leaf shutter (in the lens).

 

[Mercutio]

The problem goes away if I shoot mechanical, but so does my ability to capture more than 10 frames in a second. If I use electronic first curtain or fully electronic, it's a progressively larger problem. Apparently Sony cameras don't have an issue with this. I don't know if that's because they read out from the sensor faster or if they have some secret recipe for detecting and fixing the issue in-frame.

 

[LunarMist]

You guys are spoiled and I really question that 10FPS is inadequate. At some point you should be capturing video.

 

[Mercutio]

I get to go to a professional basketball game tonight. We're getting waved through security by an executive for the team and we're allowed access to courtside before the game. I've been told that we can bring cameras, which are normally banned by the facility, and use them during practice AND during the game, but apparently only if we use lenses that "don't extend."

In all my lens collection, I only have two lenses, a 50/1.4 and a 135/2, that don't have any extending element, and the 135, the lens that would be perfect, went in for service on Monday.

Definitely feel like it's a waste of the opportunity.

 

[LunarMist]

The 50/1.4 is known for having a cheesy construction and AF motor, but the 135/2 was solid.
What has happened to your lenses?

 

[Mercutio]

The 135/2 was giving a can't communicate with camera error that I couldn't clear. I took it to my local camera shop. They're looking at it.

I like the Sigma 50/1.4 better than the Canon EF 1.2. That thing is pillow soft wide open. The Sigma is a favorite of mibe for almost all uses. The Canon EF 50/1.4 is a garbage lens for sure.

I was able to take pictures of LA court side but was rather forcefully told that LA had a problem with it since I wasn't specifically press badged. I actually delayed their star player from coming out on the court.

I have a Moment telephoto lens for my phone as well but once our contact from the Bulls walked away, they made me put that away too.

 

[LunarMist]

Bummer. If it's not worth fixing your 135/2, there are plenty of used ones out there, many in fine condition. Everyone is getting the RF 135/1.8, but deliveries are slow.

 

[LunarMist]

The new FW 1.81 for the R5 doesn't do much but allow for 9x sampling (via IBIS) and produces 400MP jpg files. RAW is not allowed. There was substantial bogus hype surrounding the update. Of course many folks are upset with Canon rather than the sleaezy vloggers that invent the ridiculous rumors for profit.

 

[Mercutio]

It's not that hard to stitch a pano shot. I had the opportunity to take some photos from the 20th floor of an apartment building in Tampa. I used about 60 shots to get a nighttime view of the bay.

I guess it's neat to do it in camera, or if it can be done for a single subject, but I wouldn't be that excited by it either. I'd definitely expect anyone with a $3500 camera body to know how to do that without needing a camera function for it.

Tonight is a little car show and tomorrow is comic con, which means I can take pictures I can actually show to other people. I'm looking forward to both

 

[LunarMist]

Panoramas are sometimes exceedingly difficult to capture and process well. I'd put it up there with some other technnical work like astrophotography (telescopes on GEM, not wide-angle nighttime landscapes) or microphotography. Obviously it's not always the case, such as every Bozo with a cell phone for the past decade. You cannot control focus stacking and choose the correct POV, projection, etc. I doubt that Canon gives you transverse cylindrical and Mercator for example. Those really need to be assessed in the computer and as RAW files.

 

[Mercutio]

Astro is something I'd love to do but the Chicago area is the most light-polluted place on Earth. There's a pink-purple haze everywhere within probably 100 miles of the city, even on the darkest nights.

I saw a pro yesterday taking cosplay photos who had three R5s strapped to his body and my first ever in-the-wild Sony A1. I also saw someone with an off-camera flash that was tied to their phone, which is something I've never seen before.

There were also cosplayers who were demanding money to take posed photos, which is something that needs to die and never come back.

 

[LunarMist]

A good telescope and GEM are not cheap but not crazy high either compared to many hobbies. Some advocate Alt-Az and ignore rotation, using stacking/software, but it's not the same.

