What camera do I buy? / general gear talk

Have you considered using the motorbike as the tripod? As in, look at something like a gorillapod so you can attach the camera to anything.

On the topic of ND filters, someone mentioned 10 stops is a good starting point for daylight long exposures.

Anyone got any experience either way?

Seems fancy magnetic ones are all the rage, but £150+ seems a bit steep.

K&F ones on A****n are pretty cheap. Quality is probably completely fine unless you’re being super critical on colourshift in video.

I ordered a K&F one recently, quality vs price seems to hit the right spot.

Ok, i'll give a K&F 10 stop ND a go.

I've got an old Canon 6D and the mirror sticks sometimes meaning you just get a black exposure. If you take the lens off and flick the mirror up manually, you can actually feel it being a little bit stuck before it frees.
Anyone experienced this before and/or any advice on getting this fixed?
I've been asked to shoot a wedding for a friend. It being for a friend and me being not a professional means they won't be paying me enough for new gear so I'm thinking of getting it fixed.

You could ask Fixation, they are generally highly regarded.
https://www.fixationuk.com/service/canon-camera-repair/

Be wary of Fixation, they are the best, however due to that a) they are also the most expensive, but b) if they find any other faults with your camera they have a policy of “repair everything or nothing”.

So that repair might be costly… I’ve had repairs from them that have cost the same as just buying another second hand lens. I still did it though.

I’ve had a lens repaired by London Camera Exchange. Took it in, paid for diagnosis (that was then taken off the repair bill), and got it back all in 10 days or so. Could go direct to Canon for a repair, but this was easier for me as I didn’t have to fuss with packaging/insurance/postage etc as LCE did all that.

Fixation are great, caveat fix all the things.
A stuck mirror is probably quite minor, though. I’d do it.

Great, thanks all. I'll look into those options. I've also got a 50mm 1.4 that took a knock a few years ago which dislodged the focus mechanism I've been meaning to get repaired too.
I did buy a second hand one to replace it but the auto focus on it is whack and even when in focus, the images are soft so I'd quite like to get my original one fixed too.

Went down a massive rabbit hole comparing the new 40mp Fuji sensor and the 26mp one.

At the pixel level the 40mp looks noisier, but the resolution bump makes that a meaningless comparison. At the same photo reproduction size, the 40mp looks to have better dynamic range in terms of the richness of colour in the under-exposed areas, which I think is why all the new low light x100VI samples look amazing. Noise is about the same. So that’s very tempting.

I don’t think I can quite justify having an x100-style body alongside an x-pro body, though - the x-pro shutter sound isn’t all that noisy, plus I like having lens choices. I used to have both and it always felt like I was under-using one of them, and I’m hardly a pro who needs two cameras around my neck at once. If I use the 27mm pancake the size difference is fairly small. So the sensible option would be to sit and wait on the x-pro 4. Can’t guarantee I won’t succumb to GAS but I am trying not to…

I’ve got an Xt5 and and XH2S (so both of the sensors), and I’d agree with all this. The 40 sensor is better, but the 26 sensor is faster for focusing so use that for faster stuff.

However noise is not the problem it once was. I shot a catwalk show in a dark church last week on 8000iso on the xh2s, and after running it through some noise reduction software, it was fine.

Waiting for the XE-4 successor

That’s interesting re the focus speed - but the new AI AF algorithms look a lot better than what the x-pro 3 can do so for my use I think I’ll be pleased either way, especially given I manual/zone focus a lot.

Yeah they are getting better all the time, Fuji just announced an imminent update to all their 5th gen cameras to improve the focus even more.

Noise reduction software has also come so far in the past three years that you can really clean up images from cameras over a decade old, without looking all noise-reductiony.
Not really worried about noise in anything new.

Niche post, but if you have multiple small cameras and can't afford a Gordy leather strap for all of them, this paracord "Cordy" strap is well-made, ships fast, and is much cheaper.

I feel pangs of guilt about selling my M6 during lockdown (self employed, no work etc) and always wanted another. Why am I seeing bodies for 4-5 grand now???

Crazy, I wish I bought some when I bought the lenses for a digital body.

Still have no interest in shooting film though.

Because people think an expensive camera bauble will make them a better photographer?

how dare you?

(I have 2)

Innit. And jpg upscaling. It’s crazy. I shot a catwalk show on 8000 iso the other day…. Denoised it, completely fine.

I’m using topaz denoise. I’ve heard the Lightroom inbuilt one is good.

it’s a numbers game

AND ANOTHER THING

Why did Olympus name a digital mirrorless system the same as a beloved 35mm system if not to confuse and annoy? I have 2 OM 1 bodies (plus OM-2/10 etc). They're brill.