That COSPlay seems like something kinda weird. What do psychologists call that?

Many people were using the A1 for a while. Now quite a number of those are migrating to the Z9 for the superior range of teles. Not only can you use the F-mount E lenses, but also the Z lenses including PF 400/4.5, PF 800/6.3, 400/2.8 w/1.4x, and 600/4 w/1.4x. Sony has only two big teles, 400/2.8 and 600/4. They have no 200/2, 300/2.8, 500/4, 180-400/4, etc.

I've probably seen a half dozen A1 or so. At first glance they look similar to all the other dinky Sony bodies until you look closely.

 

[Mercutio]

That COSPlay seems like something kinda weird. What do psychologists call that?

Cosplay is an enjoyable hobby for a lot of people, especially those with a background in fabric arts, makeup or crafting. It can also be a way to stand out for people trying to raise their profile on social media, and there's a path to success as an e-girl or adult model that starts with a willingness to wear a skimpy version of a comic book or anime character's outfit someplace thirsty guys can see it. One of the people who pays me to make content regularly primarily does this kind of work, actually. Jessica Nigiri spent years as a presenter on the Nerdist Youtube channel. When she started showing a little extra on Onlyfans, she immediately became one of the top 20 most successful accounts on the platform, meaning that she's easily making an eight figure income from it now.

On the much more innocent hobbyist side, there are lots of people doing something just for fun, and well done cosplay can elicit gasps of amazement or real belly laughs. My all-time favorite was seeing a dedicated pair show up to a comic convention as Al and Peg Bundy, the couple from "Married with Children", along with the iconic and show-accurate couch of the primary set. They sat just outside the entrance to the show floor, drinking beer and cocktails, respectively. There's no easily accessible delivery entrance to McCormick place for convention attendees, which suggests that they had to haul a couch off the street or through a parking area, which are all a considerable distance from where the convention actually took place. Real dedication.

You'll also see things like functional Iron Man armor, LED-illuminated outfits (e.g. Tron), angels with articulated wings or costumes crafted around stilts for particularly gigantic characters. For someone whose skills and interests align, this can be a real expression of talent.

I've probably seen a half dozen A1 or so. At first glance they look similar to all the other dinky Sony bodies until you look closely.

I'm under the impression that Sony's biggest fans are more likely to be more closely aligned to video shooting, so it makes sense that the line doesn't have many fast, long zooms. The bodies ARE smaller than everyone else's, but that usually makes me look closer because they're something of a stealth option compared to other brands.

 

[LunarMist]

Tha A1 is not mainly a video camera. Sony does have several for U-tubbers and video, typically with larger pixels.

 

[ddrueding]

My Gigapan robotic pano head is still in California. Looking forward to getting it back.

 

[LunarMist]

I threw mine out during the pandemnicum. It was a real POS, $800 down the toilet.
I'm curious how you are able to use it.

 

[ddrueding]

I threw mine out during the pandemnicum. It was a real POS, $800 down the toilet.
I'm curious how you are able to use it.

I used it quite a bit years ago. The only profitable work was "virtual tour" home interiors for realtors. That was good money.

I did haul it to the top of El Capitan in Yosemite once, I won't do that again.

 

[LunarMist]

I had the Epic Pro, which was such a joke for $900. The construction was flimsy and unstable in the mechanism. I tried to tighten the bogus dovetail and it broke. I replaced some of the clamps/rails, but it could not manage a 1Ds III and 70-200/4 IS with stability. Then the company went bust a little later. I think somebody was rebuilding them or selling parts, etc. eventually. For those that don't know the product it had a huge NiMH battery pack still in 2010 and they can be rebuilt; there is probably a video. But who wanted to be hiking around in the desert with NiMH when everything else was Li-Ion in 2010.
I wish someone would revisit the concept, but most likely it would be flimsier yet. Now I'm mostly doing up to 20-frame AF bracktes with 3-row pans. It's a lot of images to capture, and I'm not sure it could be fully automated.